Enjoying Learning Again!

Every family's educational journey is so different, as it should be.  We learn as we

go.  We learn from our feelings, from our children's feelings, from learning styles,

and discovering what works for us as Mommy's and teachers.  Every parent is after all

a teacher.  Every child is too for that matter.  

(I'm trying to remember these

things in stressful moments....aka "teaching moments.")

I finally decided yesterday that for next year, I'm bringing "Superman" back home, after what will be a

total of 3 months in public school.  I may very well choose to send him or another child back to public

school at another time, but for now, this is what puts my heart and mind at ease and I am 

looking forward to it.

Here are a few pictures from a little tactile activity we did last week.  We started out doing letters

in some flour in individual cake pans then went to the next "station" and wrote

names and drew pictures with spaghetti noodles.

"Spiderman" is so big and suddenly very interested in learning to read and write.

Wish I could remember the story about his noodle picture....

SUPER happy "Robin"! :)  He made that "d" on his paper himself modeled after the "d" on 

the book next to him. :)

He keeps surprising me lately with his little 3 year old coordination!  

I could be because it's still so difficult to understand his speaking that I forget

how much he's growing up!

The noodle thing could be a fun way to change things up with spelling words too!

Lately I'm learning a few things that make OUR home learning work better for us.

1.  Don't always do school at the same time or same location.  

Again, this is totally tailored to THIS Mommy and her boys.  It probably goes against every other homeschool thing you've ever read.  We do school here and there, upstairs at desks or on the white board, downstairs at the snack bar or kitchen table or once every week or two, at a table at the library during story time.  

2.  I don't have to stick to anyone's curriculum to be a good teacher with well rounded children.

Curriculum can be lovely and helpful, but for me, they can also be stressful.  For half of

this past school year we did our best to almost exactly follow a curriculum and 90% of the time

we did it at desks.  WELL, that is wonderful for some families, but that led to burn out for me, and the kids were not looking forward to learning.  I can focus on the things that are important for my child to learn, when they are ready to learn it and if they are especially into one subject I'm going to let them run with it.  Basically now I'm just

taking helpful ideas from our curriculum and finding other supplementing things that I like from the library and internet.  

[Example:  Our curriculum has a week long plan for teaching each letter sound that incorporates Science, reading, character, and Bible.  I now prefer to let my child choose the next letter he learns,

get library books that go along with, use some of the curriculum sheets, maybe bring in movies

on a topic that starts with that letter and also include a letter that we are reviewing the second half of the week.  Too much planning makes me crazy!  I've gotta fly by the seat of my pants, and go with 

everyone's moods to keep feeling alive.]

3.  It helps me to be accountable to someone.  
I figured this out through public school and I will apply it to our homeschool by using a local charter school program that is set up for homeschoolers.  They have an independent learning program
that I can use where for one or two subjects I will need to let someone know every couple weeks what we have done in that subject.  That will be tremendously helpful to me.  They also have fun free kits we can use, like Rosetta Stone access, a typing game, and an astronomy package.  Fun, fun.

4.  Find out about free local programs and see how they can spice up your homeschool.
Next to our city library we have a literacy center.  They offer reading classes for elementary students as well as math tutoring for older kids.  The reading classes put them groups according to reading level and meet twice a week for fifty minutes.  I will be taking my two oldest to these classes to give them a little outlet together and to give me that little guaranteed bi-weekly time to focus on my little ones.  We'll probably go to the library next door and read together, or maybe go play at a nearby park sometimes.