During the last two weeks I wasn't sure if we'd really done anything in regards to formal schooling but then I made the following list:
1) Awana verse (which is basically memorizing the names of all 27 books in the New Testament)
2) learning about the Emperor Penguins migration,
3) the California Gold-Rush (followed up by actually panning for gold here on our property),
4) Art project making "Love boats" from milk cartons,
5) reading story about Bison and the Sioux indians
6) playing math games,
7) Finishing up "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" on audio and
8) Reading LOT of library books. Ok...so not all was lost.
I've been playing catch-up the last couple of weeks and have taken a few steps back to re-evaluate our learning methods/routines etc. Which means I've spent my free time (what little there is-which is basically after the kids are in bed) reading, and then some more reading, and a little more reading up on homeschooling in general, methods of learning, ways to teach etc. etc. Has any of this reading helped me come to a conclusion? Not definitively. Has any of it helped me figure any thing out? Sort-of.
Basically I've come to the conclusion that homeschooling in general is a work-in-progress for all homeschooling families. One method may work for awhile, but things shift, the child matures or is struggling and it's not uncommon for the schooling-at-home teacher & student to come up with new ways to learn. That is the beauty of homeschooling-if it is not working, change it. :)
We are at that crossroads now and so in a couple of weeks Leah & I will be having some quality time without Nolan; where she will have my undivided attention and we can focus on her strengths and weaknesses and come up with solutions that will help both of us guide her where she needs to go.
In the mean time, for the rest of February we will stepping it down a notch and relaxing. Our focus will be on a lot of game playing (math skills) and some life skills. And story time will be extended for longer periods while I finish reading them the Magic Tree House series, a book about the Trojan Horse, and any of the countless books Nolan & Leah pull off our home library bookshelf for me to read to them for the 100th time.
1) Awana verse (which is basically memorizing the names of all 27 books in the New Testament)
2) learning about the Emperor Penguins migration,
3) the California Gold-Rush (followed up by actually panning for gold here on our property),
4) Art project making "Love boats" from milk cartons,
5) reading story about Bison and the Sioux indians
6) playing math games,
7) Finishing up "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" on audio and
8) Reading LOT of library books. Ok...so not all was lost.
I've been playing catch-up the last couple of weeks and have taken a few steps back to re-evaluate our learning methods/routines etc. Which means I've spent my free time (what little there is-which is basically after the kids are in bed) reading, and then some more reading, and a little more reading up on homeschooling in general, methods of learning, ways to teach etc. etc. Has any of this reading helped me come to a conclusion? Not definitively. Has any of it helped me figure any thing out? Sort-of.
Basically I've come to the conclusion that homeschooling in general is a work-in-progress for all homeschooling families. One method may work for awhile, but things shift, the child matures or is struggling and it's not uncommon for the schooling-at-home teacher & student to come up with new ways to learn. That is the beauty of homeschooling-if it is not working, change it. :)
We are at that crossroads now and so in a couple of weeks Leah & I will be having some quality time without Nolan; where she will have my undivided attention and we can focus on her strengths and weaknesses and come up with solutions that will help both of us guide her where she needs to go.
In the mean time, for the rest of February we will stepping it down a notch and relaxing. Our focus will be on a lot of game playing (math skills) and some life skills. And story time will be extended for longer periods while I finish reading them the Magic Tree House series, a book about the Trojan Horse, and any of the countless books Nolan & Leah pull off our home library bookshelf for me to read to them for the 100th time.
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