Homeschooling and Chemistry

When I began homeschooling, I figured when I got to the hard classes that I would just have to learn along sides my children when it got difficult.   Little did I know 25 years ago that one day I'd have eight children at different levels.    Two of my blessings have already graduated.   The next one to graduate is doing Chemistry this year.   I was still going through chemo the first part of the year, and I couldn't even keep anything straight on chemo.   Chemo brain is a real thing.   It messes up your memory like you wouldn't believe.   (I am going to, of course, continue to use this excuse, and not own up to it being my age!)  Now that my mind is undrugged and the Lord has healed me from cancer (can I hear a WOOO HOO?!), since after Christmas, I have been checking to see what the children got and didn't get in their sciences and other classes.   There are some things we have to work on to be sure they have really mastered it.  I made a whole year plan of work when I was sick.  Now some things did fall by the wayside.  But the things they had to do, they did pretty well.   Fortunately, we home school year round so anything they are even a bit behind we will finish up in summer for sure.   The trick now is for me to stay caught up on the different levels.  My "free time" is now reading Physical science and Chemistry books.    But that's okay, because we want to incorporate a lifestyle of learning in our children.  Therefore, if they see we are always willing to learn, perhaps they will be lifetime learners themselves.  

Below are the goals I told you we had in January.   We got to some, but not all.   We are still working on Titus.   Again, I think it's my slower mind that's having a hard time memorizing.   My 18 year old son has it and the rest of them have all of Chapter 1 through about verse 10 pretty well.   My now 4 year old (February birthday) can sing the Preamble to the Constitution along with the rest of the munchkins, and myself.  We have the morning Bible reading down to a science, but sometimes we only get 3-5 days of evening reading in.  We play catch up with for the days we missed so that we stay on schedule.  I marked through the finished stuff.    We didn't do all the reading schedule, but we read a lot of other books that were not listed.     If I have time tomorrow, I will list our January reading.

• Daily Bible reading with the family.   Old Testament at breakfast, Psalms/Proverbs at lunch, New Testament in the evening
• Memorize scriptures and catechisms (Titus 1 in January)
• Other memorization in January:  Preamble to the Constitution and Classical Conversations memory work
• Audio cds in January:   Dave Ramsey (from seminar I went to), Tour Guide Latin, Greathall productions "Sherlock Holmes", Focus on the Family Radio Theater Drama:  Les Miserables
• Gardening chores:  from a week by week in Georgia throughout the year website.
• Geography in January:   review States, capitals, and major features.
• Home chores in January:   touch up paint from painting in the fall, and pack up all supplies.
• Videos to watch in January:  Raising Godly Children; Culture Wars by Voddie Bauchum; Knights, Maidens, and Dragons; The Art of Breadmaking; Cells and Tissues, Principles of the Constitution
• Start back habits I had before I was ill:  homemade bread, yogurt, tortillas, etc.
• Personal Reading Goals in January:   "Tally Ho the Fox," by Herb Hodges, "Charlotte Mason Companion," by Androlea, "For the Family's Sake," by Shaeffer-Macauley, finish "Saving Leonardo," by Pearcy. 
• Family Reading Goals in January:  "Les Miserables," by Hugo, IBLP Oswald Chambers, IBLP How to Develop Attentiveness, Lamplighter's Buried in the Snow, American Adventure Series (4 books), reading "The Hobbit" with Michael (the olders already read)
• School reading  in January:   Plutarch's: Life of Pericles, Hymn Study:  "For all the Saints", Poetry younger "Linguistic development through Poetry Memorization", and Child's Garden of Verses, Poetry olders:  Edna St Vincent Millay, Composers:  Robert Schumann, Artist:  Charlotte Mason's Portrait Study:  Michelangelo
• Little's Bedtime books:  Missionary Stories with the Millers