Wednesday, July 15, 2009

MidSummer already! Getting ready for a new HS year...

Here we are, enjoying the fantastic mountain summer at last. It's weather like this that makes mountain living worthwhile. Summer got off to a slow start with most of June being plummeted with LOTS of rain, but alas summer finally arrived. The garden is now beginning to grow, and I am beginning to see that cold weather crops are necessary for a successful harvest up here since the growing season is quite short. We do however have a very nice bunch of potted tomato plants growing on our sunniest deck. I'll move them indoors in Fall, so we will actually get a pretty good tomato harvest this year. Out in the garden we have two variations of kohlrabi, beets, carrots, pumpkin, snap peas, asparagus, and we did have some cucumbers, but something ate them. Oh well. In pots we have one cabbage plant, potatoes, chard, spinach (which mostly drowned in June), radishes, and the previously mentioned tomatoes. The kids loved turning the soil, planting the seeds, and are thrilled to see how things are starting to grow. The radishes are mostly harvested already which gave the kids a thrill. Our lettuce seeds did not sprout, but I knew they were old. We'll try again with some fresh seeds. The flowers and weeds are growing like mad from the rain, but luckily everything is growing where it is supposed/allowed to.

We are still HSing through summer, but on a lighter schedule. The kids just finished the Beta level in Math U see (today), and we are continuing with AAS level two on a regular basis. I would like to finish our Body Systems study by mid August, and then for the new school year, we will be digging into Writing, Astronomy, Home/Life Skills and Character studies. So, in a nutshell here's what is planned for 2009-10 school year starting end of August/early September:

Math U See - Gamma
All About Spelling
Writing Strands
Apologia Astronomy
Character First
Reading
Sewing/spinning/kitchen and cooking skills, etc...

When we finish with Astronomy in/near March, we will switch to social studies and geography, with a possible unit using the Little House series. I think our Life Skills will tie in very nicely with Colonial and Pioneer Times, so that will be our focus when the time comes.

The most important thing I have learned this past school year is to have faith in the curriculum choices I have made, and to not overwhelm myself with too many different sources of information. I was going nuts with too much information, and ended up crippling myself. We are keeping it simple this year, and not worrying about what the school or anyone else is doing. I think we will all be much happier.

In the mean time, I have created an outlet for my photography. My new website is http://www.ambientnature.com/. Please take a peek and let me know what you think.

Until next time -

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