New Year, New Focus

We started our first week of fall schooling for our 2009-2010 school year. We battled a mild to moderate flu bug this week so lessons were at a gentle pace. Our schedule looks like this-
Monday- Oak Meadow Curriculum (OM), Nature Walk, and Music (songs and fingerplays)
Tuesday- Avery has School Readiness from 8:10-12:30, Ethan has workbooks and Guitar Lessons
Wednesday- OM, Field Trip (library), Art/Bake, Pioneer Studies
Thursday- Avery School Readiness, Ethan gets to have a morning off or catch up with lessons, ASL
Friday, OM, Muzzy (Spanish), Avery Workbook, Avery Music Lessons

Oak Meadow- second grade and kindergarten
Music- Fall will be Enki songs (very fun and easy fingerplays) (winter will be from Putumayo)
Music Lessons- Ethan will study the guitar, Avery Piano or lap harp

We'll have daily activities following the main lesson, and afternoon art time. We'll have more art and indoor fun in the winter. I'd prefer them to play outside right now and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. Our yard has a lot of chicken poop monsters leaving little poop piles everywhere but they're still fun to have and we love being out with them and the bunnies.

We're still using material from Enchantedlearning.com and I'm getting new storage furniture for them at Ikea this weekend to give them playing surfaces. We'll be creating needle felt dolls and landscapes this winter as well. I'm ordering more supplies from Etsy.com and atoygarden.com.
I also am creating a playroom for them in the basement. I reorganized my art space last week when I was feeling good, and next week we'll finish by installing a new sofa bed (essentially a futon), and organizing their toys into a rotational conditional use system. I just need the energy to finish it. They'll have a trapeze bar and I'd like to get them some pod chairs to give them privacy and a sacred place to enjoy (womb chairs I call them). I have 1 hanging chair that might work if we can get it installed.

Our schooling space upstairs works nicely- I might get a round table for schooling so Nahni can sit with us and move the 2 red tables down stairs and the current schooling table over at the window for a nature table. Nahni wants to join us and the current table only seats 2.

Nahni's schooling consists of ASL, colors, letter and number recognition, counting, creating, and playing playing playing.

Ethan's focus is whatever he's interested in (robotics is high on his list), music, creativity and understanding the world around him. He loves google earth and educational videos on youtube. He's fascinated by science and building. I'd love to get him a space set up outside with tools and machines so he can create and learn away.

Avery loves art and is very adept at learning whatever she's presented with. She's into drama, dance, and wants to learn gymnastics and ballet. We'll see what brainerd has.

And so, long post but that's the start to our year. Things are looking good!