Welcome Back to School!
We started school this week and everything went really well. It's amazing how quickly my little ones are growing. It seems like only yesterday that I began homeschooling my first. How did 10 years go by so quickly? Now I am homeschooling five "officially" this year and I also have a pre-schooler and baby too! God is so good and I am so thankful that we can homeschool and we are choosing to follow God's plan for our family.
This week we memorized Colossians 3:23
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.
We have a new verse each week we memorize as a family. This is one way that we try to "train up" or children in the Lord's ways. I want them to have these verses pressed upon their hearts so that they can remember them when they are praising the Lord or struggling through a difficult time in their lives. We begin each day with reading the Word and writing, studying, and memorizing this week's verse. Then the older three girls go off to do their independent studies while I work at the table with Joshua (doing preschool workbooks), Sophie, and Jonathan.
This year Sophie is in Kindergarten and focusing on learning to read. She is doing very well. Jonathan is finishing his reading lessons in the book 'How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons' and is almost ready to start Level 2 Readers. Sophie and Jonathan study their own Math using Evan-Moor workbooks, but we do their History, Science, and Health together using ABeka Readers and Evan-Moor worksheets.
Hannah is in 5th grade and Sarah is in 7th grade. They are both using Alpha Omega Switched on Schoolhouse CD-Roms for Bible, English, History, and Science. They use Teaching Textbooks for Math. Hannah is in Math 5 and Sarah is starting Algebra 1. So they both do all of their school on the computer. We started this last year per Daddy's suggestion and it is working so well. The girls also saw the Duggar's using SOS and wanted to try it. All of my children are very independent from about 3rd grade on up, so it really frees me to be able to teach the little ones younger than them their reading and other subjects that they can't read. SOS keeps them motivated and on track and also grades all of their assignments. I need to check in with them once a day for 15 minutes or so and a longer time once a week to check their grades and also collect any assignments that were done in Word like essays and such. We all love it and Wes feels that it is preparing them for the future when we will all be using computers to learn. We do not have them on the Internet though in order to minimize distractions and temptation.
Emily began college this year. Yes, you heard me right...college! She just turned 15 and she started a program called College Plus! It is a program that assigns you a coach that helps you to study for the CLEP exams and receive college credit. Their students finish (on average) with a four year degree from an accredited college in two years!!! She is so excited and wants to get her teaching credential and major in English. I am so proud of her! So, she is very independent this year and I just need to check in with her similarly to what I do with Sarah and Hannah.
For classes all five oldest children are taking horse back riding lessons and art classes weekly. They are continuing piano practice too and Emily wants to learn guitar, Sarah wants to learn the flute and piccolo, and Hannah wants to learn the violin. Emily will also begin a young girls' discipleship Bible Study in September ministering to girls aged 10-13 and I will help facilitate that for her.
The Lord is so good and we are so thankful to have these opportunities. I cherish each moment and try to make them matter for God.
Blessings to a great school year!
