Summer Program

Have you noticed that I haven't posted since mid-May? I have many things TO post, but I've neglected just sitting down and getting to them. I decided to just "jump in" where we are and then catch up on the other items as we go along.

We decided to have a "Summer Program" this year. It's not remedial summer school, but rather an opportunity to do some things we don't get to during the regular school year. We're nearly finished and it has been very enjoyable for both me and J.

Here's the layout:

Bible
I had two goals for this area for the summer. One was to read through the book of John. The other was for J to memorize verses that have to do with wisdom. This has been a wonderful time together.

Literature
We've been going through the "Time Warp Trio" series. We put the books in chronological order and I read TO him. The reason I do that is that the books like to have the boys insulting each other (in fun), so I skip over those parts. Other than that, they are funny and incorporate historical facts as they experience each trip back in time.

L is also reading an old 1950s book about Wild Bill Hickok to J. It's a great "boy" book and it's a great chance for daddy/son memories to be created.

Math
Math in the summer??? Yes! J really, really hated learning his times tables using flash cards. He's a visual sort of learner and, though he learned them, it was definitely not his favorite thing. I found something called Times Tales that incorporates pictures and stories to teach the more difficult combinations. J is eating it up because he's all about words and pictures (as you can tell from his cartoons that I've posted). Now J claims that math is his favorite subject. He actually cheers about the multiplication tables, and has learned those last, pesky, difficult ones. I'd say we overcame the obstacle!

Writing
I have a stack of scrapbook pages that are colorful and thought-provoking. Each week J has chosen a sheet and then used it to inspire short, 3-paragraph "essays." I'll be posting some of them soon.

Music
I play the piano, so I began simple lessons with him. ALSO, J got a real drum set for his birthday! (I know, I know, I promise I'll do a post about it soon.) I am NOT a drummer, so I've given him some rudimentary things to practice. Mostly he just does his own "songs." We're looking into getting a teacher at some point, but for now I've found an online video series that will challenge him.

History
We're finishing up the final books of the Which Way USA series that are a subscription from J's grandparents. He's saving our state for the very last.

Latin
Heavy-duty for summer, eh? I tried three different approaches during the last school year and none of them really got off the ground for me. THEN, I found something called Lively Latin. It. Is. Awesome. The author has done a fantastic job of making the subject easy to learn (which I needed) as well as interesting and fun. I am learning so much! I mean, J is learning so much! I really, really recommend it.

It looks like a lot, doesn't it? It really is only about 2 hours worth of activity, and all of it is enjoyable. Structure works well for us, even in the summer. I do the "program" only four days a week, and if we need to do something else, it's certainly easy enough to push it off to another day . . . and we certainly have.

The summer program also includes field trips (more posts I haven't gotten to), helping with the garden, and trips to the community pool on the (few) hot days. We haven't gone camping yet, but the camper is opened up, airing out, and we're making plans.

Now that I've broken the posting silence, I'll make it a point to catch up on them!