Thoughts on Homeschooling - 1st Edition

I have been wanting to post some on homeschooling.  Several people have asked about my curriculum and such and I really want to share but just have not had time! Well, I still don't "really" have time, but I'm stealing a few minutes here as I nurse Miriam to sleep, to share some updates and reflections I have had lately because if I don't shart sharing soon I am going to forget and then I will feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin!

But first off, let me say that I am prepared for this year to be INTENSELY humbling and yet HOPEFUL that it will be amazingly fulfilling.  So far it has been both and it really has not even begun! I know I am going to learn so much and I am preparing myself to be ready for anything and to change anything and everything at a moment's notice.  I'm praying like crazy and diving in as best I can.

So, on to the list. .  .

1) First off I just HAVE to tell you about my AWESOME calendar!  I got it from Amazon and if you have little kids and a little space to put it, I HIGHLY recommend getting it in general - not just if you plan to homeschool.  It has the season, month, year, days of the week, weather, and other fun cards (such as Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Birthdays, Holidays, etc).  The numbers are yellow on one side and white on the other.  (It appears that is for the weekends to be red and the weekdays yellow, but I have all turned yellow except for TODAY so it really draws attention to it - especially good for the young ones that can't quite read the "Today" card.)  This calendar just makes me SOOOO HAPPY every time I look at it.  I can point at it and SHOW the kids when things are happening.  Plus they can "follow along" so they know what it means when we are going to Grandma's the day after tomorrow.  Plus, Samuel has always said, "next time" when he means "tomorrow" and this really helps me get him to understand that what he means is "tomorrow."  As soon as I can find some time, I hope to rig up some way of marking feast days and such (maybe adding some velcro circles to the front of the number holders and then making velcro names for the feasts? - lots of work in the beginning, but it could pay off - or in the mean time I was thinking of taking some of Rebekah's hair clips and clipping them to the pockets of the days that are feasts - just to draw attention to them as special, then the kids could ask what special day it is) but for now it makes me very happy as it is - did I mention that yet?  :)

2) We have done "school days" here and there over the summer and I had hoped to just ease into the year that way, but suddenly I noticed Rebekah dragging her feet.  (She is my sounding board for things right now as she is old enough to have an opinion and be able to articulate it fairly well.)  After some discussion she made it clear she wanted to start "when everyone else" starts.  So we are taking a few more days to "prepare."  Although, I am still throwing "school work" in here and there because I just love it so much!

3) Did I mention I love teaching the kids?!?!  Oh my, it is such a rush!  May it always be so exciting and fresh and fun!!  I know, reality will kick in at some point and I imagine we will have trouble, but right now, wow, just wow!  It helps that I am a teacher by nature (and by degree) and I LOVE TEACHING anyhow.  Honestly, if I actually went out and got my dream job, it would be teaching. 

4) On the same vein as my joy in teaching the kids is how easily it fits into our day!  And I find that when we do more "structured" activities, then on days when I have other things to do and even in the evenings when I am trying to get dinner done, they are much more content to play on their own because they have already "filled up" on positive attention (and learning) from me during the day.  And oh, teaching them, loving them, all day, is so great!

5) I had planned our days to be loosely structured, but now I'm thinking of being even more fluid.  I got this handy schedule thingy.  It was not purchased with the soul intention of homeschooling, but rather just to be helpful.  The cards that come with the chart have school activities on them and there are a few blank, but you can purchase more blank ones.  Even just for summer, I could put our Rec Center classes on there or a store trip or going to see Grandma, or whatever up there.  I felt like it helped the kids to just have a general idea of what was going on so they were not caught off guard and knew what to expect.  Anyhow, I have our subjects up there and about an hour allotted for each.  An hour, by the way, is WAY TOO MUCH time, but I figure it will allow us to run behind schedule and fit in fun stuff along the way. (like impromptu art projects or dance parties :)  But with that said, thus far we have gotten started when we get started (often a half hour behind schedule - which might mean I need to adjust my expectations) and then just plowed through the list.  One day we had all but one subject done by lunch time (according to the chart, it should take all day).

6)  As for how much of each subject is covered. . . that is a fluid measure, as well.  Some days Samuel "feels like" doing Math and will sit down and do an entire chapter (between 6 and 10 worksheets).  Other days he will only do one or two.  I just let him guide.  I'm hoping soon to sit down and decide exactly "how far" I want to get and then break that into two or four parts so I can check to be sure we reach a certain point by a certain date.  But I'm not overly concerned as I figure we can always catch up in the summer and I may be naive here, but I'm expecting the kids to really excel.  They are BRIGHT kids.  Rebekah has gotten PERFECT grades - seriously - these past two years. Samuel is already on chapter five in his Math book and we have only done Math a handful of times!  Assuming I can keep them interested, the sky is really the limit.

7) One day a week I hope to take the entire family to daily Mass.   I am really praying on this one as Paul is at that age where is TROUBLE in church and it would be enough to wrangle him alone, but him and Miriam is going to be TOUGH.  And then there is the "where to sit" dilemma.  The cry room is great, but I do not want to sit in the cry room forever (and often the priest has his mic off or does not use a mic and then I cannot hear him at all!) and I really think the kids behave better when they are in the main body of the church, but I suppose I will just have to feel things out and pray that everyone ELSE has patience as the children learn what is expected of them.  They are not HORRIBLE on Sundays.  Now, this will be different - especially since Daddy won't be there to help, but I think it is important.  Rebekah has been to daily Mass twice a week for the past year and I have taken the other kids now and again, but this will be regular so I'm hoping we will fall into a good routine.

8) Twice a week I have planned "activity" days. These are mostly just to get out and get some exercise and social interaction.  I'm hoping to head to the Museum a lot and the library, plus visit Great Grandma and then there is a homeschool coop thing happening with our local group that looks VERY promising.  But I'm also hoping to be flexible enough to say I have errands to run today, so we will just do school in the afternoon or what-not as life happens.  I have also noticed that I don't need to "worry" about getting everything covered BY a certain time.  Gordie does not get off in time to join us for dinner, so dinner time is a great learning time for "listening lessons" (aka a lot of Samuel's books as he is really too young to write yet, his religion I mostly read to him and then verbally quiz him over it).  Plus, if I gave the kids a "break" while I cooked dinner, they are often refreshed and ready to focus again, rather than boring them and having to force them to pay attention.

9) Rebekah is already missing her friends from school so I am hoping at least once (maybe twice) a week to have one of her school friends over in the afternoon (from school out to dinner).  This way she can stay in touch with her friends and get some socialization.

10) We are also planning to do swim team (everyone except Miriam), Akkido (Rebekah only right now as it is expensive), soccer (Rebekah and Samuel), and possibly a few Rec Center classes (depending on what they have to offer).

Well, I have spent more time than I should on this post and need to put my little lady to bed, so I'm going to break my own rules and post without re-reading.  Be prepared for updates later I suppose :)