School 2012

We are getting so excited for school to start!  This year all of our children were able to get into classes with our weekly homeschool group.  Here is our schedule for iFamily this year:

Tasha	Aliysa	Jace	Courtney	Spencer	Mallory	Zach	Andrew	Abby
Teach Personal finance	Advanced acting	Personal Finance	Science Alive	Boys Sewing	(Babysit for Mom)	Book Bugs	(Play quietly in Mom's class)	Music to the core
			Project Knitting	Narnia	Love of Music	M&M	M&M	M&M
Teach Nature Study	Chemistry	Chemistry				Nature Study	Nature Study	Nature Study
			Sewing		(Nature Study)
				Geography	Music Around the World	Music Around the World
	Worldviews	iShakespeare
			Teach Creative Corner		Spanish		Creative Corner	Creative Corner

I am teaching a personal finance class for junior-high and high-school aged students, using the Dave Ramsey course.   I am also so excited to be teaching a "nature study" class for little ones up to age 8.  We will be going outside every week, and learning about insects, seeds, flowers, clouds, etc.  Registration for iFamily was crazy this year (we need a bigger building and more classes!).  I had around 50 children wanting to sign up within a few minutes.  I was able to split the class, use another room, and find another mom to take the second class.  So, now there are around 60 children and their moms looking forward to nature study!

All of the kids will also be taking gymnastics each week, and going to do baptisms at the temple each week after gymnastics. 

This year we're starting a new thing in our home school - called "kid classes".  Each child gets to choose something they want to learn about, and then they get time during homeschool to have a "class" on that subject.  Any of the other children can join in if they are interested, but if they aren't, then they can go study something else during that time.

The topics our children chose are: Aliysa-Tonga, Jace-Marine life, Courtney-Engineering/electricity, Spencer-Ancient Rome & Greece, Mallory- still deciding, Zach-Black holes (he is an outer space buff), Andrew-Choo Choo trains, Abby- (she took about 1 second to decide what her "kid class would be)  "Hummingbirds!  That fly around in the sky, and are so pretty, and drink from our hummingbird feeder!  Then I want to learn about butterflies! And then..."
Aliysa is looking forward to school this year. She'll be in a play this spring as part of her advanced acting class, she'll be having a great time learning about Chemistry at iFamily and at home, and her worldviews class will give her a great opportunity to learn and grow.  In addition to iFamily classes and gymnastics, she is taking a community class at BYU-I about "Writing and illustrating children's books".

She is quite interested in writing books.  (We're hoping she'll come up with something a little more marketable than her recent endeavor - a child's book about a tapeworm that gets cut in half by a boy's shovel.  He goes on with his life and eventually meets up with another worm, that turns out to be his back end, grown in to another worm.  Her illustrations for that book were darling - it was such a cute little tapeworm. (!)  I honestly don't know where she comes up with these things.)

Jace has been working lots this summer doing yard work for neighbors, and helping Bob remodel the triplex. He is on the 9th grade football team, so he practices with the high school team now.  He just finished "2 a day" practices.  It was grueling, 4+ hrs a day, but he survived it and is looking forward to his first game next week.  He is also taking German, working to earn his Eagle Scout award this year, and will be taking driver's ed.  He was hired to be an assistant at gymnastics this year, so each Friday he'll be helping in all the classes.  He is looking forward to his Shakespeare class - the women who teach it are incredibly talented.  Last year's production was excellent! 

Courtney taught a preschool this summer, which she enjoyed and learned a lot from.  She continued with piano lessons this summer, and is quite diligent about practicing.  She is also teaching herself to play the violin.  She is helping her friend Keziah teach a class at iFamily for preschool-aged children called  "Creative Corner".  She'll also be taking Science Alive (studying Galileo), Project knitting (she has such a fun teacher, she loves her knitting class!), and sewing from her sewing teacher who she adores.

Spencer has been Bob's right-hand man this summer, helping to remodel the triplex we purchased.  He is such a hard worker!  When he's not working, he spends a lot of his time playing in the river with his friends.  He also started his first year of "Grid Kid" football, with Bob as his coach.  Their first game is tomorrow.  Spencer surprised me by choosing "boys sewing" over a science class at iFamily this year (he loves math and science), but he told me that he loved his sewing class so much last year, that he has to continue with it this year.  He is also taking "Discovering Narnia", where they will read all the Chronicles of Narnia, write papers about them, discuss them, and look for the symbolism and meaning in the books.  His geography class looks like fun, they'll study US geography first semester, then World geography the 2nd semester, and end the year with a Geography Bee.  Spencer has been enjoying his last year of Cub Scouts - he has great leaders who've helped him earn all 20 of the Weblos badges, plus earn his arrow of light, and work on his Faith in God award.  He is learning German again also with our fun teacher, Brother Breckenridge.  

Mallory is excited to be taking a "Love of Music" class where she will learn to play the recorder, plus learn about different instruments and some music history.  She will help with my nature study class too, and take Music around the World where they study different cultures through music and dance and other activities.  She is taking a fun Spanish class as well as learning German here at home.  Mallory will be involved with a "Liberty Girls" group (girls her age) again this year.  They are reading the book "Understood Betsy" this semester, and they get together twice a month to discuss the book and do fun activities that go along with it.  She is also taking piano lessons from Courtney.

Zach continues with his two main interests - sports and outer space.  He reads his space books over and over, and excitedly looks for constellations.  It is so fun.  He is excited to take classes at iFamily:  Book bugs - where they read a children's book, then have activities to go along with it, "Music and Movement" which is basically a 1/2 hr. music and dance party for little ones, nature study, and Music Around the World.  He has been joining in a bit with German class as well.

Andrew will be taking Music and Movement, Nature Study, and Creative Corner.  He is still my cuddly little guy, who always wants to be with me.  He loves writing, reading, and is so excited for school to start because he gets to learn about "choo choo trains". 

Abby is just as cute and talkative as ever, and has all sorts of plans for "school".  She spends a large part of her day in pretend, imaginative play with her dolls.  She is always tucking them in for a nap, nursing them, or putting them in the shopping cart or stroller.  Taycie is happy when Abby is pre-occupied with her dolls, because when she isn't, she is trying to haul Taycie all over the house.  (Abby is undeterred by Taycie's loud protests.).

We are excited for this upcoming busy school year!!  I'm not ready for our summer evening walks to end, but I am ready for more of a structured schedule.