School Scheduling

School officially starts in 2 weeks. Yikes. As a mother it's a bit overwhelming to think about everything each child needs to be doing and when. I read a book about scheduling, called "Managers of Their Homes" and then set to work making our homeschool schedule. I ended up with an Excel spreadsheet, color coded for each child. I scheduled in piano, computer time (for the older two math and several other subjects are done on the computer) as well as older kids playing with Levi and Grace while I'm teaching phonics to Claire. It's ultimate structure, and it starts at 6:15am.
Because this is such a huge jump from our summer lack of structure, we are starting slowly. This week we'll try the schedule only from 6:15 until 10am. Once we get that down we'll add a few more hours....I'll let you know how it goes!

Public School and Literacy

Public school was quite an adventure for us - and a surprise. I went to public school as a child, but there was so much I didn't remember - in fact I barely remembered anything from public school. What surprised me the most about our year in public school was the push for literacy. Now I know, literacy is important, but for Emily (5th grade) and Sarah (3rd grade) literacy and book projects seemed to be everything they did. They came home with projects like: read a book of your choice and design a new cover for it, read a book of your choice and make a mask representing the main character, etc. etc. For kids who already read well above their grade level it seems unnecessary, but there's nothing you can do about it because everyone's getting the same education.

Claire's experience with literacy was quite different. I had assumed that Kindergarten in public school would be all about phonics and reading. One of my friends told me, upon enrolling Claire in school, that they don't teach kindergarteners to read, that instead kindergarten is about following directions and staying in line. Of course I thought she must not know what she's talking about - I mean, the kids are there for 6 hours a day - how could they not be learning to read in all that time? The first few months, Claire brought home lists of sight words and little reader books. But...Claire wasn't learning to read. I kept thinking I must be missing part of the "program." So in February, I went to see her teacher to ask her: what about phonics? Why does Claire have a reader with the word "shouted" in it if no one has taught her the "sh" sound or the "ou" sound? Her teacher responded by saying that in Kindergarten they focus on sight words and fluency (which for Claire meant read the sight words, look at the picture, and guess everything else), and they start phonics in 1st grade. I was floored. Really, no phonics or reading in kindergarten. That's when I decided I had to do it myself, so everyday when Claire came home from school we'd have reading lessons together. Within a few weeks, words started making sense to Claire, she started decoding.

Literacy is a big reason I decided to homeschool again. I want to unlock the world of reading early for my kids, before they lose interest or don't have time to read all the books on the shelf. For Claire, why should I send her to school if I have to teach phonics myself at home anyway? And for Emily and Sarah, why should they have to do "literacy projects" when they are beyond advanced in literacy, and don't need encouragement to read. (We take away books for a punishment.) The time could be spent doing things they are not so proficient at, like chemistry or critical thinking.

The Hardest Thing About Homeschooling

I am not new to homeschooling. I homeschooled for 4 years before having everyone try public school for a year, so in a lot of ways I know what I'm getting myself into. The hardest thing about homeschooling is not finding curriculums or teaching algebra. It is dealing with everyone's emotions when things aren't going well, and keeping my own emotions in check. It gives me the ultimate chance to practice my "Mary Poppins Mothering," and boy is it hard.

This weekend I'm attending a SCOPE conference where Jeannie Fulbright, author of the Apologia Young Explorer series, is the keynote speaker. One of her sessions addresses this issue - the session description says "Believe it or not, it is possible, and not difficult, to respond to every issue with a calm peace and strong faith."

I can't wait to figure that out! I'll keep you posted on all the little gems I learn!

Homeschooling Again

After a year in the public school system, Kenny and I decided next year we should homeschool the kids again. Actually, Kenny has always been pro-homeschool so it wasn't a hard decision for him. But since I do 99% of the schooling, for me it means giving up a good amount of free time, sleep, exercise, and anything else I wanted to do with my time -all in the name of my children's education. While experiencing public school it became very clear that the kids really learn a TON more at home. So...after a little soul searching...I decided that doing a really hard thing like homeschooling - for my children's benefit - would be rewarding for all of us.

This blog will be my journey through another year of homeschooling my five children: Emily -6th grade, Sarah - 4th grade, Claire - 1st grade, Grace - Pre-4, and Levi - 2 1/2 and into everything!

We'll see how I hold up!