Mar. 29, 2009 - Accomplishments
I feel we've accomplished SO much more this year than any year before...with maybe the exception of Kindergarten! lol
I decided to try a year-round schedule...of course, we haven't gotten to the point of seeing if we will stick it out year-round, because we've been doing it 6 months so far. But, I do believe it's going to work. We're doing school three weeks from each month, and taking one week off. I think we'll also take June off.
We were taking the last week of each month off during the winter, but since spring has been so lovely, I've been checking the weather and taking off whichever week looks like it will be the loveliest.
Both girls are finished with most of their work...6th for the younger one and 8th for the older. I've already got my older dd started on her 9th grade work..hopefully 9-12. Far Above Rubies. So far she likes it, so maybe she won't want to change *again*. ; ) I haven't started my younger dd on 7th grade work yet, I'm still needing to get a few things at the used curriculum sales in May! Hopefully her work will be ready for her when she's ready for it. She has finished Science and History, but History is one of the books I need to find, so it will have to wait. I do have a Science book, though, and I need to get it out. She LOVES Science most of all her subjects.
This year she has had Simply Grammar, Saxon 6/5, Abeka Science and History, Spelling (I don't know the publisher right off), Vocabulary (it's a little workbook from Scholastic, I believe), and she's reading through What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know. She enjoyed the Science and History and WYSGNTK, liked some of the spelling and vocabulary and math, and tolerated the Simply Grammar. Grammar isn't a strong point for her, and I believe it's something that needs to be intrinsic. I had hoped Simply Grammar would be the key to her liking grammar study better, but it hasn't worked. I have a different sort of book for next year, though, so we'll see what happens.
My older dd is still working on 8th grade math...although she nearly exhausted my supply of math books she changed so many times! She's working in a college text right now, the one they use for remedial classes. I really like the way it explains things...she seems to be catching on to things that confused her before. Hopefully that will keep her from having to take a remedial class if/when she goes to college. She says she doesn't want to go to college......last week she wanted to be an actress (a STAR, she actually said), and this week she says she's decided she no longer wants to be an actress, she wants to start a band. I reminded her she doesn't play an instrument, and she said she'll take up piano again. She also named two cousins and her sister for members of her band, and I pointed out none of them play an instrument, either. I asked what kind of band this will be, and she got annoyed with me. Should be interesting, though...a band in which no one does anything.
