While I don’t talk a ton about homeschooling on the blog, I have shared a few progress reports here and there. I gave a run down in the fall of our curriculum plans so I thought we were due for an update on how everything is working for us! I have a 6 year old in grade 1, and a 4 year old “in” preschool.
So far, homeschooling has been wonderful! I have been pleasantly surprised with how well it has been working, and we have found a simple routine. We follow an Alberta curriculum guideline for all of E’s core subjects, so that if/when we send him to school outside of the home, he will do just fine. I really like having this set of outcomes, because I know where we “need” to be, and we can feel free to go beyond in areas he is more drawn to.
Initially I had planned to follow a 4 day week. However, I’ve ended up following a 5 day week schedule {most of the time} it gives us more flexibility to take a day here and there if I have a baby thats a little extra needy. I have found that the morning is best for us, and we usually start anywhere between 9/10. We wrap up before lunch. Most days I am able to do the bulk of school over Finley’s nap time, which is becoming a necessity as she becomes more and more busy. Science and Social Studies is something I usually alternate week to week {with 2-3 days including social or science). I was doing alternate days, but I found it more effective to cover things a week at a time. I fill in the gaps with Bible and Health. No matter what, we do Math and Language Arts everyday.
Elijah is more or less finished with grade 1 Math. We will continue to reinforce concepts, and move on to grade 2 math. I am targeting to finish our full “grade 1” year for all subjects in mid April-ish. Public school ends June 26, so we have lots of wiggle room if we need it.
LA
Smart Start in Language Arts-We are loving this curriculum. I really like the open and go nature- it requires very little prep outside of having games ready, or copying worksheets. E loves reading time with our puppet… we have a pirate. If something isn’t working, we can pick and choose, but over all we pretty much complete everything within the lesson. He also re-watches the puppet shows some days, and loves them. This curriculum goes over every area we need to touch on, with writing, reading, spelling, decoding all integrated. There is very little need to supplement this curriculum, which I love. E has done some of his own creative writing within a journal- which may include co-writing a story, copy work, or writing phrases he wants to know.
Draw Write Now, Explode the Code– Honestly, we haven’t touched these since the start of the year. We heavily used Explode the Code last year in kindergarten, but we really don’t need any additional reading and writing tools at this point.
Math
Math U See– the feedback I often hear about Math U See is “Math U See does what it does really well” and I would say that is true. As far as it being an aligned resource, I have found I really need to supplement it to cover everything we need for the Alberta curriculum. I don’t feel as though it challenges E, and it is a lot of the same. He likes knowing what to expect, but I don’t feel it challenges him. He whizzes through Math in minutes, and rarely gets a wrong answer. I don’t know if thats good or not… he can pretty much figure it out without me needing to teach it. I use a “Canadian Curriculum” work book to reinforce some additional concepts not covered in MUS, as well as some computer resources and additional math activities that are more hands on. I think we may use Math U See for grade 2, but I am definitely looking at different options such as Horizons and Jump. {anyone with anything that has worked well for them?}
Science
One of the biggest surprises for me has been our science routine. We really have found it best to do our own things here. I try to do hands on activities, and we watch some educational videos as well as do a few computer activities. {ie. short videos about weather patterns, states of matter, animal mirgration/hibernation etc} The boys love doing “experiments” and I have found that Pinterest has some great ideas.
I was so excited about the Science Curriculum I purchased, and while it has a lot of hands on activities in theory- it was far too encyclopedic for my boys. They just were not interested in listening to the reading… thankfully I figured out very early on that it wasn’t working, and moved on.
Social Studies
I primarily pull together my own curriculum, with some supplemental resources from our facilitator.
I have found that the more I can integrate each subject together, the more fun the boys have. You also may be catching onto another key to what has helped us have success this year… I incorporate both the boys into school time. G is only pre-school age, but it is amazing what he is absorbing. My boys LOVE games! I have read how effective it is for kids to take the role of “teaching” a concept back in order to gain mastery- and games are a great way for them to do that. They play site word bingo, color memory, Snap it Up (which uses addition and speed) Phase 10, Uno. All of these things help with pattern recognition etc. I wouldn’t have thought that my 4 year old would understand a game like Phase 10, if not for E taking the time to teach him. It has been amazing for their relationship to have E at home this year. I love the bond they share.
I think it is so important to be a part of some sort of homeschool co-op. I am really thankful we have a facilitator, who can point us in the right direction and share experiences. We have opportunities for group sports, ski-ing, bowling, writing, field trips… honestly too many activities for us to even do! I know my limits, and try to operate within them as a mom of 3. We have fun, we get out, but I don’t burn myself out. The more unstructured play my boys can have, the better. After all, they are just kids!
It also helps that one of my best friends also homeschools- and on the days where we are just not having a good week, we can get together and chat, refresh, have a coffee, and let our kids play!
Homeschooling is not for everyone. I know a lot of moms who don’t like the idea of being at home every day with their kids. People often say “that must be a lot of work” or “wow! you have your hands full!” I am a very hands on person, I love teaching, and I love learning. There are not many things that intimidate me, and I feel if I put my mind to it, I could probably do just about anything. My kids are very similar, and I am thankful I can foster that within them. My husband probably takes the cake in being a person that will learn how to do just about anything…. he is athletic and technically oriented. Our kids carry our DNA, and I can’t wait to see what sorts of things they decide to tackle. haha. In truth, I am not super mom… I sometimes do things well, and other days not so much. We move on, and face each day as it comes. Homeschooling isn’t a hill I will live and die on… we will keep with it as long as it’s working for both me and the kids.
I think we all have different priorities as moms, and thats ok. I like to blog…. I can’t crochet. 😉 Every person is not wired the same, and that is reflected in how we parent. Life is not a one size fits all. Thank goodness!
I hope this was informative for inquiring minds. While I am no expert, I am happy to bounce ideas around. I love what a friend of mine says “It is our job to foster a love of life long learning!”
Isn’t that lovely. 🙂 Happy Tuesday-
Miss Ash