A New Year

School will begin here soon and I am making some changes. Shortly after I began homeschooling, I learned about the Charlotte Mason method of learning. I have added bits and pieces of it to our homeschooling days, but this year I'm jumping in with both feet and going for it.

We will be basically following Ambleside Online's schedule, but I will be doing a schedule combining Year 1 and 2 that I found here. This will cover history, geography, and literature. We will will also be following AO's composer and artist schedule.

The following will round out our year:

Apologia Elementary Zoology 2 - This is a study of ocean creatures. This looks like so much fun! I can't wait. I also got the lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central. We've never done a lapbook before, so it will be interesting to see if the kids like it.

Christian Light math - I thought about switching back to Abeka math this year, but I still have concerns with all the color on the pages as a distraction for Robert. This program is like Abeka in that it is a workbook and spiral, but the pages are much "calmer".

Rod and Staff English 4 - Okay, so an intense study of grammar is not very CM'ish, but I personally love R&S English and so we're sticking with it. We played around with other grammar programs, which has meant that the kids are now both on the same R&S level. This actually makes life easier for me, because I can teach them at the same time.

Prima Latina - This Latin program is actually intended for much younger students, but I'm still comfortable using it. I think it will make this subject easy for all of us. I hope! I'm considering getting a workbook for myself and learning this subject right alongside the kids.

Art - I found some drawing lessons here. I would also like to add some simple lessons in things like watercolors, but I still need to investigate that.

The kids will be continuing with their private instrument lessons and homeschool orchestra as well.

Temptation

I went to my in-laws' house this morning to make homemade cinnamon rolls with my father-in-law. Friends are coming into town next Tuesday to stay for almost a week and I thought these would be a nice treat.

Number of homemade cinnamon rolls made: 18

Number of cinnamon rolls brought home, ready to be frozen: 16

Number of cinnamon rolls in freezer one hour after returning home: 15

It's going to be a long 4 days....