Off we go!

My 12 and 14 year old daughters are not going to school this fall. Not because we're religious nuts or have any objections to school in general. Simply because we have a window to do some international travel and want the flexibility to take advantage of the educational opportunities available from being in different countries. I'm setting off on this journey with a little bit of trepidation because I don't completely know what I'm doing. But here's what I do know so far:

- My daughters are bright & self-motivated & curious
- I'm well educated and well read and think I can help guide them
- I would like to try to make History, English, and Social Studies more relevant for them
- Math seems to be something that the right workbook can adequately cover
- We'll be in exotic places that will provide learning opportunities that we cannot even imagine!

So this is our plan right now:
1. I ordered the Core-Knowledge curriculum for 7th & 8th grades for $205. A couple of the wisest educators I know advocate this system and I think it can give us a basic structure while allowing for the flexibility of integrating relevant and timely material as we go along.

Core Knowledge Products

We ordered the Core Knowledge K-8 Sequence, The Day-by-Day CD/Workbook for Grades 7 & 8, and Realms of Gold Volumes 2 & 3.

2. We're going to use the Saxon Home School Math series and let the girls work as quickly as they want through that (this cost about $180).

The Saxon website has an assessment test that one can use to determine the correct level. We purchased the Saxon 8/7 course and the Algebra 1/2. I suspect that some of it will be review, but we can get another set if we need to keep going.

Saxon Home School Products

3. Each of us will author a blog that will have daily entries which are substantive, relevant, grammatically correct, and with no spelling errors. We'll use this as a way to maintain contact with friends as family as well as a way to practice writing and thinking and communicating.

I'm excited right now....will update as we go along and see how things go!