A Day in the Life Part II

After our Junior, we have two more girls who are currently in 9th grade and 7th grade. I noticed early on that more often than not they worked at about the same pace, so I decided to group them together for most of their studies. Since the 9th grader is now technically in high school, I've had to make a few changes to this arrangement, but they still do some work together.

Both girls are supposed to be up by 6:45 and be ready to begin their day by 8:00. Like their older sister, they take schoolwork in the car if we are heading out to morning mass.

The 9th grader's schedule looks something like this:

The day begins with Science. She also did the Biology dissection lab last year, but this year was not quite ready for the Biology book, so she chose to study Botany using the Apologia book. She works through this on her own.

Like her older sister, she is reading through "Christ the King, Lord of History" and reviewing the questions and doing projects. She is also responsible for reading classical works by foreign authors.

Next is math - the dreaded subject. Both she and her 7th grade sister are doing Saxon Algebra 1/2. I've decided to try teaching each lesson instead of using the DIVE CD (which we have done in the past. It is okay for some, but not for others) or having them do the lesson on their own. So far we are all enjoying this method immensely :)

Like all her siblings, she is learning French with Rosetta Stone. For her religion class, she is focusing on reading stories of the Saints and then either writing a report or doing some sort of project to express her knowledge.

After the Christmas break, I will be having her finish up our study of the American Government using the Abeka American Government course. It looks like a good, comprehensive coverage of the subject.

Our 7th grade daughter (who really wanted to have her own post. Sorry DD :) begins her day with the second St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism book. She is reading through it and answering the questions.

I found this really neat Vocabulary book a few years ago called "Vocabulary Cartoons" It is a book of hundreds of SAT words that you learn with mnemonics. This is her next subject. After that she joins her sister and I for MATH.

In the place of our unit study, I plan on working with her and some of the younger ones on writing and grammar. MORE FUN together. After lunch she practices the piano and reads "Beautiful Girlhood" which is a study for young teens on how to become a godly young lady.

Both girls each have 1/2 hour scheduled with me at some point during the day. During this time we correct the math lesson and plan for the next day's studies. We also have time go over other papers and brainstorm for projects they might be working on. I really like this idea of a scheduled time to meet with them. In the past, I would always say that I was going to meet with them but things always seemed to get in the way and I would never get to it. It really helps me to keep on top of what they are doing while allowing them to work on their own.

They are also both involved in a number of other clubs and performances as well as helping out around the house and playing with their younger siblings. While not quite as independent as their older sister, they are learning how to become more responsible and independent.

Tomorrow, the next twosome!

God Bless!