My daughter Mikaela, will be 8 in early October & my son Liam will be 3 in early September. *how can this be???*
We also do school year round (with all of December focused on the Advevt season) and we also do different things during the summer months. So currently, I still consider Fall to be the start of our school year.
For Liam, I going to try out Before Five in a Row. I only intend to do it so long as he shows interest. If he is not showing interest, I will set it aside for 3 months and then try again. But, I have a good feeling that he will enjoy it.
For Mikaela, I’m kind of backing up… a lot. What I’m planing to do might seem a bit crazy to some of you. Or all of you. It’s a bit complicated but, here is some back story for you… We relocated from FL to TX 18 months ago, leaving behind family, friends & church. This affected her deeply (to the point that she developed tics that would come and go). And major behavior problems. Her behavior got worse the longer we were there, to the point that we had her on a waiting list for evaluation for ASD. The joy & zeal she had for school & reading quickly faded after our move and it has gotten to the point that, every time I mention school, she often gets moody. Not at all what I envisioned for my 7 year old. Also, our relationship suffered a lot during our time in TX.
We moved back home to FL just last month and her behavior has been SO much better… almost a different child in many ways. And with some of the summer changes I made, she seems to be enjoying school a little more but, still, not the way she used to. And some days she seems as if it’s the last thing she wants to do. So, I just made a couple of other changes (like dropping the Little House series for now and starting Winnie-the-Pooh).
She is academically strong, doing 2nd & 3rd grade Math and reading on a 2nd grade level (though she needs more work in fluency with read-alouds.) I think, because of that, I made things way too serious, way too sokn for her. While academically advanced in areas, she is very, VERY socially young. As in, she often plays better with children much younger than herself (3 & 4 yr. Olds) and kids her age get annoyed by her touchy, graby, energetic, over-the-top excited personality. She still enjoys watching shows geared toward toddlers (not really a bad thing). And because her brother is 2, he does tend to get a lot of attention (positive & negative) and because of that, she has literally been acting like a 2 yr. Old lately. And I feel like I’m struggling to connect with her.
So, my number one goal is to reignite that spark and get her back to a place of having true joy and excitement for learning. Back to the place where she beams with pride after a job well, done. In my research, I really felt like my heart (and likely this was God tugging on my heartstrings) was leading me toward Five in a Row. So, I prayed about it and asked a close friend to do the same. She had such encouraging and confirming words for me. But, the price was a factor. Within 24 hours, I found used copies of vol. 1-3, the cookbook & the character/Bible supplement AND even Before FIAR (for Liam). That sealed the deal.
I know FIAR is not really Charlotte Mason and I know it may seem a tad crazy to do vol. 1-3 with an almost 8 yr. Old. But, I feel deep in my heart that this is something we both need. To help mend our relationship, create fond memories and reignite her love for learning.
Since she loves and excells at Math, I will pretty much keep things the same there. We combine Miquon & CLE. For the summer, we started Life of Fred for a change of scenery and she really likes it.
For copywork/handwriting she is still doing Print to Cursive Proverbs and then she will move to Hymns in Prose.
For Science/Nature Study some of that will get covered through FIAR. I am thinking about getting Outdoor Secrets and the companion at the convention next month and I will occasionally do reading lessons with the Liberty Nature Readers. (Love checking off 2 subjects at once). We are 8 or 9 chapters into Burgess Bird book which she kind of enjoys. So, I’m on the fence if I want to revisit it in a year or two or, just go through it a bit slower (I was reading an entire chapter at each sitting… probably too long for her).
For Hymns we use the book series Hymns for Kids Hearts (2 songs per trimester)
I just scored used copies of the entire LDTR series so, I’m definitely doing that for Habits along with the FIAR Character supplement.
Bible… might be the FIAR supplement or, reading through the Children’s Story Bible and/or Jesus Storybook Bible. We did Apologia Who is God last year but, I don’t think we will move on to book 2 (Who is my Neighbor) just yet. Also, maybe a family devotional called Our 24 Family Ways.
Poetry: Finish Garden of Verses, Winnie-the-Pooh Poems, Selections from Favorite Poems Old & New for Boys & Girls
My thoughts are still feeling a bit scattered for the rest. But, all in all, FIAR will be a huge focus.