Somethings Worked, Somethings Didn't

We're finishing up some books and others are left wanting. Part of the problem is that I switched the language Arts program on everyone along about Christmas. That means that no one is finishing their Language Arts. Other books I only meant to be term subjects so of course those books I'm not finishing.

I pulled Peter out of two different reading programs this year and finally settled on Reading A-Z. The Christian Light reading was too hard for him and the Bob Jones stories he thought were boring. I have never had a kid think BJ is boring and it amazed me. I refuse to ruin a child's love of reading by making him read stories that he isn't interested in.

So I switched the reading and now he is loving his stories. He is reading one now on how chocolate is made. It involves studying the map and coloring in the different countries that grow the cocoa bean and he loves map studies so this is working well for him.

We will not finish our Language Arts books this year but I am going to continue those in the summer. Both kids are the same as done with their Math. I plan on starting them in the next grade in Math beginning in June. That will give them a jump on the year ahead. Peter doesn't really need it but by doing this with Tink she will soon be to grade level with her Math.

Story of the World will not be completed but then again it wasn't written to be completed in one year. We will end the year at chapter 26. There are 36 weeks to a school year and we are doing one chapter a week so you can see that throughout the year we have missed 10 weeks of history. That was all in the fall term when I was undecided about what I really wanted to do and unsure of how I wanted to proceed with the SOTW. There is so much there that you really have to sort through it. It's about impossible to do it all.

Peter is also doing history in third grade Abeka and he will be finishing that in the summer too. Peter's Science will also continue through the summer because we are only about a third of the way through that. Again that's because I got a late start.

If there is one thing a homeschooling mom needs to know it is this: the curriculum you decide on at the beginning of the year is not a sure and firm decision. You may be oh so sure this is what will work but don't let yourself be tied to it when it isn't doing the job. Switch it out to something else. I do caution you though to be done with the flip flopping by Christmas. To go back and forth all year long is to confusing for the child. You will end the year not knowing where you are in the academic spectrum. As a result you may end up feeling defeated.

Today I only have three kids here. Two are absent and Tink is sick in bed. So out of the usual 6 I am down to half of that and it makes for such an easy day! Monday will be the beginning of the 32nd week of school. Five more weeks and we are on our summer program! Yeah!!