We started our second semester of school this past week.  Everything has been going well.  Since the children are getting older it is getting easier to teach them.  Daniel is doing 7th grade work.  Leah is doing 3rd.  Again we are using My Father's World curriculum, 1850 to Modern Times this year.  

Leah started Singapore Math 3A this week.  Daniel has been using Saxon Math 76 which is what his Saxon placement test indicated he start after completing Singapore 6B last year.  At the end of this year I will give him another Saxon placement test to see if he should use Saxon 87 or Algebra 1/2.  I am hoping he will be able to use the Algebra 1/2 as I already have it.

The history has been so interesting using the chronological approach with the children studying the same time period using different books and supplementing with living books that make everything more interesting.  At this point in our history studies we are getting up to the time of the first World War.

We have read many good read-a-louds in Daniel's packet as well as Leah's.  The books help us better understand the time period we are studying.  

Leah has been using the science that came with the packet.  Daniel is using Apologia's General Science this year.  It was a big step up for him with a lot of reading, note-booking, and experiments but he is handling it well.  Here is a short video of one of Leah's experiments from earlier this past school year.

For grammar we aren't using all MFW's recommendations this year but it is working well for the children.  

Leah learned cursive writing and is practicing it along with Daniel each day.  I heard from a public school teacher's mother that they might not be teaching cursive writing anymore as so much of their school work is done on computers.  I want my students to learn it as it could be impossible for some people to read cursive if they had not learned to write it.

We have been using the art/music curriculum from MFW.  

Our school days are full and longer than when the children were younger.  But that is to be expected.