The Julia and Julie Movie and Cooking

We went with friends to see the Julia and Julie movie. What a nice, uplifting movie. Makes me want to cook something with butter. Tomorrow I'll be making Maryland Crab Cakes and three dipping sauces for the crab and the shrimp I'll be serving for a friends party on Tuesday. The coleslaw I'm making is from the Southern Living 2008 cookbook and had wasabi and peanuts in it.

Homeschooling my son enables me to also learn and pursue the interests I have. My son also sees planning and organization going on.

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Getting Ready for the New School Year

I'm glad to be back! We are ready to get started with 8th grade. I can't believe it, the past two years have gone by so quickly. This year we are using a mish mash of resources but still following the trivium theory. I found a great book at the library yesterday and I think after reviewing it, I want to buy it. It is titled, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Editition)by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. The authors are mother and daughter.

This year we will be using Saxon Math 8/7, A Beka Grammar and Composition (finishing it up from the middle of last year), Logic, Bible, Bob Jones University Life Science, A Beka World History and Geography, Latin (from a DVD), and for the beginning of reading we are going to read The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World.

I wish the best to all of you as we begin our journey again.

Saxon Math for 7th Grade

I was reading recommendations in a couple of places about Saxon Math for 7th graders. The recommendation was to jump to Algebra 1/2 instead of Saxon Math 8/7 because the 8/7 is basically a review. My 6th grader is finishing up the Saxon Math 7/6.

Does anyone have a recommendation or opinion about going to Saxon Math 8/7 or jumping to Algebra 1/2?

Thanks for your help!

"I'm Bored" said the Homeschooled Child.

The homeschool year is technically over....we have completed the required number of days and all of the county schools and most of the private schools in Marietta are out. Aaron kept very good track of "how many more days" until summer. That's okay, we were all kids once and looking forward to summer was what kept us going. Now that summer is here and all of the activities and classes have come to a close, we are truly in a lull with "nothing to do".

I have to admit, I actually was a little depressed. We had a great year and I loved all the time we spent together and all the things we did. Now we have the seemingly slow transition to summer and from busy, (good busy, our busy) to pretty much nothing. What to do? What to do?

Today we had the logical discussion about why he is bored. We talked about the fact that we were very busy during the past few months and now everything is over. We talked about just taking the time to find some good books to read, catch up on some math lessons (that went over big), watch some movies, have fun at the pool, and just rest.

Saturday he is off to Student Life Camp and is signed up for two classes at Southern Polytech, one in June and one in July. The classes are each two weeks. The schedule will quickly be "good busy" again.

So, my advice is to explain to the children why they may feel the way they do, bored, nobody to play with, nothing to do etc. And, then to plan some activities and fun things they can look forward to. Put the activities on the calendar, but make the time now a lesson about learning to entertain themselves and enjoy the transition time.

Homeschooling - The Atlanta History Center

Last week we took a field trip to the Atlanta History Center. What a wonderful resource right in our backyard. The center has exhibits about the city of Atlanta, including a shot gun house. The exhibit about the Olympic games and all the events and venues brought back memories. The Swan House, home of the Inman family, has been beautifully restored. It was a great day. The center wasn't crowded, there were a few groups of very well behaved school children there, but it is big enough that it seemed we had the place to ourselves. I recommend it.

Upromise - Save money for college.