Musings of a Homeschool Mom

• Aug. 30, 2006 - A new school year

We officially started school this week. So far things have gone well. I took the textbook route this year.I was just ready for to do something different. I wanted the kids to have more independence. It has freed me up a bit to do other things around the house. I'm still needed and I find I"m running up and down the stairs to answer questions or give guidance on a subject. My youngest(12) today said he wished I'd read it all to him. Last year I did. My biggest challange this year and it has been for the past 8 years is checking work that has been done. I"ve never enjoyed paperwork,a big reason I didn't go into the secretarial field like my mom wanted some 25 years ago.So I"m trying to do some every evening to keep up. I'll do some while they are doing school.

A new curriculum I"m trying for writing this year is "Jump Into Writing" put out by Apologia. I like what I see so far. I ordered the set from a company but the teachers manual didn't come with the same order,so I hope it comes tomorrow. I can't wait to see if I"ve been doing it write. I"ve just had my son start from beginning and do a skill a day. Neither of my kids like to write. I told them this was the year they had to improve their writing skills. I"d had been too easy on them. My daughter is using a book put out by I EW called "The Elegant Essay"

In a couple of weeks my daughter will start Biology labs with some friends from church. They will meet at our house twice a month.