An Update

We are turning the corner into Fall here in the upper Midwest (or Great Lakes Region?  not sure where I am exactly, anyone?).  The sun is no longer something on which to be counted and I noted this morning that there are "snow showers" in the forecast a few days from now!  (I think we'll miss that excitement tho' since the girls and I are making a quick trip to NC this weekend for synchro team practices.)

This past weekend we welcomed friends from home into our home-away-from-home.  All 9 of us had comfortable places to sleep (well, except for one whose air mattress deflated the first night...  I repeatedly offered to re-inflate it for her, but no, she was "just fine!" with it flat on the floor), lots of food to eat, and pretty much enough stuff to do or not do, depending on which of those we preferred.  The 5 girls giggled and screamed and were silly.  The grownups talked and read and napped.  We all took long walks around campus (including a visit to my son's cubicle dorm room.  There was Sunday morning mass at the Basilica, lunch at a Chinese restaurant, an exciting volleyball game (match?) between ND and Louisville ( ND won), evening Vespers also in the Basilica, a tour of the Performing Arts building, shopping in the campus bookstore, and a fair bit of just hanging out chatting and enjoying being together.  They are safely at home now and my girls are sleeping in this morning.

As I mentioned, the girls and I are departing in a day or two for a weekend of skating practices at home.  The family's college student will be on his fall break, hanging here with dad, sleeping, chilling.  When we return there is a tentative plan for a daytrip to Chicago.  Football both this weekend (USC) and next (Boston College)!  Older dd and I will be at the BC game. 

(Photo is from the game vs. Washington -- one of my favorite parts of the whole thing is when the team runs onto the field.)

I promised a post describing in more detail what the girls were doing this year schooling-wise.  In the past I've created these long complicated posts that just depressed me.  So I'm going to try to do this as briefly as possible, noting first that lists of what-my-kids-are-doing and what-curriculum-they-use are just that and are interesting to a degree but cannot in any way reflect the day-to-day reality of homeschooling life! 

Older dd (this is her second-to-last-year at home).  Here are her academic subjects this year -- other than this each week there is Bible study, weekly guitar lessons (and daily practice), ballet class (twice-weekly), skating (5x a week -- both lessons & practices), choir (once a week), church and Sunday School, as well as visiting with friends, going to plays/movies/musical events, etc, etc.

Science -- Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry 2nd ed.)

History -- Beautiful Feet's US and World History: From the Civil War to Vietnam (two-year literature based course)

Other History -- Church History & Theology (an introductory course planned and supervised by Dad)

Non-Fiction Writing -- Writing Essays (course planned and supervised by Dad)

Language Arts -- vocabulary building with Wordly Wise and grammar/punctuation review with Editor-in-Chief.

Math -- Teaching Textbook's Algebra II

Spanish II -- class taught by independent teacher and meets weekly; uses Plazas y Paisajes (we are following along while here in SB and dd will join the class in mid-Dec)

Younger dd (she's 11).  Outside of these academic subjects she is in a weekly choir, takes skating lessons several times a week and attends synchro team practices (once we return to NC), attends church & Sunday School, and spends lots of time with friends!

Reading -- silent reading a minimum of 1/2 hour daily

Math -- Teaching Textbook 6

Language Arts -- Editor-in-Chief (grammar/punctuation), Sequential Spelling (um, spelling), Daily GRAMS (more grammary/punctuation), English from the Roots Up (vocabulary-building by learning Greek & Latin roots), The Write Stuff Adventure (creative writing).  The only things done every day are Spelling and Daily GRAMS.

History -- The Story of the World, Vol 3: Early Modern Times (includes keeping a timeline) and weekly reading from Usborne's The Story of Inventions

Geography/Science -- Beautiful Feet's Geography: A Literature Approach (unit study using Holling C. Holling's books -- right now we are working with Paddle to the Sea)

Art History/Architecture-- reading from various Usborne books

Spanish Vocabulary -- learning words & phrases with Usborne cards