before the school bell rings

On Sunday morning I sat down to organize the materials for school.  It's hard to believe we start hitting the books in a few weeks!

For us school starts on Wed August 22.  We are following the SLC school district calendar.  That is also the day the gym schedule switches from morning training to the afternoon schedule.

I write all of our curriculum.  Yep, from Kindergarten to now!!! Wow, ninth grade! I have been working for months to create a 4-year high school plan for Beach.

When I consider the bookwork we will use I usually have one focus- Beach.  Will she like this?  Is it engaging enough? Is the formatting friendly to her visual disability?  Will it challenge her?  Is this something useful to her?  Oh, don't worry she will demand I have the answer to that one!  Does this meet the standard of work her peers in the school system are doing?  Will she enjoy the end result of this course/project?

Why do I weigh her wants so heavily? One, because I can.  She is the only kid in the classroom.  I can teach through her interests without worrying about what anyone else thinks.  Two, when she is interested in what she is learning my job is SO easy!  Actually, when she is happy and engaged I don't have a job.  And three, because there are too many great ways to learn something to waste time with something she doesn't love.

This year I had 2 extra challenges in the mix: college readiness and NCAA standards for student athletes.

With a full high school load to balance we have gone back to using a student planner.  It is a simple 3-Ring binder with college rule notepaper and a few dividers for extra papers.  We use a basic format; days of the weeks with check off boxes for the assignments, noted appointments or events, and a place for quick notes about the day if needed.

I got us started by put in the work/plan of events for the first 2 weeks of school.  Once we get going we will fill the planner out on Fridays.

The reason to do planning on Friday for the following week is it gives Beach the weekend to get started if she has a busy week ahead- like say a travel meet.  Part of what she needs to practice is time management.  This allows for her to do that.

Friday is also the day for quizzes, tests, catch-up and submission of the week's work.  Later in the year this might require taking quizzes or tests while out on travel.  I am up for the challenge!

In order to get through all the math and English needed we have to stick to a schedule.  Of course I will have leeway over the specifics.  Once our travel meets are announced I can compare them to the major milestones like midterms and term ends to see how they line up.
 
Speaking of work, what is she officially taking this year?  Biology, English Comp, English Lit, Algebra I, Sign Language I, World History, Photography, and Art.

Unofficially, Home Economics, Agriculture, Film Studies, Community Events, PE, and Driver's Education.  It's great to be a homeschooler!