Taking a Blog Break

Hello, all! Just wanted to let you know that I won't be dropping off the face of  the earth...I'll just be taking a break from blogging for three weeks. See you all later!

Week 1 with Ambleside Online

Wow, what a great week we've had! For Year 1, "Bug" read from the following books:
  












                                                           













                             












                                                                              














For Year 3 of Ambleside Online, "Doodles" read from the following books this week: THE WORLD OF MARCO POLO.Written and illustrated by Walter Buehr and......
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
   













                                                                                                                                  
                              












                                                                                                   














Most of the books above are available free online, which of course is wonderful. We are learning so much with Ambleside already, and I'm really looking forward to next week!

Starting a new school year...this month!

We are going to start Ambleside Online this month. It's going to work out beautifully because I've also decided that we will start our new school years in January from now on. This makes perfect sense for us! We school 4 days a week year round, but we take off the months of November and December for the holidays. So, by starting in January, we will be finished with a 36 week schedule by the end of October or beginning of November. Also, the children are almost finished with their current math books and will be moving into the next grade some time during this month or February. It all works out great! I am still waiting for a few books I ordered to arrive--and I mean a VERY few-- for Ambleside Years 3 & 5, which are the years we'll be doing. Fortunately, I already own most of the necessary books and the rest are available FREE online. While we wait, we are going to read some of the books from Years 2 and 4. We'll be starting this on Monday. I can't wait!

Also, if you're interested in learning more about Charlotte Mason, I highly recommend the book linked in this post. I'm currently reading it, and it has made a HUGE impression on me and is having a major impact on our homeschooling. Happy reading!
     Edited to add: Wow, LOL!!! We're actually going to use Ambleside Online Years 1 & 3 starting this week, as opposed to 3 & 5 or even 2 & 4. After further research, I realized that these years are the best fit for "Bug" and "Doodles." Ambleside is quite advanced, so if you plan to use it, take that into consideration. "Bug" is almost 8 & will use Year 1 & "Doodles" is 10 and will use Year 3.

Russian Studies

Today we read Peter and the Wolf and then watched a video, both of which I've linked in this post. I highly recommend the book, but the video was a little strange and contained some violence. Although animated, it was a little unnerving. First of all, the eyes of the characters were creepy. Secondly, the wolf clawed Peter in the face, and thirdly, the thing that I found most disturbing, one of the hunters pushed and shoved Peter and then threw him in a dumpster and pointed a gun in his face. So, as I stated, the book is great, but you should preview the video first and then decide if you think your children should watch it. I allowed my children--ages 7 and 10-- to watch the video, but we discussed the negative features and also bullying and gun safety. One more day in Russia, and then next week we're off to Romania!

Plans for Next School Year

What? NEXT school year? Yep, that's right! I'm preparing already. I usually do that in January. That way I have time to look around for good deals on books, time to plan everything, and, MOST importantly, time to pray about it. Next school year we're going to completely use Ambleside Online, which we used in part this year. I've discovered that my children LOVE the books used in AO, and that I do, too. We are Charlotte Mason style homeschoolers, so this is a beautiful fit. Also, it's a very budget-conscious decision, since the booklist & the schedule are FREE. In addition to that, I own several of the books already, not to mention that a great many of the scheduled books are available online--FREE as well. I've felt led to this curriculum so many times, but for some reason always ended up going with something else. Now that I've homeschooled for several years, I have the confidence to finally use AO. Another reason I love this curriculum is that you're given a booklist & weekly schedule, yet it's up to you as to how much you read each day. I like flexibility, so I haven't enjoyed scripted programs that we've used in the past. I like to spend time planning & I like to do things in a way that best suits our family. I really am so excited about next school year. Hmm...hurry up, August!