November 1

We are still trucking along in homeschool land! Some may not believe this, but I know ZERO people who homeschool, which probably makes me even crazier! As I have mentioned, I have curriculum which follows the basics of what every other public/private school kid is teaching. This curriculum even tells me exactly how to teach it. I don't follow it perfectly though, as my kids already know some of it OR we may have to linger on certain concepts longer. I also add to it.

We have started doing centers after our morning routine. They are Spanish, reading, some kind of physical activity (today it was jumping on the mini-tramp and chasing the dogs since its raining), the Splash Math app, Scratch (coding), and writing (I assign a topic). We have Spanish workbooks but I prefer using Duolingo.com. I teach Math in Focus daily (which is Singapore Math), but I think Splash Math is a great supplement that would benefit every child.

I belong to a Facebook Austin homeschool group and am able to bounce ideas off of moms there. What I have discovered is that there are a million ways to educate a child and every parent does it differently. I didn't realize until last week that some parents are very hands off with the teaching, giving assignments and then letting the children finish them at their leisure during the day. No judgment there, but I classroom teach. We have textbooks, I teach from the board, we watch documentaries together, and take field trips. The hours are flexible. Sometimes we get started early, take a long lunch and get out of the house, and do the core lessons in the afternoon. Sometimes we cram it all into the afternoon. Some days we double up on lessons and some days we take the day off. We are very fortunate to live in a state where we have that freedom (yay for rights and parental freedom!) and I don't have to report to one person about what I am doing.

We spend about an hour and a half doing centers together and an hour and a half doing individual core lessons/math (so for example, I will teach the twins their core lessons and math and then I will teach Harrison his core lessons/math). That may not seem like enough classroom time, but I am able to teach two days of lessons - all subjects - to the twins during this time. I teach between 1-2 lessons to Harrison, as he gets more worn out by the intense focused learning. That may be hard for some people to understand, but imagine that all of the gaps in a school day are removed - the bathroom breaks, the waiting in line, the cafeteria, the transitions, all the times that a teacher has to pause to focus on one or more students who might be struggling - we don't have that. So our time is condensed. I teach subjects back to back. The only pause is getting out a different book.

They are going to a weekly coding class in Westlake and seem to enjoy it. Coding is done daily at home at their own will and they are learning so much from MIT's Scratch program. They love it and don't realize they are learning :-) We are wrapping up soccer and football for the fall season. Henry is going to stick with football in the winter (brrrrr.....) and Henry and Charlie will concentrate on soccer in the Spring.

We have also decided to go to France this May or June. We are going to start in Paris and then take the speed train to Provence. From there we will visit St. Tropez, Cannes, Nice, and Monaco. We are already watching documentaries about France and will soon start learning some basic conversational French that they can use there. Why France? Adam and I went 2 years ago and there are many things there that we want the boys to experience. I am most excited to take them to the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles. They did very well and asked many questions at the Accademia Gallery in Florence and even withheld their giggles at the Statue of David, so I say they are ready! They have gone on trips to 10 different countries and we plan to add on a few each year. They learn so much on each trip and gain perspective and experiences that they didn't have and would be hard to have without travel.

We had a few beautiful days in October and spent them outside. We went hiking on our neighborhood trails one day and went to Sweet Berry Farms on another. Anytime the weather is ideal for hiking, we go outside and skip class and learn in the real world! Its amazing how many times on a hike that I can remind them of something they have learned in science.

I only blog when I feel like I have something meaningful or helpful to say. I am happy to always answer questions for anyone that is interested!

1 month down

Our classroom is ever evolving. I am able to knock out math and core subjects quickly so we have time for the other subjects - Spanish, critical thinking, life skills, health, and RECESS! The boys made vision boards. We also are planning to write a book so several times each week we spend time brainstorming and planning. I feel so much peace in the classroom. I am able to zip past the items that my boys have mastered and spend more time on the things that are more difficult for them. I taught the boys how to tell time and I taught Harrison how to finally understand subtracting with carrying (not the easiest thing to teach!) I also love the dedicated 1 on 1 time that I get to spend with them. I feel so rewarded and zen. I can only hope that they will continue to choose this for their education.

Several people think homeschooling must be very stressful. I have actually found its the opposite in my case! There are so many difficult things that were a part of my life that instantly vanished when I made the decision to homeschool.

1) I don't miss waking up at 6 am to rush around making breakfast, lunch, snacks, waters, make sure backpacks are ready and zip them off to 2 different schools. It usually involves me ending up yelling because of the length of time it takes to make this all happen. Instead we wake up when we wake up. Instead of just frozen waffles, I have time to make them something more substantial. We go to the classroom after that, but no rush. Our schedule is based on our needs, not someone else's.

2) No more emails from teachers, parent council, the school district, I could go on but everyone knows what I am talking about. The different themed outfits for each day of a week are a favorite - ha! Its endless. And a lot of times its pointless. I need a planner just to keep up with all the things I am required to do for my kids to go to school.

3) The boys were typically grouchy and exhausted when I picked them up for our ride home. Its a long day for a kid. Not an ideal time to have quality time.

4) Vacations! No more planning vacations around specific dates that are always overpriced! We can go whenever we want! (and make it a learning experience too)

5) I don't miss the constant worry...Did my kid pay attention today? Did that kid steal his pokemon cards today? Is he actually learning? What is he learning? (because he won't tell me). Why doesn't the science teacher know how to communicate with parents? Also why is she a jerk? Why do my kids have to do this project that doesn't make any sense? Is the campus safe enough? What are their emergency procedures? I could literally write a book but this is what goes on in a mother's head (or some version of it) every day.

6) Sickness. So many sicks kids at school. I don't have that yucky thought of snot getting on my child anymore.

So yes, this sounds like its all about ME, ME, ME. Well Mom's happiness is pretty important but the kids have less stress too. More importantly I am able to teach them twice the curriculum than what they can learn at school simply because its 1 on 3 (sometimes 1 on 1) instead of 1 on 24. My boys will each complete 2 grades this school year. No transitions. No busy work. Its amazing how much can be taught when all that other stuff is removed. I feel so calm these days because our lives are just more...efficient.

Do they miss hanging out with their friends at school? Harrison misses a special few but the twins could care less. They all still get to see their friends. Its just at different times than school. Between our upcoming coding class, soccer, football, and playdates, socialization is not an issue. They get more free time now and that makes them very happy.

I know its not for everybody but I am very glad that we found what works for us! You just don't know until you try!

Welcome to Home School!

Our first week of homeschooling had its share of challenges. I had strep throat. I had to figure out how to balance 2 different levels of curriculum. After teaching each day and making lesson plans for the next, I had to quickly switch gears to do my other "job" which is the charity. Its a lot to cram in one day. But by the end of the week I had figured out how to be more efficient with our time and we settled in really well.

Over our last vacation I went back and forth over which curriculum to use. I finally went with Calvert, which has been around for over a century. Calvert is secular and follows common core and seemed to be the closest curriculum to most other schools. It also teaches Singapore Math. If/when the kids go back to regular school, I wanted to at least know that I was getting the basics in so the transition back would be seamless. There are a lot of text books, something my kids haven't really experienced yet, but they seem to like it.

One immediate advantage of homeschooling is that I get to learn more about the boys' strengths and weaknesses, as well as finding the best way that they learn. I can tell in one week that I am going to learn even more than I expected. The twins are in 1st grade and reading chapter books. However, the curriculum has them sounding out words like c-a-t. These parts I really zip through or skip. Harrison is starting 4th grade but I wanted to review the 3rd grade curriculum first. Since he was in private school, I wanted to make sure that he didn't miss anything (since private school curriculum can vary from common core). Other than his hesitancy with writing, he is zipping through too. Because of this, we are going to attempt to double up the lessons so that we can finish this grade by the halfway mark. And then start the next grade (so 2 grades in 1 year). That might seem unnecessary but I want them to be challenged. The twins are old for their grade since I held them back due to their summer birthday so it really just catches them up.

I have learned that one of the biggest upsides of homeschooling is more TIME! I can get through the core subjects with Harrison in about 2 hours. Then another 2 hours with the twins. Of course in addition to math and other core subjects, I am working in Spanish, critical thinking, health, and life skills. But these aren't long classes and we make them fun.

We start the day around 8:30 after breakfast. Sometimes we are in pajamas. My calendar helper for the week tells us the time, day of week, season, weather, month and day in English and Spanish with a wall calendar. Then one of the boys draws any picture he wants on the dry erase board. Then all the boys write 5 sentences about it. This has been great for improving handwriting, placement of capital letters, and punctuation. They love when its their turn to draw. After that, Henry and Charlie each grab a book from the bookshelf and they read silently for 30 minutes. They can lay on the rug, the bean bags or however they are comfortable. While they do that, Harrison and I do his math lesson and his core subjects. After the twins read for 30 minutes, they have free time. Its wonderful because I get quiet 1 on 1 time with Harrison and he learns very well this way. Then we either have recess or PE. (Recess is making them go outside). PE can be exercises in our little exercise room, swimming, rock climbing at main event, running outside, hiking, etc etc. So many choices! We do PE 2-3/week. Then we have lunch (no more rushing around making 3 lunches and 3 snacks every morning at 6:30 am!). Harrison is then turned loose for free time while I work through the core subjects with the twins. Then we reconvene and do our extra subjects - 1 or 2/day. These don't take long. The days will be quicker and quicker as we get in a rhythm.

We plan to take one little field trip each week. Last Thursday we went to deliver clothing to a neighbor who was on her way to help her friends in Houston. Then we shopped for Austin Pets Alive and delivered those supplies. It was surreal to see all of those dogs being frantically ushered in. Hurricane Harvey offered many teaching moments.

Since Adam is not working for Labor Day, he is going to observe us at school and participate a little. I absolutely love my little classroom. Its hard to imagine it ever not being a classroom!

Wish us luck next week!

The Grand Experiment

There has been a nagging feeling in my gut since the first day I sent my oldest son to school. "Is this right? Is this what is best? Sigh, well...I will try it. This is how it is supposed to be." It has been 6 years and that feeling never went away, even though I constantly brushed it aside.

We all (should) have an idea of who we want our little ones to be when they walk out the door at 18. I am not talking about goals such as "Get into an ivy league school, make good grades, and become a doctor". Those are impressive goals but that isn't what I mean. Everyone's goals differ but when my boys are "official" grown ups, this is my wish list:

- They will be independent critical thinkers.
- They will have life skills and be self sufficient.
- They will have work experience - even by age 18.
- They will understand the importance of serving their community.
- They will know how to approach projects (because if you understand that, you can do just about anything)
- They will be respectful, have good manners, and communicate effectively.
- They will understand money, budgeting, and finance.
- They will have a solid grasp on their talents, strengths, and weaknesses.
- They will be well traveled and exposed to places very different than home.

I think about my wish list and I understand that I only have 9 and 11 years left until that day. I want to make sure that not only their home life but their education is going to help us reach these important goals and whatever goals they desire for themselves. There are certainly other avenues to do this so please don't misinterpret this as me saying that homeschool is the best choice. That is something that I do not know. But I need to make sure that OUR choices will support OUR goals.

So here we are. Harrison is set to enter 4th and Henry and Charlie are set to enter 1st. We are headed toward the end of summer and I just don't want it to end. The flexibility. The removal of school stress. Me trying to fully understand what goes on at school drives me nuts (kids aren't the best with feedback, are they?). Their schools are fine. I just think its possible that I could do better being 1 on 3. Adam and I have been discussing this idea for the past year, so a lot of thought has gone into the possibilities.

We want to build additional subjects into the curriculum that aren't traditionally taught, such as nutrition, gardening, life skills, communication, coding, cooking, and critical thinking to name a few (yes, I am ambitious). PE (exercise) will be a daily priority and will never involve a gym - hiking and nature walks, Just Dance (a family favorite), tennis, soccer, football, running, trampoline, swimming, yoga, weights, gymnastics, obstacle courses, and rock climbing. We will reach out to professionals to teach piano and S.T.E.M. because this mama is not capable of that! And their wonderful daddy will teach history/citizenship as he is a rock star in this area.

I know that some people have the impression that homeschooled kids are socially isolated. I read an article recently that changed my perspective on that. Parents of homeschooled children tend to actively line up play dates and field trips so that they are interacting with their peers. And because homeschooled kids tend to have more time with adults, they can end up being even more socialized than their peers overall. Either way, the boys thankfully have good friends that aren't going anywhere!

Of course, the whole family will benefit from the flexibility...traveling whenever we want instead of choosing between summer/spring break/Christmas (and oh yeah, its cheaper that way!), sleeping a little later and skipping that stressful morning rush, and FIELD TRIP FRIDAYS! The twins are super excited. Harrison is hesitant but coming around.

So I view this as my grand experiment. I don't know if we will want to continue at the end of the school year. But I do know that we will ALL learn many lessons. I will better understand their learning styles, strengths, weaknesses, and so much more.

I have several friends who have considered homeschooling and I have some who may not understand this kooky idea. That is why I am going to blog about our progress weekly. I don't want our schooling and lives to be a mystery to our loved ones.

Now off to research which curriculum I will use. Please wish us luck :-)