Weekly Wrap Up ~ Week #1: The Start of Year 17

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We started back to school this week for year 17! I am going to try incredibly hard to come and pen a post each Friday night this year. I have missed being able to look back on how far the kids have come each week and throughout the year. I am still wrapping my head around the fact that I just have my two youngest learning at home. 

It's always a bit of a challenge starting the year off mid-August because McKenzie's gymnastics summer schedule is still in full swing, but we make it work with the slow start. Fall practice starts at the end of the month and Micah also starts his Fall baseball training the first week of September. I love and crave routine! The kids thrive on it as well so I look forward to everything falling into place to give us a daily rhythm in the next few weeks.  

This year we have added back in our Morning Time Recitations, that we refer to as MTR. If you want to know what we're using and how we do it let me know and I'll write up a post. For this school year we are focusing on the Catechism, Proverbs, and Manners. The Catechism is a review for McKenzie and an introduction for Micah. It will take us two years to get through all of the questions as we go week by week. Micah will get it again fully when he reaches Sonlight Core 200 as it is apart of the Bible portion of the HBL. We also incorporated World Watch News this year during our MTR and it has been really great!

McKenzie started her two week "Are you Ready for Algebra 2" prep course. The teacher is super and I am proud that McKenzie is in fact ready for Algebra 2 to start at the end of the month. Since the majority of Micah's courses are online he only has to complete MTR, Bible, Cursive Handwriting, free reading for 45 minutes, and History until the end of the month. He also does a lesson of German on DuoLingo each day. 

*please excuse her table...it has since been cleared off and the books/supplies put away*

Speaking of German...we (Mikayla, McKenzie, Micah, and I) are learning German on DuoLingo. German is so foreign to me...Spanish is so much easier to speak and comprehend but my brain is finally starting to get the hang of it. Hopefully by December we can bring back our Foreign Language day where we only speak German as much as possible. I did this when the older girls were doing Spanish lessons. 

I think we have come up with a solution for McKenzie to continue driving. Her being petite in stature initially caused an issue because she could not safely see the road. With a little bit of finagling we have come up with a plan and she is back on the road.

Our Micah man has been in weekly swimming lessons for the last 5 weeks with The British Swim Club. His Boy Scout Troop does a lot of water adventures and I want him to be comfortable in the water as well as knowing how to swim and save himself. In fact, he needs to know how to swim to rank up for his next rank as well as being classified as a "Swimmer" for summer camp. His goal is to get that classification next May. I like that this is a year-round indoor program and the classes are limited to 4 students. For the first 4 weeks it was just him and a little girl so he has gotten focused attention. So proud of the progress he has made and looking forward to him moving up through the levels to reach his goal.

Next week we take Montana to University! Wow...I can't believe we are dropping off another child to University! My dining room has been taken over with all things dorm room. Thankfully we have items that Mikayla has been able to pass down to minimize costs...except the dorm fridge. I am still a bit salty about that (IYKYK) so just know we have secured a new refrigerator that will be saved for McKenzie in 3 short years. Montana has had her last pre-University meeting with the USDA. We need to knock out a headshot photo this weekend or early next week and then she will be all set for move in day. That's it for now. I will do my best to showcase what we have accomplished each week, even if it is just posting a few pictures.

Until next time friends! 

2025 ~ 2026 Plan of Study: 6th & 10th grades

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My final two...my baby girl and baby boy! Not sure how we have gotten to this point, yet, here we are! I am excited for this new season in our homeschool.  It's been an extremely busy year...I feel like I have just come up for air and being able to process everything that is forth coming. Our courses have been picked since the beginning of February, but I just have not had the chance to breathe and sit and put this blog post together until now. I do love this time of the year though! Seeing what everyone is planning to use is exciting to me. Once again I am grateful to be able to take advantage of the a la carte courses from Veritas Press Scholars Academy to continue giving my children a classical education model.

 Without further ado below you will find the Plan of Study for my two youngest, McKenzie & Micah, who will be going into 10th and 6th grade. 

I've said it once and I'll say it again, once you hit high school the time flys by so quickly! How is my baby girl heading into 10th grade!? Nevertheless, here we are and we are going full steam ahead with sophomore year. McKenzie will be taking three online courses, Honors Comp II, Honors Chemistry, and German I. She is most excited about finally officially starting to learn German. She has been self teaching herself with Duolingo and speaking/practicing with Mikayla who also is learning German. I guess this means I need to up my German language too because Micah has hinted that he may study German instead of Spanish too. McKenzie will take her first ACT in October to give us a baseline for where she is at. She still has her eyes set on being a collegiate gymnast and has expressed an interest in The Ivey's  or a small D2/3 school so I want to make sure academically she is ready if we go that route. Her co-op courses this year will count as part of her electives to round out her course of study. She will continue to train during the morning for gymnastics which has been working for her. I hope to implement a better evening schedule so we are not up too late studying, especially because she is going to be doing Chemistry. 

McKenzie's 10th Grade Plan of Study:

 Bible {1 credit} 

 ~ Sonlight Bible 320

 Math {1.5 credit} 

 ~ Saxon Algebra 2 with 1/2 credit of Geometry with Nicole the Math Lady

 Honors English 10 {1 credit} 

 ~ Composition II, online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

~ Rod & Staff Grammar, 9/10, Book 2 

Article of the Week {current events only - oral discussion}

~ SAT / ACT Vocabulary study

Honors Science {1 credit} 

 ~ Apologia Chemistry, online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

 Honors Literature {1 credit} 

 ~ Sonlight Core 300 20th Century Literature

 Honors History {1 credit} 

 ~ Sonlight Core 300 ~ 20th Century World History

 Foreign Language {1 credit} 

 ~ German I, online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

 Electives 

~ Home Economics {1 credit}

~ Home Economics Household and Personal Management Skills

~ Home Economics Kitchen Skills

 ~  Create & Publish a Children's Book @ co-op {1/2 credit} 

~ Theater @ co-op {1/2 credit} 

~ Personal Finance @ co-op {1 credit}

 PE {1 credit} 

 ~ Level 9 Gymnastics, 28 hours a week 

 Extras 

 ~ ACT Prep (30 minutes/day)

 Total yearly credits: 10.5 credits 

Wowzers my baby boy is heading to middle schooll! Sixth grade is when we start our college prep course of study with science and Latin and it's no different this year for Micah. I didn't think he would be ready when we started 5th grade but he has grown leaps and bounds over the past year and I am excited to be at this point with him. This year will be a little different as he has requested to do more online classes with Veritas Press Scholars Academy. At first, I was a little bit in my own feelings, but I also understand that he works better not being fully accountable to me. We did compromise and say that we can try it out, but I still want to do our history together because even if he decides to stick with online classes I don't think I am willing to give up our Sonlight for Omnibus. Especially since his 4 older sisters are proof that Sonlight H/B/L "works" and fully prepares a child for university (not to say Veritas does not either). If six live courses turn out to be too intense and stressful we can and will drop a few. Honestly though I think he will be fine and this year I will be helping him manage his time and courses by checking his work and fully making sure he completes all components so he is prepared for class meetings. He is excited to have a male teacher this year for General Science and to be able to be in his Grammar & Writing course with a close family friend. For our weekly co-op we will continue to use those courses to bring the beauty and enrichment to our homeschool. 

 Micah's 6th Grade Plan of Study: 

 Bible 

 ~ Veritas Press Gospels Self-Paced Bible 

 Math 

~ Saxon 7/6 , online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

 Language Arts 

 ~ A Reason for Writing, Book F

~ Linguistics 6 online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

~ Shurley Grammar 6, online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

 ~ IEW Structure & Style Writing, Year 1-Level 1B, online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

~ Veritas Press Literature 6, online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

He will read: 

The Yearling, Fahrenheit 451, Little Women, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Call of the WIld, A Christmas Carol, The Jungle Book, Kidnapped, White Fang, and The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings: Part 1

 History/Geography 

~ Sonlight Core G – Ancient History, we will complete the 2nd half of this curriculum

~ Veritas Press Self-Paced History – Middle Ages, Renaissance & Reformation

Project Passport ~ Middle Ages Homeschool in the Woods

 Science

 ~ Apologia General Science , online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

 Latin 

~ Latin Transition 1 , online with Veritas Press Scholars Academy

 PE 

Baseball – Fall: Select training program, Spring: Middle School baseball team

 Weekly Co-Op 

~ Missions & Geography

~ Myths & Legends

~ Lego's

~ Middle School PE

It's going to be a great year!

© 2008 - 2025 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

http://astablebeginning.com

2022 - 2023 Plan of Study

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 Hi there friends! We are wrapping up year 13, yet we are looking forward to starting the new school year in August. All three kids made great strides this past year and I am so proud of them all for pushing through and excelling. 

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Next school year we will begin our 14^th year of home education and we will have a 10^thgrader, 7^th grader, and a 3^rd grader. This year only Montana will be taking online classes as I jump back into the saddle teaching full time. My break was great and much needed, but now I am ready to get back into the grind of daily teaching and learning with the kids.

We will continue to school 4 days a week for McKenzie and Micah while Montana will do a traditional 5 days for Sophomore year of high school. It may become necessary to adjust our days for McKenzie because of her gymnastics schedule, something we did at this grade for Mikayla. To do this we will add in Saturday school, but for now we are planning on just four days. 

Right now our plan is to start our new year on August 1^st. I may have to adjust this since the University girls need to get back to school mid-August but that is what I am planning. I’m also looking forward to going back to our Sabbath scheduling. This year we will school 9 weeks on / 1 Sabbath week off. It might get a little tricky for Montana as she is taking three online classes again, but we will make it work and make sure she gets her rest when needed too.

Without further ado here is our 2022 – 2023 Plan of Study…

Another year of high school is upon us for Montana! She has excelled in the three online courses she took with Veritas Scholars Academy with final grades ranging from 96-99%! We will continue to utilize VSA for three more of her courses for 10^th grade. Montana has narrowed down what she thinks she wants to be after University, either a Veterinarian or a Medical Examiner. She wants to study art on the side and is interested in animation. Now, don’t be super alarmed at the amount of credits she is taking because everything will not be done every single day. I wanted to make room in her course load to include classes she is interested in as well as our required courses. The schedule will definitely adjust if need be, especially if she starts to get overwhelmed. Here’s what Montana will be learning next school year to earn 10 high school credits. 

10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Apologetics, 1 cr:

~ Sonlight Core 300

~ It Couldn’t Just Happen *she will just read this a few times a week

Math, 1 cr:

~ Saxon Algebra 2 with DIVE lecture or OutSchool lecture course 

Honors English II, 1 cr:

~ Rod & Staff 9/10, Book 2

~ Composition 2, online with Veritas Scholars Academy

~ Literature: Sonlight 20th Century Classic Literature

~ Article of the Week {current events only- not the writing portion}

~ Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1

 

Honors Chemistry, 1 cr:

~ Chemistry, online with Veritas Scholars Academy

 

Honors History/Geography, 1 cr:

~ Sonlight Core 300 : 20th Century WorldHistory

Honors Foreign Language, 1 cr:

~ Avancemos  Spanish 2, online with Veritas Scholars Academy

 

 Music Study, ½ cr:

 ~ 21 Lessons in 20th Century American Music Appreciation

Art , ½ cr:

~ (2-3) 2D /3D Animation courses on OutSchool

 

Philosophy, 1 cr:

 ~ The Discovery of Deduction

 

Home Ec, 1 cr:

~ Home Economics Household and Personal Management Skills
~ Home Economics Kitchen Skills

 

PE, ½  cr:

~ Rec Softball {Fall/Spring}

 

Drivers Ed, ½ cr: (1st  semester)

 

Extras:

~ Montana also works as a Mother’s Helper 5 hours a week

 ~ PSAT prep ~ 45 minutes/day, 4 days a week 

 

* Just as my older girls have done, Montana will sit for the PSAT in October to get her first look and baseline score as a 10^th grader. 

 

Total credits ~ 10.00

 

 

McKenzie has made huge strides over the last year, especially in her reading, Latin, and spelling! For 6^th grade she took two online courses, Apologia General Science and Latin Transition 1 with Veritas Scholars Academy. It was a great fit and the right amount of push she needed. This year she will not be taking any online courses because of timing issues, but hopefully next year course times will work a bit better for her schedule. McKenzie is still interested in being either a Chemist or a Gymnastics Coach/Manager. I’m excited to be feeding her excitement for studying Chemistry this year. Here’s what McKenzie will be learning.

7th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Apologetics:

~ Sonlight Bible H

~ It Couldn’t Just Happen *we are going to use this as a devotional and stretch it to fit the whole school year with the lesson plans I have.

Recitation:

~ Rhetoric/Latin/Math memory work from Classical Conversations

Math:

~ * At My Pace Pre-Algebra with High School Math Live

~ Pre-Algebra with Saxon 8/7 using DIVE

*we are currently reviewing the first half of this math program.

Language Arts:

~ Rod & Staff Grammar 7

~ Rod & Staff Spelling 6

~ Sonlight Literature H

~ Doodle & Do Vocabulary

~ Analogies For Us All from CC Challenge A

~ IEW Structure & Style, Level B

~ Current Events with World Magazine

History:

~ Sonlight Core H

Geography:

~ CC Cartography course from Challenge A

Latin, 1 cr:

~ Latin Alive 2 *we will count this course for high school credit

Logic:

~ Fallacy Dectective 

Science:

~ Elemental Science Chemistry for Logic Stage

PE:

~ Level 8 (9) Developmental Program Gymnastics Team, 26 hours/week

Extras:

~ co-op enrichment courses

Total credit ~ 1.00

Micah is moving ahead to 3^rd grade, wow! It seems just like yesterday that he was just going into Kindergarten. Cliché, I know, but nonetheless I am excited that my baby boy is growing up. He is a strong reader (yes!) and doing great in math as well. Years ago I did Classical Conversations Foundations at home with the older girls so I am planning on doing the same this year with Micah. We will be focusing on the memory work for Recitation as we work through Sonlight’s Core C that we dropped for 2^nd grade. Micah is also looking forward to starting his formal study of Latin this year. As of right now he would like to be a baseball player or a military officer. Here’s what Micah will be learning next school year.

3rd Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Apologetics:

~ Sonlight Bible C

~ Thy Ology

Recitation:

~ Classical Conversations Foundations Memory work (at home)

Math:

~ Saxon Math 3 

Language Arts:

~ Rod & Staff Grammar 3

~ Rod & Staff Spelling 4

~ Sonlight Literature 3/4 Readers

~ A Reason for Writing, C

~ Writing across the curriculum

History / Geography:

~ Sonlight Core C

Latin:

~ Latin for Children A

Science:

~ Elemental Science Chemistry for Grammar Stage

PE:

~ Fall / Spring baseball

Extras:

~ co-op enrichment courses

~ Cub Scouts Wolf

Thanks for reading our plans! Have you started thinking about what you will use for next school year? I would love to hear your plans! Drop me a note below in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going.

 © 2008 - 2022 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

 https://astablebeginning.com