Here we are again at the beginning.  Actually, the beginning was three weeks ago because we decided we want to take December off.  It hasn't been easy but we are getting through the last month of summer yet getting in our school-time.

We continue to implement TJEd a little more.  We are working on the "inspire, not require" element.  To begin with we made contracts where the kids listed things they wanted to study and then how much they agreed to work on each subject.   Of course, they very kindly included some things I suggested and I very kindly allowed some things I would not have chosen for them.  Carina is working on what she calls clothing design but then she is also working on fractions, decimals and percents.  Seth decided, on his own, that he should read a chapter per day from his book and practice subtraction facts.  They made some great decisions for this month's contracts. 

Now, the only difficulty is getting the enthusiasm they displayed when they created their contracts to continue on a daily basis.  I guess that is where the inspiration part comes in.  I'm still working on that.

As for our studies this year, we are working on world geography together for which we are using Trail Guide to World Geography to springboard our efforts.  We are also all doing some robotics using the Mindstorms products from Lego.   This spring we discovered Life of Fred books at the curriculum fair which seem to be just what we needed for Carina.  We continue with Math-U-See for Seth and Video Text Interactive for Abbie.  Atelier for Seth's art.  One Year Adventure Novel for Abbie's creative writing class. Carina will continue with Write@Home this year as she really enjoyed that program last year and I believe she did improve her writing last year. 

So, that's the beginning...