August already

OK, I havnt been here for a while, but here I am again. I would like to get a bit more savvy about this blogging stuff- when I see other people's blogs I definitely feel ...well, I would like to learn more.
Homeschooling is going well. My schedule and curricula have probably changed since last time I wrote about them. I am now homeschooling Daniel full time as well, so along with Jared, age 10, and Genevieve, age 12, I have Daniel, 12, though he lives down the street.
The Latin Cented Curriculum arrived a couple of months back and I re-evaluated and simplified again.
Here is what we are doing:
Music - Gen-piano and now guitar. Jared- classical recorder. Daniel- guitar.

Maths- all are using Singapore Maths. I have just started supplementing Jared with Modern Curriculum Maths though because Singpaore doesnt have quite enough review for him- and i had it on my shelf. Gen is on 6A, Daniel 5A (we started him all the way back at 3B, poor kid, just because of the way Signapore works) and Jared is on 4B.

Latin- all are doing Cambridge Latin. I would dearly like some sort of help with the drill I would like to include with this, but I am just stumbling along with it- and they do seem to be learning a lot of Latin. Gen is in book 2, and has a tutor. The other two are in book 1 and I am now applying the thumbscrews and insisting they really learn their stuff.

English- Classical Writing is our core program and takes around an hour 4 days a week. Jared is doing Aesop B. Genevieve is ploughing through Homer B and we are really having to nugget out those sentence diagrams, whew they are hard. Daniel is sailing through Homer A- I want to put him and Gen through Diogenes together.
I dont do much separate spelling with them, we work on it as we go, and they all spell pretty well. Sometimes they do a spelling computer program.

Literature- we have started Fagle's Iliad. So far, so good, we are into book 4 now. They usually sit and do something with their hands 9drawing, or a puzzle) while I read aloud, although sometimes i have them read as well. We stop a lot and discuss what I just read, and I am thrilled with their understanding.

Because of doing the Iliad, we are not doing anything else 'Classical' although the Latin teacher, Richard, is always fascinating and I consider the first half of every Latin class to be a Classical History lesson. I now insist the boys sit in on it because it is a rare experience to have someone so knowledgeable and enthusiastic teach your kids.

History- we are doing Book 4 of Story of the World, Modern History,along with the Activity book maps and outlining worksheets. The kids all are making a scrap book of their work, and a timeline. Daniel and Gen put a lot of thought into their design and art- mmm, well, hopefully it will rub off on Jared.

Australian History- we are reading books and watching a documentary called the Colony, where 3 families- an Australian, an English and an Irish- are put into a situation similar to an early settlement in NSW, and they really have to tough it out. One of those reality tv things, but we are all really fascinated, and it definitely gives you a feel for how hard it was.

Then there is Logic with Fallacy Detective ( reading and discussing), Ancient Greek (one letter a week with the Alphabetarian) and Art with Artistic Pursuits Junior High book1- which is a drawing course. These are all Friday subjects. I try and make Fridays Fun.

Wow, it doesnt seem SO simple, does it? We also do poetry for memory work.
At the moment, it is all going well. The kids all go to Drama class and Sport class with other homeschoolers, and Gen and Jared do Scouts, Daniel loves his football. Gen does a watercolour class as well where they paint plants and animals- it is very good.

My kids and I went to the east coast (of Australia) to visit my family last holidays, and had a wonderful time. We saw snow, and it even snowed on us (rare experience here in Australia)and I will try and get those photos up soon. Vish my husband has just bought me a laptop, so when it arrives maybe I can sit in bed and work out how to do all these things I never seem to have time for, like putting pictures on my blog. We will see.