Our first ever month of Homeschooling is in the books. It's been good, it's been bad, it's been down right ugly at times. I've learned a lot over the course of the month, not so much in books smarts but about what is working, what isn't working, tweaking our schedule, and analyzing what could be better. The main two things I've leaned so far is 1-No day is going to be perfect, because there is no such thing as perfect!, and 2 the mid morning snack is non negotiable! (keep those boys tummies full). And also be flexible!
As I started to load pictures I realized every single one is from our history activities. And I have to say Ancient History is turning out to be all of our favorites subjects. It's a curriculum called Story of the World (Vol 1) It is told in a "story" chapter format. It makes it very interesting, and we are actually using it as our bedtime reading, read by Will. Then the next day "in class" we review questions, sometimes do a map, and often an activity, and some supplemental reading.
This was our very first day we were simulating archaeologist discovering things and then using those clues to the past to discover what life was like. I kept hiding random objects from the house in the sand for them to uncover. It was a hit.
Over the course of the month we have been establishing a morning reading time. It's a really nice way to start the day on the couch (the boys still in pajamas) and read for 30-45 minutes to the boys. I try to find a variety of books, some story books often relating to our history lessons, but sometimes seasonal, or even math related, we do a devotional time, and then read a chapter or two of a chapter book we are working through. We have a constant flow of books coming in and going back to the library. (Our library isn't open but I can request books and pick them up)
I have been really happy with our Math and English curriculum I got from Master Books, called Math Lessons (or English Lessons) for a Living Education. It is open and go, the lessons are short but well done. We started out with both boys sitting down to get their lessons done for the day and I just skipped between them to answer questions...I think it was in our 3rd week that I realized for whatever reason this wasn't working. It felt like chaos and I was getting way stressed out daily. (It kinda turned into make loud obnoxious noises and make each other laugh time) So now one boy does what I call "table time" and works on lessons and the other one can choose to read or play quietly. This has made things run much smoother. Eventually I would like them to do their work independently but for now I work through their lessons with them, and they both seem to really like the 1 on 1 time.
Our science curriculum I picked to start the year was actually a Unit Study (encompassing all the subjects) on Oceans. It is from a homeschooling mom that basically just made up her own curriculum that can be used for all ages and all subjects, at the same time. (the lesson is the same for everyone, but the work they do is tailored by grade) I really liked the look of it and wanted to give it a try it's called Gather Round. There have been ups and downs with science. For one thing it is usually the last subject of the day and usually after lunch, which I have found it very hard to get everyone in a "school mood" in the afternoons. So there have been days it was great, days it wasn't going well but we just pushed through, and days I just skipped it all together. Which I'm learning is just the life of homeschooling. Some days you just gotta toss your plans and send them outside to play. Anyway, I also realized very soon that it was only going to work if I just used it for science lessons. trying to incorporate some English. Spelling, and social studies is nice but it was just too much (for us right now) to try to do. So I modified it to meet our needs, and it really was done very well focusing on a different ocean species every lesson and also bringing in some Social Studies. The boys had to fill in little fact sheets on a animal and answer some other questions. Grant was definitely more into it than Rex but I think it was a good start to our year. We are almost done with it already, (it is 20 lessons) and are planning a trip to our new St. Louis Aquarium to celebrate.
One more thing! We all really like our late morning dog walk/kid walk time. We go a to a variety of parks all around the area, and always listen to a audio book (in the car) on the way there and back.
It is definitely pushing me and testing me daily, there have been a couple of day were I felt like everything we had done was a complete failure...but at the end of the day when I reflect I feel like this is exactly what I'm meant to be doing this year and tomorrow is a new day!
Finally just wanted to give a shout out to colored pencils. We use them mulitiple times a day! I feel like I have always overlooked colored pencils and just gotten out crayons or markers. But Colored Pencils are awesome!!
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