Week 35

Next week will be the last week of our 2007-8 year. We won't literally be on Day 180 but it will be Week 36 and that will be close enough -- the last five days can be just review, packing up materials for next year, miscellaneous learning activities, that kind of thing.

It has certainly been a journey. I think that next year I will plan only 140 days of academics and save the rest of the days for something more like "life learning". The way Kolbe Academy sets up the school year, there are 28 days per term (7 weeks x 4 days), plus 8 days review and exams. That adds up to 112 "regular days" and 32 review/exam days in the year. The "extra" days in the 180 -- 36 more -- are reserved for labwork, art, music, extracurricular activities and that kind of thing. Seems to me that it would be good to plan this way since that provides for a nice change of pace. I think I will try it next year. That means picking some materials to emphasize and some to skim through more quickly in the curriculum so we actually have that kind of time.

These last few weeks have been super-relaxed but since we worked pretty hard all year and got most of our goals met (for a change!) I'm not worrying too much.

This blog will probably become more active since there are some things I want to get worked out as far as planning for next year. I have never pre-planned very successfully -- usually I just have an overview and a stack of books and sort of improvise as we go. It doesn't work badly but it would be nice to have a bit more depth to my planning, just so I have more time to think things through. We shall see. It may be that the "make it up as you go" is the best way for me.