Beadle Academy

Summer is here!  It is rainy and drippy but I don't care.  We all feel less pressure now that school is out.  But that doesn't mean we stop learning!  A good friend of mine from Asheville would have "home summer school" during summer breaks.  I loved the idea and the kids did too.  We did it for two years in Asheville and then skipped last year as we moved back to Florida.  The kids were not happy about my decision to skip Beadle Academy last summer so we are back on.

Nathan:  The focus this summer is on reading, writing, math, piano and spelling.

Audrey:  The focus this summer is on site words, reading, handwriting, coloring and cutting.

Elysse:  The focus this summer is on learning the alphabet by sight and sound, counting and coloring.

Today was the first day of summer and we jumped right to it.  We have a large quantity of workbooks thanks to a friend of ours and a couple that we have purchased along the way.  Though we use much more than just workbooks. They do however, provide the outline of what we do on a daily basis.

My very favorite workbook is Summer Bridge Activities.  It is a workbook that bridges the completed grade to the next grade your child will enter.  The book is split into three sections for the typical three month summer.  Each section has 2 workbook pages for 20 days.  It includes reading, writing, math, science, social studies and fitness.  It is very well designed and it is fun for the kids.  Apparently there is also a free online companion - but I haven't had a chance to check that out yet.

Audrey wants to know when Beadle Academy begins and ends each day, what time we do each activity during the day.  I have explained to her that this IS summer and we might not need that much structure - but she said if we are doing school we need to do it right.  I then introduced her to the thought behind montessori schooling - after all it is just me with three children all of different ages skill level - kudos to the homeschooling mommas because I could't hack it, but summer is fun.


The best part about Beadle Academy is quiet time - this is one "activity" that I have scheduled.  It is built in around Elysse's nap time it begins between 2:00 and 2:30, for the bigger kids quiet time is one hour, for Elysse it is however long her nap takes...