2020-21 School Year

First Day of Twelfth Grade

I can’t believe that Turkey and Bunny are in the 12th grade!

How is it possible that it’s our 13th year of homeschooling?

And a look back at their first day of school here, way back in 2008 when they started kindergarten:

Time moves awfully fast!

Schultüte 2020

Things may different this year, but I made sure to keep our favorite back-to-school tradition going…the schultüte!

I think I came up with some nice additions, including Animal Crossing pins for everyone, and new Lego minifigs. I also included some needed school supplies like pens and pencils and tape.

The Fab Five seemed to like them!

Turkey told me this morning that if I could find a way to keep doing this when he’s in college, he wouldn’t complain, and that made me happy…I created a fun and appreciated tradition!

The First Day of School 2020

We were up bright and early this morning to begin our 13th year of homeschooling!

For once, we all started school on the same day in the same place, as Moose started his freshman year of high school today via distance-learning. Turkey and Bunny are, of course, seniors this year, Ladybug is in eighth grade, and Chickadee is in third. The motto for the day was:

“I cannot be everywhere at once, people
I’m in dire need of assistance.”

As always, I had schultüte waiting for the Fab Five when the bell rang:

Our other favorite first-day-of-school tradition is building a Lego set…this time, the skyline of Dubai. I especially love the Burj Al Arab.

We all had Animal Crossing shirts this year…even me!

This year is going to be different from any we’ve had before, and I imagine it will be challenging, but we’re going to take things one day at a time and try not to look too far into the future, while learning as much as we can!

Ready for the First Day of School?

I’m not going to lie…I’m not really sure that I’m ready for the 2020-21 school year. If I’m totally honest, I’m kind of dreading it for several reasons, and the top reason actually has nothing to do with COVID-19. Instead, I’m apprehensive because it’s Turkey and Bunny’s last year of homeschooling. That’s right…this experiment that we began in 2008 when they started kindergarten is now coming to a close, at least for them. And I’m afraid I’m going to spend the entire school year crying, as each “last time” comes up.

But, our homeschooling experiment is far from over, especially now that Moose is joining us at home while doing distance-learning for at least the first semester of his first year of high school (which, again if I’m honest, is a little scary to me), so one way or another, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for our most unique and challenging year of homeschooling (which includes two twelfth graders, a 9th grader, an 8th grader, and a 3rd grader) yet!

First, a look at some of the fun we’ve had in the last week of summer vacation, including Lego-building and cookie-baking. We may not have been able to travel this summer, or even do the usual local stuff we would during the summer, but we still managed to have fun experiences!

Tonight was our annual “Farewell to Summer” dinner, this time a mail-order meal from Portillo’s, which mirrors a dinner we had shortly before summer break began.

A summer classic for dessert…root beer floats:

Plus some Frango mints, another little taste of Chicago:

This year’s first-day-of-school outfits are Animal Crossing themed. It’s a good reflection of our summer, and they were pretty easy to get in a time when clothes shopping can be a little challenging.

The school room has been cleaned and organized…it looks pretty much like it did for most of last year, with the keyboard being the most recent (but not really new anymore) addition:

I prepared the schultüte for tomorrow, too:

So that’s pretty much it. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be, and our 13th year of homeschooling begins bright and early tomorrow morning!

2020-21 Curriculum

I’m trying something new this year…I’m sharing my curriculum list before the school year begins! Of course, there’s a chance that I have forgotten to include some things and may come across them as the school year progresses…if that happens, I’ll try to remember to update it. This year, Turkey and Bunny will be in 12th grade (!!!), Ladybug in 8th, and Chickadee in 3rd. Moose will begin the school year at home with us in 9th grade, but he will be doing distance-learning through his high school, so I don’t have curriculum specific to him, although he is welcome to follow along with whatever we’re doing in addition to his work.

Religion

  • Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns
  • One and All Rejoice
  • The Illuminated Hymnal

Math

For Turkey and Bunny:

  • Math-U-See Calculus

For Ladybug:

  • Horizons Algebra

For Chickadee:

  • Horizons Math 3

Language Arts

For Turkey and Bunny:

  • The Elements of Style
  • On Writing Well
  • The Lively Art of Writing
  • Wordly Wise 3000, Book 12
  • The British Tradition Book Three: Poetry from the Romantic to the Victorian Age

For Ladybug

  • Spelling Workout H
  • Wordly Wise 3000, Book Eight
  • Writing with Skill, Level Three

For Chickadee

  • First Language Lessons, Level Two
  • Writing with Ease, Level Two
  • Explode the Code, books seven and eight
  • Spelling Workout C
  • A Reason for Handwriting Cursive C
  • Wordly Wise 3000, Book Three

Literature

For Turkey and Bunny

  • A Tale of Two Cities
  • Macbeth
  • Jane Eyre
  • Fahrenheit 451
  • 1984
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Paradise Lost
  • The Screwtape Letters
  • Wuthering Heights
  • Murder on the Orient Express

For Ladybug

  • Treasure Island
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  • As You Like It
  • The Trojan War
  • Henry Reed’s Journey

For Chickadee

  • Farmer Boy
  • Charlotte’s Web
  • Mr. Popper’s Penguins
  • A Bear Called Paddington
  • The Boxcar Children
  • Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Social Studies

For Turkey and Bunny (A study of US geography and cultures)

  • 1491
  • A People’s History of the United States
  • American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
  • The Warmth of Other Suns
  • March–Books 1-3
  • There are No Children Here
  • Between the World and Me
  • Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African-American Cooking

For Ladybug and Chickadee

  • The Story of the World: The Modern Age
  • US Elections Lapbook
  • The US Constitution (Ladybug only)

Science

For Turkey and Bunny

  • Apologia Exploring Creation with Advanced Biology
  • The Anatomy Coloring Book
  • Blood Typing Kit

For Ladybug

  • Apologia Exploring Creation with Physical Science

For Chickadee

  • Apologia Exploring Creation with Zoology One

Electives

  • Psychology (Turkey and Bunny only)
  • Duolingo
  • Tennis