Cleaning House

It's like "Give a Mouse a Cookie" time here or something. I start cleaning out one closet... and find that to get everything out of the closet I must clear some space somewhere else... and while clearing space somewhere else... WOW!

I've been looking for that for a long time.

Where was I again? Oh, yeah. Cleaning. About two weeks' worth of off and on cleaning like a crazy lady. I say "off and on" because I have these little cuties that keep wanting to eat, get help going potty and they also like to play 'tay-to (potato head) with their mom on occasion, too. Yes, that includes Elf and Emperor. If you have older children and babies at the same time, you know they get interested in one another's toys. Nevermind what the box says.

Why am I cleaning? Sorry, "to have a clean house" is not the answer. I'm preparing for the GREAT CURRICULUM FAAAAAIR next weekend in which I will purchase about $7,328 worth of stuff.

Well, not really.

Actually, I'm going through the books I have now and figuring out what I want to do "next year" for Elf and Emperor and thinking about stuff I might want to buy. I'm thinking Alpha Omega Lifepacs for English. I love BJU and all, but I'm tired of sentence diagramming, dictionary work and "how to look up stuff in a card catalog." It just isn't relevant right now; later, when the boys are a bit older, they will certainly need to know the mechanics a bit better.

In science, we spent so long on trees and frogs and other subjects not in the official curriculum, that I will be able to stretch our fourth grade science Lifepacs until sixth grade. I also have plenty of things printed that were online to supplement if I run out a fair bit early. You know I will.

Even though English Lifepacs come with spelling, I'll likely get BJU Spelling. I will probably have to go over the fact that they'd be doing two spelling curriculums with the boys and see if they REALLY want to do that. They already are doing two math curriculums! We aren't exactly falling "behind" in math, but we aren't as far "ahead" because we've had a few setbacks this year as well as doing twice the work. But I already posted about that.

Social Studies? Wow, am I ever covered. I have several fourth grade Lifepacs, and then we will study Greece, Rome and Egypt. Then a more advanced world history overview. By then, we're ready for sixth grade.

SIXTH GRADE. I don't even know what's going to happen in sixth grade. I always thought the children would go back to public school in sixth grade, because they would no longer have to tolerate the abusive elementary at that point. Now I'm not so sure.

I like thinking ahead, but I don't like thinking *too* far ahead in any great detail yet. In a sketchy sort of way, I can tell you that I would want some sort of all-in-one program (like a BJU distance learning or somesuch program) if we continue through high school.

What do you think? Do you ever start to question whether you've made the right choices? Do you ever wonder this after looking through an entire mall full of every imaginable book in the world? I do. Right now, though, it seems as though homeschooling is a hobby for me. An expensive, time-consuming hobby that I enjoy a lot. I am ready to see what is at the fair and make a few other purchases that would fit within the framework I've already set up in my notes.

I get a bit overwhelmed and exasperated planning it all, but it IS nice when it comes together. I think it will be a lot of fun to go to the fair, though I do remember that it was a bit tiring as well. It's easy to get a little lost and lose track of time in places like that. :)