School Update

School has been going so well lately that Kara sat me down and told me she doesn't need a week off every six weeks.  lol!  I mean, what kid says that??  She says she does 5 days worth of work in 4 days, so she has a three day weekend every week.  So, she's good.  She says she likes having a week off whenever I say she can take off, but she doesn't need it.  Well, okay.  There you go.

I figured out Kara is an enneagram 5 (exactly like Michael), which is a person who loves facts, loves being alone with their own thoughts, and loves learning.  No wonder homeschool is so much fun for us!

All of that said, Kara is really liking being in control of her schedule, including her sleep schedule.  I really prefer being in control, but I remember 12 being the age when I started wanting more independence, so I'm trying hard to let her be.  As long as it works, we will continue with her late night schedule and letting her sleep until 10am.  If it stops working, we will stop it.  She didn't do so well this week on her Spanish test, but she aced her Math test.  Time will tell.

Here is how Kara does 5 days worth of work at her level in only 4 days:

Tuesday:
One hour of math with me - 11am-noon.
Five Spanish lessons - after shower - about 9pm.  Each lesson is about 20 minutes long.

Wednesday:
One hour of math with me - 11am-noon.
Five Middle Ages History lessons - after shower - about 9pm.  Middle Ages History has so much literature that it is a full history credit AND a full reading credit.  A typical week looks like this:  vocabulary for the book she will read, read about 100-150 pages, answer questions about the book with me out loud or on her blog, read an article on the side about something or someone (like The Black Death, Constantine, etc.) that was mentioned in the book, write an essay about that side article.

Thursday:
One hour of math with me - 11am-noon.

Five-Six Astronomy lessons - after shower - about 9pm.  Each lesson takes about 15 minutes.

Five Bible History lessons.  Each lesson takes about 10-15 minutes.

Friday:

One hour of math with me - 11am-noon.

Five Writing lessons - after shower - about 9pm.  Each lesson takes about 5-10 minutes.

She will sometimes switch a few lessons around here and there, depending on how hard it is.  Five Spanish lessons all on Tuesday is a lot.  And she doesn't always read the book for History in one day.  She also has chores and horse lessons every week.  And Wednesdays she volunteers at church and attends youth group.

We are in a groove.  One thing I have learned about homeschooling - that groove can last 6 months or 6 minutes.  I am just along for the ride!

Praise God for homeschooling.  It is such a blessing to our family!