Almost a year later!

It has been almost a year since I have posted anything to this site. There are several reasons. Mostly it is the feeling that I am not doing enough with the kids and don't want to share my failure with anyone. The fact is that I set my goals too high and expect nothing less than perfection (for myself, not my kids, I hope). Another big reason is that this has been an unusual year and filled with more adventure and less "school work" than any other. Because they are not so obviously "schooly" I don't want to put them here. And one more, I have more blogs than I can keep up with. Nevertheless, I will quickly update a little.

If you follow our other blogs (Our Trail especially) then you know about our journey. I thought that we would keep up with more school work than we did on that trail, but I will decide that the things we saw and experienced were just as valuable as book work. I am glad to be following a more typical schedule (typical for me). In fact, I am doing better with consistency and planning that I have ever done. Being as Henry is now in EIGHTH grade (I can't believe it!), it is a good thing. As any parent, I want my children to have every advantage and to be able to pursue any career goal they desire.

We are working on a new history program, The Mystery of History has been a new find and we are enjoying it greatly. It is a good pace for us. I am also doing a lot more writing with Henry and, to a lesser extent, Louis and Otto. Soon I will be expecting more from them as well. There is a curriculum I am waiting to get for Henry called Starting Point by Cornerstone Curriculum. The notebooks that we were starting were not as successful as I had hoped, but we are still adding to them. I've noticed that they do enjoy looking as them and that will keep them going. They are such a great record keeping system.

(Pictures are kids trying cuneiform writing and Olivia doing dishes with me.)

We are going to the library weekly as it is in walking/biking distance. That has been a new experience. We have never been so close to a library, we always preferred to buy our books as we didn't want to return them, but I've been pleasantly surprised. We have been exposed to so many books that I wouldn't necessarily want to own, but am glad to see, read and explore. The picture books for Solomon and Olivia have been an especially sweet treat as I read to them more, and books that are new to me as well as them. Henry and Louis will be required to update their blogs on a regular basis. It is still to be determined how often regular will be. Stay tuned and find out. I still love homeschooling. I hope it never ends.