Let the Planning Begin...

The beginning of school is right out on the horizon. I have yet to find a homeschooling Momma who doesn't like the thrill of planning. The excitement of new curriculum, new learning experiences and the organization of it all. I get heart palpitations just thinking about it!

So today I started planning for real. Of course I have had things swirling in my head for weeks now. Probably as far back as the first day of school last year! Yes, I know I am pretty pathetic... But this afternoon I had a quiet house, a big cup of coffee and my Five in a Row books. Divine.

How I love Five in a Row. We have been using FIAR for 5 years now! We started back when Kylie was 2 years old with Before Five in a Row. It won't be long until we start with Jake! I can't wait to make more sweet memories with my wild child. Five in a Row is so easy to plan. I love looking through the volumes and picking out just the perfect book to go with the seasons or with whatever event that might go along with a study. And wow, do we have some fun things planned! This year we will be delving into Vol. 4 more and alternating with Vol 1-3. Luke follows along just fine with Kylie's studies and so far it has always worked well.

I have some other things that I add in such as Phonics, math and a bit of History. FIAR is complete as is, but my kids love history and Story of the World is so easy to add in. Kylie wants to learn more spelling so I picked All About Spelling. She is excited to start it!

I am sure I am not alone, but I get carried away. There are so many good things out there! Today I made a list of things that I have and then I prioritized them. I also asked the kids what goals they had for school. We came up with a wonderful list of to-do's and goals for the school year. I hope that it will give us focus to accomplish our goals. For both of them, I hope to improve their reading and writing skills. I think these skills are foundational to learning. I also have integrated weekly library trips as fresh new books are essential in our home! I think our motto this year is read, read, read!

We have a lot of  "stuff" all of which is good but I tend to get spastic and jump around. We will use these workbook pages for times when the kids are in a study hall type setting at a bible study or the like. Yep, it is busy work but they really don't get any worksheets and they love them. I also think it will just boost their review powers and get them used to different mediums of learning.

This year sounds fun, yet I am wondering how we will balance it all with a frisky toddler in the mix! I am thankful for many wise mentors who have paved the way and all lived to tell about it so I know all of us will be fine. Homeschooling has given us such a rich family life and I am amazed at how our kids have grown and loved being at home. I never had imagined that we would be in our 4th year of homeschooling but we have had such fun along the way! What are you planning?