Soaring Arrows Academy

We finished our 5th week of History/Bible/Literature(HBL) A! We are thoroughly enjoying this year so far. It has been so fun seeing Jonny understand life in Ancient Greece, how the first Olympics took place and the culture surrounding that. Learning that we shouldn't disobey our parents, but sometimes it is ok when helping others. We have learned about how different volcanoes are formed, the types of volcanoes, different weather patterns, how different rocks are formed, and the life cycle of a frog! Jonny has been enjoying our slower more focused approach on learning how to read, though if I dropped handwriting, he would be thrilled with life! He is doing well at sounding out words though and breaking them down to spell them out. He has learned how to solve for unknowns in math, as well as counting by 2's, 10's, and 100's. He really enjoys math and science the most. Artie has enjoyed doing a bit of school work and is very complacent with doing as I ask. I...

It is quite amazing how fun school can be, when you cater it to your child's learning and interests. Using good literature helps a lot with that too. We have been enjoying learning about The Ancient Greeks this week! The Parthenon, Olympics, city-states, and Hoplites have been topics of conversation around our house this week. We learned how the city-states were all at war with each other regularly, but had to follow a peace treaty during holidays. You know it is good when the 6 year old sees their history book and says, "Ancient Greeks! Yes!" We have also been learning about counting by 100's, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and how igneous and sedimentary rocks are formed. He can tell you all about how fossils are created as well. Since he wants to be a paleontologist, this is of utmost importance to him. Artie has really enjoyed some of the stories we're reading as well! I mean, who wouldn't like a story about a talking cat leading a boy to a trapped ...

We finished most of our school this week! That's a good feeling of accomplishment. We learned about tornadoes and hurricanes, the Greeks and first Olympiad, and how fun adding to our timeline can be. We did have a revelation though. It is OK to change when something isn't working. You don't have to stick with something just because you purchased it. That is one of the many beauties of homeschooling. We are running in to this with our language arts. Now let me preface this by saying that I absolutely adore how our language arts curriculum is taught. You learn to read by both phonics and sight words, and you learn grammar and composition by copying passages from what you have read. It helps reinforce everything when you tie it together through multiple subjects. To get to my point of why we are struggling. The books used are very old verbiage (think nag for a horse) and have multiple names that sound similar (Hal, Val, Sam, Pam, etc). I am lost at what is going on. Imagin...

We made it through Week 2 and caught up on our one day we missed!! Every one has been on antibiotics for the week and we all have energy again! It has been so great to actually feel like we want to get things done. We had both our days of swim lessons and they are all thriving! Jonny is treading water like a pro and is so close to mastering his swim, roll, swim; once he does, he will move up to Level 3!  Artie jumping in to the pool and putting his face in is so amazing to see. That is such a huge step for him. Matty still tries to kick off of me and swim. He kicked me in the throat at one point. He is willingly going to his instructor though, so that is great for him! Jonny and Artie were supposed to start T-Ball this week, but practice was moved because of the Fourth of July, and then cancelled due to heavy rain and lightning. They were understandably bummed, but better safe than sorry. School went so well this week! We added more figures to our timeline book, studied ab...

  Wow. This week did not go as anticipated. We started out great! We did Day 1 and Day 2. We spent about an hour and a half each day, total, working on school for both boys. Not bad at all! It went smoother than I imagined. Then, day 3 hit, and it hit hard. I woke up with a fever, swollen tonsils, and my whole body hurt. Mom's shouldn't be allowed to get sick and it was really poor timing of getting sick, not that anytime is really good in that scenario. My day started as such: Jonny: Mom, you need to stay in bed. I've got this. *I came down after about half an hour Jonny: Mom, I told you to stay in bed. Me: Well, how about I rest on the couch? Jonny: Ok, that's fine. *I go to let the dogs out and he had already done it. He is showing me daily how big and grown up he is getting. Tim brought home breakfast, got us all situated, and we basically watched TV all day while Tim slept. The boys played a while, the house didn't get too terribly trashed, minus the...

First day of school is tomorrow!  The boys have been asking to start school all week. It is always a feeling of elation when your kids are excited for school. But, it is also a real fearful feeling that I am sure near every homeschool parent has. We have it ingrained that public school is best and we as parents aren't educated enough to school our own children, which was done for centuries. The main question most homeschooling parents often ask after deciding homeschooling is the right move for them? "Am I doing enough?" Am I? Have I figured it out to give them their best education experience? The logical answer to me is always yes. I know that we are doing what is best for them. They have so much to learn though and it is a big undertaking. Taking on your child's entire education is daunting, but thrilling, all at the same time. One of the most amazing things I have thought of is that God has entrusted these children to us. No one else. It is our job to decide w...

We are getting ready to enjoy our last week before starting our new school year! Tim has been off for this past week, and still has a few more days to go. So we have taken some time and gone through the boys clothes, went to the zoo, and went to my parents for a couple of days. We also were so blessed to get to see my eldest brother, Kim, and his family for a few hours while they were up visiting from North Carolina.  I will be spending this next week making sure everything is laid out for our first official day and signing the boys up for their YMCA activities for this session. It looks as if they don't offer as much in the summer due to their other camps, which is a disappointment, as Jonny has really enjoyed his painting class and Artie the Bitty Sports class. They will still get to do swim lessons and the older boys are both signed up for their first round of Teeball! They are really excited. Artie worked so hard and gets to move up to level 2 in swim lessons! We a...