May. 6, 2008 - Planning Next Schoolyear
Spring. Ahh, the sound of birds returning, the smell of newly blooming flowers, and the sight of rows of fresh binders lined up in the office supply section just begging to come home with me. 
I've been getting my binder ready for next schoolyear. It will take me pretty much all summer to complete, so I'm trying to get going on it as quickly as possible. I have a friend who barely plans anything before August. Even then, it's one of those "Oh, I guess we'll use this" kind of thing, with no planning beyond the next week. I. WOULD. FREAK. I'm kind of an obsessive planner. I love to do it. I enjoy getting everything together and all organized as much as possible. This saves me a whole lot of time thru the year. I tweak as I go along, but I don't have to do any major planning. Plus, if I don't get myself organized, I have this constant nagging feeling that I'm forgetting lots of important things. Being as organized as possible keeps me from pulling my hair out!
Over the last couple of months, as we look ahead to next year, my Hubby and I have been pouring over history things. Anyone who has read this blog recently have seen my comments on Story of the World vs. Tapestry of Grace. We went ahead and ordered one unit from TOG that would cover the time period we will be starting out at next year. After a few days pouring over it, I am infatuated. :) I can now see how all of the things fit together. I couldn't figure it out with their online trial. We've decided to go ahead and jump into TOG. We'll have some tweaking to do since we'll pretty much be starting TOG in the middle of Year 2 when we would normally be starting Year 3 with SOTW. Tweakings what I do best, so I'm not worried. We'll go over everything and decide this summer how we'll get it all in.
This fall, Peanut will be joining us "officially". If he likes it, that is. I had decided on Letter of the Week by Brightly Beaming Resources. As usual, I'm changing some things around. I'm putting together a "curriculum" we will use that's loosly based on Letter of the Week. I'm currently thru the letter "H". Once I complete the rest, I plan on posting a link to it for anyone who is interested. Peanut is a typical homeschool preschooler with older siblings. He already knows all of his letters, and can count up to 29. That ol' elusive 30 is just around the corner. He has all of his colors down, except things like peach. My main thing to focus on will be getting the sounds down for each of the letters. We'll do lots of hands on preschool-type things like making letters out of Play Doh, drawing it in shaving cream, etc. I also have the Handwriting Without Tears preschool book and the ABC-123 book from Abeka. We'll see if he's into it at all. I'll fill in where I need to.
My hubby is sorting out Latin. 
We've had the curriculum for over a year, but have been waiting until we thought the kids were ready. Little Monkey (5) is a sponge, and sat right down with his daddy to watch the first lesson on the DVD. Since then, everyone is saying "Oremus" before praying. They've also learned how to say "Hello, mother" and "Hello, father". I'm blanking on the other words they've already picked up. The point is, much to my dismay they seem to be ready. We'll start Prima Latina this fall, taking it as slowly as mommy needs to!
Of course, this coming fall Little Monkey will be an official first grader (even though he's been doing first grade work for a while now!). With the first grade comes lessons in grammar, as well as higher expectations in science and history. As usual, I'm nervous about getting everything done with all the kids. People with six kids homeschool, right? I only have half that many, so I can juggle it too, right???
Comments
May. 6, 2008 - hi
Posted by flysister
I found your blog through your comment on my friend's (westward) blog. Looks like you use a lot of the same things I do. We'll be doing yr. 4 of SOTW next year unless I find something better. I like sticking with something that works but I'm concerned with the lack of activities for vol. 4. I'll be looking into TOG - never considered it till I read your comments here.
BTW, I'm seriously considering using Physics4Kids next year. Will next year be your first using that curriculum? I've not seen any comments on it anywhere but am really intrigued by the Latin connection. (We started Prima Latina this year and will need to continue next year. Take it slow.)
I like your blog. I'll be visiting again!
May. 7, 2008 - Awesome!
Posted by MayTheyBeMightyMen
I get the feeling you are a FANTASTIC mom and teacher! I could take a lesson from you about the preparing part. Your binders would be so helpful to someone like me, but I would have no idea what to put IN the binder. *grin*
We've chosen a few things for next year, too. I'm trying to get a grip on all that we're going to be doing. I don't seem to get to everything each year because. . . .I didn't plan it out as well as you. *sigh*
Can you put together and entry that tells a bit more about what your planning and prep looks like in detail? I'd personally love to read it. :')
May. 8, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by boysrus
I love to find other Tapestry of Grace users! The curriculum helps me see connections tha I never would have picked up on my own. This fall we will be starting Year 1 (our second time around). We have learned more in these past years with Tapestry than we ever have previously. I only wish I had found it earlier in our homeschool journey. Have a great day!
dee@boysrus
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