Survival Mode

Finally having time to check out this blog of mine to make sure it still existed, I realized that my last post was sometime in August.  Wow, what happened to September?!  Was it perhaps the fact that I was so exhausted after the last school year that I couldn't bring myself to even THINK about curriculum for a new year until almost September?  Yes, that and trying to find new teachers for Adventures--a task that seemed nearly impossible this year for some reason.  These things are not too out of the ordinary though, so I think adding to those trials the task of getting Allison started in college, when neither one of us really knew what we were doing, contributed a little insanity to an already insane time of the year.  To top off my stress levels, throw a little something called "Grand Jury Duty" into the mix, and well, let's just say I've never been so glad to see the end of September. 

October is finally here!  Fall, with its promise of changing leaves, pumpkin patches and corn mazes, apple cider festivals, and Balloon Fiesta will fill my calendar with things that I enjoy doing.  Insane schedule aside, we did manage to get school started and things are going much more smoothly than they should have considering our curriculum didn't arrive until just before Labor Day weekend.

My favorite new curriculum this year for Chloe is All About Spelling.  Her dyslexia throws her a curve ball when it comes to spelling, and this program is helping her immensely.  For my two high school kids, I'm really liking Around the World in 180 Days.  We can do as much or as little as we like, and I am finding lots of videos to supplement our studies.

Below are a few pictures I managed to take in order to prove to myself that we really are doing school in spite of the craziness. 

Apologia's Introduction to chemistry and physics = fun experiments.

Making sorbet while learning about freezing and melting points.

Grant's Lego project to demonstrate feudalism.  He even included a moat, the draw bridge, portcullis, chamber pot, guards, lords and ladies.  He did a great job, and we've enjoyed his creation.