After years of having my two oldest on the same general track, that bubble went “pop” this year.  While Bekah is thriving in Ambleside’s Year 10, Mary was feeling overwhelmed and uninterested. My normal “get ‘er done” Mary wasn’t getting the work done.

While she enjoys a good book, the history selections of Ambleside were weighing her down. She wanted cut and dry answers with a bit of extra reading tossed in. As they get older, I value the input of my children and I definitely didn’t want Mary to begin to dread or hate history. Here the year ahead for Mary:

Bible/Christian Studies

• Personal Bible reading and family devotions. I am still working on which book I am going to have her read. It may be Pursuit of God or The Case for Christ but I’m still pondering this one.

Math

• Saxon 8/7 – She is almost done with this book.  I’m still trying to decide if she needs Algebra 1/2 or is ready to go into Algebra 1. She is voting for Algebra 1. I’m not so sure.

History

• America the Beautiful from Notgrass Company. It is working well for her. She does want more extra reading but having a textbook serve as her “spine” has been a good choice.
• I am pulling a few selections from Ambleside for government and economics such as Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

Science

• CEP Life Science Task Cards – She will finish up this set of cards and we are debating between Chemistry or Earth/Space task cards. She will also be reading biographies of scientists.

Grammar/Composition

• Fix It Grammar from IEW
• Spelling Wisdom for studied dictation. Love this resource from Simply Charlotte Mason.
• Commonplace Journal
• Written Narrations when assigned for various subjects

Memory Work – Scripture memory, poetry, etc ranging in length and difficulty

Current Events – Mary is required to see what is going on in the world at least three times a week. Torture is how she would describe it but oh, well. Here are some online resources we use for current events:

• Student News Daily – This opens back up August 26th.
• World Magazine
• Washington Times

Choir – local homeschool choir

Piano– This is her joy. She is diligent to improve her skill even without lessons.

Life Skills – List in progress

During our group time Mary also studies art, poetry, music, etc. She spends her time playing the piano, sewing and drawing. You can also catch her in the kitchen whipping up yummy treats or a Thanksgiving dinner.

I feel as if I am forgetting a major component of her studies. Hopefully, it will come to me, right? And I need to gather some literature studies as well.

**There are no affiliate links in this post. I”m just sharing what we use and what works for us.