random pics: The family picture is one Benny took last winter. Sophia swimming at McKeldin,a nd a pic of part of our homeschool room.

Benny's in Kindergarten!

Can't believe my baby would be going off to school for 7 or 8 hours every day if we didn't homeschool! Ok, sounds crazy to me, I mean he's 5... anyway, here is what I'm using with him this year:

Singapore Earlybird Math Kindergarten

Explode The Code

Handwriting Without Tears

Winterpromise Animals and Their Worlds for science, along with Sophia

Sonlight 1 and 2 for history, along with Sophia

Sophia's Curriculum 2nd Grade

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Sonlight 1 and 2 History

Sonlight LA, along with Handwriting Without Tears and Explode the Code
Phonics Pathways, along with pathway Readers for reading

WinterPromise Animals and Their Worlds for science

Singapore Math 1B and 2A
Calculadders daily math drill

Artistic Pursuits

Molly's Curriculum 8th Grade

Molly:

Life of Fred Pre- Algebra (finishing), starting Life Of Fred Algebra 1
Keys to Algebra

Rod and Staff English
Vocabulary From Classical Roots book B
Wordly Wise 8

Apologia Physical Science

Spanish For Children A, moving into B

Artistic Pursuits

History Odyssey Modern Times Level 2

The Fallacy Detective

School Starting Soon!

Gearing up for the fall is always a very enjoyable time for me. I love buying massive amounts of school supplies like markers and composition books when they are so discounted. I love planning out some exciting field trips and clubs we'll take part in. I love browsing through this years curriculum and scheduling out the first weeks of school. Everything is fresh and new and full of promise at this time of year. I even enjoy sharpening massive amounts of pencils so they are all at the ready. I think if I didn't homeschool, I'd have to be a teacher somehow.

We will be going back on September 1st. I just can't bring myself to start back in August, that just feels too much like summer to me. So our first week will be a 3 day week, perfect for getting back into gear. The day before we start, we'll have a "Not back to school" breakfast at Panera with some friends, followed by a park day. The kiddos are planning on bringing along a bunch of toys to the park they no longer want, and swapping them with their friends.

This is the year Benny is officially a kindergartener. He's been doing "school" along with his sisters sincve he was 3, since he loves it so much, but this is his first official year. This is the first time I'll have to account for his education at our school board reviews.

I'll post soon what I'm using this year for all the kids, in case anyone is interested.

Some pics from Trunk or Treat! A halloween party at our church, participants decorate the trunks of their cars in the parking lot and kids trick or treat from the cars. Molly decorated our car this year, it looked great!

Molly was a leopard, Sophia , Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Benny was Spiderman and I was Cleopatra. We had lots of fun.

Fall Hike

We took a beautiful fall hike last Sunday. What a gorgeous day. We hiked at McKeldin, They have great trails through the woods, and one that ends at the rapids. Even though the air was warm, the water was freezing, but that didn't stop the kids from playing in it.