Ramblings of a Homeschooling Family and the End of March

Not many people ask about our homeschooling experience. And I don't know if that's because they don't care, or they trust our family will do what it needs to do, or that they'd rather not talk about something they don't agree with, or they do agree with it and have nothing more to say, or that homeschooling has become such a common thing now, or, or, or. I don't know, but I guess I'm grateful people let us do what we want to do without much fuss.

Because we LOVE homeschooling. Almost every day I express to someone how blessed and fortunate we are that homeschooling is what we get to do. (Don't get me wrong... there have been days I wished my kids would go to school or even days where threats have been made). But overall, it has been a lovely experience for our family.

I think a lot of people assume homeschooling looks like school at home. That we spend the same amount of time in subjects that public education does. Or that we follow similar guidelines, schedules, and rules. But for us, one of the points of homeschooling is that we are different than public education. We don't need to spend 8 hours a day in various subjects when one-on-one teaching can get us there in a fourth of the time. We don't need to schedule things like P.E. and art class when my children are free to play outside and run and paint and create almost whenever they want (and they do!). We don't need to get up at the crack of dawn or get home in the late afternoon when we have the time and flexibility to make our own schedules. We don't need to sit at a desk, walk in a line, take turns in the bathroom, or socialize when it's appropriate because we are at home and not a part of a system that has to be organized in that way.

Our history lessons look like reading lots of historical books (Story of the World is our favorite!), visiting museums, and chatting with experts in the field. Our science lessons look like classes at the museum with hands-on experiments, spending time in nature as we learn birdsong and identify plants, and building ramps and mazes with magnatiles. Our writing lessons look like sending happy mail to our friends and family, chalking on the driveway, and writing stories just because. Our math lessons look like workbook pages with manipulatives, reading recipes and cooking in the kitchen, saving money and spending it on something we've been waiting for. Our reading lessons look like library visits, good books on the lap of mom, book parties and celebrations, and reading stop signs and menus in our environment.

And of course there are things that Michael and I feel are necessary parts of being an educated person. My children do need to know how to read, write, and use math. They have to know how to function in the world. And so we do use curriculums and resources to grow in these areas. The difference, though, is that there is no timeline for these things. I'm not teaching to a test. They are working daily, but at their own levels. There are no comparisons, no assessments, no benchmarks, no pressure. Because if we do these basic pieces of education, I believe they'll get there when they get there. But the rest of the time there is a lot of our day that looks nothing like public education. That's why you'll find us at the grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon, or a hike in the early morning, or a mini trip in the middle of the week. Our education is OURS and that's wonderful for us.

Nothing is perfect and there are and will be flaws with our education, just like there are problems within public education. There are pros and cons to both. And I recognize that, but we still believe this to be the best path for us right now. More family time (17,000 extra hours actually in 18 years), more adventures, and more freedom.

I do not think public education is terrible. I understand the value of having an educated society, I know the importance of having a safe and healthy place for children to go daily, I see the reasons public education is the way it is. I was a teacher after all. I also know people who wish they could homeschool, but can't for whatever reason. Or people that think homeschooling is a detriment to society and the children. And that's ok. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their beliefs are valid. But for our family, in our home, for such a time as this, homeschooling works and it's our best option!

For memory and journaling purposes, I thought I'd share how a typical homeschooling week goes for us.

I often look at what's coming up in our life... mini family trips, co-op events, homeschool classes we've signed up for, badge work for Isla's AHG program, upcoming holidays or special events, seasonal changes, etc. Then I make units of learning out of those topics. So for a whole week or more, we'll do a deep dive into a unit specific to our life and upcoming events. I find mini curriculums that correlate, books about the topic from the library, videos on youtube or documentaries, activities or experiments related to the topic, accessible field trips or adventures, and any hands-on learning I can get.

So for instance, we are taking a vacation to Florida in April. At the same time, our co-op had an upcoming event about the ocean and the following week was an event about mammals. I also know we play the animal game almost daily in our home and my kids have taken an interest in the different subgroups of animals there are. So knowing all of that, I formed a unit that incorporates all of that. I divided the 5 weeks leading to our trip to Florida into learning a sub group of animals per week. So the first week was all about fish, which went great with our co-op event about the ocean. The following week was all about mammals, which went great with our co-op event where we went on a mammal hike and learning experience. From there each week will continue with amphibians, reptiles, and birds. And because Florida is coming up, we specifically looked at reptiles like alligators and sea turtles that we might actually see in Florida. And birds like egrets and pelicans that we might see on the beach. And fish that we might find snorkeling in the ocean. And because I am who I am, I have been researching so many things for us to do in Florida that might match our learning like hiking a state park known for alligator hang outs and visiting a bird sanctuary right on the bay and spending a day at the aquarium where they have a manatee rehabilitation center. And that's when learning comes alive. When the kids can connect the book learning to real life. Because that's how we see it... all of life is learning. I just put in a little extra behind-the-scenes-work to make it all work. (So, stay tuned for that!)

Not every unit of learning involves a vacation to Florida. But we still try to make as much of it come alive as we can. For instance, when we learned about the human body for Isla's badgework we were able to incorporate trips to museums with body exhibits, the Magic School Bus movie about the human body, a chat with the dentist about dental hygiene, and body puzzles and models as we worked.

When we learned about outer space, our co-op event was a star gazing night around the fire, we visited the planetarium, and we set up our own telescope in our backyard. When we learned about weather, our co-op event was all about weather, Isla participated in a weather class at the children's museum, we tracked our own weather using homemade instruments and tools, and we even hid out in the basement during a tornado warning!

(pictured below is evidence of a day of learning)

Every day we open up a math curriculum and a reading curriculum. Those are kind of the basic things that I think my children need to know about. But all the other subjects of learning fall under the units or interests that we choose.

So a week of learning might look like this:

Monday:

Morning Work: Mammal puzzle

Gathering Time:

Read devotions, review the fruits of the spirit
Music time- Spring song, mammal song, fruits of the spirit song
Introduce letter of the week (W) and OW/OU sound, watch a video
Read Mammal book, define mammal
Rock science experiment

Table Time:

Isla-

Reading- OW/OU lesson 33, workbook 88
Math- lesson 24.2 comparing money, workbook 24.2A-24.2B
Draw a mammal in learning notebook

Ewan-

Form the letter W with wiki stix
Measurement practice
Draw a mammal in learning notebook

Recess Time: They played outside for a couple hours pretending to be mammals :)

Couch Time:

History- Story of the World (The Justinian Empire and Empress Theadora)
Person Study- Courageous World Changers (Jane Austen)
Science- various Spring picture books
Family Read Aloud- Redwall

Tuesday:

Morning Work: mammal habitat sensory bin

Gathering Time:

Read devotions, fruits of the Spirit
Music time- Spring song, mammal song, fruits of the Spirit
Sightword game
Read mammal book, look at pelts, skeletons, tracks
Mammal science experiment (how do whales eat?)

Table Time:

Isla-

Reading- OU/OW sound lesson 33, reading game pg. 89
Math- lesson 24.4 money word problems, workbook pg. 24.4A-24.4B
Read OU/OW book together

Ewan-

W worksheet
Roll the dice game

Couch Time:

History- Story of the World (Middle Ages)
Person Study- Brave Heroes and Bold Defenders (David Livingston)
Science- various Mammal picture books
Geography- The 50 States Book (Florida)
Family Read Aloud- Redwall

Not all days are happy and peachy. There are often tears, frustrations, laziness, etc. Eleanor often has her own needs while I'm helping the big kids. And then Isla's reading gets interrupted with Ewan's questions. And then Ewan's hunger and need for a snack interrupts what I'm doing. And then Eleanor needs help with the potty. And then Isla doesn't understand the directions. And then the doorbell rings. And then Ewan decides playing with magnatiles is the most important task right now. And it's just a lot of scrambling and interruptions.

But we figure it out eventually.

And then our room is usually left a disaster afterwards. Some days feel like a tornado.

Usually after our school time, the kids head outside. I used this time to plan next week. I'm always looking ahead and seeing what books we need from the library, what field trips we need to figure out, what math lessons we need to get through, what snacks and meals we might need. I like to use Sunday afternoons as my big planning and organizing day for the week, but I use these little moments to do all the little planning details of our life. I have to stay organized if we want a smooth running home.

Wednesday:

Our weekly co-op event was at the Museum of the Grand Prairie. The instructor introduced mammals by having the kids identify their scat, tracks, and pelts. Then we went on a hike to identify evidence of the mammals in the area. We found tracks, some scat, and a full deer skull! It was a fun day of learning together about something we've been learning as a family. We also got pizza with our friends, because why not :)

And this is usually what our co-op days look like... some kind of field trip, learning experience, play date, hike, or activity. It usually lasts most of the day and that's all the "school" we do for the day.

Thursday:

Morning Work: Make animal tracks in playdoh

Table Time:

Isla-

Reading- OU/OW sound lesson 34, workbook pg. 93
Math- lesson 25.1 counting coins, workbook pg. 25.1A-25.1B
Writing- write sightwords pg. 94

Ewan-

Addition worksheet
Writing- write sightwords and name

When it's nice out or we have other plans, we usually just do our "table time" (or not at all) and then do whatever it is we want to do. Today, Mimi asked if the kids could come decorate Easter cookies with her. And I think time with a grandparent, working on a skill, getting time outside, and practicing their relationship skills and manners is "school" too.

Friday:

Gathering Time:

Read devotions, fruits of the Spirit
Read Florida mammal book, discuss animals we might see
Mammal video, play guess the mammal

Table Time:

Isla-

Reading- reading practice lesson 34, workbook pg. 95
Read Piggie Elephant book together
Math- lesson 25.2 race to 100 game, workbook pg. 25.2A- 25.2B

Ewan-

ABC chalkboard game
Tally worksheet

Homeschooling is our life. And life is our homeschooling. (note to self: turn that into a t-shirt). But that's really the best summary of what this is to us.

All of our life is learning and that includes all the other moments and activities in March too!

Here's a speed round of the end of our March:

The kids have gained a new chore- folding and putting away their laundry!

They are always helping in the kitchen (or licking bowls and scraping icing off the pan).

We spent a week learning about fish and the ocean.

Some days, school at the bakery is better than school at home.

The creativity of their brains always amazes me!

Ocean documentaries and sea creature puzzles during our fish unit!

The girls and their little neighbor friend had a tea party with their American girls (and Tinkerbell). It was a festive little party that was super cute to watch.

Playing outside, mostly with the neighbors, takes up most of our spring :)

We've even pulled the sprinkler out a few times!

We spent one Saturday cleaning out the absolutely filthy garage and it paid off... our garage is sparkling!

My birthday present from the Readys was this swing that Michael and his dad put together for me. I love it and plan on using it all summer as my napping/reading spot.