How we do homeschooling...and how we got here

Before we got into this homeschooling thing, I spent a couple years reading (yes, me reading, big surprise there) about the different ways to homeschool, what it looks like from day to day, what the state of Virginia requires, etc. Over the years, Pete and I had known several different homeschool families and were very impressed with their children’s academic skills and the manner with which they interacted with both adults and other children. So, when we moved to Suffolk and I wasn’t about to put my kids in the Suffolk public schools, we began our experiment of homeschooling for 2008-09 year for Erich’s preschool. The 2nd half of that year we did school in our temporary apartment in Gainesville. We made it work with a few boxes of books and a kitchen table.

We moved into our new house last summer, and set up our schoolroom in the dining room. Sometimes our kids use their school desks (they were freebies from a Catholic school in Virginia Beach), but most of the time they use a square table with black chairs to work on their lessons and drawing projects. (Erich draws so many pictures every day that he could probably go through a ream of paper in a little over a week.)

We use Sonlight as our basic curriculum, but I also make sure that I add in books, projects, field trips, crafts and games that relate to whatever his current interest (sometimes obsession) is. For example, for the 2010-2011 school year, we will be studying astronomy (Exploring Creation with Astronomy) in conjunction with our general 1st grade Sonlight science curriculum. Why astronomy? Have you met Erich and Ben? They are obsessed with space, Star Wars, Buzz Lightyear, the moon, planets, and all things related. They have already taken in the Air and Space Museum downtown and the one at Dulles, along with the Hampton Air and Space Museum. They proudly wear the very cool t-shirts (that glow in the dark) that their grandparents brought them from the Kennedy Space Center. Yes, astronomy is a BIG deal in our house! Think about what you learned the most about when you were in K-12. Wasn’t it related to something you had a lot of interest in learning? I try to take that excitement and relate it to what they’re learning at every opportunity, sort of pouring on a little more sparkly glue to make a new (or maybe boring) concept stick.

I do use the public school’s scope and sequence as a very loose guideline for what I want to accomplish during our school year, but the freedom to choose HOW we accomplish those goals, and with what curriculum is what I love most about homeschooling. For example, Horizons K Math worked for us for preschool math, but at the beginning of Erich’s kindergarten year we traded it for Math U See Alpha. I wanted him to get the addition facts down solid so we spent the 2nd semester of kindergarten studying Addition the Fun Way and flashcards. We’re covering the same concepts but teaching it in a different style, specific to the way each boy learns, and at his own pace. Some concepts don’t come easy for Erich, and at home he doesn’t have to compare his abilities with anyone else. He can be confident with what he’s achieved on his own timeline, and I get the pleasure of witnessing the very moment when he “gets it” and his brain circuits click.

And the teacher keeps learning, too. Voddie Baucham said in his book “Family Driven Faith” that with homeschooling the teacher only needs to stay one week ahead of the student, and I guess that’s true, but I’m also relearning a lot of things I didn’t learn solidly the first go around. I’m not very good at Scrabble or crossword puzzles, but homeschooling is providing me with the by-product of better connected brain wires. And I get to spend more time with my children, who I remind myself are only little once. Although some days go smoother than others, I thank God for the means to stay home with our boys and watch them grow and learn and experience life.

Attending my first state homeschool convention

This past weekend I attended the state homeschool convention for HEAV (Home Educator’s Association of Virginia) and what a breath of fresh air it was for me. Sitting under the teachings of Mike Farris, Ken Ham, Sonia Shafer, Dianne Craft, Jamie Lash, and Marilyn Boyer and surrounded by 10,000+ other homeschool parents and their children (some of which participated in a high school graduation ceremony Saturday afternoon), God confirmed to me that homeschooling is the right choice for our family. That affirmation comes after this past year of questioning, praying and going back and forth on the pros and cons of trying out public school with Erich. No longer do I feel like the underdog having to defend our decision to homeschool when someone asks “Where do your kids go to school?” and the usual look I get when I tell people we homeschool. I have a renewed confidence in this way of learning, and its perfect fit for our family.

I have lots of new ideas to try for this coming school year, and picked up just the materials I needed (for cheap!) at the used curriculum sale. In the midst of the 10,000 people in attendance, I crossed paths with two of my financial aid students from Virginia Tech, a former co-worker from Regent U., and a family friend who works diligently for ParentalRights.org (all homeschool moms…and one homeschool dad). The highlight of the weekend was catching up with an old friend from Suffolk who homeschools two boys who are a little bit younger than ours. I feel refreshed and renewed in my purpose and direction for teaching our children.

A Relaxed Jog to the End of Year 2

Published on homeschoolblogger 4/29/2010

Starting a new school year in August, I thought it would be a great idea to start a blog to track the year’s progress. Just for me to look back on and say, wow, we really have met some goals.

Yeah, nice idea…but I never got around to actually writing anything except the first entry! And here we are, progressing into the last month, the homestretch of the year. But, despite the lack of bloggage, we have accomplished quite a bit in our school this year, for the students and the teacher.

While Erich has been chugging through Sonlight Core K learning to read and memorizing his addition facts, I have been learning that it is ok to relax as his teacher and not feel compelled to DO EVERYTHING the curriculum recommends. In fact, I think that Sonlight actually gives too many things to do in a year’s time. I have learned how to pick and choose the most digestible lessons to serve on Erich’s plate (and to discard the ones that he would just spit out).

I got into the habit of taking one weekend a month to write out one month’s worth of lesson plans so I’m not scrambling on Sunday night making plans for the upcoming week. This worked so well for keeping my sanity that I also started writing out a month’s worth of meals. These two things alone were major stress relievers, and although it takes time, it really helped me to have a game plan.

The basics of what Erich has learned this year:

Math: Addition facts 1 to 10 using Math U See and Addition the Fun Way, ones/tens/hundreds, counting by 2s/5s/10s, telling time, months of the year/days of the week

Reading and Lang Arts: blending sounds together to make words and 2-3 letter blends using The Phonics Museum, letter puzzles, spelling reviews, punctuation, the I Can Read It and Bob books. I’ve also thrown in DK Easy Readers about Star Wars

Handwriting: using Letters and Numbers for Me and lined handwriting paper and writing capital and lowercase letters, number figures and words, his full name and address, and creating an address book. I am not hyper about handwriting, b/c he has come along way from a boy in OT at age 4 who couldn’t even hold scissors or a crayon correctly. Plus, I was told recently that handwriting skills are no longer stressed as much as they used to be in public school. There are so many more things I’d rather spend time teaching, and really his handwriting is legible and "mostly" neat. One of Erich’s strengths is his creativity, and he is very artistic. He draws constantly, usually his favorite subjects: Star Wars, Buzz Lightyear, trains, and pictures of his family and friends.

Science: we used Sonlight science and watched the Discover & Do DVD once a week and did experiments with air, plants, and kitchen materials. The experiments were a favorite part of the week. We also learned how everyday things work, about animals and plants, space, deserts/mountains/rain forests, and painting and papermache.

Social Studies/History: through our read aloud books we learned a little about American history, WW2, France, and China. We used a globe and maps to find places discussed in our readings. We read about Abraham Lincoln, Johnny Appleseed, comparing differences between lifestyles in present day and in the past. I often supplemented what we were reading with library books. We have been so excited to find that the Bealeton library has so many good books to supplement our curriculum.

We are also continuing to enjoy time reading the Ergemeier’s Bible Story Book with Dad. I am amazed at how much Erich remembers from these stories days afterwards. This spring he told us, "Well, you know what I really want to do as a grown up is be a missionary." Indeed, when he meets a new person (this included Aedan’s teacher), often one of the first things he asks them is "Do you believe in God?" He has no inhibition whatsoever!

In January I started doing a few lessons with Ben a few times a week. We will get through 2 of the 4 Developing the Early Learner books by the end next month, and we’ve been reading stories from Sonlight PreK. Since Erich and I worked through that curriculum last year, my plan is to pick and choose the stories that we liked the best for Ben, and then punt the rest. Again, this is me learning that I don’t have to make sure we do every single thing included in the curriculum and let it go! He will be a few months shy of 5 in September, and I think at that point he will be more developmentally ready to do school.

As we wrap up the last 4 weeks, I’m just planning to beef up Erich’s addition facts with flashcards and written tests, finish up the last of the Sonlight read alouds, and continue to encourage Erich’s reading confidence with books I know he can handle successfully. I want him to finish the year on a relaxed, easy going note, not rushed or pushed to measure up to anyone else.

We are looking forward to attending our first homeschool convention in Richmond in June, and I plan to go to the Northern VA convention with friends in July. Looking forward to having a little extra time this summer (when we are NOT changing addresses!) to work on projects around the house, gardening, and just enjoying where we live and doing things together.

Beginnings

Published originally on homeschoolblogger 8/21/2009

Our new school year begins officially on Monday! We are excited to get into this year’s books and begin school in our new home.

I set up this blog as a journal of our school progress and activities for this year. Erich begins Sonlight Core K and finishes up Horizons Math K this fall. We’ll pick up MUS Beta after that. To transition from lazy summer days to scheduled school days, we started our reading lessons this past week. Reading and phonics don’t come as easy as math does to Erich, so I’m thinking he is going to need a little extra time with that. We are also going to try out ETC online this year, and hopefully both boys will be able to get something out of that. Ben listens in on the lessons when I can entice him, although he will be working on learning his letter sounds and counting games in the meantime.

We’ve joined a homeschool support group (PACE) that meets primarily in Culpeper, and this also includes a once-a-week co-op class that Erich and Ben will enjoy together. Everyone in the group seems very friendly and down to earth. Our co-op class will be using FIAR, which I am very happy about since I’ve never gotten around to using FIAR here at home (although we have FIAR 1 and many of the books used in the curriculum). I am also going to look into joining the Fauquier homeschool group as well. Erich and Ben will continue with swimming at the WARF 2x a week and we’ll look into other activities as we can fit them in.