Wednesday, 07 January 2009
-
Back on Track with Homeschooling
by Mama Fox 
After our lovely winter break, today we are back to homeschooling although I'm going to take it slower this week as we adjust to Papa Fox's new work hours. After he gets paid I need to pick up some supplies like a journal for H, pens and some more dry erase markers. After we get taxes (we will be filing in a couple of weeks), I'm going to raid a teacher store I've seen. I've driven past it a few times but never had the chance to go in. I LOVE teacher stores. 
On the schedule for this week:Math
- Addition and subtraction. My mom sent a puzzle type math game. You have to match up the problem (groups of bugs, rockets, dogs, etc with either a plus or minus between them) with the answer. T will just count the addition ones to find the total.
- Greater than, less than pages in H's workbook.
- Bake cookies - H helps with measuring - talk more about wholes, halves and quarters with both boys.
- Hi Ho Cherry-O. Who said math can't be fun?
English
- Keep up with reading time after lunch.
- Run to library with H and pick up new books
- One on one read time with H. He picks, he reads
- Alphabet review with T - magnet letters
- Super Why - PBS
Science
- *ahem* Mentos and Diet Coke.
Just for fun. - Repot apple trees. Continue talking about plants and how they grow
- Nature walk - What is different in winter?
- Sid the Science Kid - PBS
Arts and crafts
- Snakes if we get around to it
- Free draw time
Social
- See about homeschool group park day.
- Price karate classes for H.
- Find out when homeschool soccer team starts playing again.
- Play date with Avalon
- Look up K homeschool group?
Of course there will be learning in between, the joys of living
, but I wanted to write out a schedule to keep us on track and motivated. I think I got too comfortable with not doing anything formal over the last 2 weeks. Gotta get back in the groove. A fresh start in the new year.
I am very excited for this next year. H is progressing extremely quickly. He's still doing a lot of 1st grade work but also loves the easy kindergarten workbook we have. I need to pick up a few more cheap workbooks. He keeps asking for his but I'm worried he'll finish up what little is left in it in one sitting. Haha! He just really really loves workbooks.
Because of his learning speed, we are seriously considering boxed curricula, probably K12, just so I don't have to continue piecing together my own. That boy just soaks everything up then won't stop talking about it. I don't mind it so much now but as T gets more formal schooling and E gets older... it's going to be harder to keep up with H. Having a majority of the prep work done, I feel I will be able to focus more on the actual teaching and give the best I can to my kids.
Have you had a chance to recover from the holidays? Relieved school is back in session? What are your kids learning lately at school/homeschool?
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to momaroo's Momaroo Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in momaroo's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: mamafox
- Name: mamafox
- About Me: Hi y'all, I'm Mama Fox! I'm a young, optimistic homeschooling mama of three boys. This is all about our adventures and at times misadventures of raising little men in today's world and pretty much whatever else is on my mind. :)
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 70 Views: 0 73335 Comments: 0 1111 View all posts by mamafox
Comments (12)
School is back here and i vow to never take a break again!!!!!it's just too hard to get the kids back into the swing of things.But they're all happy to be back schooling except for one of them but he is a constant struggle in anything.i love having the routine back i missed it
Not got my routine back yet. Desperately trying, though. Helped deliver a new calf today, and it seriously threw off my attempts to re-rail (you know, the opposite of derail) school. But tomorrow is another day, we'll try again then.
Mentos and Diet Coke. Yup definitely fun!
Yeah, you go ahead and keep homeschooling.
When the kids grow up to be socially maladjusted frightened things who can spell real well but can't meet other human beings in the eye, you tell yourself, hey- at least you got to play Hi Ho Cherry-O.
-former homeschooled kid
@ClockworkBunny@xanga - All a mother has to do to raise well adjusted, socially competent kids is to take them out of the house regularly. Time spent playing with other kids, attending after school programs, and participating in academic activities with other families provides more real life socialization than any public school. As a bonus, they'll still be able to spell and play Hi Ho Cherry-O.
-another former homeschooled kid
Whether it is homeschool or public school, children can still benefit from learning things at home also. Schools can only do so much. It is great that you are making plans and scheduling. Many homeschoolers like what is offered on www.suesbooks.info If you enter, math in the search area, it will bring up lots of tools that are used by homeschoolers. The Big Book of Sticker Math and Sticker Math Fun 5-6 for age 5 and up is great. Something to do with their hands, co-ordination and learning math skills and its their own. The Illustrated Dictionary of Math which is also an Internet Reference book is great for older kids. It gives you trusted internet sites to go into further study and examples and such. The Wrap-Ups and the Learning Palettes are great ways for them to learn, play and learn at the same time. The Ten Terrific Weeks is super, developed by teachers who are consultants and gives step by step instructions on activities and things to do for learning lots of things. I didn't know how old your children were, so I included multi ages. Check into income opportunities on www.suesbooks.info to get your own discounted books. Half price available only in January. Keep up the great work.
@ClockworkBunny@xanga - I'm sorry that your parents failed you in that respect.
@ClockworkBunny@xanga - Perhaps that is your struggle. If so I'm sorry to hear that. There are kids who are educated in all the methods who grow up into people with problems. The one you name, being unable to enjoy relationships with others, is not unknown among public,private or charter schooled kids.
It is important to teach relationship by making time to talk, listen and do things with each other in a family and in other types of settings too including inviting people into your home so that you can share you life with others.
I hope you overcome your childhood at some point. It can be done!!
I am teaching my youngest now. She is the last of six children all of whom homeschooled part of their K-12 years. She and her brother stayed home all the way through and he is now a fulltime college student so is still on break for a bit more. She is getting gradually back into the harness. This week she is working on writing an essay and has been doing a lot of talking and research about the topic.
She is also gettting interested in sewing so has been starting to do some alterations on some skirts that she was not satisfied with as they were originally sewn.
We have not dug into the two tough subjects Chemistry and Algebra yet. But I am thinking we need to bit the bullet and tackle one of the two of them this week at least.
She took driver's ed before Christmas and passed with flying colors getting the highest grade on the final test of the whole class which was very exciting for her. This was her first class away from home and a good bite sized taste for her to start with and an eye opener too for her in many ways. She made a couple of new friends in the process too whcih was nice. But now she is anxious to go get her learner's permit so that she can start driving our car. So that is on the list for this week too.
Hooray for your great start to the 2nd semester!!
@ClockworkBunny@xanga - It wasn't because you were homeschooled, it was because you were sheltered. There are school educated children who are also horribly shy too.
Are you going to send your kids to a regular school later on? I have mixed feeling about homeschooling.
One side is that home school kids weird religious freaks who are sheltered and don't have social skills.
Although, some are geniuses
The other side, the American education system SUCKS. It has failed us all. That's why half way through high school I decided it was to easy and went to Germany for the rest.
So, just wondering, real school later? After you teach them proper study skills and morals (we all know that public high school kids are all lacking, me included.)
@punditsoup@xanga - There are so many different kinds of homeschooling. Yes there are some weird ones but they are a small minority that just happens to get a lot of attention.
My boys are still very young and I have no idea what the future will hold. There may be a time where they will be in school. Ideally though, we will homeschool all of them through high school. That's our plan anyway.
Yes we will teach them good study skills. I expect that their high school years will be mostly self motivated so leading up to that I will make sure they have the tools to succeed. Morals are easier, we model and they copy. Anything beyond that will wait until they are a bit older.