On to better things...

It's been a busy week for us here at the Mighty Masters Academy. Last Thursday we had some computer problems which put a stop to some of our learning, but also taught me a valuable lesson; do not be so dependant on the computer. Since then I've made sure to have things ready in the event of a computer emergency. I also managed to learn how to fix a lot of performance and security issues on the computer. Old dogs can learn new tricks.
Now the computer is back up & running and we are back to work. One of the first things we did this week was take a look at the Lifepac curriculum. It was becoming very clear that this language arts curriculum does not fit our family. In the kid's words, "It is boring and it doesn't make any sense!". At first glance it seemed like the perfect solution. It laid out everything they needed to learn in a way that made it easy for me to teach & there lies the problem. I was too worried about getting it right & making it easy on me. I was focused on my fear instead of trusting that I could teach them in a way that is natural for them.
The curriculum went over things that were unnecessary or could be taught in a way that made it more exciting. Now it did give me the joy of checking off certain things, but afterwards the kids were left not understanding what they had read.
So we have switched over to something new. Which is the thing I had originally felt drawn to until I started letting fear set in...
SIMPLY CHARLOTTE MASON
This website has links to all the information about Charlotte Masons' teaching method. However our method is going to differ in many ways. Mostly what we are focusing on is the use of dictation, narration & copy work which will be done using our bible study & history material. So far this has worked out wonderfully for us. Killian is able to see grammar & writing in its proper form. We are also able to make spelling list for Lotus; spelling words she is actually struggling with. I also get to work on grammar and sentence structure as it comes up. Lotus is good about telling me what she doesn't understand, but it takes a little more investigating with Killian. Yet its easy to see what he needs help with when he's right there with me. This might take a little more effort on my part, but its worth it.
We are still using the same math and history curriculum, which seems to be working great. I'm learning that I need to be constantly looking for new ways to teach the kids that works with there individual styles.
We also added some new books to our science curriculum. Basically we took the Knox County guidelines & found ways to teach it with living books & experiments. Another factor is our use of the nature journal (a Charlotte Mason method) to instill a love for nature. Lotus is loving it. Killian on the other hand could take it or leave it which will lead me to another post later. For now Im off to teach & learn