Salt Life

First Day of School!

Today was our first day of school! Andrew is officially in 10th grade, Mollie in 8th and Benjamin in 4th.

We are a family of many traditions and getting ready for a new school year is no exception to our long list of rituals. Every year we take a day with my mom and head out with the kids to buy school supplies and a new first-day-of school outfit. This year the boys picked "The Punisher" t-shirts. They look a little creepy, but they were very excited about them, and knowing that he's a comic book hero makes it easier for me to swallow. Last year Andrew picked a Monty Python and the Holy grail shirt that said "I fart in your general direction". I'll take The Punisher over that one!

So our first day back after a long summer went pretty well. We are easing into our classes. Andrew started one of his four Florida Virtual School classes, Geometry. Mollie started two of her FLVS classes, Science and Reading. Next Monday they will start their remaining online classes~Andrew - Chemistry, English II & American Government; Mollie - Language III & Science, as well as "Teaching Textbooks" Pre-Algebra. It's a heavy load, but it's also their third year doing the online classes, so they're semi-pro at it by now!

Benjamin is doing math and language with the "Switched on School House" computer program. It's my first year using something like this with him. I'm sure I'll have something to say about it in a future post. Besides that program, I'll be doing reading and history with him by reading historical novels (two birds with one stone--thank you SonLight!)

Most of the morning was spent organizing and scheduling. We also laid some ground rules for "The Devi'ls Triangle" (credit to Deb). This led into some negotiating as the boys have different preferences than Mollie when it comes to the technological threesome. Andrew and Benjamin decided on 1/2 hour in the afternoon and 1 hour in the evening of television; 1 hour in the afternoon and 1/2 hour in the evening of computer time. Mollie opted for 1 hour in the afternoon and 1 1/2 hours in the evening of TV, 15 minutes in the afternoon and 15 minutes in the evening of computer time. All three of them receive ZERO playstation time during the week. They do, however, have 3 hours of PS2 over the weekend which starts Friday at 4 p.m. and ends Sunday evening at 7 p.m.

Our last two components to this years program will be Rosetta Stone Russian (Andrew) and 4-H study of Florida history with our home school co-op. I feel fairly comfortable with the direction we're headed this year (key word "fairly"). I have my shakey moments of anxiety and doubt, but that's when my home-school mentor and dearest friend, Stacy comes in handy! She's a priceless resource and all home-school mom's should have one of her! Oh, wait, they can't, there's only one and she's mine!

Labels: home schooling

posted by Kushmama @ 9:53 PM