Charlotte Mason Help

Lindafay, from the blog, Higher Up Further In, has developed her own website! If you want to learn more about CM, you don't want to miss this... Her knowledge of CM has been so inspiring and helpful to me, I wanted to share her new website address....

Charlotte Mason Help.com

Her Very First Bus Ride to School

Macadamia started high school, 10th grade this week!!! I'm very sad not having her at home, but excited for her! So far she likes it and has been doing her homework...waking up at 6 am! This is a child that slept until 9 am everyday. So this is it, when they decide they are BIG and don't need mommy anymore? I believe she will be fine, but she's been catching the attention of BOYS. Yikes! But she has made many new friends, who also are new to the school. New issues, a different day, I guess. It's inevitable...she's gotta grow up someday. I'm actually proud of her, since she is making choices and doing her best. These are her classes....

AP European History
Spanish 1
Honors English
Chemistry
Algebra 2
Dance

We'll see how it goes!

12th Grade Enrollment

Cashew is officially enrolled at the community college! He finished up assessment testing and enrolled in classes.

Fall Courses:
US through Reconstruction
Beginning Algebra
Computer Science Overview
Guitar (continue with private instruction)

In our state, a high school student can take up to 11 units FREE! I just have to buy textbooks (which I would be doing anyway) and pay a student fee, which turned out to be $28.

Next semester plan:
Intro to Composition
Health/PE
Psychology or Sociology
Guitar (continue with private instruction)

I'm excited that he'll be taking a step toward becoming a responsible adult...And what's also neat is that this counts as dual enrollment and meets high school and college credit requirements!

In addition, Cashew will take the SAT or ACT...as well as the CHSPE, similar to the GED...it's supposed to be a high school diploma equivalent, and many homeschooling PSP/ISP's have their students take this test to validate their homeschool diploma. Just in case some colleges, employer's, etc do not accept a high school diploma awarded by your parent.

Math Tutor?

Math has always been one of my best subjects! It is Almond's least favorite subject. I'm not sure what went wrong here, but I know she can't sit still for more than a few minutes, and absolutely can't stand timed drills, or any drills for that matter! We've tried a few different curriculum, and still no love. I'm going to stick with Singapore, because I like their approach, but will be buying more manipulatives, and will be using the new Home Instructor Guides for the Standard's Edition. Oh, and I will be getting a math tutor as well, which I think will help a lot, since I don't have the patience I need to work with Almond at times, and it will give both of learning ideas that may work better with her.

This week we worked on measurement... She balked until I asked her to measure everyone's waist in the house, and make a chart. Then we discussed greatest, least, etc... It turned out to be a fun time, and I got to see how big my waist has really become...lol!

Curriculum decisions...

So far, my plans for this fall have changed so many times!!!

I have gone back and forth with Ambleside Online, Sonlight, and Story of the World...

Here are some tentative plans...

3rd Grade
Ambleside Online, Year 2, substituting history with Story of the World
Math- Singapore
Science- Apologia Astronomy
Language Arts- Primary Language Lessons, All About Spelling, Sonlight Core 2 Readers (Intermediate/Advanced)
Prima Latina

8th Grade
Sonlight Core 100
Grammar- continue Analytical Grammar
Math- Algebra 1, Teaching Textbooks
Science- Apologia General Science
Spanish 1- ???

Hmmmm... I haven't ordered all of the curriculum yet, so there is still time to decide!

High School Plans

This coming Fall I will have 2 in high school!

Macadamia has decided she wants to try public school!!! I had mixed feelings about this, but trust that she is at the age where she can make responsible decisions. She's going into 10th grade. She is very bright, and when challenged, she pushes even harder. So I'm not worried about her. She is very busy with music and dance, so we'll see how it works out. There may be some challenges, though... The public school might not take our homeschool credits... I have contacted HSLDA, and they have simply said that it is up to the school district, but to be persistent in negotiating. They don't open until August, so we'll just have to wait and see! Reasons for going to public school? She just wants to try it, and would like to have more socialization (dances, hanging out with friends). This should be interesting!

Cashew will continue to homeschool for 12th grade... He will be taking classes at the community college. We've enrolled in History 101 (US through reconstruction), Survey of Computer Science, and guitar. Next semester he will be taking math and English. He's excited because his cousin, who just graduated from public school, will be in his history class. I'm so proud of him! I think it's great that college will be free and count for dual credit this year!

Pistachio has one more year, then he will be off to public school as well! He has decided that he wants to play football and eventually play college ball... So this will be his best option, he has decided. We support his decision and feel proud that our children are able to weigh the options and come to an informed decision they feel confident about.

Summer Update

Well, Dad is home! Hooray! We've been spending some family time. Vacation will start next week... We have plans for camping at the beach and just spending quality time. We haven't decided where else we will go. The kids have suggested Sea World, the Natural History Museum, Soak City and the Body Worlds Exhibit!