Tweaking school for the New Year

Our studies are going along very well this year. Still there are always a few things here and there that I would like to improve on. I've decided on a few minor changes to our school for the new year.

Change number 1 is to add in some geography drill. Before we finish up with American history, I want the girls to have a solid grasp of American geography. That includes the states, capitals, major rivers, and mountain ranges. If I have the time maybe a few of the major cities as well. To accommodate the new drill, I'm going to have both girls alternate math drill with geography drill. We'll use a combination of the file folder map game I created a while back, the World Geography book that goes with our LeapPad, and some free software. I'll probably add the capitals to their memory box, and we might create a few other games at a later point.

Change number 2 is to increase Violet's FLL lessons from twice a week to 3 times a week. Since we've had a hard time getting through all of her lessons during her time with me, we'll alternate grammar with spelling tests and move her math/geography drill work to later in the morning when she used to have a short block of free time.

Finally, our third change will be to actually assign our art and music appreciation to certain days. This will help hold me accountable to making sure that we make time for the fun stuff every week. (Believe me the kids won't let me forget once they can see it written on their assignment sheets.