Thinking about school

In previous years, our school year would begin on the first Monday after the Fourth of July and end May 29. This nearly-year-round schedule would allow us ample days off but still give the kids some time to take a nice summer break and just play all day.

This year I'm having trouble, and I expect it's a self-discipline issue. True, the painkillers make it hard to concentrate, and the budget is not curriculum-purchase friendly, but I seem to also be having an "I donwanna" issue.

My first child graduated 10 years ago. It was easy to get back in the swing after he left. I had five more to work with, the youngest was a baby, and they all had a long way to go. But when Blair left our school this spring, something changed in my mind. John probably won't graduate from our home school, but from the public school system where he attends now. He will be there another three years. After that, Kate won't graduate until 2012, which seems like forever. Christy starts sixth grade this year, and Rose starts fourth. I can see my involvement in the process lessening each year. Twenty years is a long time for me to be doing the same thing. Very long. I'm kinda flaky like that.

As for specifics, here's what I have so far: I think Kate will do Saxon Algebra I, and Rose will do Horizons math. But Christy needs more direction than Saxon offers and hasn't adapted well to the book or workbook forms of math instruction. I got a free month of Aleks, which she has been enjoying. I might consider continuing that, but the price is prohibitive.

We have a little music theory left over from last year that we will continue until we are done. I have some Botany the kids will do for science, but our main focus this year will be World Geography. I figure we'll work four days a week and really get a feel for the world. I can expand that with world literature, history, cooking, music and the like and teach all three of my remaining students together.

But then, there's the Olympics and the Election too - in the same year, yikes. Both worthy of covering to some extent. Hm. Maybe I should start the Olympics study in August, then finish up the Elections study we started last year until November. That will give me room in the schedule for the Botany and music theory and math. Then just after Christmas break we can start the world geography unit and focus solely on that (and math) until the end of the year. Boy, that really pushes it, though. Clearly I need to think about this some more.