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Last Week of Summer-Prep week for ECC I am looking forward to this school year. We will be exploring countries and cultures using the MY FATHER"S WORLD CURRICULUM. Right now I am printing off free note-booking pages for bible copy work as well as setting up the kid's binders. I want to be well organized because I am a bit overwhelmed. I am having trouble organizing the school day. My hope is to have a schedule which allows us to have a free afternoon but I feel as though there is too much to cover each day. I hope to get suggestions from others who have used this curriculum. The Kids- My daughter, Phoebe, who is now 10 and entering 5th grade is not wanting to start school yet. She tends to be a bit anxious when it comes to academics and I hope to see that change this year with all the fun we plan to have. My son, NeoSkye, is a bit more comfortable with starting school. He enjoys the one on one time and anything that has to do with language arts. Phoebe loves history and this year that is not so much our focus but I think she will love the missionary stories. The Academics- Ok the core is ECC but my supplements are as follows: Writing= Excellence in Writing , Spelling= Spell to Read and Write , Grammar= Shurely English , Penmanship= Cursive First. I am still trying to figure out how to separate each binder with the subjects. We plan to start Next Thursday September 4th with introductions and passport applications. We are going to have a back to school celebration on Wednesday the 3rd with our LEAH group at the Castle (roller skating, laser tag, and miniature golf). I will continue to update this blog weekly at the end of our week to track our progress and voice my joys and tribulations. HAPPY HOMESCHOOLING! |
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After much debate Beautiful feet won over Sonlight in my home. We used the Prairie Primer last year with my second grader and my son sat in on the readings and activities. This year I will be teaching my son in first grade and my daughter in third. In order to combine lessons for both kids I would have had to start with World History with the Sonlight program; taking them away from the pioneer theme in which they love. With the Beautiful Feet unit studies I was able to combine both kids with one curriculum starting in Early American History. This curriculum will be an easy transition from the Prairie Primer with little confusion. The Beautiful feet primary pack is a study which encompasses grades 1-3. I am so excited because my daughter loved the little house stories and the pioneer time period. With these unit studies we will go deeper into the life of the Pioneers as well as the Native Americans.
Sonlight offered a lot, but at this stage of the game we would not have been able to get through it all. Not to mention the price was a bit steep. I was able to purchase the Beautiful Feet jumbo pack on ebay at a good used price wich was more than half the price of Sonlight. I have many friends who use Sonlight and simply love it. I think I may visit Sonlight possibilities in the future but for now Beautiful feet is it. |
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This is my first entry and I didn't want to start with such a somber one but I can't change the circumstances that surround my emotions today. Children are such a blessing even the noises they make when they are not getting along are missed when they are gone. This must be what it is like when your children go away to college or leave home for good.
I do not know why I have to feel the intense burn of this empty nest now in my life. I am not exactly sure why as a young mother I have to cry myself to sleep or even get choked up when I see families with little ones running around. Today is day four of a sixteen day absence from my children. I am trying to use this time wisely and clean my house, garden, making my final choices in curriculum, writing my IHIP, and spending quality time with my husband. But even with all this going on I cannot have peace. My heart has such an emptiness and the sound of the cicadas humming outside my window make the house quieter then ever. Even though I know this will come to an end my heart grieves and I can only imagine what it would feel like when I have to face the empty nest for good.
Lord please help me to use this sadness to expose what I take for granted when my children are home and nagging me to spend time with them. Help me to let go of the less important things to make more time for my children everyday even when I don't feel up to it. Help me Lord, to remember this emptiness and aching heart I feel in their absence so when they are home and start to argue and are willful I will have joy just because they are home. I want to make more out of our time together so that the memories will linger when the time comes for the true empty nest. Until then Lord help me to get though this and use it to better my relationship and cherish all the time I do have with my children. |