Planning an Adventure

For record keeping purposes, we begin our school year on June 1st and complete the year on May 31st.  All educational activities and knowledge and skills acquired during summertime are recorded but during this time we do take a break from more traditional schoolwork (unless it is 'student-directed').  We begin this portion of schooling the day after labor day.  That day is quickly approaching and I am busily preparing.  There is plenty to do - the house needs thoroughly cleaned, all the 'curriculum' reviewed, and both the house and 'curriculum' organized.  So, all this is going through my head and Maceo's 13th birthday ceremony is definitely still residing in my brain and the two begin to converge - the practical ways in which we hope to guide Maceo on the journey to manhood and the ways in which to weave them through his academic 'curriculum.'
- He will begin his quest for authentic manhood by completing the book "The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ" by Jerry L. Ross

- In regards to helping him acquire skills that will be useful to him as he goes to fulfill his manly role of provider and protector I hope, in part, to build upon a tutorial that he received last year.  Last school year a friend gave Maceo a tutorial on how to change a vehicle's oil and I hope that he will have the opportunity to learn how to very specifically change my vehicle's oil and then, I hope, that he will be able to entirely take over the responsibility of changing my oil.  Also, I will give him more responsibility for the maintenance of the house and we will explore the possibilities of him attending courses at our local technical college that will increase his ability to do just that.

-  The best place to start when attempting to grow in wisdom is, of course, the Bible.  Maceo will read a chapter of Proverbs daily and discuss with me what has been revealed to him about wisdom.
-In order to continue growing in stature physically Maceo will continue attending a homeschool P.E. group at the YMCA and doing calisthenics determined by Dad.   Also, he has established personal goals that he has been consistently working towards and will be encouraged to continue.
- In order to continue growing in stature mentally Maceo can expect his studies to become more rigorous and he will be expected to become consistently more independent.  In addition to his regular studies, he will begin Informal Logic this year.  He will complete "The Thinking Toolbox" and "The Fallacy Detective" by Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn.
- In order to promote spiritual maturity Maceo will continue to study the Bible daily after he has finished reading Proverbs and studying Wisdom.  Also, as a family, we will study the book "Character for Life" by Don Hawkinson and we will go on many prayer journeys, inspired by "The Praying Family: Creative Ways to Pray Together" by Kim Butts.
-We will also use the concordance to get a biblical perspective on the characteristics cited by Vince Lombardi.

This should prove to be an exciting adventure, one I look forward to taking with Maceo!