Transitions... Back to Homeschool

It's been more than a week since the last major progress on the remodel.

Scott finished the floors, installed most of the quarter-round molding, and I repainted the baseboards. The electrician installed the new kitchen fixtures. Our friend Brad and his kiddos came over and helped Scott move the furniture back into the house. I still haven't unpacked all the boxes.

Last week I was busy with homeschool planning and prep -- rushing to get ready before spending a lovely, long weekend away at the coast with my mom and sisters for my mom's birthday.

(Bet you can't even tell who turned 60! More weekend pics to come...)

We had a gorgeous weekend at the beach, and I only broke out my planner once. *wink*

My goal before we left was to be able to eat breakfast at home again, so we could jump into our new books in the morning with no distractions.

We'd managed to avoid disposables and the microwave (mostly) this summer by eating at my parents' house, but I finally gave in for the sake of my sanity during this transition.

On Monday, our local public schools welcomed kids back to classrooms, while we spent the morning at a favorite park catching frogs in the man-made creek with some homeschooling friends to celebrate not going back to school. We saved that for Tuesday.

 

(Not my kiddo, but he sure was excited about the frogs!)

On Tuesday, we broke out the binders, the fingerpaint, and the new books...



Imagine my joy when I heard at the end of the day... "I can't wait to do homeschool again tomorrow, Mom!"

Phew.

Have you started your new schoolyear yet? How's it going?

Not Back-to-School Blog Hop: School Room week

I really like calling our school/play room the Room of Requirement -- it's the kind of room that transforms as we need it to! (And right now, it's pretty much that messy.)

We're living with my parents this week while my hubby refinishes our wood floors, and the school room is crammed full of living and dining room furniture. So, I have no new pictures to show you for School Room Week at the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop.

But I love peeking into everyone's homes to see where other homeschoolers spend their days, so I have to participate!

Last year's blog hop post about our new school/playroom

How I've organized the house for homeschooling

As much as we love our Room of Requirement, we still use the whole house for learning and playing.

2011-2012 Curriculum

I mentioned a few days ago that I was "finished" choosing books and ordering curriculum... and then I spent the next three days re-evaluating my list, and ordering a bunch of things I'd forgotten! What can I say? This job is never done!

In case you're stopping by for the first time... I have three boys, ages 10, 8, and 5. They'll be in 5th, 4th/3rd, and Kindergarten. Our homeschooling style has gradually evolved over time, from extremely unschooly to more mama-planned, based on the boys' learning styles, gifts, needs, and stages.

I've learned from John Holt and Charlotte Mason, the Moores and the DeMilles. I love Melissa Wiley's concept of "tidal homeschooling," TJ Ed's Phases of Learning and the Closet, and the classical ed emphasis on studying history chronologically.

I still believe that we learn what we're interested in, and that my job is to spread a feast, set an example, and pray for God's help in everything. I know our family needs order, routine, and a sense of direction. I don't believe in one-size-fits-all homeschooling.

I like to call our approach "child-led classical." Or, "unschooling with a schedule." Or "Complicatedly Charlotte Mason." Homeschooling is my favorite oxymoron.

That said, here are some resources we'll use during the schooly part of our days this year...

Language arts

Littlest (Kindergarten) --
Memoria Press's Copybook I
BOB Books, sets 2, 3 and 4. -- My first two learned to read with these, too.
Reading Eggs -- He LOVES this program.
Lots of reading aloud from our shelves and library books.

Middlest (4th grade) --
New American Cursive 1 -- Handwriting, Bible
First Start French -- Foreign language, grammar
King Arthur and His Knights (audiobook), and other historical read-alouds I've chosen
Books from his shelf and wishlist, including the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander and Redwall

Eldest (5th grade) --
Selections from The Arrow by Brave Writer -- Copywork for handwriting, grammar, etc.
Lively Latin
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Lit Guide by Memoria Press
Read-alouds, historical novels and books from his shelf and wishlist

Math

I bought Math Mammoth's Blue Series for grades 1-6 a while back, and we'll continue using those. I'm not crazy about having to print out every page, but I do like that we can skip sections and save paper. And I like how it's written.
Also -- Board games, cooking, living math books from the library

History

Middle Ages, Renaissance & Reformation --

If I were smart, I'd simply follow Simply Charlotte Mason's guide. It covers the entire time period I want to study together this year, uses the spines I like (Famous Men), and includes geography and Bible studies. But that would be too easy, and I like to make things complicated.

Instead, I purchased LBC's Guide to the Middle Ages, because I like how it's written and organized, even though it doesn't use Famous Men of the Middle Ages and is intended to be spread over a full year. I'll be squeezing it into 17 weeks, and adding Memoria Press's Famous Men guide and Monks & Mystics. Like I said... I like to make things complicated. We'll see what happens when we get to the Renaissance after Christmas. I'll probably switch to Tapestry of Grace just to keep myself on my toes.

We also like the Drive-Thru History DVDs, which we get from Netflix.


Science

The boys have had so many questions about bodily issues lately, I figured this was a good time to dive into some anatomy and physiology. Again, the simplest thing would be to use Apologia's Exploring Creation with Anatomy & Physiology.

Instead I ordered The Way We Work, which I know Eldest will love. Maybe that's simplest after all. I also want this and this. We still have Exploring Creation with Botany to finish, too.

Other favorites: Handbook of Nature Study, Nat Geo Wild, and Animal Planet. Gardening, nature walks, field trips to the local zoo, etc.

Bible

Devotionals from 24 Family Ways
Possibly James, and a gospel starting in December. Still praying about this.

Stay tuned for a more detailed list of our literature and history read-alouds. In the meantime, here's last year's curriculum post, in case you're interested.

My plan for easing into the new schoolyear

(Our schoolroom at the beginning of last fall. It hasn't been that tidy since!)

Can I tell you how grateful I am that I spent a chunk of time in the spring choosing books and ordering curriculum for this year?

So, that aspect of my planning is finished (through about February, when I'll want to dive in and mix things up a bit). However, because we have so much left to do with the remodel, we're not quite ready just to jump in. This is my plan to make the transition a little more sane.

1. Take it slowly.

As much as I would love to finish the kitchen COMPLETELY on Friday, and be ready for a super-special, fully-routinized First Day of Homeschool on Monday, that's just not going to happen. And it's probably not necessary or realistic to expect the boys to switch gears that fast. They've been on their own a lot this summer, entertaining themselves and re-learning to get along with each other without my help. Suddenly having my full-time attention (and the expectations I can't hide) would probably put them into shock. Instead, I want to engage them in getting the house set up for living and learning again so they feel part of the process.

2. Have a Homeschool Date with each boy to talk about... their strengths, interests, things they want to do, what they want to learn this year, what they need most from me, what I want to see from them.

4. Clean up the schoolroom Room of Requirement so the boys have a place to play and work while the other living areas get put back together. Move big furniture back into the house when the floors are finished. Organize bookshelves, hang pictures, etc. Find a way to make breakfast until we have kitchen counters again.

5. Start getting to sleep earlier so we Mommy can wake up with Daddy, and we can start our day together by 8.

All summer, we've been wandering over to my parents' house at random times for breakfast each morning, each of us on our own wake-up schedule. It's been lovely to have that time to visit with my mom before she leaves for work at 9. But in a few weeks (God-willing) we'll be able to have breakfast at home again, and (I've warned the boys) mornings will be t.v.-free.

6. Create a new routine that works for each boy, and includes time for reading alone, reading together, working with me at the table, music practice, and time outside.

7. Focus on character and habits, and let academic subjects follow in importance.

8. (First in importance!) Pray over each child and for the schoolyear, asking the Lord to lead me in the direction He has for us as I work out plans for our homeschool.