It feels so good

We are on week 4 in our SL Core 4 (6.5 weeks into school total), and I tell you, I think that this has the potential to be our best year yet.

When we first started this Core, I was terrified that the frantic pace of juggling three children's educational needs would overwhelm me. Chief among my concerns was what I saw as signs that next year would have to be our first "official" year of two complete Cores. (Currently, I blend elements of WP and other resources into our SL Core to make it accessible for even my 5 year-old.) Just a few weeks later, I am seeing that that isn't necessarily the case just yet. With a little effort, I can probably keep them all on one Core for another complete year, them branch off into two once we reach Core 6, which combines quite nicely with Core 1.

I have found that doing three separate lessons of Math-U-See still takes less time than two children working on separate Horizons lessons. That's a big bonus. The bigger bonus is that they seem to be learning a whole lot more math in thirty minutes than they did in a hour.

The books in this Core thus far have been fantastic. The time period we're studying (just prior to the Civil War) is chock-full of good stories and fanciful characters, and SL capitalizes on this with such rich literature that even Logan is captivated.

We've also been enjoying my eclectic LA plans. Jo is working on Writing Strands and Rules of the Game, as well as journaling. Atticus is using A Beka LA 2 in addition to Writing Strands. The biggest surprise with him thus far is that he has written a full-scale story each day in his journal! Granted, most of them start out with the tantalizing opening line: "The cockpit of my fighter jet slammed shut ..." :-) Then there's my little Logan, who has also enjoyed working on his journal. He is still occasionally using 100EZ, but more often than not he is either using one of the Letterbooks my K teacher MIL sent, hitting starfall.com or reading a simple story on his own. All three of them still contribute regularly to the daily newspaper they publish for members of our household.

Music has been an especially hot topic, probably due at least in part to the presence of a stuffed rabbit visitor named Bonnie who travels from "school" to "school" chronicling how different classes learn about music education. We have been reading music for the first time in our homeschooling career. This has been especially draining on a particular homeschooling mommy who put down her saxophone in the 10th grade and hasn't looked back. Jo can play "Amazing Grace" on the recorder now, though. Thankfully, recorder notes are fingered much like those on a clarinet--my first instrument. :-)

Then there's Greek. And Spanish. And Science. And all the other good stuff that makes for well-rounded kiddos. School is taking a long time right now, but it's fun. And that's all that matters. Well, that and the actual learning. :-)