Well, we are homeschooling this year. And that accounts for why I haven't updated the blog in a couple of months. Also, we were gone on a long road trip, during which I didn't comment. I'll put some pictures up soon from our trip. It was great, we got to see a lot of family and even some friends.
As for the homeschooling, this is our first year doing it. The books describe this time of transition from public school to home school as "The Grand Experiment". We're doing a lot of observing--what time during the day are the kids more ready to learn, more likely to sit down, when do they tend to need playtime or rest time, or interaction with others. When do I have more energy to do lessons with them, and when should I let them do silent reading or free play. Et cetera.
We're involved in an Election Class with other homeschooled kids, taught by one of the mothers. It's two hours one day a week for ten weeks, and we pay her for the supplies and such. They do an interactive lesson, crafts and games. Then I take them to the library and we check out our own books about voting or government, etc. and maybe videos that pertain to the subject (like the Schoolhouse Rock videos) and read more about it on our own.
We're looking into a gymnastics program for the boys that is here in town. They did it for a few months last year and really enjoyed it. They are both excited to do it again.
We go on field trips with other homeschool families, like last week we went to the Whitehead Museum in downtown Del Rio. The week before that we went to Alamo Village (where they filmed "The Alamo" movie with John Wayne).
And of course, we're involved in church and primary, and playing with the neighbors when we can, so they are getting socialized. (I know that is a big issue that other people always are concerned about).
We're using the RightStart Math program that our friend and neighbor, Amanda McClure, told us about last year. I really like it. Matt is a great reader and bright
kid, but his understanding of math leaves much to be desired. This program teaches kids to see it more intuitively rather than just memorizing facts that don't mean much to them. I'm using it with both of the boys. Ethan seems to be a natural at math. Also, I'm teaching Ethan to read using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons", and he's doing great. I'm excited for him to be able to do some reading on his own--hopefully by the time he turns five in mid-October he'll be able to read some. He sees how much fun Matt has reading all his books. Just this last week, he read the second Harry Potter book in 3 days. Now he is half-way through the third book. One nice thing about homeschooling is all the time it gives him to feed his love for literature.
I'm curious as to how many of my extended family homeschool their kids--anyone know? I know Rhonda Nielsen Foster does, or did. I know Uncle Kelly's kids were all homeschooled, but that was it for my generation. I think it's a lot more common now than it was then. Another plus is that it cuts down on the stress SO much. Just trying to get Matt up and ready for school was such an ordeal last year that Russ had to switch jobs within the squadron and get special permission to come in to work later just so he could help me get Matt up and going. Then there were all the problems in school, and dealing with the fallout after school and then trying for hours to get him to do homework that even Russ and I didn't see the point of. So, in spite of the added stress of figuring out a school plan, course of study, and everything involved in homeschooling, it is still far LESS stressful than attending the regular school here. Another place, another time, we'll probably try public school again, but for now this is good for our family.
