School is over!

Well, as of July 5th, our 5th grade school year is finally over.  Yes, I'm a mean mom b/c I made my kid do school during the summer, but I did cut back some...to history, science and math.  Math he will continue to do year-round because it's not his strong subject yet.  And history...well ok, truth be told, we crammed the last 3 lessons into one day because we were both tired and ready for a month off!  We (I say we because as the teacher, I learn just as much as J and I'm loving it!) have gone from Columbus to the Persian Gulf in American History, we have tried 3 different math programs and have finally found what we THINK will be the one to stick with, we have learned about our solar system (thanks to Aunt Sharon and the books she sent us last year...they were AWESOME) some biology and physical science (thanks to co-op science!) and the first 10 elements of the periodic table (thanks to our home chemistry program).  We have discovered the books of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Psalms, John and others together.  We have also read 32 books (not counting the Star Wars or Wimpy Kid related books for fun, lol!) and one giant history book.  We traveled to South Carolina, visited three Civil War battlegrounds, traveled to Florida and Disney (ok...not really school-related but AWESOME), made many small field trips around Texas, and we gained a fourth family member!  It has been one incredible school year!!

J's solar system...yes we included Pluto ;-)  It is considered a dwarf planet in our minds!!

Will I do it again next year?  ABSOLUTELY!  I can't imagine not doing it now.  I feel like a homeschool professional after surviving our first year.  Does J want to keep doing it?  YES!  Except for math, he loves it...and hopefully with our new math program that will slowly change too :-)  

In mid-August, we will be starting our new curriculum, we already have most everything we need thanks again to my wonderful, wonderful friend GFG.  T & I decided to not do the typical 6th grade world history curriculum (we will come back to it in 7th)...instead we will be studying Australia, Asia, Africa, India and the Middle East through Sonlight's Core F program.  We will be learning that it's not all about us, America...although we have an amazing history and we are very thankful and proud to be Americans...there are so many other incredible cultures out there and so many who still need Jesus.  We will be learning about areas that are sometimes skipped or skimmed over in school, areas that even I can't pinpoint on a map at my current age so I'm excited to learn with J again.  We will meet Ghengis Khan, Mother Teresa and many other historical figures as we travel these countries in the past and present.  It will be an amazing year...especially with a 6 month to one year old in the house...oh yes, this year will be different but we are so looking forward to it. 


So here's to a month off for summer fun and to another fun year of school to follow!