Summer was exciting with camps and comic cons and a King’s Island membership.

Tori attended Air Camp on milkid scholarship. Akantha attended an art camp on merit scholarship and a fun traditional camp for trans youth. Alex attended a couple baseball camps.

This year will look very different for our family with only one child left to homeschool. I hope to keep him from getting too bored or lonely without his siblings!

We often celebrate the end of summer and beginning autumn and a new school year with not back to school activities.

I highly recommend the books by Louise Bates Ames. A good guide to follow are the What Your ?-Grader Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. His books have some problems, but it’s a great jumping off point.

8th Grade

My youngest will almost be alone this year as his siblings head off to a local college with CCP. I’m looking into field trips, classes, museums, and group activities to keep him from getting too bored or lonely.

• Second Form Latin
• Spelling Workout F
• Biology
• Math 8
• Studying God’s Word H (I bought the whole set long ago and even though it’s a bit problematic, we’re completing the comprehension parts, but not the indoctrination parts)
• Culinary Arts with 100 Million Years of Food: What Our Ancestors Ate and Why It Matters Today by Stephen Le and Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food by Jeff Potter  
• Elite U13 Baseball

11th Grade

My middle two kids will attend a local university with CCP this year.

First semester:

They’re taking Art History I and Classics together.

Akantha is taking freshman Writing and Tori is taking Environmental Science and Lab.

Second semester:

They’re taking Art History II together. Tori is taking another Environmental Science and Lab. Akantha was invited to an advanced Classics course!

• Tori is continuing Russian and Greek
• Akantha is working on Latin Forms and various other languages and mythology
• Tori continues aerial gymnastics
• Akantha takes ice skating lessons

Tori works part time at a local grocery store. She took the Ohio driving classes and passed her driving test. We bought her a Toyota Prius. She loves the freedom and is very responsible and helpful.

Together

I will miss our morning read alouds together for religious studies, church history, natural history, world and American history, and multicultural literature. I’m not sure how to continue, except maybe some of the most important and favorite reading at bedtime or weekends.

While I want to continue our history studies and other work, I also don’t want to stress out my middle kids with too much. Their college courses will take priority. They’ve done more than enough in our homeschool.

We are on Year 3 in our history cycle. Year 3 covers some important near history and I cannot wait to dive deep into literature.

Our main text this year is The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople by Susan Wise Bauer. Also the Study and Teaching Guide: The History of the Renaissance World: A curriculum guide to accompany The History of the Renaissance World by Julia Kaziewicz. My middle kids complete the critical thinking questions for each chapter.

We anxiously await the final book in the new history of the world series by Susan Wise Bauer!

See how we do history. Our main curriculum Tapestry of Grace (and the way I supplement it each year) covers all the humanities – history, literature, art, music, philosophy, government.

My kids are very active with skating/roller blading, cycling, hiking, walking, playing the Wii and Switch, in addition to their classes and sports.

Some electives the kids are pursuing in addition to sports are cooking/baking, creative writing, drawing/animation, arts and crafts, jewelry making.

I don’t stress over progress or worry much about my kids’ academic futures. I don’t care about testing. My eldest three have done CCP and if they need tutoring for the math placement test or ACT/SAT, we will cross that bridge. They all three passed the writing assessment with top scores!

I know this year will be busy and different and a part of me looks forward to it, but another part of me longs for the simplicity and freedom we had when the kids were little.

It’s bittersweet watching my kids grow up and do more and more on their own.

You might also like to see our other homeschool years:

• Preschool
• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade
• 5th Grade
• Middle School
• High School 1 and High School 2

Recommendations:

• The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer
• Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book Of Homeschooling
• Free to Learn by Peter Gray
• Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World by Ben Hewitt
• Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn
• Untigering: Peaceful Parenting for the Deconstructing Tiger Parent  by Iris Chen
• Parenting Forward: How to Raise Children with Justice, Mercy, and Kindness by Cindy Wang Brandt
• How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims
• Raising an Adult: The 4 Critical Habits to Prepare Your Child for Life! by Mark L. Brenner

What’s next year look like for your family?

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