College...Already!

My daughter has finally made her decision regarding college and further education. For a long time she had no idea what she was interested in doing with her future. So I bought her a Career Development program, that seemed to help her narrow down her interests.

The next big debate was over attending college on a campus or at home online. She was not interested in leaving home and living in a dorm with strangers. Her dad and I were not to excited about her being on the road everyday traveling to and from school. So the alternative seemed to be online education. The trouble was finding a school that offered what she wanted.

Ashford University has a fully accredited Liberal Arts program and also Computer Graphic Design. Those are Megan's areas of interest.

Senior year is moving right along. I'm not sure if she will finish within the traditional time frame. But I've always thought learning the material well was more important than finishing the books on time. So fall of 2012 or Spring of 2013 my oldest will be entering college. Wow!

New School Year!

Summer is gone, fall is here, and we are into another school year!

Second year of no lesson plans. It worked so well last year, it is worth trying again. Our focus this year is on math, grammar, and one core subject. We do as much each day in the core subject as possible and then we will move onto the next core subject when it's complete.

Kids are focusing on their music lessons and working on a photo collage project I assigned them at the beginning of the school year.

We had a nice relaxing summer and everybody did a lot of reading. So we are reenergized for the school year and moving right along.

My mantra for each day: Do what we can and leave the rest for tomorrow!

Spring!

The winter blues are finally over. Spring is here! Our school books had become so heavy and such a burden; each day felt like an eternity. Once the books were closed for the day everyone fell into a heap to rest. My kids have determined they hate winter.

With the return of warmth, sunshine, and the sweetly singing birds my kids are much happier. The books are not so heavy; the work not such a burden, and the freedom of outside awaits at the end of the school day.

Maybe, now, I will have more time to dedicate to this blog which I never seem to be able to keep up with. I can' t be the only homeschooling parent out there who struggles with the winter blues. The only advice I have is perserverance and try to keep a smile on your face. Both seem to irritate my kids just enough to keep them moving forward.

We only have a little more work before our school year will be complete. Still find it hard to believe we made it through the year without lesson plans. I was tempted to write them out a few times, but resisted.

Planning a bit of summer review and fun extracurricular activities to keep our minds fresh. Again, no lesson plans, just educational fun.

Look for more blog posting soon. My goal is to be more faithful about keeping up with the blog. Thanks for reading! 

Happy New Year!

I'm still here! So busy lately I have not had time to blog. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year all passed so quickly. We had a wonderful time together and with extended family.

Today was our first day back to school after all the holidays. Slow and sluggish but we made it through.

I do not make New Year resolutions. I never seem able to keep them anyway. But we do have some goals that we hope to meet this year. I will be reading the Bible through in chronological order. The kids have set goals for more exercise and good nutrition. Continuing to be stress free in our homeschool is every body's goal.

Hoping the new year brings new opportunities and endless possibilities.

Busy Days!

We are into our third week of school.  Things are going very well.  Sticking to my no lesson plan strategy quite well and it's working. 

We are still not at full school schedule.  We are easing back into the routine.  This week I'm adding Latin and Art.  Next week I will add History and Science and then, finally, we will be back at full schedule. 

Hopefully soon I will be able to get back into my study of Charlotte Mason.  As the weather begins to turn cold...I hope...I will find more time to concentrate on this project.

Special congratulations to my daughter, Megan.  She won second place in the Senior Arts and Crafts division at our local County Fair.  Below is a picture of her and her painting.

First Day 2010-2011

Great start to a great new school year!  I managed to get up on time.  After a summer of sleeping in that was a major step.  Kids got up on time and with no major complaints.  After a few deep sighs the day started and within 30 minutes everyone agreed that it great to be back in school. 

Taking it easy as we ease back into our school life.  Don't want to overdo it the first day.  Everyone was finished before lunch. 

Excited about the days and weeks ahead.  First day has always been stressful for me.  But not today.  Kept my promise to myself of no lesson plans.  Just made a few notes on what I wanted to talk about and cover today.  Have done the same for tomorrow.  Hopefully these lists of talking points will become more of a school journal instead of a strict plan that must be followed. 

My gang adjusting to the new routine of school.

Child's Play

What did children do before TV, game stations, computers, cell phones?  They played.

This school year things will be different at the Moomaw house.  No TV until the weekend when we will watch a program as a family, one hour a week on the game station, and thirty minutes on Facebook.  Ouch!  That hurts!  The parents have to set the example.

Our school day will begin at 8 am and end a 1 pm.  Then its outside to play and exercise our bodies.  Yes, that goes for mom as well.

All of our school materials have arrived, organized, and ready.  But, as promised earlier, I have not written any lesson plans.  I've made a schedule to follow.  We will do as much as possible within a certain time frame.  Then move on to the next subject, at 1 pm the books are put away.

My kids are excited about this approach.  I admit I'm nervous.  Will it work?  Is this really reducing my stress?  I guess we will begin to find out on August 16th, our first day back to school.