A Little Progress

I finally forced myself to go into the classroom and begin tackling the piles. I went through everything on the floor and have one small stack left that will take a little extra thought. I also cleaned the desks and the windows and took every last thing off the bookcase! Now I have the top shelf dedicated to reference materials and the bottom will hold our current textbooks. I also ordered a new larger bookcase for my office for all the material we will use in the future. For some reason that pile has grown quite large this summer....maybe something to do with book sales? :-)

I also made a discovery. I have far too much in mind for this year. So, I pulled a few things from each pile and set them aside for 'later'. Maybe we will get to them this year, but if not, that's perfectly alright. I made 3 groups of with the remaining books. Things for JT, things for EM and things for both. History, science and Spanish will have a lot of overlap. I STILL don't have the Calvert material. I think there may be some benefit to NOT having it. I am spending more time and energy planning with the 'supplemental' things, that maybe I'll have an easier time ignoring what I feel to be the inferior material.

Finally, I took some time to put together our list of general educational goals:

1. Teach PA standards through Calvert material.
2. Provide opportunities and direction for the boys to explore their own interests.
3. Expose the boys to a wide variety of things they may not have been exposed to yet.
4. Develop a love of reading. (not a problem with JT...could be a challenge with EM)
5. Create life-long learners.

Light the fire!