That the kids would want to start early.
Truly, they all began talking about it after we had been back only a few days. And Becca in particular started lobbying to start sometime last week. I made a deal with them that if they helped me get organized then we would start on Wednesday. Then I was shocked by how willing they were to help. Who are these children!? Because my children generally will find just about anything else to do rather than help me organize. Can you believe the draw of starting school was such an incentive?
We started on Wednesday with just math and literacy (aka language arts). Each day we have added a little bit so that our schedule is starting to look like it normally might. And of course I am already thinking of the ways I want to change things. But they are subtle things that won't really change the big picture, and hopefully will just make things run smoother.
Things I am liking.....
How engaged each of the kids are. I feel like I can see the knowledge and joy of learning just soak into them. While I am sure that some of the newness of this will lose a bit of its luster, I hope that we can keep the passion for learning going.
Reading to T. Before starting, I researched how things would look homeschooling more than one child at various levels. And a friend suggested something that she does: having older children read aloud to a younger sib. I must say that it is an all-around win. The older child gets some "easy" reading. Tori gets read several books a day. They enjoy time together. I have time to work one-on-one with someone. Don't you love when things work like that?
--------------
Challenges
Leaving the house. We didn't leave the neighborhood today. And come to think of it, we didn't yesterday either. I am still figuring out how looks to fit in my grocery shopping and other things in with our schooling time. While I know that we are here and diligently working each morning, our afternoons are going to offer a bit more flux. Unfortunately, because our fridge is tiny, I really need to shop every 2-3 days. I have hopes to turn these trips into outings and have B and J planning some meals, but right now I just want to establish the core things first.
T wants a playmate. This one is going to be my challenge all year long. As a first grader, she just doesn't have as much work that she needs to accomplish as the older two. Being the extreme social creature that she is, if she isn't working she wants at least one other person to not be working as well. Unfortunately, there are no other homeschooling families in our neighborhood. So far, Becca and Josh have told T to stop bothering them several times each day. Still pondering the best way to keep her active and yet away from the other 2!
Curriculum. Let me first say, that overall that we are really enjoying our curriculum. But I had a moment of panic when I started working with B on her math. Because for several days in a row, she was complaining how easy it was. Even J, who is not as strong in math, said that it was fairly easy. I kept thinking, I lugged these huge books all the way here and now they are not the right the level!? AGH! But after further investigation, things later in the book will pose more of a challenge. But overall, curriculum is a challenge living on the other side of the world. I can't just change my mind. Or decide that I want to add something. Unless I can find it in pdf format, what we have is what we will use until we go back to the US.
But just 5 days in, and things are going really well. We have some exciting things on the horizon. Several exciting trips. Girl scouts and boy scouts will start. We will be participating in a writing class with several other families. I love that I can just see that this is where our family and kids are supposed to be. ♥
No comments:
Post a Comment