Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Hello! I have been extremely laid back this semester, focusing entirely on LA and math and letting many other things slip while surviving morning sickness. Now that I'm coming out of the fog, and also now that my kids are a bit older, I'm ready to step up to a more serious schedule/routine. Some of the things that I'd like to modify: - Add in a morning group/circle time. I need a way to get toddler engaged, get the wiggles out of the big kids, and hopefully deal with all the odds-n-ends that are currently being ignored- artist study, FIAR, memory work... - Time to add in Friday Free Writes and Poety Tea, Bravewriter style. I had not planned to do any self-generated writing as part of our curriculum before fourth grade, but we just had our in-home inspection (mandatory in our country) and they really want to see this. We'll start with one a week and then move to two a week (one in each of our languages). I am irritated about this, but I'm sure I'll survive. I might pick up the No More I'm Done book I've heard such good things about. - I want to orgazine a system for our documentaries and dvds so that the kids are watching one 30 minute episode each day, rotating through history, science, art, etc. - I need to, but don't want to, add Atelier back in. I paid for the d****ned DVDs, time to use them! LOL In other words, I'm looking at a complete overhaul of everything but math. :lol: :cursing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We are changing everything and I am soooo happy. :hurray: We're completely ditching T4L and returning to: Math Mammoth WWE EM Skill Sharpeners Spell and Write EM Reading Comprehension The Wand/The Arrow AAS More science, more history, more geography, more art, more active time, more outside classes. We aren't making all the changes at once. For now the kids are doing the basics - math and language arts. The end of the month we'll pick up science/history/geography again, maybe a month after that more outside classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I am going back to having tea time with my girls. It was a tradition in our family for yrs and I have let it drop. This time around I am going to attempt to incorporate some of the ideas from Mondays with Mary (a bk for Catholics :) ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 DD is in her enrichment program just 1 day a week this semester, instead of two. We're dropping Mapping the World with Art in favor of other resources on hand for world geography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaS Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Oldest dd and my boys remain the same. Younger dd is getting a revamp in schedule and curriculum. She is my challenging child and hates anything that challenges her and lets us know it every.single.day. :banghead: Because I cannot continue homeschooling her the way things are, we have come up with a plan for the rest of the year. If things don't improve (her attitude mostly) then, she's going to school and I'll homeschool the other kids in peace. That said: -We're ditching Rod and Staff English and are switching to Learning Language Through Literature. It's backpedaling for her, but she really needs it. She's retained nothing from her previous years of grammar. I think we need to try a new way of learning it. -Dh took over math and is using a combination of MUS and Math Mammoth to try and get a handle on her math (or lack thereof-it's something I've NOT invested enough in and that must and will change) -We're also ditching apologia science because I can't take anymore YE science and she loathes notebooking (though older dd loves it and is continuing it independently). We're switching to Mr. Q Chemistry (just waiting for that sale!) As for her schedule-she's a night owl, so I'm allowing sleeping in and doing work later in the evenings (her preferred time to work). Being a morning person, this isn't how I'd like it, but so far this week everyone is a lot happier and that makes me happier. I'm starting out this semester feeling frustration with myself and embarrassment that the kids need work in areas that I've let slide too long (math is a big one), but also determination to take control and not allow my past failures to continue or become a detriment to my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 -Dh took over math and is using a combination of MUS and Math Mammoth to try and get a handle on her math (or lack thereof-it's something I've NOT invested enough in and that must and will change) My husband does one subject (well, parts of two subjects really) with the kids and it is SO HELPFUL. Not just time-wise, but they have great attitudes with him every time, and it's good for them to learn from another style of teacher. I hope you get similar results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Adding We Choose Virtues lessons and some chore training. Going to try to do a morning time or circle time. Get more consistent with read alouds. So far all is going smoothly though we are not doing anything this week due to sickness. Looking forward to be back in our groove after holiday madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We added Writing and Rhetoric by Classical Academic Press. So far we've done 1 of the 14 lessons and it is going well. I didn't like how writing across the curriculum was going (or not going). We were almost done with 4th grade math when we stopped for winter vacation. I'm not looking to speed through math so we are adding in more depth. Hands on Equations, Beast Academy 3C, 3D, 4A, and Primary Grade Challenge math. This has been a lot of fun. She is applying things from HOE to CH 7 of BA 3C. The wheels are turning. However, she hasn't slowed down her pace through MM 4B and we will still be done by the end of February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 R&S English is not going to be oral anymore, but they will do every other problem on paper. Switched my Ker from blend phonics to phonics pathways. Putting a pause on Latin while we pack and move overseas. Pausing MM to enjoy LoF I just received in the mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm changing history. My son disliked the Suzanne Strauss Art book we read for Middle Ages, so for Renaissance and Reformation we are going with Project Passport from Homeschool In The Woods. I'm also adding Education Portal videos to science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I threw out the writing program (again!) and am focusing on writing across the curriculum (again!) but it seems to be working this time! ;) :D I changed our daily schedule and it's working *much* better. I added focus and depth to our history studies by creating a set of key questions for each topic that dd has in front of her while she reads to guide her notetaking, and that provide a topic for her weekly history composition. We're back to read *discuss* then write. The discuss part had been falling by the wayside. ETA: Oh yeah, we are going to be doing Coursera's How Things Work for the next 6 weeks for Physics. She started reading the textbook and it's going well. We're both looking forward to this. For Morgan, we are spending the minimal time on LOE - the workbook - and focusing on learning spelling rules and phongrams via spelling dictation. She likes this much better. :001_tt1: (she picked this smiley!) We are also parked and focusing on Ancient Egypt, and even doing some activities, rather than moving on, because this has really caught her interest. We're reading Green's Tales of Ancient Egypt right now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I have both SM And Miquon but have always done just the latter. For the next stretch I want to try using a bit of both. We WILL do science and history. In any form. At all. Just something. Dd is starting before FIAR and that's going well although the activities only take 5-10 minutes and then she's asking me for more school. So I need to find some other activities for her. Continuing with LoE foundations. Love! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Everything seems to be working really well this year, so I am really not changing anything for the second semester. My 6th grader just finished the second W&R book so she is moving on to Blackbird & Co. Intro to Composition, but that is the only thing we are using that is different from last semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 2nd semester doesn't actually start here until Feb 1st. change ups for the high schoolers will be new electives as they will be done these ones shortly. New online lit classes. Heavy focus on math, science and composition. History will continue but in the background as an extra almost. They start their French. And ds15 is going to be starting up a big pile of R&S texts. \He is delayed and the way we are doing things is causing a big battle so he is going to work through the texts and at least get a baseline minimum education even if all he ever gets through is the 8th/9th grade materials, at least they are solid, and using texts will make is more straight forward than literature, projects and discussion. For the youngers there isn't such a difference from one semester to the next at this point. part of ds15s probation terms is 5 career counselling sessions so who knows that may bring up some interests or goals he will want to work on that will alter term 2 plans again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We're moving from AAR Pre Reading to Logic of English Foundations A. I'm also toying with switching to the 2nd edition of Right Start math. We were using RS level A's first edition, but it's been dropped completely in favor of Math Mammoth. I like MM, but I really love the hands-on aspect of RS. The layout of the first edition just jumps around too much within each lesson for me. It makes me twitchy. But it'd be expensive to switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We're actually moving into a "new year". We're going to lay off phonics for a bit, to use some of the auditory strategies in Reading Rescue. Continuing with HWOT. Continuing with Miquon for math, but using Verbal Math Lesson for our core, alongside What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know (1993 version) as a guide. Add MP's kindergarten art cards. Add MP's Jr. K recitation list. Add MP's Jr. K craft book for craft and some art application, and using the book list for the craft book as our literature list. Saint books and Bible stories for religion, instead of a formal religion program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We start our new year in January so some things we are moving on to new things in history and science, but continuing with our usual math, LA, and literature stuff. My oldest will be studying anatomy and botany this year for science, through ancient Greece for world history, and through the Revolutionary War for American history. Dd6 will be studying farm animals and botany this year for science, through the fall of Rome for world history, and half of BF Early American history. I'm excited to be attempting a full-on CM education for the first time. We've dabbled in it here and there, but now we're going for it! OP, I LOVE your idea of rotating educational films through the week. I'm totally stealing that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 What didn't he like about the SS Art books? I've been eying those. He said that they were too wordy with too much boring detail. I just asked him to give me an example, and he said (verbatim), "Charles the millionth had three sons named Charles, Bob, and Jim, and Charles did blah blah blah and Bob did blah blah blah and Jim did blah blah blah and then Jim had a son named Charles the millionth and one and his son was Charles the millionth and two and he did blah blah blah and I don't care about any of them." He also disliked the focus on church history. Keep in mind that my son has auditory and language processing delays, so anything that is wordy and very detailed is somewhat lost on him. My dd, who loves to read and really likes history, said the book was "ok, but kind-of boring." Detail doesn't bother her, but she felt the book was not exciting. She said, "I prefer the black (SSA) book better (over The Story of Mankind), but they are both kind-of dull. The Story of the World made things interesting and fun without just droning on. The Story of Mankind went in one ear and out the other." So there you have it, straight from the hockey players' mouths. :D Ps. You can have my Middle Ages book if you want it. Consider it trades-ies for the WWW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Well, we started homeschooling for real, whereas before we were just doing preschool-at-home activities whenever we felt like it. Now I've got a daily school routine and lesson plans and have added in History, Science, and Art subjects that my daughter has been begging for for a long time. It's working, I've found that I can actually get caring for the little people, the schoolwork and the housework done, and even often a rest time, too, and the girls love it--but man, am I wiped out! I'm hoping it will get easier as we all get used to the new routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Dd is fine with everything we have been using, so with ds 5 I'm trying to step up with more content, more activities, and more therapy-type stuff (MindUp, LIPS, that sort of thing). It's kicking my butt to be more organized to go in both directions at once and still have my own life and interests and things I'm trying to do. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We're not changing much, which might be a first. We're adding in Ethics which was a planned add in this semester. I'm also adding in assigned essays instead of using a curriculum. He'll have more choice of topics. We are changing Geometry books, going to Discovering Geometry, which I already owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Let's see... We added back in our Afternoon Basket. Dd is taking a break from Reading Horizons, and is using Reading Pathways for review/fluency (she's dyslexic, so learning to read has been a long journey, and we're not done yet!). Both kids have set aside Saxon Math. Ds is using a combo of Life of Fred and Zaccaro's Challenge Math, while dd is using Zaccaro's Primary Challenge Math by itself at the moment. We're sticking with alternating block studies in history and science, doing Ancient Greece right now. And we added in some independent studies (see my signature)! So far, so good, on all counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I flipped our schedule. I'm now letting the elementary kids play and practice piano in the morning, and then they do their schoolwork in the afternoon when the little boys are napping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Dd12... We dropped Sequential Spelling. She just wasn't getting anything out of it. I now address spelling rules as I run across errors in her work. We added Logic to the Rescue. Dd7&8... We are adding HwoT for cursive. We switched from botany to zoology before Christmas. We are about half way done then we will move on to biology. The girls will be starting an art class in February. Eta: oh, and I am changing jobs. I was let go in early December. I am planning to start real estate school next week, and I am interviewing for jobs. I am planning to continue to homeschool. If I end up working outside of the home, then we will hire a nanny to supervise chores and homework while I am gone, and we will do our lessons in the evening as we were doing before when I was working Help desk from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I added in Flowering Baby for my dd5. It is working out beautifully. My dd13 started Galore Park Spanish. It is working well. No changes for my ds10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 6th grader Math > adding Middle Grade Math Minutes (love this!) and using MIF Course 1 to supplement Holt Course 1. History > no change - we added K12's online component to the History Odyssey text in the middle of the 2nd quarter Science > I need to find more resources to complement his textbook. Probably need to use a flashcard app for science vocabulary. LA > Starting SWI-A and Logic of English Essentials. We finished REWARDS Secondary last semester. Speech > I got him set up at our local school for 2x weekly speech therapy. Activities > Swimming lessons and hopefully a weekly chess club. Kindergartener LA > Starting LLTL 1 and like it so far. We started spelling w/ dictation at the end of 1st semester, and we are still accelerating through the units. Reading > Started using Immersion Reading via his new Kindle Fire. He's already read Nim's Island and Fortunately, the Milk. He just started Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Math > Accelerating through Horizons K (instead of doing 1 lesson/day, since it is fast becoming way too easy) and Horizons 1 is on its way. We finished MIF 1A, so we are beginning 1B. From the looks of it, it will go quickly. Science > no changes. Activities > no changes, continuing with swimming and soccer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We were doing 2 different sciences so we dropped to 1. We are not going to any school Wednesdays when we have a morning riding lesson and a light Friday so we have more te for field trips / park days. We also will eliminate some of the more te consuming hands on Bible History activities because we get a lot of those same skills doing other add ins as far as hands on arts and crafts and life skills. We're switching AWANA to Sunday afternoon instead of Thurday night. Basically this semester is about streamlining and simplifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We're looking for ways to up the challenge factor for dd. We pulled her from ps at the beginning of this year, and I needed a semester to get my feet wet. But I've been noticing more and more errors in her skill work (grammar/spelling/math), and I know she's mastered the material. We're definitely going to drop dictation, and possibly WWE altogether. I loved the idea of it (and I'm still keeping it in my back pocket for ds), but dd is a natural writer, and WWE is the only thing she puts up a real fight about. We'll incorporate more copywork (she's learning cursive) and creative writing exercises. We'll keep narrations going for history. One thing I'm considering is looking for a mother's helper to come in an afternoon or two a week to play with ds3 so I can spend more one-on-one time with dd. I'm thinking a 10-13yo girl might be a good fit, since I will be on premises. So far, I have not been very successful in occupying him so I can focus on her. I would never hack it as one of you moms with 6 or 8 (or more!) kids! In addition to providing more challenging work, dh and I are brainstorming ways to encourage a stronger work ethic/initiative in dd. She's only 8, so I realize there's time for that, but it's becoming obvious that this is not something that comes naturally to her (we've observed this for a few years with chores, etc.). Coasting for three years in ps didn't help. I think this will be easier if she's not bored stiff with her studies, but ideas/suggestions welcome. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdobis Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 My 9yo daughter is switching math programs once again. We discovered that she has dyscalculia and are going to try Semple Math. I might switch to Stevenson for spelling as well since that is a struggle as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeteranMom Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 -Added Ellen McHenry's Botany and am planning the one semester schedule for it, as outlined by Guesthollow. -We're going to try to get more of the Atelier art projects done. We've done a few and enjoy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I am going back to Abeka math for Boo-Boo. Honestly, I don't know why I shifted away from it a few years ago. She liked it, it was clicking and nothing has worked right for her since. Going back to what works. Need to add in something for science that has been sorely neglected so far this year. Not sure what I want to do though. It will likely have a largely video component though. Need to decide this weekend though so it can be added to the program next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We aren't making too many changes this semester other than writing. All of my kids struggle with writing. I am seeing that SWB's way of writing isn't working with us so for the rest of the year we will do more of a Bravewriter approach to writing in hopes of taking the stress out. The other change is to make more of an effort to have weekly discussions with my oldest. These discussions pertain to her reading and to logic. In the past, discussions were the first thing to be ditched when the unexpected came along. After awhile we just didn't do it. We will be trying again. We did it this week. Yay for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm switching from CIA Physical Science to Derek Owens PS. We added Java programming.. For DD, I added the MP K Enrichment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Moving up to the next level in math, guitar lessons (something DD is actually excited about), considering using the MBtP 9-11 poetry unit with the Music of the Hemispheres books (that we never got to last year - they seemed way over DD's head at the time) for a focus on poetry as a break from the "boring" English stuff we have been doing. Maybe we'll be able to pick Latin back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 We start our new year in a few weeks and I've changed just about everything. The only things we are sticking with from last year are AAS and ETC. For math we are using Jump Math. DD has become math phobic so this is supposed to help with that. For LA and writing we will be using Essentials in Writing. Last year we used WWE and FLL and it totally bombed and we all hate it. After a year of everday lessons DD still has 0 writing skills so I am hoping someone else teaching her will work better. For science we switched to RSO -chemistry per DDs request. We used Elemental Science last year and it was too much writing. For history we will be trying SOTW. Tried it last year but my kids were too young for it. Hoping they will be getting more out of it this year. I also bought the audio book this time so I don't have to stumble over the weird names and my kids can listen a few times and let it sink in. I'll also be starting therapy with DD this year. She has SPD and despite being told "She'll grow out of it as she gets older" she is getting worse. She has terrible body motor planning, goes nuts at the slightest noise and chews everything to shreds. I can't stand another year of how that impacted our HS so I bit the bullet and spent a crazy amount of money on chew toys, fiddle toys and ear muffs. Next up will be weighted items when I can afford them. If nothing else I hope there will be no more meltdowns over why "I can't possibly do my work when DS is breathing or his pencil is scratching too hard or his page turning is too distracting" and my pencils will stop being chewed down to stubs. DS1 did great last year but I feel like DD learnt next to nothing except how to hate school. I'm hoping this year will be better. DS2 will be starting with something more formal as well. Not looking forward to that as he is a mix of both DD and DS1... Very bright and able....but would much rather play with his beloved toys all day. He needs remedial work with pencil holding as he still uses a fist grip at nearly 5 ...he can spell his name but not write it. So we won't be doing any writing yet....just fine motor control activities but we will be starting reading lessons which he is very ready for but refuses to sit still and do unless it's on the IPAD....so we will be using Progressive Phonics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I actually started changing things up in Dec. Dd- Added in HWoT, I tried last year to teach her cursive, which went ok until a certain point until it didn't. Because I was working on cursive w/ her and she hardly did any writing in K I had not realized that she had taught herself several letters the wrong way. So, I have been trying to correct her and reteach her but that wasn't working well. Anyway, I seen some HWoT books in the basement and it occurred to me to get that out for her and voila she is making the letters correctly b/c the book says so (nevermind what I said b/c I'm just Mom). Ds- Using SoTW2 for a spine- loosely- I'm mainly using this as an anchoring point and then delving in as much as we can and want. -Bought Noeo Physics II using this very, very, loosely. I only followed the schedule the first 2 weeks maybe. I'm letting ds do the experiments as he thinks that is so much fun but we are exploring the topics very loosely depending on our interest. We are doing a lot more reading and a lot more games. I'm don't know about Math w/ ds, I wish I did, right now we are focusing on increasing speed, fluency and fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 We've switched from Phonics Pathways (which was working but he didn't love) to LoE Foundations B, an expensive gamble that I hope will work out well. In art, I'm putting aside How to Teach Art to Children for the semester in favor of Child-Sized Masterpieces. He finished the Miquon orange book and is now in red, but it's just more of the same. I'm torn about whether to go faster (since he can) or not (since he is already a bit ahead and I want things cemented well for him). I'd hoped to get him into swimming lessons, but for schedule reasons we're now looking at maybe late March for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Above The Rowan Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Well, we are actually WORKING. The kids came home from PS in late September so we've been pretty laid back since then - deschooling, going down rabbit holes, just enjoying each others' company. But today ends our first week of "real work" and my kids just blew me away. I am SO HAPPY! We are doing LoE Foundations with both - oldest is flying through it, younger is moving at a more reasonably slow pace as she's only 5. But HOLY COW! This is one fantastic curriculum for him - yesterday, my son who normally is just paralyzed by any sort of language related work, says to me "man I love homeschooling" out of the blue as we're on the 4th lesson in a row from LoE. It keeps him busy, he's moving and having fun and his cursive handwriting is flawless (his public-school-taught printing is truly illegible). I had to force him to stop at the 70-minute mark yesterday because I was pooped - he loves this curric. We're using MM, he has some backtracking to do as his PS education was in a French-immersion school so he's having to get re-accustomed to thinking about the core subjects in English. But he is FLYING through it. Younger started 1st Grade MM this week. Both love the SOTW and want to do it every day. Its been a really over the top successful first week. I had to totally readjust my lesson plans because he doubled what I thought he would do in the first week! Crazypants. Now that the important subjects are falling into place, I'm finding myself wanting to add things in - so we're going to look at Bravewriter, some more lit read alouds and probably "do science" in a more focused way (currently, it's been just finding fun things to do but my daughter wants to "do science" with a book LOL). I got teary eyed yesterday at how well both of my littles worked this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 AMDG Well, for strictly academic courses, nothing is really changing. She has changed planners . . . not even really changed as much as it seems she has finally 1) grown into being able to use one to her benefit and 2) settled on a format that works for her. She will be adding voice lessons. Quitting homeschool drama and starting a different drama. Finally decided not to go back to swimming. There isn't a sport or physical activity that she is interested enough to sign up for so . . . while she is very trim and not exactly out of shape, she isn't active at all anymore and needs something physical. I'd like her to start walking with me daily, if nothing else. Our gardening mentor that we were supposed to have and start with in October fell through and we didn't get to do that. However, that might have reversed, re-reversed, and we might get to do that. If so, maybe that will count as physical activity. My daughter is v.e.r.y. motivated to do it. If it sticks, it will certainly be physical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 My changes all involve scheduling. I recently made the switch to blocks for content subjects, and for the most part this has worked well. I am now planning a more concrete schedule of what days for which blocks. Hoping that will make me prepare better and help to get all my blocks in each week. My kids love Atelier and Greek Myths, but they didn't really get done in the fall. Science didn't happen as often as it should either. Also planning to make Friday more fun by only scheduling only math, games, science and art. Math has to happen or we won't finish, but hopefully the reward of science and art on Friday will give dd the motivation to finish her work. Dd is a figure skater, and we finally had to ditch the mid-morning lessons. It was getting harder to get everything in with the addition if a Ker and 1st grader - no more cheap ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat in MI Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Yep, making changes. We are going back to SOTW for history, but dropping the extra reading books. DD will read from Kingfisher History, do map work, timeline, and narrate (oral and written) from SOTW. I will do a read aloud from the time period. No projects and no extra books. I just can't keep up with it all, so it doesn't get done. This is working a lot better for both of us. Changing to Apologia or Abeka for science. Everything else is going very well. Blessings, Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I'm adding Barton for three of mine which has a domino effect on everything else. Because it's Mom and time intensive, we're adding Red Wagon for Biology and for Chemistry. We're adding Math without Borders to Foerster Algebra. We also added Teaching Courses in Iliad last semester. They were a hit! We're beginning TC Odyssey of Homer on Monday and following it with Mythology with Elizabeth Vandiver as well. :) The addition of videos has been good for me. The only other change is that Christian has had a fair amount of time on his hands so we're adding in Literary Lessons for Lord of the Rings. I think we're both excited. :) So really we aren't changing a thing, just more additions! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Our new year starts in a couple of weeks, so we're changing a few things. We're dropping geography and adding RE, BFSU and hopefully 'Drawing with Children.' I've purchased the UU health ed program, but I don't know how much will be suitable to use with dd this year until I've seen it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I don't know exactly what, but I am planning on making tons of changes. I will figure it all out tomorrow. ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I'm going to be adding more challenging nonfiction texts per Ruth's thread and letting DD cook for chemistry using Mr. Q. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krismoose Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I changed language arts: dropped Shurley 3 and R&S Spelling 3 and added LLTL 3, EIW 3 (with typable PDFs to start some typing!) and BJU Spelling 3, all starting part to halfway through the books. Also added Rosetta Stone Spanish 10 min/day. I was hoping for 5 days/wk for Spanish but I think 3 days will be more realistic for now. Oh, and we swapped out God's Great Covenant 2 in favor of Small Talks on Big Questions which fits our life much better right now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Switched dd4th grade from calverts spelling to Sequential Spelling. Dropped Calvert geography for 6th grade ds. It was so complicated. It included so much historical, political, and then hundreds of facts about boring things we would never remember such as national products, population density, major exports and imports... Worst geography ever. He is using seterra now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I feel like I'm coming out of a fog. We were pretty much on autopilot during this past year because of many changes in our lives. Now that we have mostly adjusted to living our new normal, I am finally starting to go into planning mode for the first time in months--maybe even a year! Who know what that means! ;) We are creatures of habit, so after a somewhat freewheeling first semester, we have happily settled into more structure--much like our old routine before the upheavals. We are also gradually adding back poetry, literature, and other happiness. :hurray: :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2OandE Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Umm, were actually getting things done. Step in the right direction. It was a tough fall with a few deaths. As far as adding....logic and notebooking for our US President study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 We made our big switch in October from mommy intensive curriculum, to online learning. I'm hoping next year I will be feeling better. For now, school is getting done, my kids are fed, the house is clean, and I'm not losing my mind. I really miss SOTW though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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