Does it count that I’m TRYING???  PEOPLE!!!

I’m happy to report that I survived “life approaching the Solstice” and BigGuy didn’t fail everything he was enrolled in.  #winning   But seriously–will I learn to look over these goals every once in a while?  Because they fall totally off the beam and all kinds of stuff gets ON the beam that doesn’t belong there.

I still need to get BigGuy out of his head and less self-centered.  I just cracked down on implementing “stick to the schedule” this week so that he is at least dressed, hair brushed, deodorant applied and the dishwasher rebooted before noon.  Because I need that, tyvm.

I need to continue to help Girly with her self-esteem, but let’s also add some “quality friendship” education.  Right now, she lives, breathes and dies to listen to Geronimo Stilton ad nauseam on an old phone that can just about handle internet access and the Overdrive app.  And I’m good with that at the moment.

Oh the illustrious plan.  Planned unschooling is notsomuch a thing, I’m discovering.

For both of them:

Social Studies:  BigGuy continues with the weekly virtual coop for Tapestry of Grace history and literature.   I pretty much have done nothing with Girly.  I am STILL aching to do world cultures and religion with both of them.

Character Education:  What?

January 2016 – Girly – 1st grade

Language Arts:   Bob Books FTW.  She can read.  She hasn’t done much with Critical Thinking Company’s Language Smarts – level B and I’m STILL planning to return to “Language Lessons for Little Ones – Volume 3” by Queen Homeschool Publishing .  At the moment, she is reading whatever books that look good to her and figuring out how to read them at a remarkable pace so I haven’t felt compelled to do the other stuff with her.

Math:  She has intermittently done Critical Thinking Company’s Mathematical Reasoning – level A and it’s fine.  When I said we “started working on Life of Fred – Apples” that meant “we read the first chapter”.  Girly must have sensed my vibe of rage with the telling time and calendar skills because she’s laid off a bit and it’s made me slack on figuring out how to teach her that stuff.

Science:  Ugh… she is SUCH a sciency kid and it’s just becoming more apparent by the day.  For my life I couldn’t make sense of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) ideas my friend was using to piece together a course. I am desperate to actually do the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Science Investigator’s Kit for Homeschoolers.  I even bought her binoculars.  This semester she is taking “Inventions” STEM class and today she won her first science competition: she was pared with an older boy and the built a launcher that made their ball go the farthest.  Each got an entire chocolate bar as a prize.

Fine Arts:  Wait… I’m reading what I wanted to do from August.  Oh yeah–okay… I’d love to do the Artistic Pursuits book that we have and work through that with both kids.   Piano… whaaaa?  She broke down and auditioned for (and made it into) choir and is BENT on making it through the ranks to the highest honor of the girls choirs.  No. Joke.  I cannot even.  She had her first concert in December and she’s been a stellar student of it all.  Continue…

Physical Education:  Ummm… soccer? Both kids need to be in swim lessons but I had to wait for change of semester and all of those schedule changes–so I’m looking into it.  #stoplaughing

January 2016 – BigGuy – 6th grade

Math:   Doing Algebra with the online school but I’m totally not loving it.  I hope for him to finish it out, do the Art of Problem Solving – Intro to Algebra and then move over to their online courses for the rest of his math.  We’ll see how that plays out.

Science:   He’s doing Apologia Physical Science and we belong to a small group (3 girls and BigGuy) that do the labs together.  So far, so good but we haven’t tacked on MORE science given the rest of his workload.  I got the honor of coaching Science Olympiad this year and as I write, we are fresh off of our first invitational where he and his partner medaled in Meteorology (3rd place) and Reach for the Stars (astronomy – 7th place).  Continuing with both.  Hoping he studies for Science Olympiad.  This semester the little co-op we belong to is offering an “Inventions” STEM class that he is in with his sister.

Language Arts:   He has been diligently working through IEW’s Student Writing Intensive – level B by way of the local co-op and that will continue.  He will also does Tapestry of Grace – Year 2 literature with the virtual co-op (also full-year), finished 7th grade language arts (Lightening Literature) and will be doing the 8th grade version for spring; and finished Philosophy for Kids with Athena’s Advanced Academy for the fall semester and is also taking it in the spring.  I have zero desire to tackle a research paper unless he pushes for it–which I totally do not see.  I think they may actually tackle that in the writing co-op; but I’m tired.  From all of this “doing notsomuch”.

Social Studies/History:   Someday I will actually do  “What Counts as History?” from Tolerance.org’s Classroom Resources page instead of blogging about my desire to do it.  We will have homework for the virtual co-op’s Tapestry of Grace‘s Year 2 curricula.  I’m still aching for a World Cultures and Religions class.  He’s done the government class through the local co-op and continuing with that–which is awesome.

Fine Arts:  BigGuy was invited back to boys choir this year.  This is a fresh wound as I had to pull him aside tonight (their first night back after winter break) because so help me his behavior was like that of a tyrannical 4yo.  LOTS of doodling going on.

Physical Education:   Meditating has intermittently happened.  Part of my drive to get us on a morning schedule is making sure meditating happens more regularly for both of us.  I’m anxious to get him swimming for the semester.  And ever more frequent showering.  We still do phys. ed once/week with the little co-op, but we can’t do it every week.

Technology:  Screw technology.  I’m over it.