Well, we were back into school full force today. It went good. A little grumbling, but then again, there is that every day. I changed around the schedule a bit, and I think it's going to work good. I have intensified my time with Paulie and his reading. He is doing so much better, but is still so far behind. So that is a main focus of mine for the rest of this school year. I think that there is a bit of him who likes having things read to him, so he's gotten a little lazy, which is our fault. Isn't it just so much easier sometimes to read things for the kids? Well, for me it is. I get distracted or whatever, and it's easier just to read it for him, but of course that doesn't teach him anything. So we have stopped that, and we are doing more intensive work with his reading. I am praying and believing that he'll be doing great by June. Other than that, not much of the schedule changed.
We did get our electronic keyboards in the house now. They were stored out in the very cold, unheated, uninsulated garage. But thankfully, there was no damage done. Sarah played it very nicely today. Well, I only heard a little bit, since she put the headphones on because I was in the next room trying to teach Paulie his math lesson. But she was on there playing away for a bit, when I walked out and realized I never got the books out of the boxes in the garage! The poor girl had nothing to play, and was just playing what she remembered. But she did well. And, no, I still haven't gotten the books out of the garage, I'll get them tomorrow.
I'm also having fun starting to go through our curriculum and deciding what to buy for our next school year. Yes, I buy things at the beginning of the year. That's when we usually have the money for it. And I have learned, if I don't buy a good portion of curriculum they need when I have the money, I tend to find bills or something that need to be paid, and use the curriculum money. So now I start my lists at the beginning of the year, and since I don't go to homeschool conventions (I've just never been interested in them), I start buying right away. The only difference is last year I waited until August to buy our math curriculum. Now, I have gone back and forth on this so much, you're probably getting tired of reading it. But I think we have made a decision on Sarah's math. I have been vacillating between Saxon math, which she uses now, and switching to Teaching Textbooks. She is a auditory learning, and truly needs to hear things spoken out to really understand them. And yet, I want her to grow in her independent learning. Saxon has been o.k. for us, but she has struggled quite a bit. I was thinking of getting the D.I.V.E. CD's that go with Saxon, but I don't really have the money for it right now, especially with this school year coming to an end in a few months. And since I'm starting to look at curriculum for next year, I'm thinking of switching to Teaching Textbooks. The only thing that has held me back is the price. I'm just not sure if Paulie will use it when he gets to that stage, though I think he will, and as she gets higher up in grade, it gets more expensive. And with her starting 7th grade work next fall, I want to find a math program that works for her and stick with it since high school transcripts are right around the corner. So if we start this, and like it (which I think we will), I don't want to have to stop it because we can't afford it the next year. So I talked with Paul about it tonight, and he said to get the Teaching Textbooks. He likes what I've told him (and we will watch the demo together later), and he said that if they work for her, we will make sure we can afford them every year. This year, affording it, I don't think will be a problem. We are pretty set with Paulie's things, we only need to get math for him. And all Sarah needs is math and an English program, so I think I'm set on which math I'll get, we'll see. But now I'm on the search for a good English program. OK, I know they call it Language Arts now, but when I went to school it was called English. And that's what I want, a simple English program. We tried Abeka's Language C this year, it's o.k., but I should have known better. We tried Abkea before, and it truly isn't a good fit with our family. But I liked the fact that it was one book, that didn't have lot's of 'extra' stuff, it just taught the facts. But the pace and the way it was taught, isn't a good fit for us. So now that's my next search. Please let me know if you have any ideas for a good English program for a 6th/7th grader.
It feels good to get back in the swing of school. I do wish the kids looked forward to their lessons a bit more, but alas, it's just not going to happen right now. At least the complaining about it is going away, so that's good. But like most kids, they would rather play with their toys, then have to stop what they are doing and do lessons.
I am having trouble with my email today. Everyone else's in the family works fine, except for mine. So just know if you've sent me an email today, and I haven't responded, that's because I haven't gotten it yet. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
Have you thought of giving LLATL another chance? We did it and its working very well for Anna this year.
Concerning your math this is a hard one. As you read on my blog we have tried many math curriculums before and Bob jones Math seems to have been the best fit for us, only because we use their videos.
Hi JoAnn! I wanted to let you know I got your PM. Normally, I haven't been to busy, but today I do have to take LO to the doctor and run some errands. I was able to take a shower at my parent's house last night, so I want to get my running done while I smell better!!! lol!!! :) I will try to poke around some later and see if I come up with anything. I think the teaching textbooks is a good idea for math. Personally, I feel for 7th grade if your going to splurge on anything, it should be math. As they get older the math gets really hard to teach without a good solid program and in 7th it is starting to lay the foundation for algebra. I plan to cut way back on my curriculum spending this year due to our money troubles, but PC is also going into 7th and math is the one area I do plan to spend whatever I need to. As for English, I'm still up in the air as to what I'm going to do. I think I want something that concentrates on literature and writing, but I am still very undecided about it. Like I said, I'll do some poking around and see if I find anything interesting and then I'll send you a PM if I find anything. :)
We have been using Saxon Math for my dd for the last couple of years and have struggled heavily. And before that had tried several different math curriculums with not much luck. I'm beginning to think there is no good match for our family! For English, I've "freed" myself by embracing dictation to it's fullest this year, and for the first year haven't felt caged in by a curriculum for that. If you'd like to know more about how we do dictation, I'd be glad to share.
I sat down 2 times yesterday to leave you a comment! I just read the other comments and am wondering did you use LLATL in the past? I am thinking of using it next year as, like you, I am not sure Abeka is the best fit for all of my kids, namely Grace. I am glad that you will have the money to get what you need. I am going to have to be creative when it comes to buying more books. Thankfully, I have everything I need for Trevor next year. Buying for 2 will be easier. Let me know about the LLATL. Thanks!
Jenn
I can't really remember what I was going to comment on--except that we have done the math-change thing too. We settled on Math U See, and now both kids are using it (versus Saxon). My kids are much younger than yours though. I've heard Teaching Textbooks is good though.
This blog is so I can share my journey with the Lord, my journey as a wife and mother, and my journey as a homeschool mom. I pray that you will see the Lord in my life through happy and sad times, and that this blog glorifies the Lord.
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I changed around the schedule a bit, and I think it's going to work good. I have intensified my time with Paulie and his reading. He is doing so much better, but is still so far behind. So that is a main focus of mine for the rest of this school year. I think that there is a bit of him who likes having things read to him, so he's gotten a little lazy, which is our fault. 
Isn't it just so much easier sometimes to read things for the kids? Well, for me it is. I get distracted or whatever, and it's easier just to read it for him, but of course that doesn't teach him anything. So we have stopped that, and we are doing more intensive work with his reading. I am praying and believing that he'll be doing great by June. Other than that, not much of the schedule changed.
But thankfully, there was no damage done. Sarah played it very nicely today. Well, I only heard a little bit, since she put the headphones on because I was in the next room trying to teach Paulie his math lesson. But she was on there playing away for a bit, when I walked out and realized I never got the books out of the boxes in the garage! 
This year, affording it, I don't think will be a problem. We are pretty set with Paulie's things, we only need to get math for him. And all Sarah needs is math and an English program, so I think I'm set on which math I'll get, we'll see. 
But now I'm on the search for a good English program. OK, I know they call it Language Arts now, but when I went to school it was called English. And that's what I want, a simple English program. We tried Abeka's Language C this year, it's o.k., but I should have known better. We tried Abkea before, and it truly isn't a good fit with our family. But I liked the fact that it was one book, that didn't have lot's of 'extra' stuff, it just taught the facts. But the pace and the way it was taught, isn't a good fit for us. So now that's my next search. Please let me know if you have any ideas for a good English program for a 6th/7th grader.
