Friday, August 21, 2009
Blog Moving
I have decided not to keep a separate homeschooling blog. I have moved all of these posts to my personal blog BOYS RULE MY LIFE and will continue to post there about our homeschooling adventures as it really is a part of my daily life (in which the boys rule! ;) )
Monday, August 10, 2009
First Day of First Grade
I must say today went rather well. I feel like I set just the right amount of work for the day and was right on the mark with where Will's strengths and weaknesses would be. There were, of course, a few last minute changes and additions, but overall it went as I thought it would. I am quite pleased! This will be a long, detailed post, but I wanted to record our first homeschooling day.
Yesterday, Will mentioned that we should raise a flag to let everyone know that it was the first day of school. I told him that I didn't have a flag, but that we could decorate a poster board to make one. He immediately came up with all kinds of ideas, so I knew that would be an impromptu addition to the day's work. :)
The day started with him waking before the other two boys and joined me in bed. He asked if we could read the next chapter in his Wishbone book, so I did. Then he asked about school and I said we could get started right then if we wanted. I suggested we start off with something easy and he agreed. I pulled out his phonics book and did the first three lessons. During the third lesson, he asked if that could be the last one and I said sure... especially since I had only planned the first three for the day. (The lessons are very short and quite easy in the beginning... we will eventually taper off to a single lesson each day.)
The other boys woke up and they all played while I warmed chocolate "milk" on the stove. They played inside and outside together very nicely this morning. They began with a short game of hide and seek and then I found them outside with a wagon hooked up to a tricycle. Very inventive little boys I have! :) They were also quite a bunch of curious little rascals as I put my new all-in-one copy machine together!
Will came inside and asked about breakfast. I told him that while I was cooking the sausage he could practice his handwriting. He was not pleased. He does not like to write. At all. He likes to draw but not write. Nonetheless, I sat down next to him, gave him a worksheet and helped remind him how to start and end the basic handwriting patterns. I only planned this sheet for the day as I know he hates it... sure enough, after just a few tries, he wanted to be DONE! I nudged him on and he finished his sheet, although not to the best of his ability.
There really wasn't a lot of emphasis on forming letters in kindergarten. He starts his l's and i's at the bottom of the page and goes up. He starts and finishes his o's on the "east" side of the letter and goes clockwise. While I suppose this isn't a big deal for manuscript, it will make the transition into cursive a lot harder. He really wants to learn cursive, too, so we're needing to back up a little bit and relearn some of the basics. When he was finished, I had him look back over his work and choose which ones looked the best. We put a star over the top of his choices (he really liked this part!).
After the handwriting sheet, we had our usual breakfast of sausage, dry cheerios, and fruit. While the boys ate on the couch, I read them a story about a country mouse and a city mouse. I asked questions about the differences in the country and the city and made conversation about how we just moved from the city to the country. Will made very good comparisons between the two and said that he would like to live in the country better because there are fewer laws. LOL! (I think he must be referring to the fire ordinance because he wants to build a bonfire and we told him that we are still in the city limits and can't until we move further out in the country. That brain is always going!!!)
After breakfast, he commented, "You mean that in homeschool I can stay in my pajamas while I learn?" A happy revelation for him, although he decided to get dressed sometime later in the day.
They all went to play outside again while I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and started a load in the dishwasher. Sometime later, Will popped his head back inside and I asked him if he wanted to get started on his "first day of school flag". He was interested, so I brought out the new markers, crayons, and colored pencils along with a white poster board (and more paper for the other boys to draw on). We talked a little about what we wanted before we got started and I helped with the lettering of "Boys' School". He wanted to make the letters of "school" like WordWorld. So we made the "S" into a slide, added a bell to the "h", turned the "l" into a pencil flying a flag, etc. We took several breaks and he continued to come back to the flag to add more through the day. He added a train (of course) for the children to be picked up in. Then came the Christmas tree, snowflakes, and icicles. LOL! He wanted to hang it outside on the fence, but when I explained that the markers would run in the rain, he agreed to his window instead.
Before lunch we sat down and talked about community (unit study from Moving Beyond the Page). We discussed all the different buildings in a community, who works in them and why they are important. There were two worksheets that went with this. He was supposed to fill in the blanks next to the buildings on the paper: "The ________ is important because _____________." I knew he wouldn't be interested in filling in the blanks and had already planned on this being an oral exercise, but he filled in the word "school" and the word "church" before he decided that he had had enough with that pencil. Once he put the pencil down, we had a really good conversation about the buildings. I especially like his answer about the fire department: "The fire department is important because they put out fires and because they seem to be able to do just about ANYTHING!" So true... when in doubt, call the fire department!
Lunch crept up on us and Will had requested spaghetti for his first day's lunch. We ate together and then I had each of the boys pick out a book that they wanted me to read. After the three books, I pulled out a "Dick and Jane" book and had Will read a chapter aloud. Reading is another thing he is not really confident with, but it will come with practice. I have already seen improvement over the summer without any formal teaching.
Before his nap, he saw a treasure box that I had purchased and wanted to know what was inside. I told him he would find out after his nap. He whined about, so I gave him a 3 second glance into the box of wooden blocks and spindles. I think that just made his curiosity worse! :) Anyway, we all laid down for a nap. I'm not really sure if Will slept or not, but he at least stayed in bed for about 30 minutes or so.
He got up wanting to get out the treasure box, but I suggested math first while his brothers were still asleep. I knew he'd fly through this. Math is his thing, although I don't think he knows that yet. We went through two lessons in no time at all. It was mostly review, but I wanted to make sure I was accurate in my assessment of where he was mathematically. We used (new) mini dinosaurs to count and group. After our lessons, he played happily with the dinos and then moved on to building with the wooden blocks and spindles.
After all the boys were up from their naps, I let them turn on a DVD as it was now really too hot to play outside. Grandmother came over for a visit and Will showed off his flag. We talked about how we still had a Bible lesson on Joseph to do before our school day was over. Today I was just planning to do an intro to the story and some labeling of a map. I asked him what he knew about Joseph, which was quite a good bit; however, I did stump him when I asked him what Joseph's father's name was. :) So, we had part of our Bible lesson while Gran was here!
After she left, we all did our own thing for about an hour and then I had to start planning supper (pancakes, bacon, and fruit). I got the bacon and fruit going for an "appetizer" to hold the boys until I could get to the pancakes since I was busy pulling out my new laminator! More curiosity from the boys on why I would want to melt plastic onto paper. :)
Before I got to the pancakes, I pulled out the map that we needed to label with the Mediteranian Sea, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, and Cannan. I had a correctly labeled map and a blank map side by side with freshly laminated labels. Will compared the maps, found and labeled everything correctly. If he needed help, I would tell him which direction to look from the previous label, ie the Jordan River is north of the Dead Sea. So we also got some good mapping skills in during Bible study, too. :)
Then we ate some chocolate chip pancakes to round off supper and I decided that he really needed a "first day of school" picture... Mr. Goof gave me this chocolatey grin:
Then there were baths and pjs for the boys, followed by family prayer and in bed by 8:05 pm.
It was a great day! The only thing I didn't do that I wanted to do was read the actual bible story from the Bible, but Will pretty much already knew it, so we'll dive a little deeper tomorrow as we continue the lesson.
At some point tomorrow, I need to do laundry, too. I have three baskets full of clean clothes that need to be folded and put away... not to mention all the boxes of stuff that need to find a home from the move. It will all come together in it's own time, I'm sure. I'm trying to be content with where I am and enjoy the moments that I've been given with these boys. Today was the best day I have had with them in a really long time. I know I didn't mention the other two boys a whole lot in this post, but they were here and definitely not neglected. :) I hope to incorporate something with them, too, but first I want to make sure I'm getting Will off to a good start.
My favorite comment from Will today was, "You know what, mama? Homeschool was a good idea! Taking Fridays off is even better!"
Love it!
Yesterday, Will mentioned that we should raise a flag to let everyone know that it was the first day of school. I told him that I didn't have a flag, but that we could decorate a poster board to make one. He immediately came up with all kinds of ideas, so I knew that would be an impromptu addition to the day's work. :)
The day started with him waking before the other two boys and joined me in bed. He asked if we could read the next chapter in his Wishbone book, so I did. Then he asked about school and I said we could get started right then if we wanted. I suggested we start off with something easy and he agreed. I pulled out his phonics book and did the first three lessons. During the third lesson, he asked if that could be the last one and I said sure... especially since I had only planned the first three for the day. (The lessons are very short and quite easy in the beginning... we will eventually taper off to a single lesson each day.)
The other boys woke up and they all played while I warmed chocolate "milk" on the stove. They played inside and outside together very nicely this morning. They began with a short game of hide and seek and then I found them outside with a wagon hooked up to a tricycle. Very inventive little boys I have! :) They were also quite a bunch of curious little rascals as I put my new all-in-one copy machine together!
Will came inside and asked about breakfast. I told him that while I was cooking the sausage he could practice his handwriting. He was not pleased. He does not like to write. At all. He likes to draw but not write. Nonetheless, I sat down next to him, gave him a worksheet and helped remind him how to start and end the basic handwriting patterns. I only planned this sheet for the day as I know he hates it... sure enough, after just a few tries, he wanted to be DONE! I nudged him on and he finished his sheet, although not to the best of his ability.
There really wasn't a lot of emphasis on forming letters in kindergarten. He starts his l's and i's at the bottom of the page and goes up. He starts and finishes his o's on the "east" side of the letter and goes clockwise. While I suppose this isn't a big deal for manuscript, it will make the transition into cursive a lot harder. He really wants to learn cursive, too, so we're needing to back up a little bit and relearn some of the basics. When he was finished, I had him look back over his work and choose which ones looked the best. We put a star over the top of his choices (he really liked this part!).
After the handwriting sheet, we had our usual breakfast of sausage, dry cheerios, and fruit. While the boys ate on the couch, I read them a story about a country mouse and a city mouse. I asked questions about the differences in the country and the city and made conversation about how we just moved from the city to the country. Will made very good comparisons between the two and said that he would like to live in the country better because there are fewer laws. LOL! (I think he must be referring to the fire ordinance because he wants to build a bonfire and we told him that we are still in the city limits and can't until we move further out in the country. That brain is always going!!!)
After breakfast, he commented, "You mean that in homeschool I can stay in my pajamas while I learn?" A happy revelation for him, although he decided to get dressed sometime later in the day.
They all went to play outside again while I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and started a load in the dishwasher. Sometime later, Will popped his head back inside and I asked him if he wanted to get started on his "first day of school flag". He was interested, so I brought out the new markers, crayons, and colored pencils along with a white poster board (and more paper for the other boys to draw on). We talked a little about what we wanted before we got started and I helped with the lettering of "Boys' School". He wanted to make the letters of "school" like WordWorld. So we made the "S" into a slide, added a bell to the "h", turned the "l" into a pencil flying a flag, etc. We took several breaks and he continued to come back to the flag to add more through the day. He added a train (of course) for the children to be picked up in. Then came the Christmas tree, snowflakes, and icicles. LOL! He wanted to hang it outside on the fence, but when I explained that the markers would run in the rain, he agreed to his window instead.
Before lunch we sat down and talked about community (unit study from Moving Beyond the Page). We discussed all the different buildings in a community, who works in them and why they are important. There were two worksheets that went with this. He was supposed to fill in the blanks next to the buildings on the paper: "The ________ is important because _____________." I knew he wouldn't be interested in filling in the blanks and had already planned on this being an oral exercise, but he filled in the word "school" and the word "church" before he decided that he had had enough with that pencil. Once he put the pencil down, we had a really good conversation about the buildings. I especially like his answer about the fire department: "The fire department is important because they put out fires and because they seem to be able to do just about ANYTHING!" So true... when in doubt, call the fire department!
Lunch crept up on us and Will had requested spaghetti for his first day's lunch. We ate together and then I had each of the boys pick out a book that they wanted me to read. After the three books, I pulled out a "Dick and Jane" book and had Will read a chapter aloud. Reading is another thing he is not really confident with, but it will come with practice. I have already seen improvement over the summer without any formal teaching.
Before his nap, he saw a treasure box that I had purchased and wanted to know what was inside. I told him he would find out after his nap. He whined about, so I gave him a 3 second glance into the box of wooden blocks and spindles. I think that just made his curiosity worse! :) Anyway, we all laid down for a nap. I'm not really sure if Will slept or not, but he at least stayed in bed for about 30 minutes or so.
He got up wanting to get out the treasure box, but I suggested math first while his brothers were still asleep. I knew he'd fly through this. Math is his thing, although I don't think he knows that yet. We went through two lessons in no time at all. It was mostly review, but I wanted to make sure I was accurate in my assessment of where he was mathematically. We used (new) mini dinosaurs to count and group. After our lessons, he played happily with the dinos and then moved on to building with the wooden blocks and spindles.
After all the boys were up from their naps, I let them turn on a DVD as it was now really too hot to play outside. Grandmother came over for a visit and Will showed off his flag. We talked about how we still had a Bible lesson on Joseph to do before our school day was over. Today I was just planning to do an intro to the story and some labeling of a map. I asked him what he knew about Joseph, which was quite a good bit; however, I did stump him when I asked him what Joseph's father's name was. :) So, we had part of our Bible lesson while Gran was here!
After she left, we all did our own thing for about an hour and then I had to start planning supper (pancakes, bacon, and fruit). I got the bacon and fruit going for an "appetizer" to hold the boys until I could get to the pancakes since I was busy pulling out my new laminator! More curiosity from the boys on why I would want to melt plastic onto paper. :)
Before I got to the pancakes, I pulled out the map that we needed to label with the Mediteranian Sea, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, and Cannan. I had a correctly labeled map and a blank map side by side with freshly laminated labels. Will compared the maps, found and labeled everything correctly. If he needed help, I would tell him which direction to look from the previous label, ie the Jordan River is north of the Dead Sea. So we also got some good mapping skills in during Bible study, too. :)
Then we ate some chocolate chip pancakes to round off supper and I decided that he really needed a "first day of school" picture... Mr. Goof gave me this chocolatey grin:
Then there were baths and pjs for the boys, followed by family prayer and in bed by 8:05 pm.
It was a great day! The only thing I didn't do that I wanted to do was read the actual bible story from the Bible, but Will pretty much already knew it, so we'll dive a little deeper tomorrow as we continue the lesson.
At some point tomorrow, I need to do laundry, too. I have three baskets full of clean clothes that need to be folded and put away... not to mention all the boxes of stuff that need to find a home from the move. It will all come together in it's own time, I'm sure. I'm trying to be content with where I am and enjoy the moments that I've been given with these boys. Today was the best day I have had with them in a really long time. I know I didn't mention the other two boys a whole lot in this post, but they were here and definitely not neglected. :) I hope to incorporate something with them, too, but first I want to make sure I'm getting Will off to a good start.
My favorite comment from Will today was, "You know what, mama? Homeschool was a good idea! Taking Fridays off is even better!"
Love it!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
1st Grade Curriculum Choices
I realize that it's really not necessary to purchase a pre-packaged curriculum. With the availability of what's on the internet (a lot of it free), a few trips to the library, and some creativity, it is very possible to come up with your own curriculum and unit studies.
That said, I've chosen not to take that route this year. I want to ease into this and my hope is that by having curriculum and lesson plans already laid out for me, I'll be able to focus more of my time on learning, teaching, and interacting with the boys in general. However, I did not purchase a full blown curriculum from a single vendor and I also only purchased enough curriculum for the first 9 weeks (when possible) to make sure I like it and Will likes it before I purchase a year's worth.
As far as my "teaching philosophy" goes, I want to focus more on the love of learning and understanding instead of test scores. Granted, test scores will be important in the future, but right now I really think that if there is a firm foundation of understanding, that the test scores will come.
So, after swimming in the sea of curriculum for many months, I found a couple of choices that really excited me. The two that really made my eyes sparkle are Moving Beyond the Page and RightStart Math. What I find interesting is that both of these are teacher intensive programs. I was surprised to find how much I was drawn to that.
Comprehensive Curriculum
Originally, I chose to place Will in the ages 7-9 curriculum (and I had purchased that at a convention for the first 9 weeks of study). Even though I think he would be able to cover the material, I wanted to back up a little and get a better foundation for his reading skills. So, I kept the 7-9 and then ordered the first 9 weeks of ages 6-8 to use first instead. This comprehensive curriculum incorporates language arts, social studies, science, math, writing, spelling, and art. It does not teach these subjects, but uses them throughout the study.
Math
My first introduction to RightStart Math was from Moving Beyond the Page, as they recommend it for a math curriculum. It uses an abacus as well as several other manipulatives. The more reviews I read the more I was hooked, but the price was a little steep in comparison to other curriculums. Then I found out that a friend (Heritage Academy) used this curriculum and loved it. She also told me that she could easily see herself using this program with all of her kids (which have VERY different learning styles). That's what got it for me. :)
Phonics
It appears that there are also a lot of phonics programs out there, too! I wanted something simple without too much busy work for Will. He has the type of brain that once he gets it, he gets it... and he doesn't see the point in the extra practice. As long as he is compitant and progressing, I don't see the point of busy work either. I decided on Alpha-Phonics for their no frills approach, especially that there are no pictures to "give away" what the word is that they are trying to read. They either read it or not... no hints. I think this type of oral work will be a great way to see the boys' strengths and weaknesses. In addition to the Alpha-phonics book, we will of course be reading lots of books, too... probably about trains. :)
Side note: I hope to start working on Phonics with Nathan(age 4 in Novemeber) as well this year. He knows all of his letters and the basic sounds for each. He even hears me say a word like "tent" and he'll ask, "Is there an "n" in it?" So he's hearing the words and starting to disect them in his brain already.
Writing
Here's where I'm probably going to throw a few people. My intention for 1st grade is to begin cursive italics. This writing does not have "loops" so it is easier to transition to the cursive portion. Secondly, Will has a real desire to learn it. He wants to "write like mama does".
We aren't going to go straight into the cursive connections, though, as he has some modifications that need to be made in the way he writes his letters. For instance, when writing a lower case "l", he starts at the bottom and goes up. So, we'll begin slow.
I chose Getty & Dubay Italic Handwriting Series. From their website:
I chose Bible Study Guide for All Ages. I love that the whole family can study the same subject within age appropriate parameters. (I ordered for both Will and Nathan.) I'm excited that it is an in-depth study of the entire Bible. I'm excited about the time line. I'm just really excited to learn more about the Bible and have it be a part of our studies. Nothing is more important. I also whole-heartedly appreciate this statement on their website:
That said, I've chosen not to take that route this year. I want to ease into this and my hope is that by having curriculum and lesson plans already laid out for me, I'll be able to focus more of my time on learning, teaching, and interacting with the boys in general. However, I did not purchase a full blown curriculum from a single vendor and I also only purchased enough curriculum for the first 9 weeks (when possible) to make sure I like it and Will likes it before I purchase a year's worth.
As far as my "teaching philosophy" goes, I want to focus more on the love of learning and understanding instead of test scores. Granted, test scores will be important in the future, but right now I really think that if there is a firm foundation of understanding, that the test scores will come.
So, after swimming in the sea of curriculum for many months, I found a couple of choices that really excited me. The two that really made my eyes sparkle are Moving Beyond the Page and RightStart Math. What I find interesting is that both of these are teacher intensive programs. I was surprised to find how much I was drawn to that.
Comprehensive Curriculum
Originally, I chose to place Will in the ages 7-9 curriculum (and I had purchased that at a convention for the first 9 weeks of study). Even though I think he would be able to cover the material, I wanted to back up a little and get a better foundation for his reading skills. So, I kept the 7-9 and then ordered the first 9 weeks of ages 6-8 to use first instead. This comprehensive curriculum incorporates language arts, social studies, science, math, writing, spelling, and art. It does not teach these subjects, but uses them throughout the study.
Math
My first introduction to RightStart Math was from Moving Beyond the Page, as they recommend it for a math curriculum. It uses an abacus as well as several other manipulatives. The more reviews I read the more I was hooked, but the price was a little steep in comparison to other curriculums. Then I found out that a friend (Heritage Academy) used this curriculum and loved it. She also told me that she could easily see herself using this program with all of her kids (which have VERY different learning styles). That's what got it for me. :)
Phonics
It appears that there are also a lot of phonics programs out there, too! I wanted something simple without too much busy work for Will. He has the type of brain that once he gets it, he gets it... and he doesn't see the point in the extra practice. As long as he is compitant and progressing, I don't see the point of busy work either. I decided on Alpha-Phonics for their no frills approach, especially that there are no pictures to "give away" what the word is that they are trying to read. They either read it or not... no hints. I think this type of oral work will be a great way to see the boys' strengths and weaknesses. In addition to the Alpha-phonics book, we will of course be reading lots of books, too... probably about trains. :)
Side note: I hope to start working on Phonics with Nathan(age 4 in Novemeber) as well this year. He knows all of his letters and the basic sounds for each. He even hears me say a word like "tent" and he'll ask, "Is there an "n" in it?" So he's hearing the words and starting to disect them in his brain already.
Writing
Here's where I'm probably going to throw a few people. My intention for 1st grade is to begin cursive italics. This writing does not have "loops" so it is easier to transition to the cursive portion. Secondly, Will has a real desire to learn it. He wants to "write like mama does".We aren't going to go straight into the cursive connections, though, as he has some modifications that need to be made in the way he writes his letters. For instance, when writing a lower case "l", he starts at the bottom and goes up. So, we'll begin slow.
I chose Getty & Dubay Italic Handwriting Series. From their website:
This writing program was developed by experienced teachers Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay, in response to the difficulty many children encounter in the transition from the ball and stick printed letterforms to the looped cursive. The child initially learns the basic italic printed letterforms followed by the cursive italic through a series of joins, eliminating the need to learn two distinctly different types of handwriting, as is the case with the ball and stick printing and looped cursive most often taught in schools.Bible
I chose Bible Study Guide for All Ages. I love that the whole family can study the same subject within age appropriate parameters. (I ordered for both Will and Nathan.) I'm excited that it is an in-depth study of the entire Bible. I'm excited about the time line. I'm just really excited to learn more about the Bible and have it be a part of our studies. Nothing is more important. I also whole-heartedly appreciate this statement on their website:
We seek to present the Bible and the Bible alone.
I don't want to tread through denominational doctrine; I want to teach the word of God.
******************************************
IT FEELS SO GOOD TO HAVE THESE DECISIONS BEHIND ME!!!! :) Deciding was a lot rougher than I thought it would be!
Now, it's time to enjoy the summer with lots of good books!
******************************************
IT FEELS SO GOOD TO HAVE THESE DECISIONS BEHIND ME!!!! :) Deciding was a lot rougher than I thought it would be!
Now, it's time to enjoy the summer with lots of good books!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Necessity or Choice?
The original thought of us homeschooling came from the heartbreak I was feeling for Will as he was undergoing so many transitions at school. In the beginning, it was all about just getting him out of that environment, but as adjustments were made and the end of the year was in sight homeschooling became a choice... something we WANTED to do. I believe this will make a huge difference in the long run.
The more we thought about it, the more we felt it was the right choice for our family.
I realize that homeschooling is not for everyone. I can't (and won't) cover all the reasons why people object to homeschooling, but will say that right now it's the choice we've made. I do not think we are "better" than traditional schoolers. We're not trying to be something we aren't. We aren't running from problems, we gave our kids a natural end to their school year and we've made the conscious choice to take a different road for next year. This is where we are in our lives and this is our choice. Please respect that. :)
We made our choice from a lot of different reasons. Thankfully, our choice is a possible one. I am so thankful that Jeff has a good job that supports us well so that I can stay home with the boys and be a full time mom. God has truly blessed us and given me the life I never knew I wanted.
As for the reasons behind our choice to begin homeschooling, I figure there's nothing better than a bullet list. I don't think our reasons are atypical; I just want to list them. :)
In no particular order...
The more we thought about it, the more we felt it was the right choice for our family.I realize that homeschooling is not for everyone. I can't (and won't) cover all the reasons why people object to homeschooling, but will say that right now it's the choice we've made. I do not think we are "better" than traditional schoolers. We're not trying to be something we aren't. We aren't running from problems, we gave our kids a natural end to their school year and we've made the conscious choice to take a different road for next year. This is where we are in our lives and this is our choice. Please respect that. :)
We made our choice from a lot of different reasons. Thankfully, our choice is a possible one. I am so thankful that Jeff has a good job that supports us well so that I can stay home with the boys and be a full time mom. God has truly blessed us and given me the life I never knew I wanted.
As for the reasons behind our choice to begin homeschooling, I figure there's nothing better than a bullet list. I don't think our reasons are atypical; I just want to list them. :)
In no particular order...
- Morning time. Jeff has a lenient enough schedule that we'll be able to enjoy mornings as a family. Family mornings have always been a high priority for us. We've always started the mornings off with each boy climbing into bed with us to wake up.
- Building sibling relationships. My hope is that the boys will continue to grow closer. Although they argue and fight, they adore each other and I want to nurture their relationships.
- Knowing what my boys are learning (education-wise). Will is not the most forth-coming child when it comes to giving free information. I have to "pull teeth" to get something out of him. LOL! I was given the opportunity to teach Will's Sunday school class this last quarter and it was so exciting to watch him learn and see how much he really is absorbing.
- Knowing what my boys are learning (moral-wise). I will have control over what tv the boys watch and don't watch. (I was amazed to learn that they watch tv or a movie almost every day at school during rest time!) They won't be subjected to language that I don't want them to hear or concepts that I don't want them to know about yet. (ie. During the end of the year Kindergarten party, a child wrote the word "sex" on the wall of the school and on the sidewalk with chalk.)
- Teaching according to their level. Will was bored this past year; I'm certain of that. This next year, we'll be able to go as fast (or slow) as he wants to go. We can emphasis the strengths and work on the weaknesses together.
- Consistent Discipline and Positive Feedback. The boys will know what is expected of them at all times of the day. The rules won't change and Will won't have to experience empty threats again. I plan to work lots of positives into this next school year especially.
- Emphasizing the love of learning. I think too many times children are taught for the sake of testing. I want to cultivate a love for learning... the testing will fall into place if they are genuinely learning to begin with.
- God. Yes, I pulled God into this decision. Honestly, as soon as I did, my choice was clear. I'd been personally struggling with actually teaching my boys more about God. Yes, we pray. Yes, we attend worship and bible classes regularly. Yes, my kids are taught about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; however, I want us to be more involved in that teaching and I want my family to glorify God. It is disheartening that God is not allowed in schools anymore. Every foundation should be built with God. I want to make sure that my boys have a Godly foundation.
Friday, May 29, 2009
What Happened? Why Homeschooling?
Granted many families know from the get-go that they want to homeschool. This was not the case for us. Jeff had mentioned the possibility of it to me years ago, but I quickly turned it down. I loved school and have fond memories of it; I wanted my kids to have same.
HOWEVER...
Our oldest son, Will (age 6 1/2) just completed his first year of kindergarten in a public school and the year was much less than what I had hoped it would be. Although it started out well, his original(and wonderful) teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer right before Thanksgiving and she had to take a leave of absence for her treatments. The class went through three different substitutes; the last one was a (newly) certified teacher and she was hired for the remainder of the school year.
With each substitute came transition periods, different teaching styles, and just plain havoc on the much needed structure of a 5-6 year old's day. There were days Will didn't want to go to school... and I didn't want to send him... and sometimes I didn't. We had "family vacation days" where we just de-stressed together.
The teacher that remained was new to teaching, had done her studies with 3rd graders, and had no children of her own. Now, you certainly don't have to have children of your own to be a good teacher, but it does give you a different perspective. I know I am a completely different person now that I have kids. (If I had been thrown in a room with 14 kindergartners before I had children... that would have been rough on me, too.)
Without the knowledge of how kids behave at this age, Will (and the other students) were getting in trouble for normal 5-6 year old behavior. There was very little positive feedback for the kids and only a handful were going to the "treasure box". Kindergarten is supposed to be fun! It is supposed to set a good foundation for years to come! It is supposed to fill a child's brain and heart with positive memories! It just wasn't doing any of those things as far as I could tell.
So in the middle of this crazy year, Jeff and I seriously considered removing Will and homeschooling for the rest of the year. Before deciding, Jeff and I met with the principal and the teacher individually. After the meetings, I explained to Will what homeschooling is and just tried to "feel him out" for his thoughts on the subject.
However, at the time there was the possibility of the original teacher returning in April so we decided to stick it out in hopes of a ending the year on a positive note. Remaining in school would also allow Will the opportunity to take the Metropolitan Readiness Test easily, of which he scored 98% out of 99% and was later invited to the gifted school for 1st and 2nd graders! Go, Will! :)
As the year progressed, it was obvious that things were not really improving. The teacher would threaten to take things away when she got mad: snack time, parent-student kite day, rest time... anything the kids looked forward to. Too bad for her they were always things she couldn't really take away. Empty threats. (Apparently she even threatened to take away the end of the year party and Will thought she had because he told me the night before that that there would be no party. So sad. He was so disappointed. I told him not to worry about it... there WOULD be a party!) UGH. Just makes me mad. Will also mentioned that she can be as "mad as a wizard sometimes". Not really what you want to hear your child say about the person they are spending a good chunk of their day with.
Well, his original teacher was not able to return in April and by then there were only two months left in the school year, which meant field day, the kindergarten play, parties, and more fun (hopefully).
Somewhere in the middle of all of this, homeschooling became a choice and not a necessity (which will be a different post). I think that was a very important step for us that has set a better foundation for the year(s) to come. As part of our choice, we decided to give him a "natural" end to the school year instead of an abrupt removal.
Was that the best choice? Would I do that again? Honestly, I really don't know, BUT... kindergarten is behind us, we have summer to look forward to, as well as what is sure to be an unforgettable 1st grade! :)
HOWEVER...
Our oldest son, Will (age 6 1/2) just completed his first year of kindergarten in a public school and the year was much less than what I had hoped it would be. Although it started out well, his original(and wonderful) teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer right before Thanksgiving and she had to take a leave of absence for her treatments. The class went through three different substitutes; the last one was a (newly) certified teacher and she was hired for the remainder of the school year.
With each substitute came transition periods, different teaching styles, and just plain havoc on the much needed structure of a 5-6 year old's day. There were days Will didn't want to go to school... and I didn't want to send him... and sometimes I didn't. We had "family vacation days" where we just de-stressed together.
The teacher that remained was new to teaching, had done her studies with 3rd graders, and had no children of her own. Now, you certainly don't have to have children of your own to be a good teacher, but it does give you a different perspective. I know I am a completely different person now that I have kids. (If I had been thrown in a room with 14 kindergartners before I had children... that would have been rough on me, too.)
Without the knowledge of how kids behave at this age, Will (and the other students) were getting in trouble for normal 5-6 year old behavior. There was very little positive feedback for the kids and only a handful were going to the "treasure box". Kindergarten is supposed to be fun! It is supposed to set a good foundation for years to come! It is supposed to fill a child's brain and heart with positive memories! It just wasn't doing any of those things as far as I could tell.
So in the middle of this crazy year, Jeff and I seriously considered removing Will and homeschooling for the rest of the year. Before deciding, Jeff and I met with the principal and the teacher individually. After the meetings, I explained to Will what homeschooling is and just tried to "feel him out" for his thoughts on the subject.
HE WAS THRILLED!
However, at the time there was the possibility of the original teacher returning in April so we decided to stick it out in hopes of a ending the year on a positive note. Remaining in school would also allow Will the opportunity to take the Metropolitan Readiness Test easily, of which he scored 98% out of 99% and was later invited to the gifted school for 1st and 2nd graders! Go, Will! :)
As the year progressed, it was obvious that things were not really improving. The teacher would threaten to take things away when she got mad: snack time, parent-student kite day, rest time... anything the kids looked forward to. Too bad for her they were always things she couldn't really take away. Empty threats. (Apparently she even threatened to take away the end of the year party and Will thought she had because he told me the night before that that there would be no party. So sad. He was so disappointed. I told him not to worry about it... there WOULD be a party!) UGH. Just makes me mad. Will also mentioned that she can be as "mad as a wizard sometimes". Not really what you want to hear your child say about the person they are spending a good chunk of their day with.
Well, his original teacher was not able to return in April and by then there were only two months left in the school year, which meant field day, the kindergarten play, parties, and more fun (hopefully).
Somewhere in the middle of all of this, homeschooling became a choice and not a necessity (which will be a different post). I think that was a very important step for us that has set a better foundation for the year(s) to come. As part of our choice, we decided to give him a "natural" end to the school year instead of an abrupt removal.
Was that the best choice? Would I do that again? Honestly, I really don't know, BUT... kindergarten is behind us, we have summer to look forward to, as well as what is sure to be an unforgettable 1st grade! :)
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