Finishing up, Driver's Ed, and Grandbabies

Colleen and Emily are both swiftly finishing up their current subjects. Emily finished science 2 weeks ago, and has only 10 days of Math left. I am in a quandary what Math to get her next year, as she places into pre-algebra, but I don't want her to be that far ahead yet. I am considering Saxon 8/7, the Art of Problem Solving, or just sticking with BJU Math for one more year.

Emily and I are taking a break from ACE English and ACE Word Building this week, due to the impending arrival of my second grandson. (My oldest daughter is 3.5 cm dilated, and his due date is today. We keep thinking, "this is it", and they keep sending her home till she has regular, strong contractions. ) While Emily and I take a break from the boring tedium of ACE....I'm not knocking it; it does a thorough job, but it's just so REPETITIVE day after day....we have begun Emma Serl's Intermediate Language Lessons. ILL is an entirely different approach...the Charlotte Mason approach in homeschool-speak, and it is a breath of fresh air for Emily and I. She so far SEEMS to be learning English much better this way, and every day is different, instead of just "underline, fill in the blank, circle the right answer". She is learning poetry, narration, picture study, logical thinking, creativity, and writing skills...none of which is in ACE English. (It is basically grammar only.) We may just extend out break, and keep on with ILL, occasionally doing the rest of her PACES till they are done. I'm not denying the importance of grammar, but there are so many other important aspects in English. Aspects that are much more interesting. :)

Colleen has finished ALL of her subjects other than PAC Integrated Physics and Chemistry. She still loves this, and due to our late start with her science this year when I was so sick last fall, she is only halfway through the course. We will probably work through the summer, since she wants to continue, although I plan to begin her Biology in August.

With only one "class" each day, Colleen has spare school time on her hands. She is 15,and in our state, this means she can take Driver's Ed. In our state, homeschoolers are not allowed to teach Driver's Ed. We have the option of 1.) taking the class for free through our local public school district, 2.) paying for a professional driving instructor, of which there are none in our town, or 3.) waiting for her to get her driver's license when she turns 18. We chose door #1...taking the class for free through our local school district. Beginning Monday, Colleen will be going daily to the local high school for one hour a day the next nine weeks for her driver's ed class. She will do the "Behind the Wheel" (actual driving) portion of the class over the summer, which fits in perfectly with out school schedule. I asked her if it felt weird to be going to school again, and she said, "Yeah." Our high school is HUGE, but when we registered for her class, they showed her around, and she even has a student ID card, as no one is allowed in the building without one. It will be a pain for me to have to drive her up there every day, come back an hour later to pick her up. I prefer scheduling all my errands once a week, and now I will have to go out 7 days a week, but I feel learning to drive is important, and I am NOT having another child that refuses to drive in this family. Colleen is the 3rd child I've raised, and when she gets her license she will be the FIRST one to ever do so. April is 23 and still refuses to get hers.

The girls will also be starting Spanish as soon as the ACE Spanish set we bought arrives. This is something Colleen has been begging to get for over a year now, and I finally got around to choosing and ordering it.

So, as the girls finish their current 5th and 9th grade subjects, we're just kind of moving on into their 6th and 10th grade ones. We take each day as it comes, awaiting our new little family member anytime now, and also awaiting spring. It was a long, cold, snow-filled winter, which no one but me apparently enjoyed. I love winter, detest summer, so I happily stayed cozily inside doing school, reading several dozen books, and trying to rest when possible. The girls, and everyone else in the Midwest, are ready for warm weather.