School Started

School officially started on September 4th!  I knew I needed to set a date and make it happen, but I have still been disappointed in myself for my lack of preparation.  At the same time, I am learning that I am definitely a more relaxed homeschool mom, and especially as I (for now) only have one daughter to teach.  We started last Wednesday, and went through various subjects.  Thursday, I took the girls to Family Center in Champaign.  It is part of a co-op up there.  Lara goes to three different classes, each an hour long.  Claire goes to Preschool during that time.  I had no idea what to expect, what it would be like, where I was supposed to go...it was pretty crazy.  It was very crowded and not a lot of thorough explanation as to what was going on.  But we survived, and the girls had a good time.  We took good naps that day.  Then on Friday, I really had to go into town and do some shopping, so school didn't really happen.  So I feel that the girls got off to a good start, but I am still not so sure that I, as the teacher, did.  ;) 

The girls spent the night at their grandma's last night, and we started school right away after I picked them up this morning.  I basically made a chicken-scratch list: math, grammar, spelling, reading, etc. and checked them off one by one as we worked our way through.  Lara was getting very tired and Claire got in the way from time to time, but it was fine.

I get asked a lot about the curriculum I use.  So here goes:
Math-Saxon 2nd grade (love it)
Grammar-First Language Lessons 2nd grade (Bauer)
Spelling-Rod and Staff
Reading-No curriculum.  She is a great reader on her own, and I sometimes read aloud to her.  She reads every day, quite a bit on her own.
History/Geography-No curriculum.  We do this only on M, T, W.  Right now, we are doing more geography.  We study maps, reviewing countries and continents.  I do some social studies with her.  We will do this for a few months, then start in on history once she has a better bird's eye view of the world.
Science-No curriculum.  Only on Thursdays and Fridays.  Lara has a science class at the Family Center on Thursday, and Dustin will do a lesson with her on Fridays.
Writing-Zaner-Bloser cursive workbook.  Lara really doesn't like writing.  She does fine with it, but she finds it boring (unless she is writing something because SHE wants to).  So I will be mixing cursive with print creative writing as the year goes on.

Then there's art, music, pe, and a new language (which Lara really enjoys learning).  Art comes in various forms.  Today, we read a poem for grammar and I had the girls draw a picture of the poem.  Other times, Lara and I work through an art book and draw together.  We are still trying to do something for music, but we just haven't gotten that far yet.  For P.E., eh.  I don't really care about that.  Lara does exercises and just walking up and down the stairs is a little workout for her.  She does dance class once a week.

Socialization is not a concern.  My girls are around people a lot, old and young, and are gaining wonderful experiences by spending all their time out in the real world.  Sorry, I don't mean that to sound judgmental toward public school at all.  Just simply saying that we have a great thing going here.

I am sure Lara would want me to tell you that she lost another tooth a couple nights ago.  She wanted gum under her pillow, so she was disappointed.  So she took her money and bought gum with it. Our dentist would be proud.

Also, Claire is in a "Madagascar" kick, and really likes Alex the lion.  Except in the first movie, because his eyes look funny.