I know this should be no surprise, but it has occurred to me that I am in school right along with my daughters! Since we have been schooling at home, I have learned many new things. For example, I have gotten much better at math. Okay, not really, but I have "brushed up" on my pre-algebra. I have relearned what nouns, adjectives, prepositional phrases are and I have learned to diagram sentences. In all my public school years, I was never taught how to diagram sentences. What I will do with this new skill, I do not know, but that is not the point.
I have read some pretty good books. Way too many to list when it comes to homeschooling resources. One of my favorite happens to be A Thomas Jefferson Education.

We spend a lot of time on the couch reading. Here are just a few of the books we have enjoyed as read alouds:

The Red Sails to Capri
The Westing Game
Pollyanna
The Life of Gladys Allyward

We are currently reading:

Adam and His Kin
The Candy Shop War
Mathematicians are People Too
The Book of Virtues

Leanne is currently reading Where The Red Fern Grows after completing A Wrinkle in Time.
On her spare time, she enjoys reading anime and manga comic books. She is currently learning to speak Japanese using a book called Japanese in 10 minutes. Leanne loves to draw and spends much of her free time drawing characters for her future anime comic book. She is a very talented artist! She is also part of a home school PE group called SAINTS that meets every Monday for 3 hours where they play all sorts of sports. Math is probably her least favorite subject. She is working out of Teaching Textbooks 5 and is continuously working on memorizing her multiplication tables. Leanne's vocabulary and spelling are being challenged everyday by using Wordly Wise 5 and her language arts curriculum, Total Language Plus. Her handwriting is always improving through copy work and dictation. Although, grammar is also taught through TLP, Leanne is also working out of Analytical Grammar.

Gianna is working through a curriculum for high school girls called Far Above Rubies. Although, I am having a difficult time communicating with the author of this curriculum, we are thoroughly enjoying it. The curriculum is centered around Proverbs 31. In the first unit, Gianna is learning what it means to be a virtuous woman. She is reading Little Women and will be asked to write a character sketch on each of the sisters in the novel. She is also studying the women of the Bible and will be asked to do the same character sketch on one of the women she reads about. So far, she has chosen Queen Esther in the Old Testament. She is also enjoying logic by reading The Fallacy Detective. She is doing her last year of grammar with Analytical Grammar. Gianna is very creative. She has been taking Ballet for 10 years and also plays the Flute. She will soon be enjoying the art of Calligraphy, to go along with her beautiful drawings. I can truly say that without a doubt, Gianna's least favorite subject is math. She is in pre-algebra and isn't very fond of it. She is using a curriculum Chaulk Dust and Kiss My Math. She seems to be really enjoying Kiss My Math. It is a book that was written by a former movie star in the late 80's, Danica McKellar. Mckellar relates math to every day life, which seems to help Gianna. At this point, whatever works!!

Both the girls and myself are enjoying taking an online Florida Science class with Catie Frates, a very energetic and passionate Science Instructor. Our science has thus far taken us back to Genesis and the Global Flood. We are currently learning about Natural Selection and Adaptation from both a Creationist point of view and an Evolutionist point of view. Very interesting stuff! We look forward to getting to all the plants, animals and the geology of our state.

During our Mom school time, we are learning about Greek and Latin derivatives using English From The Roots Up. The girls really enjoy this part of their day. Since both the girls are in Girl Scouts, I had them memorize The Girl Scout Promise and The Girl Scout Law. Gianna has currently finished her Silver Award and Leanne is in the process of completing her Bronze Award through Girl Scouts. We also spend a lot of time discussing the books we read. It is amazing where our conversations take us!

So, you see, home schooling is not just for the kids. We adults get a second chance at a higher education, right alongside our children! How awesome is that!

I will do my best to post weekly updates on where our studies are taking us!