The countdown begins!

It's official...the summer is nearly gone! School begins in a month...it's time to panic! The kids think they are the only ones with anxieties about school starting...but the truth be told...it's the homeschool moms that have all the anxiety! So many thoughts to bring captive...what to teach, what to buy, when to prepare, schedules, supplies, book and websites, clean the school room, get organized, plan, plan, plan! Once that is conquered, deal with the children who don't want summer to end. Can they really will away the onset of school? With all the craziness I'm still always very excited! I am a school junkie! I can spend hours looking at school supplies, and curriculums! Is there really anything more encouraging than brand new notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils and unbroken crayons? Someday I'll blog my homeschooling history, but for today, my focus is strictly on the plans....my goal for today is to narrow down some curriculums. This year is especially challenging for us. I am working to plan our school year using only the resources that I have onhand, can borrow, or find online. I guess that would be called cost-free, recession proof, free homeschooling! I love a good challenge! The fact that I've already graduated two homeschool students lends to the vast closet full of books and folders of stuff! Don't we all have "unfinished" curriculums? You know, the end of the year but not end of the book stuff. So I'm going to cull those books and use them to create a years worth of lessons. I've got some science lessons that I know I can use...just have to organize and plan them. I found a great American History resource online. An entire k-12 curriculum for FREE! I've ordered the cd, so now we wait for it to come in the mail and then get it printed! If you would like to check it out: www.americanheritage.org , I'm super excited about it! I've also found grammar resources online, free to print...entire books! Here's the link: www.sf.reading.com/resources I will reuse the Saxon textbooks as these are reusable! I've got Spelling Power from years past, I'm going to dust it off and get it back in the classroom. For reading...library, library, library! There are lots of free book report forms online, just have to choose one I like! I also love, love, love lapbooks and mini offices! Last year we completed a lapbook on the Presidential Election, that was fun and informative. As a whole, the school year will be character based. I have some Character First (www.characterfirst.com) booklets to teach out of. These are a great springboard for unit studies. Maybe tomorrow I'll blog about homeschooling in December...I've got a great idea developing! Until then...happy homeschooling!