So...

M and I have been really discussing where we're going with homeschooling. While both of us are very dedicated to continuing it, most of the weight of it has been on my shoulders, as far as curriculum choices, actually sitting down & teaching, etc. So, I ran through various approaches (Classical, CM, Waldorf, unit studies, and more) with him. His reply to everything? He likes Classical and CM the most, and says whatever I have been doing with them is obviously working, so keep doing it. I am appreciative of his support in this, plus his desire to get more involved is great!

I also sat down with each of the kids separately and went over what they want to do in the upcoming year:

Elf wants to continue history studies, starting with the Romans and going through the Medieval times, maybe into the Renaissance. He enjoys the copywork we've been doing, and would like to stop Handwriting Without Tears. He's okay with our math so far, and is very interested in earth and space science, as well as chemistry and all kinds of science odds & ends. He still enjoys the sheer silliness of ETC, plus I think it's good for him, though from the samples I was able to show him, he is interested in Primary Language Lessons (old version, not the revised, which I understand is more oriented toward Catholic teachings), so I may be adding that in. He enjoys the Oak Meadow stories. He would like to do some more of the Classical Kids series too.

Fairy loves ETC and enjoys Saxon Math also (so far). She really enjoys the Oak Meadow approach to learning letters, so I plan to continue with that. She would like to learn about "princesses, queens and knights" in history. She loves the idea of "lots of science topics" too. She seems interested in HWOT Letters & Numbers for Me. She also enjoys Classical Kids and would like to "look at paintings" (art appreciation).

So, I have a lot to think about over the summer! I have also decided to keep them together for science, history, poetry, music & art, but then to separate them for language arts (except ETC) and math. Since we do most of our work 4 days a week, I will teach Elf first (while Fairy has free time) two days a week, then teach Fairy (while Elf has free time). The other 2 days I'll reverse the order. Since I have access to them online, I plan to at least try to read a lot of Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series.

There's my rambling for the day!