learning period 1: 2016

Home living, home learning...

I have over-thought and hesitated posting much about how we homeschool because we seem to be shifting and I don't feel as though we fit in any basket anymore. We are do-what-feels-right homeschoolers now, which looks a little like Waldorf (and feels like, for this Mama, at least, Waldorf at its roots), a little like nature schooling (Charlotte Mason-ish?), Brave Writer-ish, a little interest-lead, and a little mainstream.

While a lesson plan is helpful, I have learned that, for me, what I most use is a guide that helps me remember what I want to cover, how long I think it might take, resources I might like to use, and other activities and events I might like to include or might get in the way. Here is the plan I shared for this school year. I have already deviated!

 

We have just finished our first learning period of the school year. I don’t know that I have used that term before here on my blog, as I tend to go month by month. We school through a charter, which requires that each child have two work samples for each of five subjects (writing, language arts, science, math, and social studies) every learning period. Each learning period is approximately two months. We just completed our first learning period and I want to share a little about what we have been doing. I have blogged a little bit so far, here and here. (I should share that the charter has allowed me to try all sorts of different materials and resources that they have supplied. Some of what we are using now comes from our charter, but we are also budgeting for some items ourselves because they aren't covered by our charter.)

For Language Arts – I have been using the Brave Writer approach with both kids. With Little Brown Mouse, I am using the Brave Writer product, The Wand. His reading is improving steadily (in spurts), but I noticed certain aspects he hasn’t grasped well and The Wand is teaching me certain spelling and reading rules I didn’t know well enough to teach, so I am sharing these lessons with both kids! For Lala Bug, I am creating copy work from various books we are reading. Some of Little Brown Mouse's copy work comes from The Wand, some from other literature. All of us do free writing, we do semi regular poetry tea time, and we do daily read alouds together. For this time, I pull books I want them to hear, some chapter books, some picture books, all from a variety of subjects. Stories and literature play a large role in our homeschool. I do not assign reading. If there is something I want them to read, I read it out loud. Lala Bug is such a prolific reader, that sometimes I have to pull her away from reading, but the choices for that reading are not dictated by me. (That said, I will check out books and leave them to be discovered!) Both kids truly enjoy books and love our weekly library day.

For writing – This is also Brave Writer inspired. I am still learning my way through this, but I have one writer who is recovering from being reluctant, who chose a creative writing class through our charter, and is writing on her own a fair bit (and asking for my input)! The other is a reluctant writer who is willing to write little bits and pieces for copy work and free writing, which is also progress. He's got lots of stories and things to say, which I jot down when I am able. For mechanics (which is really the part of writing that is disliked here), I have begun teaching Little Brown Mouse cursive (using Handwriting Without Tears) and it has been a huge hit.

For science – During this first learning period, we learned a bit about the body and how humans grow and change through their lives, birth through old age. We also learned more about Monarch butterflies and their life cycle and we studied the moon (which touched lightly on some studies of astronomy and our universe.) I had planned to do some introductory physics this learning period, but we didn't get to it. We are using a variety of books (from our city library, our charter resource center, and our home library) and hands-on activities and explorations for science. The kids have really been enjoying Destinations in Science, an older story based science series, which we got from our charter resource center, but doesn't seem to be readily available anymore. They have continued to really like Mystery Science and we have also used a story set from Be Naturally Curious. I include nature study and exploration as part of science, which we continue to do naturally (something our family values), but I have really enjoyed the information, art, and poetry components of Exploring Nature with Children. It is well worth its price.

For social studies – I wanted to bring a little Ancient Greece to the kids, but for all her love of social studies, history, and geography, Lala Bug has had some resistance to learning about ancient civilizations. The timing was perfect, because the Olympics was a beautiful "in." We all really enjoyed learning about Ancient Greece through the lens of the Olympics. We read too many picture books and other stories to list them all. We enjoyed a version of Greek myths and the Magic Tree House Research Guide to Ancient Greece and the Olympics, both my Mary Pope Osborne. (So far, despite their popularity, the D'Aulaires myths books have not been a hit with Lala Bug.) When we came up for air after the Olympics, I shifted us into learning a bit about American government and the upcoming elections. We've read a smattering of books (we all spent a lot of time laughing out loud at The Kid Who Ran for President) and we have had a number of big juicy conversations. I am consistently amazed, pleased, and humored by how incredibly curious and bright our kids are. They have both asked some questions that have left me stumped and thoughtful.

For math – I had planned to bring review during this first learning period, and I have, but I am still having to tread carefully with math. My goal is to meet each child where they are and do so consistently. With math, I have a handful of resources and I am using what fits, when it fits. The following resources seem to be working well right now. I am using Making Math Meaningful, grades 1-5 for myself, as a teacher resource. I wish I had bought this earlier! With the kids, I am using a mix of materials, all fairly mainstream. Both kids always enjoy games for math, so I am trying to do more of those. (Games for Math and Family Math have been great resources.) Both kiddos are enjoying Beast Academy, we are occasionally using Khan Academy, Lala Bug enjoys math art (she's loving This is Not a Math Book right now), and for both kids (although it is primarily at Lala Bug's level), we are using Your Business Math, from Simply Charlotte Mason. (I learned about this from Kara Anderson. My kids chose the Sports Store math and one set is all I need for both kids.) I have and occasionally present Lala Bug with math from the Key To... series (which we are able to acquire through our charter school). She's not enjoying that as she once was, but it is very effective in teaching and slowly increasing the difficulty of important concepts, without having too much on a page.

Homeschooling isn't neat and tidy. It's here and there, with tears, with laughter, togetherness, wildness, fatigue, worry, excitement, enthusiasm, frustration, curiosity, exhaustion, and more, but it starts in pajamas, has rain dances and soccer balls tucked in the middle, and ends with hugs and snuggles. Not a bad way to learn.