Like I said earlier, I’m looking forward to the upcoming school year.  Here, in Tennessee, we have the option of enrolling at a Church-Related School to avoid the red tape of true home schooling.  I’m still trying to decide between HomeLife Academy and Gateway.  They are both very similar – no testing requirements, total freedom with curric choices, etc.  I emailed Gateway, but didn’t get a response, so they may have lost a potential enrollee. 

Anyhow, I’ve narrowed down my plans for each child.  I’m loving the Charlotte Mason technique, and plan to use it exclusively with Camille and Sarah.  With Rachel, I will use it 9^th through 12^th – mainly for literature, life skills, and language arts.  I love the concepts of narration and dictation.  When you think about it, these cover all areas of L/A.  Vocal narration prepares the child for writing.  The child sharpens grammar skills, and learns to organize thoughts into words.  Written narration utilizes spelling, thought organization, grammar, creative writing, etc.  Dictation and copywork fine-tune the spelling, notetaking, and handwriting.  Funny how something so fundamental can be so complete!

Rachel (14):

L/A – Ambleside Online booklists for Pre-7.  Yes, I know Rachel is a 9^th grader, but she has not read many classics in her prior years.  Also, the AO booklists are 2-3 grade levels more difficult.  She’ll read books from the booklist, narrate, and take dictation from me.  I haven’t decided how often.

Math – Rachel still has not picked up a Math book without being told to, so she’s still got half of MUS Pre-Algebra to complete before moving on to Algebra I.  I had hoped to begin Algebra I in August, but *sigh*, it is what it is.

Science – Apologia Physical Science.  We will do some labs, but it will mainly be a lecture and testing year of Science.

History – The Mystery of History, Vol 1 (Creation to Resurrection).  Rachel really enjoyed Ancient studies in 7^th grade.  We used A World of Adventure, and those were her favorite units.  This will satisfy one Social Studies credit for high school.  It will count as World History.

Foreign Language – Spanish I.  Oddly, I find that most home schoolers do not study Spanish, but instead, Latin, Italian, German, etc.  For practical reasons, I think Spanish is a necessity – especially since Rachel wants to work with the public as an interior designer.  Being bi-lingual (Spanish) is almost a requirement nowadays.

Theater – Rachel has expressed an interest in theatre work.  We have a wonderful community theater here, so I’ll check into that this week.  Hopefully, it won’t be too expensive.

P.E. – We will do this every year (even though only 1 credit is required).  She will take walks with the family and do aerobics with me.  Rachel is not my athlete, so I won’t push it.

Sarah (9):

L/A – Ambleside Online, level 4.  This may be tough, but we’ll do much of it as readalouds.  Sarah loves reading aloud.  She doesn’t have much confidence in her independent reading skills – well, not with tough books.  Sarah will also do copywork to practice her cursive handwriting and narrate.  Again, I’m not sure how often.

Math – MUS Epsilon.  Sarah has been ready to start Epsilon for months now.  She’s looking forward to mastering fractions and moving on to decimals and percentages.  Depending on her speed, she may begin Zeta this year before we finish the school year.

Science – Usborne Big Book of Experiments.  FUN, FUN, FUN!!!  Sarah wants to do experiments, so we’ll do just that!  With each experiment, we’ll research the topic for a short lesson.  Short and sweet – twice a week.

Geography – Beautiful Feet Geography.  This should be fun too.  More literature - but with maps.  This should give her a good foundation on U.S. geography.

Spanish I – Sarah’s been wanting to learn Spanish for a long time.  We’ve started it, but it always falls by the wayside after a few weeks.  I always considered it an “elective” to do once a week (Fridays).  Didn’t happen.  This year, it will be a daily lesson.  We use Spanish in 10 Minutes A Day.  It’s a great program.  Rachel will use it too.

P.E. – Community volleyball team in Fall and her beloved Tennis in the spring.  I feel bad that she had to miss tennis this year with our relocation.  Too bad there isn’t a fall program here.  I think she’ll love volleyball though.  Also, we’ll have our family/nature walks and lots of playtime.

Camille (2):

L/A, Math, Science, P.E. – PLAY, PLAY, PLAY…oh, and read lots of picture books.  She’s learning her ABCs with her bath toys and puzzles.  We’ll build on that this year and work more on colors, shapes, and numbers.  Fun!

Sounds like a lot.  But with TN home school laws, I’ll get to be my natural, structured self.  We are required to school at least 4 hours per day for 35 weeks per year, thereabout.  I already did that, but in AR there were no attendance requirements at all.  This is good for me.  It keeps on track… more accountable.

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Posted by floridasunsets

Yay! I am so glad you've decided to go ahead and homeschool Rachel. I've been reading a lot of posts lately of parents who, like you, just were't sure that homeschooling high school was for them. Everytime I read that a highschooler is staying home, I can't help but think it's another victory for the Lord! It's going to be great year, just you wait and see!
Betty
Psalm 127:3

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