Week One of School: So Far, So Good!

Call me weird, but I like to start our school year on a Monday, the first complete week of the month which always happens to be Labor Day.  Since that's not a holiday that we celebrate in any particular way, I think it's okay.

This year, I have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader and a "pay attention to me, don't you know that the whole world revolves around me" toddler.  Tomorrow marks the end of our 1st week of school - so far, so good!  This is what our week looks like:

Mondays: Language Arts including Grammar, Spelling, Handwriting

Tuesdays: The older two are attending two classes each at a homeschool enrichment program.  The 4th grader's classes include Theater and a class called Mini-Society, which is an economics/entrepreneurial course about how to start a business, study the market, create, price, and sell your products, etc.  I knew this was the right class for her ever since she wrote a letter to Target about hiring her even though she was only nine years old!  The 2nd grader's classes are P.E. and K'nex, which teaches team building, problem solving, etc.

Wednesdays: Math

Thursdays: History

Friday: Science

In addition to these core subjects, the kids do a daily devotional and Bible reading, are learning Japanese via Rosetta Stone, study art and do various projects several times a week, study music and practice their instruments, and we get out to the park or do some outdoor activity throughout the week also.  I switched to doing one main subject per day (versus a little bit every day) last year, and it really works well for us to delve into a subject deeper on that one day and concentrate all activities, discussions, etc. on it.  

This year, I am super excited about what we're using for History (The Mystery of History) and Science (Considering God's Creation).  Towards the end of last year, both kids started asking in depth questions about how the events listed in the Bible matched up to other historical events and why evolution was mentioned so often in programs they watched about animals and the earth.  I knew we had to address these issues head on, and these two programs start with Creation and go deep into God's Word, historical facts and scientific knowledge to show how God did indeed magnificently and purposefully create all things.

That's our homeschooling program in a nutshell.  If you have any ideas to share, things that have worked for you, etc., please share!