August Update & School

August was a more typical summer month than June and July.  We went camping, visited the lake and enjoyed dinner a couple of times with friends, relaxed, and resumed our "moving back into the basement" process (sorting, getting rid of, putting away).  Our garage is finally looking less like a junk space!

I did begin taking my new medication shortly after posting the July update. Thankfully, I have not struggled much with side effects. My doctor recommended slowly working up to full dosage, and I'm not there yet. I have a little stiffness, but for the most part I feel pretty good! (Well, other than my back going out a few days ago.)  I still have some breathing problems occasionally, but I have high hopes that it will eventually go away.  So far, I like this new medication much better than the previous one.  The improvement in my mental outlook is amazing.  I'm considering doing a post about my overall experience.

School
Our co-op had registration last week.  All summer, we thought there would be a guitar class offered for advanced students.  Several other parents were hoping for that as well.  When we checked the schedule, it was another beginner's class!  Oof!  I was surprised at how many students from last year went ahead and took it anyway.  Latin from the Roots Up 2 would have been a perfect alternative, since Kylen took Roots 1 at co-op last year.  Nope, that one got moved to last hour.  There really was nothing he could take that made sense, so I added a chess class at the last minute.  I actually don't care for the game myself, so I won't be teaching much!  I figure, the students can learn through experience.  :-)  I had a backup plan in case no one signed up, but I got a class of 6!  First hour he's taking German again and, last hour, basketball.  He's excited about his co-op classes!

We're using the same currick as last year for math, history, science, and current events.  I told Kylen he could choose two instruments to continue lessons.   He picked violin and piano, although I'm sure he'll keep practicing guitar on his own.  We didn't know he could learn violin and fiddle on the same instrument!  He just had his first fiddle lesson, and this is the first week he has had daily practice doing both styles.  We all love how it sounds!  Makes me want to jump up and dance a jig!

For college preparation, I am getting information from Lee Binz.  I've subscribed to her Total Transcript Solution and plan on making a transcript this year to practice for high school.

Math ~ A Beka Algebra I
English ~ My own thing (creative writing, essays, reports); I will be using one of Greg's software projects - his time manager - to record how much time Kylen spends on his stories.  I want to get a feel for how to work it into a high school English credit.
Vocabulary ~ We purchased an electronic dictionary to speed the process of looking up words while I'm reading aloud. Kylen enjoys playing games on it!
History ~ Sonlight read alouds from Core H and a thorough notebook based study of the 50 states using a variety of resources, including A Beka's My State Notebook, materials by Joy Dean, a video series, recipes, etc.
Science ~ Evolution: The Grand Experiment Vol. 2 Living Fossils (including DVD and teacher's manual)
Current Events ~ God's World News
Language ~ English from the Roots Up 2, German at co-op
PE/Sports ~ Basketball at co-op, exercises from private trainer sessions, tennis downstairs
Music ~ Violin/fiddle and piano lessons
Bible ~ Evening reading and discussion; The BBC Manual (haven't gotten far, but impressed with this book so far!  only dislike is the different Bible version used - Greg has Kylen look up the reference verses in his own Bible.)

We'll be easing into school next week and should be going full steam by the second week in September.  :-)