Gearing up for school...

Wow! I can't believe summer is almost over! We start back up to school in less than three weeks... it's a good thing I planned on starting as early as I did, because we have a few medical issues that need to be addressed and our Dr appointments all fall on school days so far...

OK... so what are we going to do this year? I am a firm believer in Saxon for math, so all three kids will be doing their appropriate level there... DS#1 and DS#2 will be using Bob Jones English & Writing, as well... DD is using Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read. She's already reading the leveled books that come with it and SO proud of herself! The boys will be using Sequential Spelling. It looks like a good fit for both of them. For Science, we are going to begin using Apologia's Zoology 1. I have heard so many wonderful things about this curricula, especially for DS#1, and even that kids who hated Science before have come to love it after using it, so I am hoping DS#2 will come around. My big splurge this year was buying the whole set of Draw Write Now books at Amazon.com. I got all eight volumes for $60.47 and free shipping! My oldest loves to draw, so this will be a great addition for him.

We are going to start off our year studying the countries that are represented in EPCOT. We started that over the summer, and you can see some pics of our notebooks by clicking here. That ties in nicely with the Olympics in Beijing in August (just about the time we begin), so we will study that, too, using Homeschool Share's lap book for the Olympics. We also purchased The Olympics Unit Study and will read Magic Treehouse Hour of the Olympics.

Once we have finished the countries, we will use Beyond Five in a Row Volume 2. I am so looking forward to this! We had such a good time using Volume 1 last year. Volume 2 utilizes Sarah Plain and Tall and Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan as its two fiction selections, and The Story of George Washington Carver by Eva Moore and Helen Keller by Margaret Davidson from Scholastic Biographies for its two non-fiction selections.

So, maybe, just maybe, I have finally been bitten by the school bug and feel ready to begin again... We've had a nice summer break, and I'm really looking forward to learning more new things.