Finally, 2008!  Why is it that the beginning of every new year feels so exciting and fresh?  I guess it is looking back at the past year;  taking stock of what we accomplished or not, and mapping out the new year to fix our lives in some way or another.  For some it is financial, fitness, or getting their homes in order.  I have to say that all three of those things fit the bill in my life, but I also want to make 2008 a great academic year in my home.

     My children are still very young, so the word academic might be a bit strong.  But, it is the getting started on a journey that has been our hard part.  I think that it is in part because homeschooling is very new to me.  I have spent that past few months mulling over curriculum ideas and teaching approaches.  I read many books on homeschooling.  I can finally say that I actually feel very excited about 2008 academically! 

     I wasn't going to start on our studies until Monday, mainly because it would be the first full week with no interuptions of time off.  But, I felt compelled to get our start yesterday, and I am glad I did.  I got a real glimpse of what our year will be like with our curriculum choices, and it looks like it will prove to be fun!

     I say fun, because the Phonics Museum is fun.  We got started on it yestereday, and Randy seemed to have a great time participating.  There is a student workbook.  It provides opportunity to learn how to write.  There is also a lot of hands on learning.  We read the first story, which is titled The Alphabet Quest.  It is about a boy, William, who's parents take him on a trip to an art musuem.  At first the boy is very disappointed because he feels like he will have no fun.  On the way, though, he meets Percival who is nothing more than an empty set of armour.  He can speak, though only to William.  Percival makes the trip to the art museum fun by turning it into a game.  Each of them try to find as many things as they can in the artwork that starts with the letters of the alphabet.  (I might add that Randy is now begging me to go to the art museum...LOL)

     Our first letter of focus is "A."  After reading the story, Randy, Carson and I built our own musuem (provided by Veritas) and then went around the house in search of items that start with the short "a" sound.  We then put the items on display in our museum.  The boys have been instructed to be on the look out for more things that start with that same sound so they can add them to the musuem collection as well. 

     My boys are in the part of life where they love playing with their imaginations.  I am forever finding them acting out things such as pirates, or simply playing house.  So, the style of learning that the Phonics Museum offers is perfect for us right now.

     Our other focus this year is Saxon math.  It appears to be very simple right now.  We will start everyday with looking at our calender and adding the days date.  Right now the focus is introducing some of the manipulatives that we will be using through this course.  Yesterday's manipulative introduction was of the geo shapes.  I got them out and let the boys play with them so they would get familiar.  I was amazed at how long they opted to sit there and play.  What I also found fascinating was how they sparked the imagination of Randy.  He immediately took the shapes and started making all sorts of things.  He saw things in those geo shapes that I didn't think was possible.  So, is it safe to say that our Saxon math lesson provided and art lesson yesterday as well??? 

     I can tell that we are going to have a ton of fun in 2008.  I was afraid that my boys wouldn't want to sit still long enough to "do" school.  I can see that "doing" school does not have to be boring and monotonous.  In fact, I think by keeping it fun and interesting, they will probably retain more of what they learn.