Getting ready for school

I started the task of scheduling the boy's school work.  I usually have it done by the end of May.  I'm not quite sure why this year I got so far behind.  This spring when the books came in (they're on sale in April so I order the biggest heft of them then), I neatly tucked the boxes on the school shelf, not even opening them up.  Bad girl! 

After moving all my fabric aside,  I took all the books out, sorted them by boy and wrote out my plans.  This first plan is a very vague one, basically just a list of each boy's book and how many pages he's to do each day.  Then I look over the work load and determine if it's too much or not enough. 

I'm so excited to get started!  Jordan and Brendan are going to be doing the Changed Into His Image series for their Bible.  I also ordered a book and work book for myself to do with them.  Just briefly skimming through this, I can see it's going to be fun learning with them!  My Mom took a counceling course (by the author)  at their church's Bible institute this past year and spoke highly of this series. 

This year Addan will be doing K and 1st grade. (I have found waiting until the child is alittle older than "normal" kindergarten is much easier! It seems to click much quicker than all the drilling when they just don't seem to get it.  Of course, each child is different, but this is just what we do.  I have heard so many parents bragging their child can read by age 3, my feelings... let the child be 3 and play and when they "have" to learn and are ready, we start.  This also prevents so many years of school or graduating so young).  This year is always so much work but always SO rewarding too!  We go from learning/reviewing the letters to reading words and writing words.  What a great feeling listening to all 6 of the older boys read (especially reading God's Word), knowing it's from the time spent teaching them letters and their sounds.

Now that my daily schedule is done, I can neatly stack the boy's books back onto their spot on the school shelf and leave out their first book for each subject.  I can print out all their lessons and do the tedious paper work for records.  By the end of the day, I'll feel so relieved to have it all done and then we can dig up all the potatoes in the garden.  Maybe I'll just dig up a few and do the paperwork tomorrow :)