Though Ambleside has schedules already made up, I find that making a chart helps me keep track easier. I can see at a quick glance where I am in the year and what is lacking for the week. I divide the 36 week schedule into 3 12 week terms. My eldest, who  has Asperger’s Syndrome, works slower than the schedule. I spread the 36 week schedule out, taking 1-2 weeks to every week scheduled. If I let him see the Ambleside schedule, he thinks he is too far behind. In my mind, he is where he is. This year, as encouragement, I plan to award a book from the bookstore for every 12 weeks completed.

Since I’m back from a very long blog vacation, I’ll have to learn how to upload an image, so stay tuned.

I’ve been ill for all of February so far and it will take a few more days to get back to my regular life.

In the meantime, check out the older posts. Cheers.

Our holidays are going well. We have a trip to the relatives under our belts, gifts opened and candles lit and extinguished. The grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins really came through for the boys. We had a bare minimum to spend this year and I was afraid they might be disappointed. No worries. They are immensely happy with their haul.

We have a New Year’s day festival of pirate movies at a friends house, then a slow weekend. The boys are arguing on when the official last day of holidays is. T says Sunday. D says Wednesday. R is amenable to anything as long as he gets to participate.

Tomorrow…the joys of toilet cleaning.

So far, here’s what I have:

• Greek for both boys
• Time line cards
• Greek flashcards and CD
• Various Ambleside books
• A Latin-English Dictionary
• An up-to-date atlas

All that and a holiday gift or two for each boy. Oy! 

School-wise, I’ve finally learned that we don’t have to do it all.  For Ambleside, it seems to be taking T longer than expected, so we’re stretching one year out a bit. He’ll still be keeping up his grade level work in subjects such as Math, Spelling, Dictation, Latin, & Greek. I’m just not packing so many readings in, but spreading them out a bit more.

Here’s what I have scheduled for both T & D (I’m teaching R to read and write and life skills):

Daily Work

• Math
• Spelling
• Italics or Copy work
• Latin
• Greek
• Piano or Typing
• Ambleside Readings and Narrations (T is working on Year 3 and is also doing written narrations, D is working on Year 1 and only does oral narrations)
• T does written narrations 1 or 2 times a week and dictation once a week.
• Science is done as a group read aloud. We also watch various science and nature videos throughout the month.

One thing that I have been lax about is a history time line. T has expressed the need for one. I am not crafty, as evidenced by our untouched time line notebook. My school project for the next month is to find a ready made time line to post or copy one from our book.

Finally, I need to remind myself that with more children, comes the necessity of focusing on the basics of Math, Spelling, Reading and Handwriting. Everything else is icing on the cake. Some things are sprinkles.

UPDATE: I’ve been doing a little research on time lines. I found this and this.  Still looking, but getting closer to a solution.

It amused T and D yesterday, as I lie in bed with a dehydration-induced migraine (don’t ask), that they were able to get ahead of me in Latin by watching their next class on DVD without me. They also drilled R in the Gloria Patri and the Sanctus . R likes to make a pun on the words, et terra, pretending to tear a piece of paper and giggling! Smart boy!

Finally, it’s so hot here that I want nothing to do but crank down the air conditioning and sit in a cold tub. Alas, due to the recent bill from the utility, that is not to be.  I’ll just have to move slower.

The days here have been extremely hot for the last month. Already this year, we’ve had 12 days of 100+ heat. I glanced at the thermostat at the gym as I passed it on the track and it was set to a blissful 71 degrees. At home, I try to keep it at 78, no lower than 76. I am so thankful that I can go to the gym to exercise in near polar conditions. If this is June, I am fearful of July and August.

We plan to visit the library today, as we will have workmen at the house retiling our tub surround and replacing the siding on the outside of the house for the remainder of the week. As for school, we’ll just work that in this afternoon. Tonight is family Nova night.