It's that time of year again! Not-Back-to-School time!!! We've been doing a few things to prepare for a bit more structure in our learning adventures this year. The kids and I made a plan based on what they want to learn about this year. We all decided that it would be good to have an hour or two set aside each day for some structured learning so that we can all focus. I'll still be available to help them out, answer questions or just listen through out the day, but we all think it's best if there is some time set aside where we're not distracted by other things.
The boys will be learning about World War II this year. We started this last year, but never really focused on it and they are ready to do that now. I've ordered two books which will be the spine of our studies and we'll add other books and activities in as we go. We're also going to do some more formal math this year. The boys are going to try to get into Washtenaw Technical Middle College in a few years and they both recognize that they will need to demonstrate some math skills. So, I ordered The Key to Fractions and we'll start working on that. We'l continue with those booklets all the way through and I think they'll have a good grasp of those concepts at the end. We'll continue on with Spelling Power. This is actually the one thing that the boys really ask for on a regular basis. They are both concerned about being able to spell well, so they look forward to this part of our studies. We're also going to focus on some writing skills this year and I am trying to figure out a way to make that really fun. Any suggesstions would be appreciated.
Olivia is at a 2nd grade age this year and she's still getting comfortable with reading. We'll be working on phonics, math and history this year. She's working her way through the Explode the Code workbooks and really enjoys them most of the time. We will also contiune on with Miquon math, finishing up the orange book adn moving onto the red book. For history, we're basically copying Theresa's plan. We'll use Gomrich's A Little History of the World and make timeline cards, also using the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History. Hopefully later on this year, when the reading takes off a bit, she'll start Spelling Power as well.
Anna is just at a Kindergarten level this year, so we're still taking things very slowly. She is very interested in learning her alphabet, so we'll continue working with the Waldorf Alphabet Book and the Wise Enchanter, making her Magical Alphabet Book. I also plan to include some math games, but nothing formal yet.
Today, I'm going to be working on rearranging and setting up our learning room. We're moving our computer in there as a result of the kitchen redo, so we've moved a very cool retro desk up from the basement. I was also completely inspired by this school room and will be putting up rain gutter bookshelves this weekend. I'm planning to arrange the furniture so that I have the one big wall in the room completely free for the bookshelves and Olivia's timeline. I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done!
So what are the rest of you doing to get ready for learning this fall?
