Our 2012-2013 School Year

I was challenged by my Grateful friend to tell about our home school for this year.  Of course, she was more wise than I and divided her postings into 3 different ones.  All of mine will be reduced into one.

First of all, our school is actually called Rock Castle Academy.  My husband came up with the name of Rock Castle Ranch for our property years ago and we use it for all types of things.

We started school a couple of weeks ago, but are just beginning to get in full swing.

My students are:

My boy (looking a bit goofy) will be turning 15 in 12 days (egads).  He is doing 10th grade work.

My girl is 10 years old and is doing 8th grade school work.  (She has her own long story on that one.)

We do history, science, Greek, spelling, Bible and Easy Grammar together.  They have separate math, Wordly Wise, and critical thinking books.

Together we are using Notgrass Publishing's "Exploring World History" (so far I am enjoying this one!); Apologia's Biology; Elementary Greek is the title of the book in which we are starting on Year Two (of 3); spelling on Spelling City (online); and Easy Grammar.

For Bible, last year we started reading a book called "Parallel Gospels in Harmony".  We only ready short passages (and spent a lot of time talking about them), so we didn't finish it.  We are working on finishing that one and then we will start on the "Victor Journey Through the Bible".

For math the kids are using Math U See.  He is finishing up Algebra I and will head into Geometry soon.  She has just started Algebra I.  We made the switch to this curriculum last year and have found it a good fit for our family.

For Critical Thinking, she is doing Analogies 1 and 2 this year and he is doing one called "Critical Thinking: Readings in Nonfiction, High School".  They also have to read and document at least two current events each week.

The history has writing assignments that they will be doing, and they both practice writing skills in their personal (very supervised) blogs.  His is Creator's Son and hers is A Kid's Life.

Our school space is....our house.  Mostly the dining room.  

This buffet belonged to my husband's grandmother, so I feel so privileged to be able to use it.  His books are on the left, hers on the far right, in the middle are the ones we use together.  So of our most used resources are on the middle shelf.

Last year, when we started learning Greek, I actually broke down and purchased a workbook for myself.  I wasn't going to learn it like I wanted to unless I made myself do so.  It was one of the best purchases of the year.  Therefore, I didn't even hesitate to purchase mine for this year, too.  It has made a difference in getting Greek done each week, too. :-D

I do have an extra shelf in a corner that we keep notebooks, dictionary, spare books for later in the year, papers, our "finished shelf", etc.

 Then, we also use our sofa quite a bit.  Since we do History and Biology together, we like reading it aloud together.  It takes us longer to do that because we are constantly talking about the lessons, but we all enjoy it.  I don't read it all to them.  We take turns reading aloud, so they get that practice, too.

And then, of course, the kids spend a lot of time reading on their own.  Sometimes in not so conventional ways.

 I suppose this marks our official 12th year of homeschooling.  I very diligently did Pre-Kinder with him so that counts as one year.  I have loved every bit of it.  Yes, we have our days (and occasionally a week) where it is tougher than other times.  However, after teaching in a public school for 12 years before my boy was born, I am SO convinced that they would not be as wonderful if they weren't at home.

The Lord has been so faithful to guide Dad and I each and every step of the way.  When we forget to ask, He thumps us and puts us all back in line.  

Summer Project

I think my children are strange.  Maybe that is why I like them so much.

On our last official school day, my son brought me a spiral notebook that we had worked on maybe two years ago.  It was a writing project, just for funnsies.

The basic gist of the project is for us to switch off in writing a story together.  I started writing a story that I thought he would enjoy.  I write my portion setting up a scene change or a plot change.  (We often try to leave cliff hangers for one another.)  Then I leave the notebook out for him and he takes over for a bit.

Creator's Son's story notebook

He has to keep the same story line and work it from that point, guiding the plot in a direction that he more prefers.

Yes,  Firefly and I are doing one also.  For some reason, the son and daughter have EXTREMELY different types of stories going.  Ha!

 

Firefly's story notebook

As I said, we had started this idea a couple of years ago.  So when we picked it back up last month, we had to start whole new stories. 

They are challenging me even more than ever before.  They know so much more about their topics than I do.  I think they are having as much fun stumping Mom as they are doing the writing itself.

It is one of those small things that I can do to let them know that they are important to me and I am trying to keep up with them.

We are not doing any spelling or grammar corrections.  (I am making note of spelling words to put on the list when we get back in school.)  I am watching for those things.  (I do make those corrections and instructions before each they post each blog, however.)  We are keeping this light and fun.

Now I just have to make sure I keep up with it.

What We Are Learning This Week

1) I am learning that this is a really good excuse to sit down and actually update my blog.  It also provides a way for me to slip little tidbits in that I want to remember.  Kind of like a mini-journal.

2) Being privileged to hear a good story in person (like GFG's Crater and Crazy), makes it twice as much fun to read to the kiddos.  THEN, the kids can more easily spend the next two days being "Jill" to each other about some rather silly things.  Sweet, goofy, and very silly.

3) Factoring polynomials wasn't so bad after all!  Koine Greek is really very interesting and we are not dreading Year 2! 

4) 5 inches of rain in one week is such a giant blessing after last year's severe drought.  We still refuse to complain about the mud.

5) We counted and we only have 8 more school days before we can say we are done this year.  Woo hoo!  (I usually have it counted out and marked in red.  I have been too afraid to look this year, and we are still finishing well!)

6)Watching my two work together is still just as sweet as it was 8 years ago.  I am so blessed to get to school at home with them.

7) End of season is always so busy, but it can be so rewarding.  And just think of the two evenings a week I get to be home now!  This weekend marks the end of the last extra class.  We are sad to see it go, but looking forward to the break.

The Mysterious Gentleman - Mr. Mumph

Tap Dance

Violinist

What We Are Learning This Week

In our house, we are pressing "toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."  Truly!

Some days, especially in the springtime, it is all we can do to remember that we aren't just doing this to mark of the plan book.  We really have a purpose for learning all these things.  It is our calling for this time in our lives to prepare us for the next part of the calling.

Now we just have to remember that.

Other things we are learning are:
1. Seemingly horrible and potentially embarrassing disasters, like Firefly experienced on Tuesday night, can be real blessings in the long run.  First, our friends have a chance to stand beside us and lift us up instead of beat us down (Thank you, Lord, for the heart of home schoolers!!) Second, it gives us the opportunity to rise over the tribulation and be true victors. 

2. Creator's Son had the opportunity to share his story even more publicly than his blog.  Boy, what a rush to share things from your heart!

3. Adding and multiplying polynomials isn't as bad as we were afraid they would be. :-D

4. Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Anthony, and Herod the Great had great big problems, but still did some interesting things.  God turned all things they did toward the glory of the manifestation of His son, Jesus.

5. "The Door Within" trilogy is almost as good as the "Wingfeather Saga".  Of course, Mom has only just gotten a good start on the first book and the other two might debate which is better.

6. The "Little House" series is still a great set of books to read aloud.  Even to 7th and 9th graders.  And even if Mom's copy is falling completely apart from age.

Next week marks the beginning of the end of numerous things (including having our Grateful friends nearby).  Should prove to be busy.  But at least we get to do it all together!!

What We Are Learning This Week? Really?

This has been one of THOSE weeks. And I am not even sure why.

We really didn't have a ton of things going on or lots of meetings (that is next week).

Everything just seemed to take longer. Everything! From our morning chores to getting ready for bed.

Who knows. Maybe it is springtime and that makes us want to do something different.

Of course, we are always learning something.

1. The Ancient Greeks, well the whole ancient world, seems to have been in quite an upheaval, but it did take 4000 years for most of it to happen. That is a long time after all.

2. Diligence really does pay off toward the end of Algebra I. It isn't quite as hard as when we started out. However, the further you get into Pre-Algebra, the more time it takes to get it done.

3. Even weeks with one of the greatest holidays in the weekend can be just another week on the list. Except when we stop and read through the stories every morning to keep it "new every morning".

4. Circle skirts are fun to wear and make, even the third or fourth time around.

5. A day spent with friends flies past way too quickly!

Things on the list can get checked off, but the most important things sometimes just go past and we don't always notice.

What We Are Learning This Week

Okay, so it is Thursday instead of Wednesday. I hope Grateful for Grace will forgive the one day delay.

We have been busy this week with all types of learning! What fun it is!

1. Wild horses really go up for auction and they are awesome to spend time watching. Even if we can't buy any.

2. Baby miniature horse are absolutely adorable!!! And twice as awesome when the momma actually lets you pet the baby.


3. Pericles, Frankenstein, geodes, how algebra is actually used to solve coin problems, the Greek word for soul and how to make it plural and possessive, centrifugal force is not a real force, and blogging is still fun and educational even after 5 months. Here are Creator's Son and A Kid's Life working on today's blogs.



4. Birthdays are fun, even if they belong to a good friend and not just in your house. A full day of birthday is fun to share! However, the next day it is sometimes hard to get back to the business of school.

5. Planting tomatoes from seeds is fun, but trying to "harden them off" so they can be planted outside is hard work. This picture makes them look a lot more healthy than I think they are. They are suppose to stand up tall instead of being brushy like this.


6. Blogspot has changed a lot of the way things are done from the time I set up my account to when the kids set up theirs. My girl couldn't help me with captions because mine doesn't do that, but she can't just move her pics around. Interesting.

7. Babysitting is interesting. Even if it is Nana's cat. Everyone's house is run SO differently. It is actually kinda cool to think about.

I wonder what fun things will we get to enjoy next week.

What We Are Learning This Week

My friend, Grateful for Grace, challenged her readers to post about what they are learning each week on Wednesdays. Here is my observation.

• HOME schooling has seasons of being a misnomer. One must be home to HOME school. Some schooling travels well, but sometimes life is the school without books.
• Five and half inches of rain accompanied by hail, thunder, and lightning is incredible in many ways. Awe-inspiring during the storm, sleep-depriving (if it keeps up all night), and way cool when you get to visit the rivers and creeks then next day.
• When you have a span of time for no blogging, the ideas pile up and you have to choose just one.
• All those weird named books in the Old Testament were real people, written during a real time in history, and have real significance.
• Pluto helped open better categorization of our solar system. Planets and dwarf planets (like Pluto) now have a more clear definition.
• Beyblade tournaments are just as much fun as My Boy had hoped, and swollen creeks are even more fun than My Girl had hoped.
• Even after all these years of home schooling, we continue to get confirmation on how blessed we are to be allowed to spend these years together. Drawing close to one another and living as a example of chasing after the Father's heart.

Now I just need to make sure I learned how to link it to Grateful for Grace. :-D

Planning

I LOVE planning.

Putting things in order, finding a place where things belong, figuring out a great way of doing something...oh what fun!

Really, I do.

I have always delighted in digging through all of the marvelous material available to us as homeschoolers. Reading, downloading sample pages, putting prices in the spread sheet to fit the amount of money I have. Oooooo, it gives me shivers of joy!

I am a little bummed this year. I really don't need to go do all of that searching. *sigh* I already know what we will be working on for next year. *sigh*

I am perfectly happy with the choices, since they are all continuations of what we are doing now. I have really enjoyed the choices we have for this year. I see no need for change.

All that is left to do is compare prices on a few websites. *sigh* There is little thrill in that. Necessary, but not challenging.

Of course, I have a history forum that I read in which all the parents of their 3rd and 4th graders are pushing them to get tons and tons of material under their belts. I did those same things.

Now that we are at the "high school" stage, I know the course work my boy needs to cover. I wonder why I was stressing over all of that stuff then. THEY told me not to stress, but I did anyway.

Well, the planning is mostly done and I won't even need the next material until August. We will go ahead and purchase it in April or May anyway.

I guess it is time for me to try to plan a family vacation. Except that is planning for someone else. Not near as much fun...

At least I know I will enjoy the company along the way.

My Blogging Partners

At our house, we are wanting to start using a different venue for our
journal writing. My children love to write short (sometimes strange)
journal entries, and have done so for several years.

We are going to begin having them do their 3-4 weekly journal entries on
their individual blogs.

My girl can be found at: http://icepooka-akidslife.blogspot.com/

My boy can be found at: http://thecreator-son.blogspot.com/

I will be closely monitoring these blogs (before each post), but that will
not guarantee that they are not strange! :-D We will not allow them to use
their own names, names of family members, or names of friends. If we do
post any pictures, we will be sure to get permission before posting a
friend.

We would love to invite you and your children to read and comment on their
blogs. It would be a great encouragement to them as they reach out on their
blogs to be more descriptive, more informative and possibly more creative.

If you have any helps, tips, or encouragements on how to make this easier or
better, please let us know. We are excited to learn.

Does this mean I should be blogging more, too??? Oh my!

Bittersweet

Well, I have officially been challenged. My girl has been asking for a blog of her own. Dad and I have given in. We will be monitoring it closely. But, while she is excited about blogging, she is also challenging me to blog more often. I think about blog topics while I walk in the mornings. I have had some really good ones! However, by the time I get home, cool down, and deal with the next items on the agenda for the morning, I no longer have time to blog.

Sweet little bit says, "Why don't you find another time?"
*giggle* Were is so easy!!
Then we came up with the idea of blogging (occasionally) during those few precious moments between lunch and returning to work. Let's see if that helps.

****
Last week was my bittersweet week of the year. It was the week before public school started in our area. I still wax nostalgic.

Then I realized that it is those fond memories of growing up, buying school supplies, smelling a clean school, seeing the new books, and meeting new friends (since I attended so many different schools growing up). *sigh* It was almost as much fun as Christmas, in many ways.

Then I realized that I actually had 13 years in schools before high school graduation, 4 years of college, and then 12 years of teachings. Wow! 29 new school years. No wonder I wax nostalgic!

However, I come home to my two monkeys and I get to grin. That nostalgia still hasn't worn off. I have two precious children to love and nurture for only a few more years. And I get to keep them!

I don't really know how many years of homeschooling to count. I was so overtly proactive in my boy's development during his first 2 1/2 years since he was a micro-premie that is hard not to count that time. And I also was overtly proactive when it came to "preschool".

The excitement of a new school year for those first 29 years would end up running thin after 2 - 3 weeks. Now, with homeschooling, it isn't exciting everyday, but it is pleasurable the majority of the time. Yes, there are days that I have to FORCE us to get our work done, but with such interesting company it quickly returns to the pleasurable side.

I am so happy and blessed to have this job. I wouldn't trade this for anything I can possibly think of. I am just so blessed.

School Days Strike Again!

It is time once again for Rock Castle Academy to hit the books.

We began our 9th year of schooling this past Monday. Gracious!!
She is doing 6th grade level work and he is doing 8th grade level.

Math, of course, is one of the majors. (Yes, I did make her go back in and remember her dollar sign and decimal point. But, she is just so cute!)

Reading is still one of our favorite things! (Try not to notice how hairy his legs have gotten. :-D)


Journal writing and creative writing are a big part, too. Maybe good writing posture should be next. But, they were having so much fun. Really!

They have both voted, and so far, science is one of their favorite things. Really! She was having a good time, I just caught her when I called his name. We all giggled at her expression. Eye protection is important. We don't want wayward tomatoes causing damage to our eyes!

It should be another good year with some great students.