Day 3

I shared how our first couple days went on facebook and wanted to keep that trend going but felt like I wanted to add more.  And I remembered I had this blog that hadn't been getting used much.  This seems like a great spot to write down how our year is going.

Day 3 - Tuesday.  We missed a couple days because the kids were camping with their grandpa and grandma.  I wasn't with them so I can't say what they learned during that time but I do know that yahtzee was played and they were able to be out in nature.  So today, they all had work to do for Pioneers. 

Last year, Brendan and Tori both had a writing class, science class, history or geography and then a fun class.  It was overwhelming at times.  This year I told them they could pick their own classes.  Tori chose sign language, sewing/hand crafts, and digital photography.  Brendan chose physical science, intro to computers, and digital photography.  It feels like a good balance for them.  There is some homework but nothing too intense. 

All 4 kids have requested math this year.  I had been hoping to not use any set curriculum so I'm not exactly sure how to handle this.  I've realized that Brendan needs a curriculum for geometry so I'm looking into the best one for him.  He tried an on-line one today and that was frustrating - for both of us.  He didn't understand some of the questions and when I tried to help, it was hard to go back through the pages he had read on-line.  I think we'd both feel more comfortable with a book.  This is good to know. 

Tori liked the math she was doing last year - Teaching Textbooks 6.  She stopped at lesson 36 because I told her she could - it was in May and I was tired of forcing it.  I had been encouraging her to do 2 lessons a day so she could finish the whole book by the middle of July.  I know that pressure frustrated her.  I'm going to pull it back out and let her work on it on her own pace.  Math is not her strongest area right now but I want to focus on her attitude about it first.  I think if she feels more confident, she'll become more sure of herself and it will come easier and make more sense.  Her brain just closes right up whenever there is any uncertainty.  Teaching Textbooks doesn't always have the best reviews and this has caused me some concern.  I've wondered if I should switch to Saxon or Christian Light.  But then I remember that this isn't a race and I need to think about her and what's best for her.  I think I will look for worksheets to supplement the Teaching Textbooks so she has more practice but this is a good start.

Rachel and Owen - I have debated about a math curriculum for them and keep going back and forth.  I could do Christian Light - I know it's a good quality math program.  But again, I don't want to feel like we "should" do a lesson every day.  So for now, I think I will play math games with them and do math exercises on the white board.  I'll start out by asking them during the day if they want to play and maybe they'll start asking me after awhile. 

If it wasn't for the constant 2nd-guessing myself, this would be a piece of cake.