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!
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