first day of the new year

Our new school books finally arrived and this morning was our first official day of kindergarten and first grade.  We decided to go with a classical approach to homeschool this year.  The girls will learn history in the order it occurred, starting with creation.  In this first year, we will attempt an overview of four centuries, up until the fall of Rome.  The key word is overview.  Bella's primary focus will be on learning to read and Landry's will be on learning cursive, or fancy writing.  Our science will be biology; animals, plant life and the human body. 
When I taught private school, we used the Abeka curricula.  I swore I would never use it again b/c I was so burnt out.  After visiting multiple homeschool friends and conventions I decided it was not as bad as I remembered and since I knew it, decided it would be a wise choice for this year.  We are using the math, handwriting and LE's spelling books from Abeka.  I am using much of the things with Bella that I used to teach LE how to read.  I have spent the past couple of weeks writing lesson plans for the next month.  I think it is going to be a great year.  Of course, will keep you posted.