An old school homeschooling blog
What we learned last week
Homeschooling before Instagram
Before my kids were old enough to homeschool, I read homeschooling blogs. Moms with a few kids, many kids, big kids, lots of littles, on acreage, in the city - all cataloging their days for other moms in an effort to convince themselves that it really happened, it really counted, and it was all worth it.
I now find myself needing to convince myself that it really happened, it really counts, and it’s all worth it.
Dramatis Personae
Moms gave all their family members pseudonyms back then, often revealing their literary taste or religious affiliation, and being somewhat of a traditionalist, I’ll do the same.
The Principal - the old school homeschool mom would often refer to her husband as “the principal,” which was extremely cringe. However, my husband actually does run a brick-and-mortar school, so…
Benedict - 14yo generalist. Truly his mother’s daughter. Sorry, kid.
Kateri - 12yo future veterinarian. Truly her father’s daughter.
Edmund - 10yo future gardening monk.
Nicholas - 8yo who, having been born fourth in an already quite lively household learned early that if he wishes to be heard, he must speak up, and he does.
Agnes - slightly precocious 5yo with the Caesarian habit of referring to herself in the third person.
What we learned last week:
We have entered fall-across-the-finish-line season. Benedict, Kateri, and Edmund had the dress rehearsal for their final band concert. I am trying to make myself make everyone finish out their final projects but am increasingly distracted by planning for next year.
Benedict: Having finished up Algebra 2 for the year, he has turned his attention to completing Khan Academy physics. Latin has shifted to summer maintenance mode; he’ll be extensively reading Fabulae Syrae and the Epitome Historiae Sacrae over the next couple of months while I gear up for AP Latin next year. He still has a English paper on Macbeth and a geography paper on Ukraine to finish for me. The next installment of his online Greek class is underway and will take him through the summer.
Kateri: Still plugging away at Math Mammoth 6A. She and Benedict and I are reading Macbeth together, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much she has gotten into the discussion and is very seriously taking notes in her book. She’s also enthusiastically reading Lady Macbeth with what she thinks is a Scottish accent. She continues to spend every spare minute writing…something.
Edmund: He and Kateri are working on North America research projects to add to the atlas they’ve been building on this year. This project will extend over the summer because we still have six continents to go. He is nearing the end of Math Mammoth 3B. He’s done a great job maintaining his two garden beds so far this year and has started snacking on snap peas.
Nicholas: The big thing still to go for this kid is passing his First Holy Communion test this weekend. I’m really congratulating myself for having put all his Baltimore Catechism questions into Anki, which has, I’m told, maximized the efficiency of our drilling through the magic of Retrieval Practice via Spaced Repetition. He finished up Math Mammoth Add & Subtract 4 and is on to Multiplication 2.
Agnes: She is so over the lessons she pleaded for at the beginning of the year, and so am I, so I’ve declared an official end to kindergarten.
Just this week and next week to go, and then the 2022-23 school year is in the books. I think I’m going to make it!