Homeschooling year 9 begins Sept 15th

The books are on the shelves, the papers needed have been printed, the supplies stocked, the students are ready, I think.  The teacher is ready, but worried.  Why am I worried, because this is our 9th year homeschooling, how that much time has passed, I do not know.  I am also worried because it's a new state, for those that don't know, we've moved to Tennessee.  That means laws are different and there are new hoops to jump through.  The thing frazzling my nerves most is the fact that Everett is now a freshman in highschool.  Yes, by age he should have been one last year, but Matt and I both agreed that he needed a gap year to mature.  We felt it was best given last year by having him to an extra long 8th grade period, instead of between high school and college.  The boy has grown up a lot, his motivation is much improved, as is his focus.  

I am looking forward to this year with the kids though, as we'll be doing some interesting new things in terms of curriculum.  They will all be doing Saxon math, which makes me much more comfortable.  Saxon is a math program I know I can teach well.  Everett and Annika will be using Institute for Excellence in writing again, and they are both looking forward to that. History will be and exploration of the Eastern Hemisphere via Bookshark. Science is a bit different for every child, Everett has chosen to do Oak Meadow's Environmental Science, Annika will be focusing on physical science using Exploration Education's advanced program, and Lucas will be doing some fun things with electricity, magnets, and astronomy also with Bookshark.  The older two will move on from general reading to literature, which scares them and me.  I was never a fan of English class, hopefully they like the books I picked for them.   One of the nicest classes for me will be Windows Programming and Game Programming for Everett.  Why am I so thrilled about this one, because Matt is taking charge of the whole thing!  Yay!  It will be nice to have one class I just don't have to worry about.  Everett was so excited about it he started it this week instead of waiting for our official start date and has completed 2 chapters already.  I think that puts him about 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  

So, as I sit here thinking of the upcoming year and what it holds for us, I would like to wish all my homeschooling friends good luck in their endeavors, and best wishes to all my friends who have kids in public and private school. May your year be fun, exciting, and all you hope they will be.