Week 4: Goldbach Academy

This is our first year doing Sonlight! So far, we are doing really well - getting used to more reading each day, and Dylan is getting up early every day and knocking out his Bible reading and history readers.
We started out learning by weeks, but then we had a field trip last Monday and realized we were off by one day. So, instead of cramming 2 days worth of information into the next day, I decided it would be better to go by days and take our time. There is so much to learn!

Sealife Aquarium 

The kids favorite subject is science. They are voracious note takers as I read Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. It's amazing to me, as science was not my favorite subject... but I am loving it too and learning so much along with them! 

Experiments are the most fun, of course... Today we were seeing if hot water or cold water is heavier. They are learning about what causes currents in oceans and fresh water.

We are also growing accustomed to Dylan having karate 3 days a week. Mondays are quite a hustle! After karate, Dylan has a drum lesson and I teach piano and voice students at the Music School. I love it and I love my students! It's so much fun.

Little math whiz...

Another thing we are getting really good at is daily chores! This is tough for mommy... I'm not particularly good at doing chores, but we've been using a list for a few months that has been working so well. The kids are so much happier when they have responsibilities - it helps them understand that they are a vital part of our family, I guess. Of course there are some complaints, but generally speaking they know what is expected of them. They do get allowance on Fridays for certain chores, but other chores like dishes, sweeping, setting and clearing the table - those are just expected of them as members of the family. It's a system that really seems to be working! It also allows me more time to do things like mop, clean my own room and bathroom, etc...

Schedule, daily jobs, etc...

September will bring a few more activities, like an 8 week Basic Anatomy class led by my friend Kim, and some outreach activities with our church family. It's hard to be believe we are already in Week 4 of this school year! Since last winter was so hard, I'm not particularly looking forward to fall yet. Plus it's still 90 degrees around here! The guinea pigs are also really enjoying the summer still, grazing in the front yard. They are so cute - they don't even go very far. They really prefer to be close to us or hiding under something.

Evening grazing (can you spot Rocket? He's the solid black dark spot near the bushes!)

Sweet girls...