Early Start

We’re starting school next week! I hadn’t planned to start until the last week of August, but I am asked several times each day, “When are we going to do school again?” or “Can we do school today?” Add to that multiple uses of the phrase “I’m bored” and voila, you’ve got an early start to the school year.

I guess that month of July off was a good thing. I hadn’t planned that either. But it was a busy month: contacts and braces for Makenna, glasses and pending vision therapy for Maddie, and a spay for Remi.

We’re going to do a few things differently this year. I’ve chosen to do science together as a group using Jeannie Fulbright’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy by Apologia Science. Also the girls have begun a simple jogging and stretching routine that I hope will become a life-long habit, so we’ll be making room for that in our morning routine. Makenna will begin dictation and a grammar course. I’ll also be adding more formal studies with Maya focusing on reading instruction and working up to a full Year 1 schedule when she turns six. Charlie is ready for simple letter, shape, and number recognition. And, last but not least, we’ll be participating in our new Co-Op on Wednesday afternoons.

Here’s the basic schedule:

7:30-9:00 Wake up, chores, exercise, breakfast
9:00-9:30 Bible, memory work, hymn, and prayer
9:30-10:00 Math
10:00-10:15 Snack (read aloud, composer or artist study, folksong)
10:15-10:30 Grammar for Makenna, Phonics for Maya and Madison
10:30-11:00 Literature
11:00-11:15 Copywork/dictation, Reading instruction
11:15-11:45 History
11:45-12:00 Science (11:15-12:00 Science on Friday)
12:00-1:00 Lunch (poetry)
1:00-2:00 Free Reading
2:00-4:00 Rotating activities (Library, Handicrafts, Co-Op, Zoo)
5:00-6:00 Dinner
6:00-7:30 Free Play
7:30-8:30 Baths
8:30-9:30 Read Aloud

It’s going to be a little tricky at times, to say the least.