Our Homeschooling Revamp!

My new portable basket which contains my "stacks"!
The red tabbed notebook is my Book Notebook. I love it!
I have been using it since the first of the year and don't
know what I did before.



I didn't know that I needed it or wanted it but we have completely changed the way we are doing school and it is for the better for everyone. Not that it was "bad" before but I have to admit that I was seriously tired of worksheets for everything! We have the Sonlight Curriculum this year and I really like it. The literature selections are wonderful. I ordered the Science for both the girls and boys grades and have been pleased with both of them. The boys have the best math program I have ever used in 8 years of homeschooling, Teaching Textbooks. This is a winner that I see using through graduation! So what have we changed? We seem to have added unit studies that can be done as a family, studies that can be done individually based on the child, we are reading more than ever ( and we have always read a lot!). Kids are doing special projects and drifting down the unschooling path and I am loving it!

My time is spent researching and planning all of these activities and this is so satisfying my creative outlet. My enthusiasm is hugely increased. I have always loved homeschooling and sharing with the kids as they learn . I love seeing little ones read for the first time or successfully grasp a math concept. Having long, deep discussions on stories we have read with Kyle and Ethan have always been a favorite. But this is now turning into something even deeper in enjoyment for everyone. We are doing more together as a group, learning side by side. Kids are taking things to levels that they want to and getting so much more out of things.

We are still covering all our basics; math, reading, writing, phonics, grammar. But it is the way we are doing them. When we do a worksheet it is because it is worthwhile and someone wants to do it. Workbooks are going to find their way to the trash soon as they are going unused. I feel we have learned and experienced more since the first of the year than we did all fall.

Since starting back up Kyle is working on a huge project that he and Bill and I have put together on his history and Battle of the Bulge Veterans group he joined. I can't begin to explain what this experience has turned into. He is in contact with a man in DC via email and the help and information that he is being given is amazing. If you have a minute go back to my December posts and find the one on the Battle of the Bulge remembrance and read the 2nd comment left. This is just the tip of the iceberg of correspondence and it is so neat. Kyle has so much enthusiasm for all of this and it is really showing me that letting kids follow their passion and desires will teach them so much more than any other way of learning. I have always tried to do this but this year it is becoming a reality.

Ethan is fascinated with music and instruments since starting to play the piano. He wants to learn about all the instruments in bands, orchestras. He is learning different eras of music and downloading like crazy onto his ipod. Music has always been pushed to the side. We had to get our "work" done, we didn't have time for things like that. Well, we do now! He is plowing through library books, loves the saxophone, and loving his piano lessons. He has taken the Charlie Brown song that Bill taught him and he wrote the music down. One book I got has a CD to listen to as you read the book, so as a group we read a section and then listen to the music samples. Everyone likes this! And they have learned how and why the orchestra is organized the way it is and the different types of string instruments this week. I did download a few worksheets for Ethan from Enchanted Learning to label his favorite instrument parts. He loves it.

The girls and I are reading, crafting, reading, crafting, etc. They get their math, handwriting, and reading done early and then we move on to so many projects. Art is the big one now. Paige loves art and learning about artists. Norman Rockwell is who struck her fancy at the art museum last month when wandering the galleries so that is who we are doing this month. Monet is also a big favorite and we will be working on some Impressionism art projects in the near future.

I could go on and on! The drudgery work is gone and it feels great! We are all so energized with a new plan, especially mom, and that is probably the most important one since I can set the tone of the day with my interest level. Well, I am interested in everyone learning and enjoying what they are doing. It is so gratifying to see happy, engaged children with everything I am throwing their way. Since they have liked the new approach I never hear complaints about school or getting started on something. No more bargaining to only do "one more page" cause we are not doing "pages" anymore!

My basket up top is also helping me feel energized. You know that huge stack of stuff you have sitting somewhere? Mine has always been on my kitchen counter by the phone. Books, ideas, magazines with crafts etc. I got this great basket and dumped in my stack. It is portable and goes to the school room with me, the office, my bedroom, etc. I can see everything as it is no longer stacked but looking like a huge file drawer. If is great to have mobility without this huge awkward stack falling everywhere and things getting lost. I can dump my laptop in and take it with me and work anywhere in the house.

My last sanity saver is my Book Notebook. Being a huge children's lit lover and having big readers, I am always making book lists for the kids and myself. I would lose scrap papers with titles written on them. My mother in law keeps a list as well for the kids and she has over 250 titles on it. How could I use her list and not have duplicates and lose her papers in my "stack"? I took a small spiral notebook and used post it flags as dividers so that I can move them around if I need to. I write the category on the tag and start the book list on that page. Categories I have so far; school resources, Christmas books, each holiday is getting a tag, general curriculum, my own reading list, each child has a list, science books etc. It is so great when I am looking for something and can turn right to that page and find the name of the book and easy to record ones for the future.

I am committed to keeping our school fun, energizing, exciting, and individualized. Things definitely happen for a reason and I think seeing the opportunities that have come from our studies of late are showing me this was worth the change. This enthusiasm is spilling over into everything I am doing. I am becoming more organized in general. My menus are planned, we are working together to get chores done so we can do "fun stuff".

The mood is lighter and more carefree here and I am all for it!