School Days....

Well, school officially begins for us next week!!  I have to admit that, though I'm excited for this year, I also am beginning this school year in a weary state.... not the ideal physical, emotional, mental place I desire to be at the onset of our school year.  Anyway, I am confident in the Lord that He will sustain me physically, mentally, and emotionally through all the things He has for me to accomplish!  This year I'm feeling the pressure of my oldest being in 4th grade and raising the bar for him academically... of course this is the child who was really excited about reading a WWII book on the sinking of a warship and wrote a report about it during our church's quarterly business meeting, so maybe I don't need to worry about him as much as I am...  I also am planning to jump way out of my box and do more hands-on projects w/ my youngest, who is a hands-on learner and not nearly as bookish as his older brother at this time, anyway... who knows once we find his academic hot-spot he just might dive in and be writing reports randomly as well!  Since I struggle w/ keeping things simple in my life (and subsequently in my family's lives), I am working on being really intentional about not over-complicating the boys' schooling and hopefully keeping our schedule workable for all of us....

.... and who knows, I may even have the time enough for myself to go to the gym....  :)

That is the most difficult part of being a stay-at-home homeschooling mother is that I quite literally have no time to have a hobby or do something just because it's something I enjoy.  I know this is a temporary season of life and I am so thankful to the Lord for allowing us to have this time w/ our boys, but I do long to have just a little something I like just for me (I should add 'and have the energy to do it' to that). 

So, here's the scoop on our 4th Grader:
 Saxon Math 5/4
 Writing Strands 3
 Spelling Wisdom
 Intermediate Language Lessons
 My Father's World History- Creation to the Greeks
 Science (which follows the history program)
 Art and Music
 Reading from his reading list

Here's the scoop on our 2nd Grader:
 Saxon Math 2
 Spelling Wisdom
 Adventures in Phonics 2
 Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind
 MFW History - Creation to the Greeks
 Science
 Art and Music
 Reading from his reading list

There you have it.  Our core subjects (math, language arts, phonics, etc.) we will complete this academic year, but our history and corresponding science we will take 1 1/2 academic school years to complete, which will allow us to keep a simplified schedule.  :)  We also have a service day once each week where we clean my mother's house and will focus on some God-directed act of service for someone else as well... 

What about all of y'all?