Summer, where have you gone?

Wow, it's hard to believe summer is about half way through. Time to start preparing for the next school year. I am both excited and a little uneasy about this coming school year. My oldest will be in the 7th grade. That my friends, is junior high. It seems the longer I homeschool,the less likely it is that my children will ever be in public or other school. I know that is a good thing. It still gives me reason to pause and ponder. And of course,it gives me a reason to worry. That is my specialty. Ask my mom. I have always been a worrier. It is really quite silly. My kids are taking their end of year testing this week and I am at my peak of worry. And stress. And sweaty palms. Wait. That is not a feeling..... But it is true. As I have said in the past, I am not worried about their performance nearly as much as I am worried that I have not prepared them adequately. I find myself almost wishing. Taught my kids the specific information needed for the testing, but that is one of the reasons I like to homeschool, we like to teach our kids to learn, not to test.... I really loathe the requirement to test our kids. Although, compared to other states, Oregon is pretty lenient with regards to homeschool requirements. It is strict compared to others.... What exactly is this testing supposed to do anyway? Show what each child has retained from rote mastery of skills and information they may or may not know how to apply to real life? Put children from a variety of schools spanig the U.S. from poverty stricken areas to posh, comfortable, wealthy districts? Hardly seems fair. Well, to me, anyway. I really don't care how my kids "stack up" against random kids from accord the nation. So why does it bother me so? It feels like a massive judgement on me. There. I said it. My kids test scores are somehow indicative of the kind of mother, teacher, person, I am... What? Does that sound too egocentric? Well, I think it is true.... Maybe you agree, maybe not? What are you planning for the 2012-2013 school year? I am working on compiling some unit studies as well as an awful lot of math. Oh yeah, my kids and math are only somewhat compatible. It is my fault. I am to math what oil is to water. No joke. I am hoping to fix that with my kids, and myself over the next few years. Any suggestions? What curriculum do you use? One of my kids is a kin esthetic ( hands on) learner and the other is more of a visual learner... I would love to hear suggestions and thoughts on the subject as we have only ever used Abeka math and it is not working very well for us... Maybe if I get my stuff together I will post my plans on here. I have seen others do it and I think it would be great for accountability as well as possible inspiration for other as it has been for me...