My Accomplishment for the Week

Go ahead. Laugh at me. Believe me, you won't be the first (or the last). But now that we've settled into the current academic year and things seem to be going reasonably well (knock on wood), I find my thoughts turning to planning for next year. We go through a lot of books in a year, especially now that biographies and historical fiction are serving as the backbone of RobotBoy's history studies. And, being the deep-down cheap person I am, I can't stand the idea of paying full retail price for all those books. So, I have a routine. I keep lists in my purse of all the topics I'm planning to cover in the next year or two, including titles of specific books when I can find them. Since one of my favorite pass-times is browsing bookstores, this way I can pick up books one or two at a time as I find them on sale or have coupons that would otherwise expire and slowly collect a whole year's worth of reading material for less than half of what it would cost me to buy at the cover prices.

But the first step is to figure out what I already have on hand. So, I spent most of Wednesday morning while RobotBoy was enjoying his day off from desk work unpacking the last of the book boxes left over from this summer's move. I then sorted and organized everything onto the shelves in our office/schoolroom (and even managed to put a few in the "donatables" box in the garage). I turned up a few things I remembered and had planned to use for next year but hadn't been able to find and a few things I'd forgotten we even owned. I then hit one of my favorite bargain bookstores and lucked into a couple more. I still have a long way to go to collect enough for a full year, but I feel quite pleased with the starter kit I've got sitting on the shelf already.

We'll be cycling back around to the ancients next year. Here's what I've got so far:

Learning Through History: Ancient China
Learning Through History: Ancient Egypt
Learning Through History: Mesoamerica
Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors
Egyptians, Maya, Minoans Activity Book
Ancient Rome Timeline / Activity Sheets
Discover Ancient Egypt Activity Book
Ancient Greece Activity Book
Coloring Book of Ancient Egypt
Make It Work: Roman Empire
The Maya: Life, Myth and Art
Story of Philosophy (37 pp. on Greeks)
Mysteries Through the Ages (sections on pyramids, prehistory, lost civilizations)
Top 10 Greek Legends: Zeus on the Loose, Deary
Horrible Histories: Rotten Romans, Deary
Detectives in Togas, Winterfield
Place in the Sun, Rubalcaba
The Way of Alexander the Great, Mercer
The Children's Homer, Colum

So, with that as my base, I've started building a list of things to look for in the next few months. I'd love to hear any ideas anyone might want to throw my way!

Isn't planning fun?