There are about three weeks left until we start the 2008-2009 homeschool year. This year will bring a relatively big change in the way we do our work. Christian will be working in a similar way to what we have done in the past, but more emphasis will be placed on CLEP preparation. Since he is now in Algebra II that is so important for the science and engineering fields where his interest lies, we will work hard to establish a strong base there. Our plan is for him to take three CLEP tests this year in History of Western Civilization I and II and Spanish. Christian has a strong enough interest and background in programming now, that I think it is time to jump into C++. I am not sure whether we will do it on Linux or Windows, but either way it will be exciting to get started on a good project with him. Of course, he will continue with his guitar lessons.
Kelly will no longer follow the Sonlight suggested history and literature schedules. She will still read all of the Sonlight literature books for the year, writing about one book report per week. Mainly she will concentrate on college prepartion materials. She will use this year’s Apologia Biology to help her prepare for the CLEP Biology test, Rosetta Stone Spanish to help her prepare for the CLEP Spanish test, and the some CLEP preparation books to prepare for U.S. History II, Psychology, and Sociology. Her comic strip and two-per-week blog postings on a variety of subjects will be good for exercising her use of “new media”. She will continue with piano lessons.
As for exercise, both Kelly and Christian will swim until the outdoor pool at the YMCA closes for the winter. Then we have to make some hard decisions. I would really like to run a triathlon with the kids, but it would be kind of neat to systematically prepare for and run in a 10K race sometime before then. Running is a lifelong sport that could fit well into our schedule. I even think Lorena would like it. It is still a little early for Christian to do any serious weight training, but Kelly might do some of that with Lorena during the winter while Christian runs. We will see about all that and negotiate through what interests them and provides them a goal.