Year 2, Day 1 is Complete
Instead of editing the last post to contain an update of today’s events, I decided to go ahead and post again. We started off the day a little later and a little slower than I’d planned, but overall, we had a very promising and gentle first day back. I ended up waking the boys up at about 9, and we made apple scones for breakfast. After we ate, we brought our coffee into the school room to check out their new stuff.
I stacked almost everything that they would be using this year on their desks last night (barring a few as-yet un-purchased books… budgeting constraints, you know). We went through all the books and talked about how they’ll be used, what our schedule will be like for this year and what our expectations are for this year – mine and theirs. They asked questions and had the chance to really flip through and examine the lessons and materials. I like that they were interested in what they’ll be doing. Of course, they can do this any time (the books live on their desks in the red baskets), but I enjoyed going through them with the boys and planting seeds of interest, and seeing them find things that they’re excited about getting to.
We also talked about goals and things we’d like to accomplish this year, and the boys wrote them down in their planners along with a positive affirmation for the day and a look at their STARS planners and how they’ll be used this year. By the time we were done, it was lunchtime, so they ate, then had time to look through all of my books that we’ll be using this year as well as the rest of their workbooks and other materials, and ask more questions. After that, they took off for some outside time, building a medieval hut/trading post out of the remnants of a big wooden puppet show theater that we had when they were itty bitty.
Then they came inside for storytime (we’re reading D’Aulaire’s Greek Myths for fun and Norse Myths for history) and science, then we went off to a chicken pox party. Super-suspicious LBB was less than enthused about having a sucker that a poxed 4 year old had previously sucked on, but did eventually cooperate and a lengthy discussion about Mom’s motives and why having chicken pox is infinitely preferable to vaccinating against them ensued in the car on the way to the library.
After checking out several of the books we’ll be using this week, we came back home, worked on some science vocabulary, had dinner and sent the children off to bed with an early morning of schoolwork followed by a late-morning field trip planned for tomorrow. Speaking of bed, I’m headed there myself. Hope your first day back was lovely and filled with potential!
Warmly,
~h
Our First Year of Homeschooling is Complete.
Incredibly, we’re more or less done with our first year of homeschooling. This week is the last week in my lesson planner (an oversight that is corrected in next year’s planner), and though we will still be doing ‘school-ish’ things throughout the month of December, we’re officially out of school until January 3rd.
I can’t believe that we’re already finished with our first year! Back in January, when I started on this path, I knew we were taking a step in the right direction. Even so, I remember feeling nervous about the actual day-to-day ‘doing’ of it.
Many of the websites I looked at in the beginning talked about how the first year of homeschooling is an exploratory year. They cautioned against buying too much or getting too entrenched in one method or mindset with the comment that the way you think you’ll homeschool often isn’t the way that ends up working for you. I’m so glad that I read those kinds of things because I found those points definitely to be true in my case.
I’m glad that we didn’t buy a bunch of text books; we rarely use them, opting instead for materials that aren’t so dry. We started our homeschooling year enchanted with Charlotte Mason style ideas. Books play such a central role in our lives, so that style fit in with what we were already doing by nature. We stuck with that pretty well until summer hit, which required a re-vamp as my niece was with us most days. I’d started to read more about ‘de-schooling’ by that point, too, so we fell into more of an unschool-y rhythm. Not ‘real’ unschooling, but as close to it as I’ll ever come, most likely. Then when the school year started up again, our homeschool group was getting off the ground and more active, so we moved more into unit studies and active learning through field trips and other non-traditional methods (though we have kept a fairly consistent level of book-work at home throughout). Over the last few months, we’ve also been doing more lapbooking and finding our groove with a more relaxed and mastery focused method.
It’s been interesting to me to work through the progression over the past year. We’re both not at all where I thought we’d be and exactly on-target. I’m extremely pleased with how the year has gone, with the work that the kids have done this year, and with the material we’ve covered. I’ve learned to be more relaxed – not so much that school slacks, but enough so that I’m not worrying myself ragged over being ‘on track’ with public school or so that the kids aren’t enjoying learning. I still worry about it, but I think they’re pretty well ‘on-target’ with their grade level, and that is reassuring. That’s my hold-out issue; staying ‘on-track’. I think that worry will lessen as time passes and we settle more into homeschooling.
There are, of course, some things that I want to get back in a better habit of doing. For the first few months, I read to the kids almost every day. Now, they read aloud every day, but I rarely read to them unless it’s something on the lesson plan. I miss that, so I will be adding more literature and story-time for next year – actually scheduling it so it doesn’t slide. More along that line of thought to come; I’m working on a Lesson Planning for 2011 post that will be up soon.
Aside from a curriculum to teach, there are some things that are essential for a new homeschooler. If you’re just starting out, here’s my list of must have items to make homeschooling ‘go’:
- a good lesson planner & calendar
- 100 quality pencils and an electric pencil sharpener. Click or pink erasers would not go amiss.
- skip crayons; opt for quality colored pencils
- case of copy paper or two and a quality printer and plenty of ink refills
- internet access
- Counting rack/abacus, globe or world map (globe is better), a comfy chair for Mom
Another thing I found to be most helpful this year has been establishing a firm support foundation, both in real life and on the internet. Meeting local homeschooling families has given both me and the boys a social outlet as well as afforded us more active learning opportunities via field trips and group events. In addition to ‘real’ hand-holding, I’ve found so many homeschooling moms who are willing to share on forums and through blog recommendations. You ladies have no idea how helpful you’ve been; how valuable and encouraging your experiences and stories and accounts of day-to-day homeschooling life have been to me. Thank you so much for sharing!
First Day of Homeschooling
Homeschooling, Year 1 is Complete
Without a doubt, this year has been a rousing success. It’s been such a joy and privilege to share our first year with you, dear reader, and I thank you for your comments, feedback and unwavering support! Homeschooling has been wonderful for us, and I am so grateful that we have this opportunity. I’m looking forward to sharing next year with you as well.
From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!
Warmly,
~h
Day 1
Well, we made it!
We got off to a little bit later start than I had envisioned; of course, I had envisioned absolute perfection a la Donna Reed and though we managed our normal level of less-than-Reed-like controlled chaos, it was perfect in its own way.
I made breakfast and sent the boys off for teeth-brushing and clothing that was not pajamas and had them meet me for “school”. We started with handwriting and a fable, Aesop’s “The Wolf and The Kid”. Then, we did history/geography (Ambleside Online’s recommended “Paddle to the Sea“) complete with atlas lookups and discussions mid-chapter about animals, what the boy might be feeling and what Paddle might be feeling, and to discuss the pictures.
Next came some outside time, then back inside for science and math, then we took a break for lunch. We made taco soup and we must have done something right because both boys ate a lot! After lunch, we put shoes on and went for a walk with binoculars and journals for Nature Study, then back to the house for some time in the yard finishing up our drawings and notes from our walk.
After that, we did Spanish (Ella es mujer.) and copywork, which was a poem by Christina Rossetti and finally, we wrapped up the day’s lessons with making apple-cinnamon scones and Tuesday Tea. That’s a concept I have seen on several other sites to cover etiquette and formal manners and I really like it. I pulled out my “good china” and my boys were so careful with all of it. I really appreciate how much care they took when handling such delicate pieces.
All in all, I think the day went fantastically. What I learned:
We took too long. I tried to do too much, and though we accomplished everything on the list, I can see where I need to cut some things out. I also learned what my kids’ strengths are, and weaknesses in regard to learning ability. We had a lot of out-of-your-seat lessons, which was good for both of the boys. We also did work on the chalkboard and on clipboards in the yard as opposed to sitting at the desk and using plain paper. They were very focused for 90% of the time we were actively doing lessons – but still, I am cramming too much in.
I think that’s just “me” – I want perfection, and though I know we’ll never get there, I know that having no plan definitely won’t get you there. That said, I have tried to convince myself that unschooling simply will not work for me. After today, I am kinda re-thinking that. As much as I LOVE the philosophy, I can see how we can work towards that as an ideal, if not implement fully as a strategy. I am not quite ready to give up on our lesson plan, but I am more open to moving in that direction than I was before.
I did a slideshow with pictures taken from our day.
Tomorrow, we have the library and lunch with some friends. We’re part of SETXPlaygroup, and there is a “Meet-N-Greet” event that we’ll be going to – for socialization {wink}. Trying to fit that in with lessons will be a challenge, but taking into consideration what I learned from today, I think I am up to the task.
Warmly,
~h
Our Homeschool Room
It’s FINALLY done! All in all, it didn’t take that long, really. A week of near-solid effort and I have the room that I envisioned (minus curtains and a rug that I haven yet to make/buy).
You can see the entire album with the before and after pictures on Photobucket.com here. I’m only going to post the after pictures here.
This is my desk. If you’re standing in the doorway, this is what you see.
This is the far corner. It used to have a bunch of boxes and things stored there, but now we have a chalkboard, white board and reading chair (rocker that I bought when I was pregnant with LittleBoyBlue). I also found that little easel at HEB for $19. It is a little small for my boys, but if they sit, then it will be just the right height for them to use. I figure that it will be perfect for art and for them to work on their nature journals.
This is LittleBoyBlue’s space. He and my husband are big fans of the Halo video games, so my son is thrilled to have Master Chief watching over him while he works.
This is PeaGreen’s desk. He is looking forward to filling the wall above his desk with samples of his work.
This is where the washer and dryer live, hidden behind the curtain. I anticipate being better able to get laundry accomplished since we’ll be in the same room with it every day!
So that’s our space. I’d love to implement workboxes, or a similar system in the near future. I am not sure if we’re ready for that just yet, but I do love the idea and the system seems to work for a lot of people. I saw a 13 pocket file folder thing that we might try as a “school on the go” type system.
I am so pleased with how the space turned out, and that I met my goal of finishing on time! I am normally such a procrastinator – I start out strong on projects (especially painting. Half the rooms in our house are halfway painted.) but fade once something else catches my attention and I rarely go back and finish the project. But I am super proud of myself for following through with this one.
Tomorrow is the big day! Wish me luck 
Warmly,
~h
Almost Ready!
I know that having a “room” for school in our house is a complete luxury. After seeing some of the spaces that other homeschooling families have carved out in their living rooms, kitchens or corners, I am both aware and very thankful that we have a home that allows a dedicated space for our educational endeavors.
I have transformed our laundry room/media/game room (which is a closed-in former garage) into our school room. Although truthfully, there was a lot of junk that ended up in that room, too. I’ve purged boxes and clothing and other stuff that we’ve held on to for no apparent reason. The space is really coming together!
I took a bit of inspiration from NicandBoy’s room – it’s one that I’ve seen referenced over and over again when I was looking for ideas, and no wonder – it’s great! My kids’ colors (LittleBoyBLUE and PeaGREEN) also needed to be represented, so I used all 3 colors – a bright orange for my space, a nice blue for LittleBoyBlue and a lovely shade of spring green for PeaGreen. Balanced with white in the “non-school” areas of the room (because it is still our laundry room, after all) and the bright colors in the school space are balanced with an almond/taupe shade that is neutral. I’ll add curtains (for the 2 windows) and a rug as soon as I find fabric that works and a rug that compliments.
We have a small wall painted with chalkboard paint, and I have another chalkboard that I will be hanging tomorrow. I have a whiteboard poster-board hung on the back of one of the doors, so we’re set for writing demonstrations on an alternative to plain, boring paper! I also have the big desk computer set up and will be bringing at least one, maybe two of my big bookcases in there for storage and to set up the kids’ library.
It’s so cool to see this all coming together! I can’t wait till tomorrow evening when (theoretically) it’s done!
Warmly,
~h
A New Adventure Begins
Today, we pulled our 2 boys out of school. On one hand, that seems like such an easy thing to say, to do. On the other hand, that is an overwhelming position to find myself in.
I always knew that I wanted to homeschool my children. I was homeschooled during high school and it was a great experience. Though I wasn’t always the most cooperative student, my mom rocked the homeschooling scene. She singlehandedly organized field trips, playdates, outings and other creative learning opportunities for several homeschooling families that she found. Socialization was never an issue – with over 300 people crowding our home for my graduation party, I think it’s safe to say that with effort, homeschooling can yield just as many social opportunities as public school!
We had always planned on homeschooling. Our plan changed when a new charter school system opened a branch in our city. With a focus on math, science and technology, small class sizes and a mentoring program, we felt that it would be foolish to deny our children what they were promising. We told ourselves that it was an experiment; I honestly did not think that we would last through the first week. But things went surprisingly well, and though it was not without problems, it was a good environment for my boys… at first.
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that proved true in this case. With my oldest becoming increasingly more discouraged and my youngest just coasting by in a school that made big promises and little evidence of follow through, we decided that we’ve had enough and instituted a change. I want to see my kids happy to learn. I want things to move at their pace, not because a book says this is next, or it’s time to move on or because all the other kids have either still not grasped that concept or have already mastered it. I want to let their interests guide them and cultivate their desire to find out more.
We always said that we would “do” school for as long as school worked. If and when it stopped working for us or for them, we would have no problem pulling them out and going back to our original plan to homeschool. So it was surprising to me to feel nervous at the prospect of pulling them out of school. The show of support from my friends has been tremendous. Their confidence in my ability to successfully meet my children’s educational needs is both humbling and encouraging. Since we made our decision and made that public knowledge, and now that we’ve actually withdrawn the boys from school, I guess now it’s time to put up or shut up, right?
So, over the past week, we’ve sacrificed the laundry room/game room to create a dedicated space for learning. We’re very fortunate to have space in our home to accommodate a dedicated space. We’re still not quite done, but we’re almost there. We will be sharing our journey as a new homeschooling family with you here. Our plan is to begin classes on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. We’re following an eclectic path, with heavy influence by Charlotte Mason and Well Trained Mind, and some Holt and Waldorf style thrown in for good measure. Our “school year” is a year-round plan, beginning in January. We will have class for 6 weeks, then take a one week break. That will give us 7 six-week grading periods and leave room to take the month of December off. We’re not going to stick with traditional grade levels. We’re following Ambleside Online’s CM style curriculum and we’re beginning with Year 1.
If you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you!
Warmly,
~h
