My homeschooling style

A great woman who runs the local homeschooling group asked if I'd be a contact person for new homeschoolers.  I agreed to do it because I'm enthusiastic about homeschooling and also looking to make more connections both for my sake and for my childrens' sake.  Anyway, she asked me to write a blurb about my homeschooling style and this is what I wrote:

I have two energetic boys:  age 4 and age 2, and the fact that they are boys really informs and influences my attitude about and style of homeschooling.  I read a book called Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv and another called the Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden and Hall Iggulden and what I took away was that for boys especially, it’s so important to have them out in nature, exploring the world around them.  As such, it’s my goal to give them a learning environment that allows them to be out a lot using their natural, bountiful energy and curiosity to drive their learning.  

Technically, I am only teaching my four year old but my 2 year old loves to tag along. I would say that I take a laid-back approach to homeschooling.  I do not use a set curriculum but I do use the New York State standards and the Typical Course of Study as a guide.  In homeschooling, I’ve learned that I really needed to learn my child first and so I’ve really gotten familiar with his style of learning and the times throughout the day when he is most willing to learn.  He enjoys working in workbooks and so I’ve invested in a few good ones.  One book that has given me some guidance in the technical aspects of homeschooling is The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise and while I find it a bit rigid, it has helped in some important ways. At my son's age, I’m more focused now on him getting concepts as opposed to things that require fine motor skills such as writing.  Initially, writing was very frustrating to my son but I was pushing it.  Now, I am focusing on other things and he has naturally taken to writing and is improving every day.  So I’m learning to trust myself and trust him, knowing that in the right time and space sequence, we will get everything accomplished.  Right now, I’m working with him on addition and subtraction.  We also work on patterns and sequences, telling time and we are slowly getting into money.  I have no set time frame for when all this will be mastered but my goal is to keep him one grade level ahead.  For reading, we are using the Hooked on Phonics program but also taking a very laid back approach to it.  For science, I basically depend on him to dictate what we will be studying.  Last month he showed an interest in the sun and so we did a study of the sun and the solar system.  The study was supported with books, the internet, DVDs, etc.  This month, he was interested in electricity and so we are discovering that.  Social studies right now is rather organic and we learn that as we are out and about in the world.  Aside from all that, I take him to our local library for arts and crafts and I have him enrolled in a Kindermusik class.  I’m really focused on keeping the learning fun and engaging and never forcing him to do something before he’s ready. 

My ultimate goal is to help them become analytical and critical thinkers and to help them enjoy learning.  I want them to be willing, enthusiastic, lifelong learners.   

Form is so important.

I started working at a learning center on Saturdays. I'm so happy for the job although I'm my usual cautious, skeptical self.  I don't want to get too excited but this is a great way to keep myself in the education sector.  To keep my feet wet, so to speak.

Last Saturday, I had a rather unpleasant interaction with a student, one of the very few students of color at the center.  He was rude and sarcastic and I had to ask him why he was being that way.  The boy is in fifth grade and his parents have him there to work on his handwriting and his reading. The boy seems very bright--I don't actually think he needs any extra help with the reading. His handwriting is legible but not neat. You could chalk it up to him being a boy (boys seem to be less precise with their handwriting though not always). But what I see (and I'm not sure why the teachers haven't noticed) is that the boy holds his pencil incorrectly.

There might not be one wholly correct way to hold a pencil. There may be some slight differences here and there but generally, the pencil should point towards you as you're writing. This student I'm talking about holds his pencil pointing away from him and looks like he is wrestling to write. There are pages and pages of manuscript handwriting worksheets that he has been doing and the writing stays the same. I'm positive that a change in his pencil posture would improve things.

I am now insisting that Z1 improve his pencil posture. I hadn't been emphasizing it before mainly because I didn't realize how important it was. It's annoying to him but I know that it will vastly improve his penmanship. Form is so important. As a crocheter/knitter, holding your implements correctly is the difference between neat work with even stitches and sloppy, uneven work. The same applies to handwriting.

So I pulled out the D'Nealian Handwriting workbook and two or three times a week, we sit down with it and practice. I'm not so interested in anything other than he knows how to hold the pencil and how to manipulate the pencil holding it correctly. I know that as he gets older, his fine motor skills will continue to improve and he will be able to control the pencil.

I haven't given up on sharpening his fine motor skills. Just today, Z1 requested that we make snowflakes. It didn't occur to me until I actually looked up snowflake templates that this is a great way for him to practice using a pair of scissors. As with a pencil, the way you hold it makes all the difference in the results you get. For Z1, cutting out the snowflakes was an excellent way to teach this lesson. When he was holding the scissor the wrong way, he couldn't get any kind of real cutting done. Holding them correctly, he was able to cut out with much more ease. I love a hands-on lesson. I know what he learned will carry over to the handwriting too.

He Counted to 100!

We were sitting at the table having our dinner this evening and Z1 decided to count to 100. He asked me to help him when he got stuck. I was expecting that when he got to 40, he'd start to falter but no, he just kept right on to 50 then 60 then 70 then 80 then 90 then 100!!!! I was so excited and proud and so was he. What a pleasant surprise! His push to count to 100 was totally self-motivated. I pushed him to get to 30 but he basically did the rest. I have a 100s chart that I placed on his wall underneath his calendar and he regularly sits there and counts. His abacus that I got for his birthday that he had religiously neglected? All of a sudden, he's counting to 100 with it. I'm really thrilled and working on figuring out the next step.

Today, we carved pumpkins which was a lot fun but I see that his fine motor skills are still developing. I hope to find ways to help him along so that way he can start to write to 100 too. Then, I will look into him taking classes to learn the soroban method of arithmetic (I found this company that offers to teach it and went in for a demonstration--I was very impressed).

Counting by 5's

I haven't posted in a while . . .

For the past few weeks, we've been working on addition. I've been trying to give Z1 a number of methods he can use to solve addition equations. Once we've mastered addition, we're going to move on to counting by 2's, 5's and 10's. I'm especially interested in the counting by 5's because once he can do that comfortably, we can move on in our learning about telling time on an analog clock. Right now, he can tell you the time on the hour.

Yesterday, we took a wonderful hiking trip with some of our closest homeschooling friends. The drive was about 45 minutes and while we were driving, School House Rock was playing. Our friends had bought the box set on Ebay. Talk about a blast from the past. Well, I heard this song:


It's the very same song which taught me to count by 5's. Luckily, Z1 loves it and so we'll be playing it a lot. He also likes Zero, My Hero. I can't believe how well done School House Rock is and I'm excited that someone has brought these wonderful learning songs back into my consciousness.

Getting Back to our Curriculum

I had stopped following the Brightly Beaming curriculum for a few weeks. I guess I got bored. But we're going to start again with Preparatory Lesson 17. The theme is Sheep. The shape of the week is a heart. The letter of the week is Qq. The number is 17. We will focus a lot on practicing writing hears, the letter Q and the number 17. I feel like now that he is further along in terms of knowing the shapes, letters, and numbers, we can do a lot more. In other words, I can use this curriculum to build.

Here's some Sheep resources:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/economy/sheep.htm

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/Sheep/

We'll definitely be doing a sheep craft with cotton balls.

Z1 expressed an interest in lightning the other day. The thing he is still most interested in, though, are computer games.

Learning to Deal

So I'm learning to deal. I know that homeschooling is not an easy task. It's a lot of responsibility. Sometimes I end up putting a lot of pressure on myself and then on Z1. I think he ought to be able to do certain things so I push. I have to realize that maybe he's not ready just yet. And be okay with that.

Case in point? Handwriting. He does a good job of writing his own name in that it's recognizable. Recently, he started writing the "Z" like a "Z" instead of an "S". That's great!! However, writing numbers has proven to be a challenge for him. Last Saturday, we went to a program that teaches kids how to use the Soroban (Japanese abacus) and the requirements to begin the program was that the child be 5 years of age and know how to write his numbers up to 100. I kept thinking in my mind, "Fat chance . . . he won't even write the number 3." So the days following, I was all about writing numbers. He got frustrated. The tears started. So I closed the books. And I just had to re-evaluate the whole situation and my motivation. See, there's no rush to get him into the program at 5. He can start at 8 or 9. But me, being who I am, I felt like he should be ready to go by 5. Ready now. That's just not fair to Z1.

I'm at this point where I am easing up --just let him color and do other things to sharpen his fine motor skills like using the mouse and playing his beloved games because I see he's struggling with the handwriting and getting frustrated. I do not want him to be frustrated at all. I found this article and from it I can derive that he is doing okay because he is strong in some aspects like doing puzzles and he does hold the pencil correctly and maintain it.

So I'm really going to back off. If he picks up a handwriting book, that's cool. I'll work with him on it and really support him with it. If not, so be it.

I'm also going to get serious about doing science consistently with him. We read a book called Ducks Don't Get Wet and there was an experiment in there with feathers and oil to show exactly how ducks stay dry. We'll do that tomorrow hopefully. That's the last I think we'll do about birds. I actually learned a lot about birds myself. Like the largest bird in the world is an ostrich and the smallest is a hummingbird.

I asked what he wants to study next and he said airplanes. This Friday we're going to a library in a different town. We'll start our search for books and other supporting media then. I'd really like to take him to a local airplane hangar. I think that would be so cool.

More than anything, I am learning to just stop comparing Z1 to anyone else. He's got his own life situation (which involves having a toddler baby brother) and his own personality (including strengths and weaknesses). My goal is to completely appreciate who he is as a person and as a learner. So that this journey will be fun and fulfilling. A joy.

What Makes a Shadow?

Today Z1 was eager to show me his shadow in the foyer. He has expressed interest in shadows before. I went on the net to find some resources and found two things: the My Shadow website, which looks great and a the book What Makes a Shadow? which I put on hold at the library.

In trying to figure out Z1's other interests, I am having to accept that playing video games ranks high on the list of things he likes to do. Very high. So I'm going to relax a little bit on limiting video games and let him have at it. Right now, he loves his father's plug and play games. But I'm thinking of also getting him the Leapfrog handheld gaming system. Actually, I'm thinking of hitting up the grandparents for it . . . LoL. I can't forget to mention Funschool too. Z1 really likes that site.

Photo Credit: Free Daddy and His Little Shadow Girls at The Sakte Park by Pink Sherbet Photography

Getting it together learning wise . . .

I know I have a tendency to be regimented/rigid. Homeschooling presents me with a great opportunity to learn flexibility. Still, I know for my own sanity, it will be important to have some kind of learning schedule. Something predictable that I can look forward to.

A week or two ago, I started to feel as if I was not doing enough academically with Z1. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Z2 is so mobile that most of my energy is spent running around after him. To get anything done with Z1, either Chris has to be home to take him or he has to be put in his play pen, which he hates.

Anyway, I was starting to feel pressure and inadequacy and decided that I would just write out a little something to do academically daily. After all, at this age (preschool) the main focus, in my opinion, should be on play as that is the way preschoolers actually learn. I don't think it harmful, though, to practice some skills. I don't pressure Z1 to do any of these activities. I just kind of throw it out there that we'll be doing the activity and some point during the day.

Our Theme for May has been Birds.
Some books we've been using:
Birds by Kevin Henkes
Riki's Birdhouse
What Makes a Bird a Bird?

THE SCHEDULE
Monday
1. Discuss the day of the week and the weather
2. Work on handwriting in handwriting workbook
3. Bird nursery rhymes/songs

Tuesday
1. Discuss the day of the week and the weather
2. Science
-view bird videos
-look through bird books
-discuss what birds eat, where they live, what makes a bird a bird

Wednesday
1. Discuss the day of the week and the weather
2 Picture drawing while listening to book (this month, the book is a book about birds)
3. Bird nursery rhymes

Thursday
1. Discuss the day of the week and the weather
2. Math
-counting and number recognition
-patterns

Friday
1. Discuss the day of the week and the weather
2. Art activity/lacing beads
3. Sight words

I use this Kindergarten Curriculum Guide to guide my instruction. According to this, Z1 is on the kindergarten level (even though he's preschool age). That's comforting and lets me know that I'm doing okay.

I'm sure we could add more to the schedule but right now, along with all the other activities we do during the week, I think this is adequate. At least, that's all I can handle. :)

Our Weekly Schedule

So for some years now, I've been consistently doing things with Zion and now with Zion and Zephy weekly. On Tuesdays, we go to our local library for the Parent Child Program which is from 10:15 till about 11:15 or so. For the first 30 minutes, the children play and interact with each other. Then they clean up and it's time for some stories, puppet play, etc. I love the program because it is well run and it is close to home. At one point, I stopped going because it was overrun with daycare kids (as in the daycare would haul all their kids to the program). But recently, they have been more stringent and while some caregivers still bring thier 6 or 7 kids, it still feels small and homey. It's still enjoyable.

On Thursdays we usually go to Parent's Place in White Plains. The program runs from 10:00-12:00. I really have to focus to get there on time but it's always well worth it. From 10:00 till 11, the children are free to play in either of the two rooms. One room is full of toys: a kitchen set, train table, blocks, push toys, rocking boats, etc. The other room has a water table, puzzles, finger painting/arts and crafts as well as easel painting. There's a rug where smaller babies can play and a bookcase with children's books that are displayed and changed regularly. At 11, everyone cleans up, we sing and play instruments then it's time for a snack. Once snack is over, the children are free to play again (sand table and play dough are brought out) and the parents, if they'd like, can have a group where they can talk about any issues they may be having in raising their babies. I enjoy this program tremendously although these days Zion seems to be outgrowing it. It is still very appropriate for Zephy who is so cute when the songs are being sung. Recently I learned that the program may not continue because of a serious lack of funds (hundreds of thousands of dollars). I'm hoping that some benefactor will contribute the money to keep it running but in this economy, it may not happen.

A mom at Parent's Place hipped me to an inexpensive Kindermusik program in New Rochelle. Zion is the only one taking the class right now. It is on Friday's from 3:30-4:15. He enjoys it and I think we'll sign Zephy up next. The program runs just like the public schools do so we won't be doing it this summer. I'm looking forward, in a way, to having Fridays freed up.

A few weeks ago, we signed Zion up for swimming at the New Rochelle YMCA. It's on Saturdays at 11:15. The first class went surprisingly well. Zion got in the pool and participated. The last two classes . . . not so much. The teacher is kind of cold and doesn't really give off a vibe of protection--in other words, Zion doesn't trust or like her. But I received some wonderful advice from another homeschooling Mama on what to do and so while I'm anxious to make sure our money is not wasted, I think I can figure out ways to maximize the experience even if Zion never gets in the pool.

So these are our weekly activities. Sprinkled in there are playdates and other interesting things we might find to do. Now that summer is upon us, we'll be doing a lot more fun things (especially **free** or low cost fun things like the pool and the beach.

Look, I love summer and just the prospect of summer fun gets me excited. I can't wait!

Monthly Themes

So I have been loosely following this curriculum for Z1. He has advanced past the preparatory curriculum and so I'm looking into kindergarten material for him. I like the idea of themes presented in the curriculum I was following so instead of weekly themes, I thought we'd do monthly themes and see how that goes. (This homeschooling is a series of attempts and trials.)

So this month's themes is BIRDS. Later, I will list the books and other materials we've collected so far. My plan is to make a birdhouse to put out back so we can attract birds.

Z1 has finally gotten the concept of "Today is Wednesday because yesterday was Tuesday and tomorrow will be Thursday".

He is also able to count to 30 although not 100% comfortably. He is getting there.

At some point

After you decide to homeschool, I suppose you can expect to be discouraged and/or doubt if you're doing the right things in your homeschooling or even the right thing by homeschooling at all. I think it's healthy, in some ways, to constantly be reevaluating what you're doing to make sure that it's making an impact, that your child is learning and that everyone is happy and satisfied with the progress.

What I miss as a novice homeschooler is the input of seasoned homeschoolers. I knit and crochet and reading some of the issues novice knitters and crocheters face, I kind of chuckle sometimes. The simplicity of the answer to a seemingly complex problem (to the newbie) is something astounding. And I'm sure the same applies to homeschooling. I'm always looking to connect with folks who have been there and done that with this homeschooling thing. Especially folks of color.

Some questions I ask:
How much should I push when he says he doesn't want to do something?
How rigid should I be in my scheduling? Should I schedule in "chill-out" days?
How do I keep little brother from interfering with our learning?
How do I plug in the holes when I'm teaching something I'm not quite 100% confident about or just not comfortable with (like learning about snakes)?

It takes a little faith to believe that I'm doing the right thing. Most important for me to remember is that I can find opportunities to teach him in every situation. I just have to keep my mind about me.

Capturing and Capitalizing on Interests

I agree with the theory that the best way to teach a child is through his/her interests, that is, finding the things that intrigue and captivate a child the most and using that to teach a myriad of concepts and ideas.

One of the hallmarks of being Z1 is capriciousness, though, but not in that he jumps from activity to activity. Rather, Zion will focus all his energies on one particular interest for extended periods of time and then refuse to be bothered with that activity again. For a long while it was puzzles and all he would do all the time was this puzzle and that puzzle. I bought tons of puzzles and found a great site with all kinds of challenging puzzles only for him to decide one day that puzzles were passe. The same with many other things. So I'm learning that once he demonstrates even an inkling of an interest in something, I have to be at the ready to capture that interest and capitalize on it. I often think that this is certainly one thing that school could not offer him. How could a teacher with 15 to 25 kids, even with the best of intentions, be so focused on my child that she would notice the first buds of interest? Could he/she deviate from her curriculum/pacing guide to capitalize on it?

Currently, Z1 is fascinated with birds. Chris will often throw chunks stale bread into the backyard and you should just see the delight on Z1's face when the birds descend to eat the bread. He gets so excited and scolds the squirrels for "stealing" the birds' bread. He's also taken with butterflies and has spoken about getting a net to catch them. So yesterday at our library, we found a few good books on birds and butterflies although I'm hoping to check out some more at the children's library two towns over. I want to get him some kind of net to catch butterflies with too. As he was hanging out as his friend's house last week, I noticed that Z1 enjoyed playing with a lacrosse stick. I don't see why a Lacrosse stick couldn't double as butterfly net. :) However, a real butterfly net is hardly expensive.

Whose job is it to teach you what you need to know?

So I was conversing with a friend of mine and she brought up a very valid point: "Our education system sucks. We don't teach financial literacy in schools."

I wonder when parents send their children to school what they think the school is responsible for doing. I had a professor once who likened school to an emergency room. You, the injured person should not have to be a doctor to get world class, professional treatment. Likewise, parents shouldn't have to do anything special to get their children a world class education. Back then I totally agreed. These days, however, I am more inclined to think that school is more like going to your regular doctor and not the emergency room. I personally believe that if you are ill, you should have at least some idea going about what it could be. When you are diagnosed, you should be very aware of the treatment options and the side effects of each option. You should be free to say this is not working or I'm not comfortable with that treatment. And you should be free to go to another doctor without penalty or guilt fairly easily. You should have a say and power in your own health and treatment.

The same goes for education. Most of us don't vote on curriculums or dictate what should be taught. Even though so many of us agree that having Black history relegated to the shortest month of the year is an affront, we can also agree that unless we're willing to go to Albany with a brand new curriculum we drew up, that's not going to change. If you want your children to know Black history or any other history aside from the standard spiel, you're going to have to do it. Now, I will say that many parents do take an active stand to ensure the quality of children's education. In poorer neighborhoods, however, this is rarely the case. I know, I know, these parents sometimes work 2 and 3 jobs. Many mothers are single and all that. I get it. But I'm going to be a little hardline here and say one word: priorities. You may not be able to make every single PTA meeting but you can make some and you can call and ask for the minutes of the meeting. You can drop in every once in a long while or call or e-mail to let the teacher know, "Look, I'm busy but I care." My local school here of over 500 students has a hard time pulling 25 parents for the PTA. Will my sons be going to that school? No way. But I digress.

What exactly do we expect schools to teach our children? What did it teach you? Yes, I learned to read and write but not everyone who graduated with me could. Did I learn to think critically? No. Did I learn any valuable life skills? No. I graduated from high school to go to college. Graduated from college to get a job. When I didn't get a good enough job, went back to school to get another job. Even graduate school where I was supposed to be getting trained specifically to be a teacher did not prepare me for teaching. I would have been much better equipped to have spent those years learning from a master teacher. Because there's more to teaching than curriculum and lesson plans. How does your child psychology class translate to when you're in front of 30 kids?

So, it's safe to say that school kind of prepares us to get jobs. That's it. The rest, well, it's up to you.

I'm not the originator of that idea either. If there's nothing else I got out of graduate school, it was that public schools were originally conceived as places where everyone could get blended into the fabric of American society, in other words, Americanized. Get with the program. Being Americanized meant embracing the American dream, the idea that you work hard, so hard and then you enjoy. We all know that's not necessarily true but it keeps the system running nicely. Keeps those on top securely on top and those on the bottom securely on the bottom. School has always served a political purpose. And politics go hand in hand with economics.

So why would schools then start to teach us financial literacy? We can't even get schools to teach the histories of all peoples, to empower students in that way. If schools all of a sudden started teaching people how the economy really works, how to be financially literate, how to make sound money decisions, who would this system prey on? Whose blood could it suck? If we all knew a couple of years ago what a bubble we were in and all decided back then to remove ourselves from the bubble, start spending real money, start sowing in order to reap, it never could have gotten so out of hand. But we didn't. Most of us have never learned because that's not what school was set up to do. And we've never critically looked at the school structure to determine exactly what the point is, to realize what it can't and won't do for us.

I don't believe that school truly educates. We learn there. We learn facts. But we are not educated to become thinking, critically thinking adults. It's why Fox News exists. It's why all news that shamelessly distorts the truth or makes glaring omissions still exist. And why most of us suck it all in without a second thought. We've never been educated to understand that everything, big and small, needs a second thought.

I'm certainly not anti-school because my sons may need to go to school one day. I'd prefer a charter school or another type of private school with a different focus and a different, clear mission that I agree with. But if it is that public school ends up the only option, I know that I have my work cut out for me in terms of educating my sons. I tend to think that folks who never did well in school didn't do well because they couldn't be boxed in, couldn't get with factory schooling, i.e. put "x" into a child and get "y" out. For young Black boys, especially, this formula has been failing over and over again. I cannot simply depend on schools to teach them what they need to be successful in this world. No one should, really.

So whose job is it to teach you what you need to know? It seems like today we are realizing quite painfully that ignorance is not an option anymore. Each one of us is responsible to a very large degree for getting and assimilating the information we need to make it. We know we've been used as pawns in this system. And we've allowed ourselves to be for the promise of the American dream. But today we have to refuse to be victimized anymore, look at everything with intense scrutiny, open up our minds and for once, not be afraid to think. Not be afraid to embrace critical thought. Even if it's painful and even if it hurts our pride.

It's our job to teach ourselves what we need to know to survive.

Learning the Days of the Week

I'm still trying to work out what our approach to homeschooling will be. I'm pretty sure I won't unschool but I don't want to do school at home. It will probably be some kind of mix between what Z1 is interested in and what I'd like to see him be able to do. The whole point of homeschooling for me is to achieve a nice balance of ambition/drive to learn and enjoyment/comfort in learning. I keep educational benchmarks (i.e. what he should be doing in what grade) in mind while being loose and flexible.

Anyway, back to learning the days of the week. To start, I made a YouTube Playlist called Days of the Week. From that, Z1 has learned the names and order of the days of the week quite easily. Now we are working on learning what day it is, and then, logically, what yesterday was and what tomorrow will be.

We're also getting familiar with a calendar. So much drama with the calendar! I couldn't get to stick it up there with tape at all! It kept coming down. Chris found some kind of putty at Target and it works like a charm. (Don't you just love a useful man?) So every day, on our whiteboard we write the day and date and then stick up the corresponding number onto the calendar taking the opportunity to count from one till that day. We then write on our white board what yesterday was and what tomorrow will be. We describe the weather and write it up along with a cheesy illustration that I draw. Then we talk about what we'll do that day and write it. Sometimes in the space that's left, we practice writing numbers or writing his name.

I like the rhythm. I can be quite regimented though so I'm trying to be relaxed. Yesterday, Z1 just wasn't in the mood so I just did it myself and put it up there. No big deal. I think it's important in and of itself to have it up there, for him to see it.

I'm hoping to get some words on cardstock that describe the weather so he can match it with an illustration. Some felt might come into play with that somehow. I'm still thinking.

Photo Credit: "Original Calendar" by mamako7070 on Flickr.com.

Won't your kids be socially retarded or just plain weird?

Is probably the question I'm asked most frequently when I mention that we'll be homeschooling. There are excellent articles out there on this very topic and this post will be a collection of the ones that I find striking so I'll be updating this post regularly and it will probably turn into a linklist on the sidebar.

Read this one yesterday: Education or Schooling . . . yes you have to make a choice.

More to come . . .

Homeschooling Resources

So, after lots of thinking, weighing the pros and cons, it's finalized: we are going to be a homeschooling family. It's been a complex decision and I've had to take a lot of things into account. Negativity from friends and family has been one thing that has led to my reluctance to fully embrace homeschooling but I'm finally comfortable and secure in my decision. There are a myriad of reasons:

1. I don't agree with the philosophy of public schools and I can't afford or don't have access to private/charter schools whose philosophies more closely match mine.
2. I could overlook philosophical differences more easily if the public schools offered top-notch educations but in my town, unfortunately, that is not the case.
3. I am willing (and able) at this moment to homeschool. We are able to make ends meet on one income right now and hope to be able to do continue. Utilizing relatively free resources (library and internet) and making wise curricula purchases, we can keep the budget for homeschooling low.
4. I know I can offer my children the type of education I want them to have, maintaining their love and joy of learning and exposing them to things that they might not otherwise be exposed to (African and World Histories being a top priority).
5. I can address my children's specific needs and honor their gifts and talents while maximizing their time and mine. I believe that way too much time in school is wasted. And while I'm devoted to my children, there are areas of myself I am looking forward to developing as the children get older.

So now that I've accepted that we are a homeschooling family, I just wanted to share some of the resources we've been using.

• Starfall--excellent site that teaches reading readiness (letters and sounds, etc)
• Letter of the Week Preparatory Curriculum--This is the *free* curriculum we are currently using. We are on Week 13 currently. Sometimes we take longer than a week but no more than two.
  
• Fisher-Price--nice collection of educational (and strictly fun) games which help build motor skills, hand-eye coordination
• Preschool Themes and Lesson Plans--A real go-to resource that supports the curriculum we're using very well
• Count Us In games--games that teach counting/number sense
• Funschool Preschool--games and learning activities
• Letter Coloring Pages
• Online Jigsaw Puzzles--builds acuity, hand-eye coordination, motor skills
• Typical Course of Study--lists what a child should typically study/master in each grade.
• The state's curriculum is readily available online.

NYS is one of the strictest states when it comes to homeschooling: the kids do have to be tested yearly and I have to submit paperwork quarterly. I've already gathered resources to make sure I am doing things legally. I want to be on top of things.

I'm still hoping to find a homeschooling group for support and social stuff. I know I will.

One question: since I pay school taxes in my town, why is it that if I choose to homeschool my town refuses to provide services to my child (if he needs it) and refuses to allow him to play on sports teams (not that my town sports teams will actually exist in two to three years the way things are going fiscally for this town) or be involved in any extra-curricular activities? Maybe I'm missing something that would help me understand.


Photo Credit: "Homeschool" by ForeverSouls on Flickr.

Committed

I finally have committed mind, body and spirit to the exciting challenge of homeschooling. The children are still a bit young to understand what that entails. But I understand it completely. I love their enthusiasm and vigor for learning and it is my sincere hope that in this endeavor of homeschooling them, I may preserve that for the duration of their earthly lives. With this blog I hope to chronicle all our adventures and misadventures, to keep an online journal of our progress and to share what we we are doing and what we've learned doing it.

Peace and blessings!