So I finally got a new camera and with it a renewed sense to blog. In our homeschool we are plugging along in school and will probably finish our scheduled lessons sometime in June. There are no huge exciting activities or aha moments this week but I have found a way to veer off of my MFW lesson plan grid to make things a little more interesting. I'm including a lot of my own notebooking pages for the people we study. This week we did - Antoine Lavoisier, Eli Whitney, and Robert Fulton. With every reading assignment the girls have to outline the text and then summarize on the notebook page ala the Writing With Skill way. I am working from a 20 week sample Susan Wise Bauer so generously gave customers. The skills the girls are learning are carried across the curriculum especially in History. The outline/summarizing combo really helps with reading comprehension and I hear the girls telling Dad when he gets home what they learned. Yep, mission accomplished. There is some learning going on here.


I wish more curriculum providers would be generous with their samples. It helps the consumer to get a feel for how a piece of curriculum will work on a day to day basis in the homeschool. I do plan to buy the WWS at the convention so obviously giving generous samples work.  I hear from the WTM forums that many homeschoolers working from the sample plan to buy the hard copy. If we like it enough and it works well for us we will buy the whole kit and kaboodle. When will the curriculum publishers get that?? Another example, I won a copy of All American History I from BrightIdeas press. I studied it and like it enough that I purchased the 2nd part to use with my high schooler for the next two years. So because of a freebie they got a purchase from me that they otherwise would of never received. So if you are listening curriculum providers - we need more complete samples.


On another note here is what I am most proud of in my school year. The artwork my kiddos produce, not under my instruction mind you. I outsource Art. Here are their projects:




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