We've been focusing on school alot over the past few weeks, and I have to say that of all the years that I've homeschooled this has been one of the smoothest times we've had, even going all the way back to the beginning.  I'm not sure what led to this, I know it isn't preparation, but maybe it's realizing that school is so much more than the academics.  I think it also helps having both of them used to school, not being 'littles', and setting limits with them knowing expectations.

The cool thing about starting 6th grade is that alot of the responsibility has shifted from me to Shawn.  She knows what she is supposed to do, and realizes that I expect her to do as she has been told.

Now my kids aren't the best trained, or the most wonderfully perfect kids in the world.  They can be mouthy and argumentative if nothing else, but it's nice to see that some of what we have attempted to teach them has sunk in over the years...  They are pretty good at getting done what has been asked of them.

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This is our goal for this year as far as curriculum.  I had shifted to ambleside over the past couple of years, but when I looked ahead to the upper grades I realized that it wasn't quite right for us.  I have now gone back to The Well-Trained Mind as our primary guide.  I think that I've realized that it's a really solid program and can be as rigorous as you like. 

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Math has been our biggest switch this year.  I decided to leave the Saxon program and started Singapore a few weeks prior to the end of last school year.  Shawn has always been a major over-achiever in math, and this logic based program has really made her think on a whole new level.  She was Alg 1/2 in Saxon, which I felt was inappropriate, but the rote work was always easy for her.  Now she's doing 6 grade math.  She's still doing well, but it is definitely a challenge for her because the problems are practical problems that require you to look at what the problem really asks before you can answer.

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We slowed grammar down last year and are doing the second half of Rod and Staff's 6th grade book this year.  We are putting more of an emphasis on real life skills such as writing, and writing well.  She is working thru the Spelling Workout series, and using Writing Strands as well for daily writing exercises.

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We are continuing Latin, or at least she is.... We completed the wonderful Latina Christiana series and have moved on to Henle Latin which is much more of an independent study.  Quite honestly, Latin is hard, and she did really well with her last 3 years of study.  Now she's starting over, and while I know it will soon be difficult again, she is getting a bit of a break in the form of a review.  We use the study guide from Memoria Press for a daily schedule.

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French is being introduced via Rosetta Stone.  Again, it's nice as I don't have to teach it, I just provide support when needed.

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Also on the computer is Sponge Bob typing.  May not be the best, but it's not bad, and she enjoys it.

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We are completing Apologia's Botany book currently.  We started it this spring and will be done by the beginning of winter, just in time to start a study of Astronomy... which is generally best in winter due to visability.

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The best has been saved for last....  our favorite is always history.  We completed the Story of the World (SOTW) series, and I was at a loss for what to do.  The Well-Trained Mind recommends alot of reading and studying encyclopedias, and this just wasn't for us.  

The sequence of history in SOTW is a 4 year cycle starting with the ancients, then middle ages, early modern, and then modern.  I slowed this to add in a year of emphasis on American history, and really wanted to continue to study in a chronological manner. 

So this year we are returning to the ancients.  I found Beautiful Feet's Study Guide and have been so impressed by it.  The link also features samples to look inside the book.  This literature based course also involves introducing primary sources, geography, research papers and art.  So far we both love it.

Due to the level of reading involved with history, I've kept the additional reading a bit low key and figure that I can always add more later. 

Book List...

Pyramid... MacCaulay

Tales of Ancient Egypt... Green

Pharaohs of ancient Egypt... Payne

The Golden Goblet... McGraw

The Children's Homer... Colum

D'Aulaire's Greek Myths

Ancient Greece... Hatt

Galen and the Gateway to Medicine ... Bendick

Augustus Caesar's World... Foster

The Bronze Bow... Speare

The White Isle ... Snedeker

City... MacCaulay

Archimedes and the Door to Science... Bendick

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth... Lasky

Black SHips Before Troy... Sutcliff

Where the Red Fern Grows ... Rawls

Eagle of the Ninth.... Sutcliff

Outcast... Sutcliff