Adventures in Planning

We have officially been in school for seven weeks!  Geez, where has the time gone?  I remember the week before we started sitting down and planning, then looking at the mound of lessons, and thinking that the end seemed forever down the road! 

This year we decided to break our year up into six week chunks.  So, we do six weeks on and then one week off.  This has been my most ingenious idea yet!  Well, it really wasn't my idea, I borrowed it from one of the many homeschooling Facebook pages to which I belong.  The ingenious part was implementing it into our year!  The week off gives me time to plan, re-adjust for things we didn't finish, print out any worksheets we need for the next six weeks, gather supplies for lessons, and more importantly have some down time for myself.  Believe me when I say this Mama NEEDS her down time.  This week we have perfected Clara Beth's state fair brownie recipe, gone on extra field trips and I spent my off co-op morning thrifting with a friend.  I would say this week has been good for my soul. The weather has also been pretty amazing.  The beginnings of Fall are certainly in the air, so outside time this week has been a priority.  We will start the next six weeks energized and ready to go!

I also have decided to change up the reading program that we had been using for my sweet kindergartner.  The one her brother used last year just wasn't working for her.  After lots of searching I found one that uses lots of songs and poems to introduce letter sounds and blends.  I am super excited about this next chapter for her. It was tempting for me to want to press on and just say she will get it.  And I think she would have, but the break and the "new start," were the push I needed to find something else for her.  If you are wondering, we are going to start Alphabet Island. The program has been around for a long time.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

Fall is full of exciting festivals and farm visits.  We are looking forward to incorporating these things into our lessons and getting out and just simply enjoying our new state.  We may have to travel a little bit to see changing leaves and there may not be many places to pick apples, but the sheer amount of festivals make up for it.  I think there is a different one each weekend until December.  It all starts with the Okra Strut this weekend.  I mean a whole festival dedicated to a slimy, green vegetable (which I do love), that most people outside of the South have never heard of.  What could be better ;)

So here is to the next six weeks of chaos!  May we come out on the other side with leaves in our hair and full of all things pumpkin!!

Okra Man is the mascot of the Okra Strut.