Down to the Wire...

We're gearing up to start school again, officially, in just two days. Yes, on Sunday, but we don't "do Fridays", so Sunday through Thursday works for us. And yes, we'll be schooling on Monday too, as I have the day off from work, and that will give me the opportunity to work on getting us up and going!

Having said that, we have a couple of decisions left to make...

1. History: I am deciding whether or not to read aloud from a history spine this year. The kids definitely have historical interests of their own, so I am carefully considering whether their interests are "sufficient" (for lack of a better word), or if we should read from The World in Ancient Times. I also have A Little History of the World, and Builders of the Old World, on hand, so plenty to think about here! Maybe I'll bring them all out, and ask the kids to choose, maybe.

2. Math for my boy: I know this is cutting it close, but he'll/we'll be making our decision tomorrow, when we get our (used) copy of Lial's Basic College Math. Yes, I realize it says "College Math", but from careful research, I have found many recommendations for it as a good review/skillbuilder/overview of prealgabraic math. The other option is Saxon 7/6. Either way, we're gearing up for prealgebra next fall - a little scary!

3. Scheduling: I have some rough ideas. I need to fine-tune these ideas over the next couple of days. Here's what I am thinking thus far...

Sundays:
Music appreciation/theory
Cartography (Mapping the World with Art)
Art lessons
Philosophy
IF I add in a history spine, we'll do readings from it on Sundays as well

Mondays-Thursdays:
Math
Language Arts
Literature/Reading
Rotating readings and subjects:
      Monday: Zoology with The Girl, while The Boy watches a documentary. Reading: Halliburton
      Tuesday: no extras as it is our short day! Reading: living math
      Wednesday: project(s) of choice. Reading: poetry (3x/month), Shakespeare stories (1x/month)
      Thursday: Physics with The Boy, while The Girl watches a documentary. Reading: science/nature

So that's what I have planned at the moment. We'll have to see how it works out! I'm not making lesson plans per se, but will be keeping track of what we learn in my spiffy new Home Schooler's Journal! And, naturally, there is every chance that we'll end up going with PLAN B instead, meaning that I don't have to worry about numbers 1 and 3 quite so much!

Now, I just need to get together the supplies for our science studies, make sure we have plenty of good documentaries ready to go, and get our art supplies in order!

Have a good weekend!