First Day of School

Today was our first day of school.
We were living in MN when I first started home schooling and they start school after Labor Day up there. I think that is a perfect time to start school, so we have kept it that way ever since.
This is my fourth year of home schooling our kids. I have decided to Blog about it, to put some of you grandparents out there at ease - you know who you are :) j/k . Not that I am going to Blog everyday (maybe I will?) or Blog "everything" we do -BUT this way you can know 'what' we are doing.
So today we started, we pushed through even though all of us are sick except R and we got it done. It took from 8:30am until 3:15 to do so (longer than I like but I like to be thorough).
This year I am hoping will be so much better than the last. Lil'c is older and I have a better plan of action when it comes to her. (Let's hope it goes well.) We will be finishing up our curriculum from last year until we get the new. That may sound bad, but SonLight is 1 1/2 years worth of work and we have never ordered our new curriculm before Nov. and we won't this year either. I like to finish it all - I hate to have things undone. It really bothers me!!
In some ways I feel I have a lot of ground to cover to catch up, but then when I hang out w/ other kids the same age and hear what they are learning I feel as if we are okay. Home Schooling and a public education are so different it is hard to compare what we are doing to what they do. With a 1:1 ratio- you can cover things a lot faster than when you are trying to teach a class of 15 -20 kids. Anyhow, so I think we are okay. I get really paranoid if I don't cross & dot everything!
So here we are ...year 4. Two fourth graders and a BIG first grader this year.

This is what our day looked like:
Pledges (yes we pledge,Bible,Christian Flag,US Flag) -->It's important in my opinion.

Bible

Spelling (we do Sequential Spelling- which was new to me last year, but I loved it! We take a test everyday. This type of spelling uses the AVKO (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, Oral) approach to spelling rather than the traditional approach. It uses tests as a learning device and not a method of evaluation. The test uses the word family approach sequentially. They correct their own mistakes, when they make them.

Dictation/Phonics & Readers : R- Mary on Horseback

MCP Word Study, Wordly Wise, Explode the Code - Vocabulary Enrichment

Math

History: R is studying about living long ago and the twins are learning about Johnny Tremain & Ben Franklin and History of the American People.

Science- Biology: The Butterfly Life Cycle

We will also be studying: Spanish and Typing (when Jeff hooks up the computer in the school room for me) :) - he's been busy.

The kids also belong to a co-op where they will be doing Human Anatomy, Legos, PE, Creative Writing and other electives. The Twins do Piano, R and C also take a sewing class. All of them are in or will be in a sport (Soccer, Volleyball, Flag Football) So they are busy and very socialized :) !

It was a full day and Lil'c played and ate and napped. R was very disappointed she had to eat a hot lunch in the cafeteria (fideo in the kitchen) and Lil'c was so cute holding the American Flag for our pledge.
So, that's it! I will post pics later this week for you, so you can see the kids classroom and lockers etc. Thank-you Papa Chewy and grandma Chewy for the new desk it is great to now have room for all my stuff.