Well, so.... hey.

Once again I have the uncomfortable feeling that I'm stepping into a quiet library only to shout HERE I AM!  I always find it awkward to speak here after so long a silence.

But on I go anyway, right?

After a few mental homeschooling breakdowns, several long talks with dh, and much prayer and catalog perusing, we've decided on some directions for next year. Yes, directions is plural, because I'm not getting some easy "let's all work together" program.  Actually, I *did* get that, and we tried it, and I crashed and burned - it was way too much for this tired, introverted mom to be leading the family as a whole all day, every day.

This summer I tried hard to realize just WHO we are - not my dream of what we could be, or what I wanted us to be, but who we really are at this moment -- giftedness, LDs, health issues and all.   I tried to shut out all the pretty and/or petty voices of other homeschoolers on message boards and think, "What would I be doing if the internet didn't exist, if I didn't have access to 100 varying and often contradictory opinions?"

This is what I came up with (links are associate links...trust me when I say I don't even make enough from these links for them to even cut me a gift certificate more than once every two years or so):

Rose (14, 9th grade - creative, out of the box deep thinker, dyselxic):

• Signed up with Learning Ally (formerly Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic)
• Speilvogel's Western Civilization (in print and audio -- unfortunately the editions don't match, but I cover things elsewhere. Rose loves listening to audiobooks so I don't think a few hours in this as an "extra" w/o a matching book will be a problem. The print edition is old, but I got it cheap at a booksale. ;-) )
• World History: People and Nations - with both of these we'll do ancient history, perhaps more.  I'm thinking a 2 year world history/western civ focus for her.
• The Great Courses Lectures:  High School Level World History, Great Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
• {{ we also did a few weeks of Tapestry of Grace, covering Ancient Egypt - this is where we crashed and burned :-P }}
• Literature: In Search of a Homeland,   Black Ships Before Troy, The Wanderings of Odysseus, Homeric Moments: Clues to Delight in Reading the Odyssey,  then the real works on audio (Aeneid, Iliad and Odyssey),  Vandiver's lectures from The Great Courses on The Aeneid, The Iliad, and The Odyssey  (also have her lectures on Herodotus which I guess is more history than lit!).  
• For output in both history and literature I'm hoping to have success in googling for quizzes and short paper topics, maybe one longer paper, plus discussions.
• Math - Teaching Textbooks Algebra, plus Great Courses Lectures and Khan Academy if necessary
• Science:  Exploring the Way Life Works (available as PDF here) plus other resources found on my pinboard.
• PE - swimming and performace rollerskating
• Religion - Confirmation classes, The History of the Church (Didache Series)
• what am I forgetting?  I know this looks like a lot for such a few works, but Rose needs lots of input and LOVES laying around listening to stuff.  The output will be harder, and I'll minimize it for this child, but the things listed above will not be too much to just sit through.   I'm going to guess that in several years when it's all had time to sink in, she's going to create some awesome work of art or other creative venture based on it all. :)

After all that, I'm happy to be able to write:

Skye (12, 7th grade):  Fully enrolled in Seton 7th grade. :)   It fits her very well. She can listen to all Rose is doing in her free time if she wants.  Also Latin from CLAA. 

Jane (9, 4th grade) and Batty (7, 2nd grade) - Spectrum Geography workbooks, Map Skills books, Spectrum Science, Language of God and My Catholic Speller (CHC), Literature and History Pockets (like this one) for Ancient Rome and Greece, performance rollerskating and swimming, and Seton Religion for their grade levels.  We have to do health in our state, so I'm still thinking about that one...

Jeffrey will be 5 in September, and technically won't be in K until 2013, but I know he will want to join his sisters in doing "school" so I bought him books from the preschool series of Rod and Staff and CHC, and a Kindergarten Math workbook.  No pressure, but he seems pretty "mathy," and sharp, so if he wants to work, I'm all for it.

We're hoping to start a teen/tween knitting circle and an improv group for the same ages.  Having trouble coming up with a place to meet for the improv group.  I wish we had a basement :)

Yeah, it's a very workbooky year.  See note above about being "who we are" and doing what we can, shutting out the voices (including my own!) of how life "should" be. 

Much love to all my readers. I've missed meeting you here.