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What Are You Excited About for 2015-16?


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I am really looking forward to working through the Big History project with ds. We're adding in complimentary science, and I think it will be a great start to his high school years! My only trouble is following that up the next year with American history -- I'll have to come up with something good!

 

I am also pretty jazzed about the Big Fairy Tale Project I am putting together for dd (she's not interested at this point in sharing her brother's studies).

 

Other things I am looking forward to:

 

Brave Writer's Help for High School for ds

 

I think Faltering Ownership (Brave Writer) will be a good fit for my dd

 

Continuing Life of Fred

 

What are you looking forward to in the next year?

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I'm excited about CW Homer, the last half. The boys are "there" in their own personal writing. Plus, I use models that I have chosen for plot, and we are getting to character driven plots, my favorite.

I'm also looking forward to Medieval history. The OUP books I chose look good. I'm also really happy with the books I've picked for reading to go with the historical period.

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Excited about starting my DS in high school, but nervous! I've found two online classes for him that I think will be a good fit. I'm excited about those and hoping he will do well in them.

 

He is very excited about the Bravewriter Boomerang Book Club. He's going to do it for a few months. He's doing it this month for the first time and he is really excited to start the discussions. He's reading the book for now. 

 

I've had a lot of fun making book lists for both my older DS and my middle one. The older one loves to read and values my suggestions. The middle one is just beginning to enjoy reading so that's exciting to see.

 

I'm also excited to do a Study Skills and Critical Thinking class with older DS and some of his friends this summer. Better get on to organizing that quickly! 

 

I'm also looking forward to designing an art class of sorts that focuses on things they already like and introduces them to some new forms of self expression. 

 

I've been so busy focusing on older ds and I really need to focus on middle ds!

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We started Beast Academy this year, but I am excited to continue it next year. I wish that I had learned math this way.

 

We are starting MCT Island in the fall, and I have high hopes that my son will enjoy it.

 

I'm also excited about seeing where we go with Latin, Hebrew, French, and Spanish.

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We're starting a First Lego League team. We've been waiting years for my oldest to be both old enough and mature enough, and I'm so happy it's finally happening! We are robot-obsessed in this family, and all four of us think this is just the coolest extracurricular ever.

 

I'm also looking forward to piecing together my own Astronomy and Chemistry for 5th grade science. In previous years, I relied on pre-made curricula, so it's fun to try something different.

 

It's become obvious over the last year that my youngest has some artistic talent, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she produces as her fine motor skills improve.

 

Ruth

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I've kind of already started 2015-2016. *paranoid*  I decided as we were finishing up our materials that I wanted to switch to true year-round schooling, so we got started on new stuff right away.  So, things that I'm excited about:

 

* Adventures with Atoms and Molecules.  Awesome little experiments, great explanations of how the experiments relate to chemistry concepts, and with the way the experiments build concepts on each other, I expect that DD will have good retention.  

* Lively Latin (Big Book 1).  Unlocking how a language works and how it relates to our language, as well as the historical bits - I'm excited to do this with DD.

* Using a spiral notebook for assignments, as discussed in this thread.  

* Using a spiral notebook for DD's responses to writing prompts about the books she's reading.

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I'm excited to be homeschooling again. We did private school (I taught K in the school) this year and decided homeschooling is best for us. I'm excited for Beast Academy with my oldest, Spanish with both, and to start AAR with my little.

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Reading more novels.

 

This was a year of big changes around here. Lots of reflection on the past 30 years of teaching, and reflection of having several years under my belt of teaching the students I am now teaching. I've come to some conclusions that aren't really well accepted in these modern times, but I don't care; I believe them.

 

There will be a lot more reading of novels and journal writing and drawing this year. I'm excited not just about DOING that, but also about being able to do it WITHOUT GUILT.

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A few months into this year I discovered what works for us (at least during these elementary years). Things went pretty well from January through May. Five months! Ă°Å¸ËœÆ’. So I'm excited about starting the new year out right and (hopefully!) sticking with this method for the whole year.

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While I'm not excited that my middle son will be going to high school (9th grade) and my older son is a senior taking is courses at the community college, I'm super excited that my young son (7th grade) and I will have one on one time. He's not super excited, but I think this time together will be fabulous for him.

 

Plus, I'm excited about Jousting Armadillos and Chemistry (NOEO).

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I'm looking forward to a narrowed focus next year. My older dd had to be the guinea pig and I really planned more than she (or most anyone) could do. Logic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, multiple English programs, a difficult math program, and a reading-intensive history program. I went easy on her in the execution, but I really should have planned less (we did eventually drop logic and Greek). Youngest does not have her sister's interest in languages, so we are dropping Latin. I'm cutting out some of the English work, like dropping spelling to focus more on vocab. I'm really interested in getting her to read more, so I will be pre-reading stuff this summer, and will aim to plan carefully to get an appropriate amount of reading from her. And having taken her sister through Singapore DM, I have a better idea of how to approach it and get the right amount of rigor out of it. Two more years left for us as we put our girls in public school for high school; looking forward to focused attention on the most important subjects. Less is more.

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We're studying the Middle Ages next year which is my FAVORITE time period in history. I'm also planning on using Problem Based Learning for One's Plague!!! to go along with it. I think that will be super interesting. 

 

I'd love to hear more about the Big Fairy Tale Project if you are willing to share, momto2Cs. That sounds like something my girls would love.

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I'm excited about doing Supercharged Science from Aurora Lippor and some BFSU. We got an annual pass to the national parks and forests and are looking forward to earning more junior ranger badges. Beast Academy also seems worth being excited about.

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Seeing my oldest start high school! And watching him do self-propelled schooling, which we've been working toward these last couple years. All his courses will be online, video, or self-taught. I am moving into facilitator role with him! Happy that he gets to learn lit under Adam Andrews.

 

Using Strayer Upton math with my 3rd-grader, and the Student Logbook planner.

 

Doing Wee Folk Art again with my new K-er. And perhaps teaching her how to read.

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Excited? <insert emoticon wadding up piece of paper and throwing it in the trash.> I'm supposed to be excited? I was aiming for doable. ....... back to the drawing board again.

This is exactly how I felt at first, until I created a plan that I think might actually work.

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Looking forward to a year of using textbooks/worktexts that aren't teacher intensive but ARE quick and efficient, so I can pour my homeschool energy into fun and interesting extras (projects, field trips, etc.) as I have the inclination.   

I'm looking forward to a  year (or a lifetime) of telling myself the truth about myself and being okay with the answer.

 

I'm looking forward to finding REAL hobbies for myself that don't center around my kids or homeschooling and focusing on self-care.  I'm buying nicer clothing for myself, losing the last 8 pounds that plague me,  re-learning the guitar and dulcimer (haven't picked them up in over a decade :( ), taking up knitting and crocheting again, learning higher math, reaching some exercise goals, researching family history, and learning more about the historical music traditions of the south (esp. mountain music).  Phew.  That's a lot.  I'm excited :)

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The thing I am most excited about is that we are not doing our one day a week co-op, so I can actually plan all their work out AND have an extra day to do it!

 

I'm hoping to focus more this year on literature and writing.  We are going to use Brave Writer for the first time, and I am really hoping it is a good fit (especially for youngest DS).  I have also started working on our schedule for first semester and what I hope to get accomplished, and I think I will use homeschool skedtrack again to keep us on track...

 

I have also spent an embarrassing amount of time stressing about oldest DS's math.  Here's hoping I chose well!

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We're studying the Middle Ages next year which is my FAVORITE time period in history. I'm also planning on using Problem Based Learning for One's Plague!!! to go along with it. I think that will be super interesting. 

 

I'd love to hear more about the Big Fairy Tale Project if you are willing to share, momto2Cs. That sounds like something my girls would love.

 

Of course I'll share!

 

I was originally inspired by this gorgeous chart, which links YA versions of books together... I also have The Classic Fairy Tales: Norton Critical Edition, which includes variations on several themes in fairy tales, as well as criticism, to use as a jumping off point. The Norton book focuses on six different types of fairy tales, which I plan to approach as block studies, to which we can add in various versions, movies, etc. We've decided to skip the "Bluebeard" section, and substitute in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", or doing a focus on The Little Mermaid/Hans Christian Andersen. What I've come up with so far is to read a beautifully illustrated classic version, then explore other versions (both will be mainly read on her own), including longer [YA] versions of each (read aloud).

 

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I'm excited that my dd will get to do a co-op placement! She may even be able to weave her passion of working with animals into an apprenticeship for post-secondary studies. That will mean exciting possiblities for several years into the future!

 

I'm also excited that my ds 13 is back homeschool after almost a year in public school. He's got a new passion for his future studies and career! He's also able to jump back into some of the really cool extra-curricular activities he didn't have time for while in P.S. (i.e., band, community theatre, hockey).

 

Finally, I'm excited that my ds 11 is going to be in the same violin ensemble as my dd. It's a very high quality and supportive group. The group has been instrumental in transforming my dd's musicianship, and I'm hoping it will do similar things for ds.

 

 

I'm not so much excited, rather peaceful and content, that I have a plan in place for the curriculum and out-sourcing we'll be using next year.

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I am excited to read more to my kids this next year.  Something I did better at the second half of this year but failed at the first. We are using SL so I can read more books, but don't have to plan any of it.  I need a year that I don't have to think much about our schedule.  I am also really excited to do American history with my oldest Dd.

 

I am also really excited about morning time, something I failed at this year and am determined to do better at next year.  My plan is to also make art more of a priority which will be a fun change. 

 

It will also be fun to use MCT town level with my Dd, she did Island this year and I saw a huge growth in her understanding of grammar.

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To start Beast Academy I am pretty sure my youngest will love it.  I am also excited to do our world geography unit study that I am planning myself it should be lots of fun.  Also  its easier to report on too our charter than having separate classes for  social studies, science, art and literature.

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I'm excited to see what writing my oldest son produces with Writing With Skill 2 (I am amazed at what he accomplished with WWS1 - he's dyslexic and dysgraphic so while what he writes probably isn't like many other 13 year old boys' writing, it's incredible for him).  I'm excited to do Latin for Children again (this time with the littles - bigs did it years ago).  I'm excited to study modern history.

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Wayfarers :001_tt1:  Gosh I just know it'll be great (famous last words right?). It's everything I wanted to do anyway, pulled together for me in a nice scheduled package. I'm trying not to freak out about a newborn, so this has helped me immensely, just from stress standpoint, before I've even begun. 

 

I'm also looking forward to starting Latin, morning time, and teaching my Kindy kiddo. After having managed to do this for a year with 7yo, I'm not so afraid of screwing up and can't wait to see how my first completely homeschooled child progresses through her first year. I fully intended to take the summer totally off, but she has other ideas and we've gone ahead and started Miquon and reading from some I See Sam books. 

 

We've also connected with some CM inspired mamas and may have a coop going in the fall. A nice relaxed environment, that's main goal is building community is just what we've been looking for. 

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Switching from RSO to Apologia (I THINK.. just need to confirm that I was looking at the right lab kit.)

 

Trying out English Lessons Through Literature

 

And I'm keeping with SOTW but I'm switching our routine with it, so I'm excited for that.

 

I'm the most excited for more field trips and fun. Ds will be older now (3 in August) which will make things easier. He also will be doing "school." ;)

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I'm excited that my older two are going to be doing BJU distance learning. It is a break year for me that way and we were given the money to do so, PTL!

I'm also excited to be spending more quality time with my younger two, helping them learn the basics.

 

Other things I'm excited about are :

We are moving to a bigger house come fall ( almost twice as big as our current house), for much much cheaper, yet the house is nicer and more conducive to homeschool. Another God thing.

We are continuing with our extra curricular activities we started this year and the kids can keep their friends and make new ones. :)

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Looking forward to a year of using textbooks/worktexts that aren't teacher intensive but ARE quick and efficient, so I can pour my homeschool energy into fun and interesting extras (projects, field trips, etc.) as I have the inclination.

I'm looking forward to a year (or a lifetime) of telling myself the truth about myself and being okay with the answer.

 

I'm looking forward to finding REAL hobbies for myself that don't center around my kids or homeschooling and focusing on self-care. I'm buying nicer clothing for myself, losing the last 8 pounds that plague me, re-learning the guitar and dulcimer (haven't picked them up in over a decade :( ), taking up knitting and crocheting again, learning higher math, reaching some exercise goals, researching family history, and learning more about the historical music traditions of the south (esp. mountain music). Phew. That's a lot. I'm excited :)

This is great! I've been going through a similar "transformation" in the last year.
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So excited for the primary debate season!  I love the opportunity to critique arguments, find holes, and play with fact checking. Last time we had debate season, DD wasn't even 3 months old.  She had limited opinions on the debates at that stage, but I'm hoping for some better insight this time around. We don't really have strong views on most the candidates yet, but I imagine 15 debates from now, we will.  :)

 

 

 

 

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In all honesty, I'm most excited about continuing on the path that I already know works for us.  I'm excited about the fact that I'm just starting to understand that the grass isn't always greener.  I'm looking forward to all the time and angst I'll hopefully be saving by not looking at so many other things, and that I'm finally grasping the truth of "the curriculum that works the best is the one that gets done."   :)

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I'm wondering now about combining both kids in biology. Maybe use Exploring the Way Life Works? Dd loves biology, and ds hasn't really studied much of it. I am wondering if he could handle that on top of some Joy of Science lectures tied in with the Big History Project, or if that would just be too much? I like the looks of that book very much, and think it might not be too heavy for a survey course on top of the other science, but I'm just not sure at this point.

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