I wait for this day all summer.

I’ve done all the looking about, all the planning and screening.

Decisions and selections have been made.

I watch for the UPS man like a teenager in love.

When he finally arrives I am giddy.

Our curriculum for next year is finally here!

We will be starting second, fourth and sixth grades at our kitchen table.

I know just what to expect, but the kids are getting a glimpse of what they will be studying for the first time. It’s like going to open house the week before school starts and getting to see your classroom for the first time. Except maybe better.

Once again, I did the obligatory (for me) checking other curriculums. But I knew in my heart we would stick with Sonlight. The literature-focused, “living books” approach is a perfect fit for my family. We are using Core E this year, the second of a two-year American History course. Last year we began with pre-historic America and ended with westward expansion. This year we will pick up where we left off and zoom clear into modern history.

Something new I am trying this year is supplementing some of our other learning with the Critical Thinking program. Shooter helped me make selections from their catalogue, including “Editor In Chief” and “Critical Thinking In US History” for his studies. We are also giving Teaching Textbooks a go for our fourth and sixth grade math.

I am determined to do a better job of including science experiments and art projects this year, and have a new schedule in mind. Once a week, we will perform science experiments three times a month and art projects once a month. I picked up a great art projects book for a pittance at the used curriculum fair in May and have already selected our nine projects. I copied the projects from the book, filed them and included the materials needed with each file in a box. I’m beginning the same process now with science experiments.

So excuse me while I get back to shelving these beautiful new books and thrilling at the sounds of binders rings snapping together and staples ca-chunking.

August will be here before we know it and I want to be ready!

Do you have school-age children, and if so, have you begun to think about the start of the new year yet?

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