I did it!

Our first bumper crop of tomatoes!!! I am going to be really nice and give my hubby the big one, but the kids will just have to wait until the next big harvest!

I did it! I ordered all of our homeschool curriculum for the upcoming school year! We are continuing with some of the things we always do, like Saxon Math and ABeka Language, but I am going to try some new things also. For my boys, ages 8 and 10, we are going to try Sonlight Curriculum for history. It is literature-based so it will give us more read-aloud and discussion time, two things I am trying to pay attention to this year. My daughter, Emily, is starting her first high school year and she will be following The Well Trained Mind history reading lists. If I had more time I would love to do it alongside her, it sounds so interesting. The reading includes a lot of philosophical and historical texts and the main focus is to teach the child to reason through ideas and form conclusions on their own. I am looking forward to our discussion times together!

Here are some links to my favorite homeschool catalogs and websites:
Rainbow Resource Center (one of the biggest and best catalogs!)
The Well Trained Mind
Farm Country General Store
Tobin's Lab (excellent source for hands-on science supplies!)

Here is a link for Barnes and Noble University. They provide free, four week classes on a number of different subjects. I have taken a Shakespeare class and a writing class and my daughter took a class to learn how to make web pages, and she created this site. The classes are geared for adults and older children and they are a fun way to learn about something new!

I am always relieved when I am done with my curriculum shopping, I feel so prepared and accomplished, and I LOVE looking forward to getting boxes and boxes of books in the mail! The only downside is that it makes me aware that summer will be over in 7 weeks and then we will begin the process of tackling all the curriculum we bought! Oh boy!

Just because I am a rebel at heart, I may have to order one of these to put in the window of my van:

I can already hear my kids screaming, "No, Mom, that would be SO embarrasing!"

Have a great Friday, everyone!