Logic of English

A while back I purchased Logic of English (affiliate link). I can honestly say that the first week it was here in my house had me convinced it was very worth while! The kids love it! They beg for it every single day. They love the games and Jackson loves learning to write in cursive and I love that it's completely scripted! The only problem I have is that Jackson is really far beyond the reading and slower on the writing. If he was completely a beginner all around it would be perfect. That being said the review does not hurt him in anyway! I think my favorite thing about it is that there are a ton of different activities to use for practice all of the skills and you can choose what works best for your child/children. Anna sometimes tries to participate, though don't even remotely think she's ready. It's fun to see how she has all of the pieces she just needs a little bit longer to put them together.

Scheduling

I am not good about keeping a schedule, or even really planning well. I always want a plan, but I hate fallowing it so I've invented my own system that works well for me.

My planner starts out looking like this

I start with the  Ambleside Online  reading list for the week and try to spread the stories out so we aren't trying to cram everything in. I try to add the subjects I want to hit everyday to my checklist, but I don't actually worry so much if they don't always get checked off, I just want to remind myself to try to fit them in and record what we do end up doing.

The things I keep on schedule are math, reading practise, nature study, poetry, some weeks we do one of Jackson's spelling words every day, and if I feel like we're slacking I'll add a reminder to do something physical and call it PE. 

Nature Study

On top of these things I add Logic of English (affiliate link),  science, and whatever read alouds we're currently doing at least once a week.

 I also always leave myself space to record all of the spontaneous learning that happens and the things that thew kids randomly ask to do.

He has been very into ancient Greece and Rome

Once I have everything planned out I do something from the days list whenever an opportunity arises. Often I read while the kids eat or play and I will intentionally keep the hands on projects for Lincoln's nap time.

 Jackson will sometimes ask for something specific and I'll try to drop whatever I'm doing to accommodate him. If we miss something I might try top hit it over the weekend or just shift the next weeks schedule to allow for a make up day.

It usually ends up looking like this!

I'm really considering switching over to a bullet journal style planner, but I'm not sure if I will or not.

Life of Fred

One of our recent purchases was Life of Fred.

Sorry my camera is so sad!

The first chapter inspired Jackson to make up his own math problems. He can already do basic addition and subtraction fairly well because he really loves math and will almost always choose math activities when they're available.

Writing his own problems

 The second chapter was just as good as the first and I'm hoping I can keep him from trying to do the whole book at once! We did buy the first four just in case he did decide he couldn't stop!

He and I made a special red notebook just for Apples so he can keep all of his work together. 

I would definitely recommend these books especially if you have a kid that either loves math or one that might need more of an application to real life approach, even though Life of Fred isn't terribly realistic. 

Homeschooling

I'm so excited about the new things we've been able to start doing lately with the kids and more specifically with Jackson. He just turned five, but I know that he is ready for some serious homeschooling so since we just got tax money back I was able to buy some new materials for him to use and things are already going amazingly well!!!
These kids never cease to amaze me. I can't wait to write some reviews of our new stuff!

Handwriting

When Jackson was tiny I had certain plans that had to do with his education. Some of these plans are on track and some have been horribly derailed! for instance I tried to teach him that the letters made were they're names, but it is next to impossible to shield a kid from outside influences when it comes to letters and he picked them up anyway. Not that that was the end of the world, he did learn the sounds and is reading well for someone four days shy of his fifth birthday.

"helmet"

Anyway now I'm faced with a similar dilemma. I originally planned on teaching cursive from the beginning and even bought cursive sandpaper letters, but I also purchased a classroom package that included manuscript letter and a manuscript movable alphabet. Growing up I changed schools a lot so I missed learning cursive altogether, though I did pick up some here and there, so I'm not at all confident in my own abilities.

"pepper"

Now as I am trying to make curriculum choices I am starting to really question what to do about handwriting. Jackson has a fairly shaky understanding of writing print, but he doesn't enjoy writing so he hasn't had a ton of practice. he does however have some and I don't know if would be better to continue on or switch. Will it confuse him? He's such a matter of fact guy I worry he'll reject it right out as blasphemy. Also how will it effect the other kids and how they are taught to write? Could I teach them in a different way then I taught him?

"out"

I've found this program that I'm interested in trying, but I am nervous about shelling out the cash and then changing my mind or him hating it. Has anyone tried Logic of  English? I could sure use some advice before we get taxes back and I make my mind up one way or another. Why does choosing a curriculum have to feel so complicated??? I have changed my mind so many times in the last month my brain feels like mush!

Marbles

I have been really slacking on giving Jacks activities to do. My plan is to do some montessori based homeschooling. I finally remembered to throw together something for him! I found these peg board games of Shayne's and some marbles and stuck Jack in the playpen. I didn't even have to show or explain to him what to do he just got right to work. He insisted on doing it twice and both times he was focused for a good twenty minutes!