1. "School" starts on Monday. I'm so happy to have two kids really homeschooling and my college boy sleeping at home at least part of every night.
2. To explain, last year Jake went to public school fulltime. It was a great experience, but I'm excited to be back to our normal (if there is such a thing for us homeschooling is it). Jake will go to the middle school everyday for last period for band where he will perfect his trombone skillz, but otherwise he's a homeschooler. At middle school orientation yesterday (we went because of band), he was given a full schedule. As the namesake of his elementary school's 'I love Jake club', he had a few moments of considering just sticking with that schedule. I know he'd do fine with it, but I'm so glad that as of today, we are both onboard with homeschooling. I have no idea if Jake will always homeschool, but for now I am ready to jump right in on Monday and I think he is too. Because the middle school starts late and ends late, Jake will not need to be in the bandroom until 3:13 ( 2:23 on Wednesdays), this is so late, it'll feel more like an after school thing as opposed to part of the school day thing. This means while Disney passes are still good (only about 6 weeks more) we can go there for the schoolday (EPCOT schooling) and still get back for band (and theatre).
3. Jake will do FLVS Language Arts, Teaching Textbooks 7 (he's a 6th grader, but it's a little behind and he's a little ahead), and what I am most excited for Exploring Countries and Cultures! He'll do something for science too, but we're playing that one by ear right now. He'll also do band, theatre, CCD, church choir, maybe homeschool PE, and lots of reading.
4. After last year where all of Madi's academics were on virtual school, she is going to do two whole academic classes the plain ole homeschool way, and I'm very happy about that! Homeschool reading aloud and discussions are among my favorite things in the world, and I'll get a lot of that this year with Madi and Apologia Chemistry and Notgrass American History. (I could put links there, but nope.) She will also do College Prep genius SAT/PSAT prep, Algebra 2 on virtual school, and is dual enrolled for Sociology and Freehand Drawing for fall. In the spring she'll take three more dual enrollment classes including English (ENC 1101).
5. My college boy still lives at home...yay! As I see stuff on facebook and blogs about kids going away to college, I appreciate his "homeness" more and more all the time. In take one I specified he sleeps here PART of every night because late nights at Disney...ugh! They are killers for an old mom like me. Last night Jonathan was scheduled to work until 11:30, I dozed from about 11:15-12, when I woke up at 12, it was with mild concern that he hadn't texted that he'd left yet. By 12:20 with no response to my text and no answer to my calls, I'd worked myself into a real panic. Poor boy was working hard taking rockets off of the space mountain track and couldn't stop to look at the phone vibrating frantically in his pocket. His shift had gotten extended an hour (the Disney magic sometimes gets extended randomly), and the text he had sent to inform me of this had never gone through. I really need to relax and I think I get a little better about this whole thing everyday (with two teenage drivers I get lots of opportunity to practice).
6. In addition to Disney, Jonathan will take 5 classes at Lake Sumter State College. They've changed a couple of times already, but right now I think he's got Astronomy, Economics, two computer classes, and a theatre/stagecraft class. He'll be around for a fair amount of homeschooly discussions as well.
7. As I've mentioned today and many times in the past, I am a huge fan of read aloud/ discussion schooling. There's a great podcast about this which I haven't even finished listening to yet, but if I were more articulate, more popular, more whatever I could have recorded this myself. Since I am not those things and can in no way word it the way these two people did, I'm just going to share the link here so you can go see (hear) for yourself. There are some experts out there expressing stuff I've professed for a long time. Go listen...
http://amongstlovelythings.com/1/
And for more quick takes go this way.
3 comments:
I am so slow...I could not even figure out what QT stood for despite all the years you've done that...Oy! Gotta love random extensions to the magic, LOL.
HI Julie!
You have a beautiful family and it sounds like all your kids will have a great school year with fun and academics! I envy your ability to read and discuss so much in your homeschool days since I really feel like I'm in "survival" mode during my homeschooling days with little ones and big ones always active and needing my time. Needless, to say the main discussion time I have with my kids is discussing discipline issues! Grrrrrr...and that's no fun! Anyway, since your son works at Disney, he may not feel the "magic" with those long, hard hours...Ahhh...to know the happenings of behind the scenes Disney is a whole new world I hear! Enjoy your school year! May it be blessed!
PS: I'm so sorry to hear about your brother's health. How very scary! My mother is fighting a blood cancer, Multiple Myeloma. Cancer stinks. :( I'll add your brother and family to our family's prayers!
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