4th Quarter 2013-2014

We made it through another year! This was Josh's and my fourth year and Ellie's third year at this homeschooling thing. They both assure me that they enjoy homeschooling and want to continue with it. We met our required number of school days by May 30 which was so nice. I wish I could say we finished all of our curriculum, but alas, we still have some history to finish up as well as our Bible study on Joseph. So there will be a little bit of summer schooling going on.

Although we didn't get to Joseph in Genesis, we did move on from Abraham and finish our book on Isaac, Jacob and Esau. There were some really great lessons on the importance of our own birthright and blessings in Christ as well as letting go of anger. The fact that these lessons dealt with siblings was good for our two. They needed to see that it was important for siblings not to compete and to forgive one another. Our study on Joseph will also be of benefit to them as well. (Yes, there is some sibling rivalry between our two kiddos at times!)

Josh loved reading "Encyclopedia Brown" in language arts. We spent some time looking into the history of "The Pledge of Allegiance". He did great with his review of spelling words for the year as well as his final assessment. I'm glad that his verbal skills can be put into writing well. Ellie read "Caddie Woodlawn", worked on a couple of speeches and did some research on "The Star Spangled Banner". Ellie is a good writer and can present material well. I was happy to see her pick up the Caddie Woodlawn book again and read it on her own later.

We finished our math curriculum for the first time since we began together. Ellie began showing initiative in getting hers done. Josh was beginning to get a handle on those multiplication facts. He will need to review that double-digit division next year, but I know it will come with practice.

Apologia's "Swimming Creatures" was a wonderful study. We finished up the  year with Cephalopods, Echinoderms, Cnidarians, sponges, water worms and microscopic animals. In "Mystery of History" we made it through the third quarter material. This included the Babylonian Captivity of Israel, the history of Greece up to its Golden Age and the Peloponnesian War, the Roman Republic, the Bible prophets Habakkuk, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai and Zechariah, Queen Esther, as well as the teachings of Buddha and Confucius and how they compare to Christianity. Our summer studies will take us through Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection.

 J turned 9 this quarter.

 We took a family field trip to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in March and then visited it again in May during our weekend in San Pedro.

 

Our weekend in San Pedro in May included a visit to the Korean Friendship Bell, the tide pools at Cabrillo Beach, and the Marine Mammal Rescue Center.

We visited the Battleship Iowa as a family on our final homeschool field trip for the year.

We also planted a garden - corn, red bell peppers, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes.

I feel good about our year. It's easy to get caught in the comparison trap - looking at what other families are doing and feeling like we don't measure up. Sometimes that includes families who have chosen to send their kids to school as well as other homeschooling families. But I have to remind myself to focus on our own family and what we feel is best for us. The choice to homeschool, the curriculum we use, the type and amount of activities we participate in are all based on our family's personalities and preferences, our financial situation and where we are in our walk with the Lord. These choices aren't better or worse than anyone else's they are just unique to us.

I am looking forward to our summer break - vacation, golf for Josh, VBS and time to complete some projects. Next year we'll have a fourth and a sixth grader. I enjoyed teaching both those grades! Should be a good year!