Off and running

Ethan walked into the dining room yesterday and Megan said, "Ethan! Mommy made me a SPECIAL breakfast. And it's really FUN-NY!" So that seemed like a good start to our first day back (it was two halves of a buttered bagel for eyes, a few banana slices piled up as a nose and the rest of the slices for a mouth. They're easily amused).

The rest of our morning wasn't quite as stellar, as we had to navigate around the sounds of drilling from inside our apartment (but we're thankful for the worker who continues to make our house a home). We didn't get through everything, which I wasn't expecting to do, but all in all it was a decent start. So we're off and running! (ok, maybe off and at a slow jog).

Another reason I'm glad I homeschool

Every once in awhile, I start to wonder if my kids are getting the best education by being homeschooled. I don't know, but I do know that there are things that remind me that for now, I'm glad they are not in certain current school systems (particularly those that are pushing academics too early at the expense of exploration and play). This article is one of those things.

Looking back

We're looking at our last week of homeschool for the year. We could keep going, but I think we've had a good run and the kids have learned a lot. For example . . .

Ethan has now mastered division and begun learning fractions. He can write a multi-paragraph story or report using an outline. His handwriting has improved greatly. His spelling has gone up a solid grade and a half. His drawing has improved. He has started learning how to inductively study the Bible. He's learned about the human body, drama, music, etiquette, being a peace-maker, and soccer in co-op. He's dabbled in the recorder and the piano. He's been learning Chinese.

Megan has breezed halfway through her multiplication book. She has started learning to write using outlines. She's learned cursive. Her spelling is off the charts (as is her reading). She's learned soccer, human body, pioneer days, Chinese characters, music and crafts in co-op. She's played piano. She's learning Chinese.

Together, we've made our way through American History. We've read lots of great books like Mr. Revere and I, and Carry On, Mr Bowditch. We've done lapbooks on Colonial Life and the American Revolution. We're cutting off the year at the Gold Rush. Next fall we'll pick it back up with the Civil War.

But most importantly, we've had a lot of time together. We've learned a lot about how to love each other better, how to be patient and kind to one another, how to lean on God for what we need each day. Another year of investment in my kids - it's been so worth it!

The Home Stretch

Is it summer yet? I have to keep telling myself "no" because otherwise I would succumb to the temptation to call it good for the year. Probably the thing that keeps me from it is knowing that if I stopped doing school in the morning and let my kids enjoy the increasingly warm and beautiful days out in the courtyard, my neighbor (who homeschools her 5 kids) would kill me. If her kids look out the window and see that mine are outside, it's over for her.

The main reason for this sudden desire to quit is that I was gone a week for work. Coming back and jumping straight back into routine (when my husband simultaneously left on another trip) was tough. Not to mention the fact that the kids are both doing quite well in all subjects, especially Megan. Permit me a "brag on my kid" moment to tell you that I gave them another diagnostic spelling test the other day to see how they are doing, and she scored at the 7th grade level. Ethan was just a few months behind. Can you blame me for thinking they've learned enough this year?

But I've promised myself that I (we) will persevere for at least another eight weeks. I'm going to sit down today with the kids and make a list of goals for the rest of the year - how far they want to get in math, reading, writing, history, and handwriting - so that we can see the finish line.

Having said all that, my back really hurts today from an exercise injury yesterday. Can we play hooky?

Lightbulbs going on

I am thankful that, for the most part, our kids haven't struggled much with any subject. Ethan was a bit of a reluctant reader at first, but we put it away for awhile and took it out later when he was ready. Other than that, it's been pretty easy to teach them.

But I knew that the first place we would struggle would be math, because in teaching math I am like the blind leading the blind. Ok, maybe the legally blind leading the blind, but that doesn't up our odds much. Ethan is now doing long division - double digits into triple digits. And the thing is, the program we follow teaches it differently than how I learned. Try teaching a kid something you don't understand! In the teacher's defense, once I did figure it out, this makes more sense. The first two lessons this week were painful - working through each problem together, probably 5-10 minutes on each one. The key was that we pulled out the manipulative blocks and used those. Despite that help, I saw a long road ahead of us filled with numbers and tears.

Then day three, I noticed that Ethan was pulling the blocks out more quickly, and, if I wasn't mistaken, was enjoying the problems. I pointed this out to him and told him to stop, because math is not supposed to be FUN. If you don't know me, well, first of all I'm surprised you're reading this, but secondly, you should know that I am kidding. I kid like that.

Today, he grabbed the blocks, headed off for a corner, and did the whole page without complaining. It was such a "this is why I do this" moment.

Future Note Taker

Monday was a red letter day because we did science experiments that ACTUALLY WORKED. That's right, folks, you heard it here first. It's possible.

And I have proof! Megan decided to take notes while we were experimenting. At some points she was writing down everything I said, which got a little creepy even. I could tell you about the experiments, but if you click on the picture you can see what they were all about. I told her she was learning a great skill for the future!

Want to know something wild? She spelled, "ethanoic" on her own! And I just noticed that a few of her actual spelling words are thrown in there too (piano, moose).

On reading to little (and not so little) ones

When Ethan was young, I wondered what I should be doing with him, given that we were living overseas and the options were not as obvious. The older homeschool moms and educators I met all said one thing, "Read to him. Read as long as he'll listen." Thankfully, that turned out to be a lot of time, as Ethan's attention span is vast. That helped a lot when I was pregnant with Megan and couldn't do much! We would grab a pile of books and read for up to an hour.

There was always a nagging voice in my head though that said, "Shouldn't you be doing MORE with him though?" Then today I found this article which encouraged me once again to say "no" to that little nagger. It also reminded me that I should never stop reading to my kids, even if they can read to themselves. Have you read to a kid today?