First Day of School August 2026 9th and 11th Grade

On Monday, August 3, we started back to school.  This year Cruz is in 11th grade, and Ben is in 9th. 

 

Ready or not, here we go! 

 

 

11th grade 

 

 

9th grade 

 

 

  

 

me and my boys

I love being their teacher! 

 

 

 

 

It is Ben's first year of high school. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the curriculum we will be using this school year.

 

Cruz:

English 11- College Preparation Writing for High School Semester 1: Research and Writing Basics

                   College Preparation Writing Semester 2: Critical Thinking and Augmentative Writing

                   American History Literature 

Math- Math-U-See Pre-Calculus

Science- Masterbooks Anatomy and Physiology 1 with lab

History- Masterbooks American History

Electives:

Beyond Personal Finance

Liberty University Online Academy- Essentials of Business

Liberty University Online Academy- Public Speaking

Liberty University Online Academy- College and Career Readiness 

 

Ben:

English 9- IEW American History Writing Lessons with Literature and Fix It Grammar Book 6

Math- Math-U-See Geometry

Science- Apologia Biology with lab

History - Outschool World Geography (semester 1)

                State History from a Christian Perspective- Mississippi History (semester 2)

Electives:

Spanish II- Homeschool Spanish Academy

Bible- Masterbooks Foundations in Faith

Health and P.E.- Not Consumed: Thrive   

Art- International Cooking 

 

First Day of School- 8th and 10th Grade

On Monday, August 4, we started back to school.  None of us were ready for our summer to end!  We had had such a fun-filled few months of care free days.  I enjoyed not being so scheduled but, at the same time, I was ready to get back into a routine.  So, ready or not, we are back at it.  

Here are our traditional first day of school photos we took this year. 

 

I missed having my chalk board easel that we use for all celebration days in Guatemala.  Since we are in the States this semester, I just used a poster board instead.

 

 

back to school pancakes 

 

Ben is in 8th grade this year. 

 

Cruz is in 10th. 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm excited for this new year of learning!!! 

 

Here is the curriculum we are using this school year:

 

Ben- 8th grade 

Math U See- Algebra I

Apologia- Physical Science

IEW- Writing and Literature

Fix It Grammar Book 5

Masterbooks- World's Story 3

Homeschool Spanish Academy- Spanish I

P.E.

Bible 

 

Cruz- 10th grade 

Math U See- Algebra 2

Apologia- Chemistry

Masterbooks- World History

IEW- writing and literature

Electives: 

Homeschool Spanish Academy- Spanish 3

CompuServe- Principles of Information Technology

True North Homeschool Academy - Foundations of Leadership 

True North Homeschool Academy- Cooking 1 

ACT Prep Course

Bible  

P.E. 

Life Lately August 2024

 

  We began the month celebrating David's birthday.   He turned fifty-one on August 2.

 

 

On Monday, August 5, we started back to school.

 

 

The boy's youth group also kicked off the new year with a fun "groovy" themed celebration. Wednesday night youth group is a highlight of their week!

 

 

We made an overnight trip to Quetzaltenango to secure housing for the English family.  While there we had a pizza and movie night with the Robertson family.

 

They watched Rio 2.

 

 

Cruz and Luke

 

Ben started back attending Encounter Academy for extra-curricular classes.  This year he is only attending one afternoon a week and will have health, P.E., and art classes.  They had their first field trip recently.  They spent the day at Finca Florencia, which is a park about fifteen minutes up the mountain from Antigua. 

 

 

We spent an afternoon visiting with a prayer supporter of ours.  Mrs. Debra taught preschool at her church in Florida and learned about our family several years ago through their Lifeway curriculum.  She has been receiving our newsletters ever since.  She was in town on a mission trip and wanted to finally meet us in person.  We love encounters like that!  It was great to spend a little time with her and get to know her better.

 

On another occasion, we met a missions pastor and his wife for supper.  They serve at a church in Kentucky and were in Antigua on vacation.  It is the home church of one of our IMB colleagues who serves in Mexico.   He put us in touch and that allowed us the opportunity to discuss a possible partnership with them in the future.  They are specifically interested in mobilizing their students to be on mission.  We had a great starter conversation and will follow up with them soon.

 

Here are the boys one Sunday after church waiting to eat lunch at a local restaurant. They are growing and changing so fast these days!

 

 

David has been patiently teaching Cruz how to drive the motorcycle.   Currently, he is only making loops up and down our street.

 

He also started rehearsals for Little Women.  There will be weekly rehearsals from now until the play in mid-October. 

 

At the end of the month, Cruz joined a local youth group here in town for a scavenger hunt at Telares Mall.  They were divided into teams and had to take photos with the items they found. His team didn't win, but he had a lot of fun! 

 

youth group scavenger hunt

 

 

Cruz at Telares Mall in Antigua

 

It is rainy season, but August has been more dry than rainy.   We took advantage of a beautiful clear mid-week evening and ate outside.  We built a fire and cooked hotdogs and marshmallows.   Sitting out by the fire is one of my favorite things to do.

 

 

We were thankful for two date nights this month.  Here we are enjoying pasta at our favorite Italian restaurant in town.

 

 

I began the task of restocking our freezer with baked goods.  I began by making several loaves of chocolate chip zucchini bread and chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

 

 

Later I made a few loaves of chocolate chip banana bread. 

 

I made several batches of sausage balls.

 

Lastly, I made several pans of cinnamon rolls.  I think we should be well stocked for a little while.  It would be a great time to stop by for coffee.

 

David has been busy this month finalizing plans, paperwork, and preparations for our upcoming medical team.  They will arrive on Saturday, August 31.  Be praying for us this upcoming week as we host this team. 

 

It's time to drag out the fall decorations!!!