Our first order from Rainbow Resource Center arrived! I went ahead and ordered enough to get the free shipping, throwing in a couple of things that I know we won't need until later in the year, but it was worth it to save $15. I'm really excited about the TOPS Lentil Science Kit that we'll be using. I love that it's inquiry-based, and fairly open-ended, and especially that it's something the kids can work together on. I must admit that upon first glance, the prep for it is a little confusing. I think I just need an hour to sit down and focus on which supplies we've received, what we still need to gather, and how I want to proceed from there. I'm debating about whether to photocopy all the job cards. It would obviously make sense to do that if we were a classroom of students, but I'm thinking that the two of them can just use the book - though it may be more cumbersome that way. Still thinking on that one.
I'm also really excited about using Ambleside Online's booklist for our literature this year. So many wonderful works there to expose the kids to, and it will be nice to spend time reading aloud to them each afternoon. Not so different from what we do now, but I appreciate the resource for ideas. I'm really looking forward to the Holling C. Holling books. I'd purchased Minn of the Mississippi at Value Village for .69 cents a few months back, and we'd recently been reading it at bedtime. It looks deceptively like a simple picture book, but it's depth is impressive. We only read one or two of the short chapters per night - the language and content is somewhat challenging. N. is really enjoying the story of Minn's journey down the Mississippi, but A's attention is more fleeting. I love how geography and science are woven together into such a captivating story. There are four of his other books on our list for the coming year: Pagoo, Tree in the Trail, Paddle-to-the-sea, and Seabird. I'm sure I'll have comment on this in the months to come.
I keep plugging things into our homeschool tracker lesson plan. Husband actually asked last night if I was worried about being overscheduled. LOL - he's about the last person I was expecting that question from! He's been politely quiet about the quantity of visible work our homeschool produces, and I thought he'd be delighted that I'm attempting a more structured approach this year. I think his real concern is that after all the planning and scheduling, I'll burnout before we've even begun. I hope I won't. I really want to make a commitment to our plan. Of course, the schedule doesn't take into account the weekly parkdays, occasional fieldtrips, and the gymnastics class I'm about to sign the kids up for. Sigh. I need more days in my week!
Oh - almost forgot: N's swim teacher recommended she be promoted to the Advanced Beginner class for the next session! I'm so proud of N for all she's accomplished and how far she's come since the beginning of summer. 8 weeks ago she was crying and clinging to the wall, with a pile of floats on her back, and now she's one of the fastest swimmers across the pool. I love watching her long arms coming up out of the water as she zips along. Now I'm trying to figure out where to find year-round swimming for her, LOL!
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