So how's homeschooling going, anyway?

This is a question I've been asked a few times this year. Amelia would be in kindergarten this year, had we chosen to send her. Instead I opted to get my feet wet with homeschooling and kept her at home this year. I haven't yet made a lifelong comittment to get her or the others all the way through high school, we're just going to take it a year at a time. I felt God leading us to keep her home this year for sure, and we'll keep praying for guidance on the issue.

So how is it going? Good, I'd have to say. Mostly because I don't know any better, since I've never homeschooled anyone before! We sit down for about an hour a day and work on a variety of kindergarten skills. I'm pretty much winging it this year, and have no curriculum though there's plenty of good stuff out there. I have a book called "Home Learning Year by Year," and it outlines in detail what students should know by the end of each school year. I've also been on Georgia's school system websites to figure out what kindergarteners in our state are learning. From that information I've tried to figure out fun ways to teach her what she needs to know this year.

I went to a fun store called The Schoolbox and bought a few workbooks, a US map puzzle, a couple of educational games, and a blank planning book which I use to write down what we did each day and how much time we spent on each skill. We are going by the White County school year calendar. According to the state I don't actually have to declare an intent to homeschool until she's seven, so for now there's no paperwork to be turned in.

Last year when she was four I started a phonics reading book with her called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." It has been wonderful, and when I got it I was pleased to see that any dummy can teach from it! :) Every single thing you as the teacher are to say is scripted, and it even tells you specifically how to correct errors or fix problems your child may be having. We worked our way through it slowly, often taking several days off or only doing half of a lesson when it was clear her attention span was shot for the day. We didn't pick it up at all this summer, and when we started it again in August (on about Lesson 70, I think), I was amazed at how it all seemed to come together.

I think watching a child's cognitive abilities blossom and seeing them start to read is every bit as amazing (maybe more so), than seeing them learn to walk. It's so cool! At five years and four months she is reading slowly but fluently, and can finish books like Are You My Mother?, Green Eggs and Ham, Llama, Llama, Red Pajama, and many other beginning reader books. She is easily reading every three letter combination (i.e. cat, big, log, etc.), and bigger or harder words like "know," "around," "right" and "write" (and which one means what), the days of the week, colors, shapes, and many, many others. It really is amazing to see the light bulbs come on. It's almost like I can watch neural pathways connecting as she gets a new concept or figures out new words. Might I add that I am jealous of her relatively empty brain, just waiting to be filled? Mine is so full (mostly of drivel, I hate to say), that I wish I could empty a bunch of it and start over refilling it with things that are actually important. I'd also add a lot more memory, as my current one isn't dependable.

So we spend time reading each day, whether it's a book or off of one of the websites she enjoys (mainly starfall.com or funbrain.com). We play homemade games such as sight word memory (made from index cards), or one I bought called Sight Word Bingo. We also practice handwriting, often writing "books" complete with illustrations or using workbook sheets. We do math, again sometimes workbooks but mostly using "manipulatives" such as gummy fruits or chocolate chips. We're also working on patterns (with beads or food), money, and measuring. We make a calendar for each new month with important days written in. She learns a new Bible verse each week, and has also learned the Pledge of Allegiance, which we do each day using a tiny flag we acquired at the fall parade in town. Art is always a big hit, so we do at least one art project every two days.

There are many other things we've worked on and things I plan to work on before the end of the school year. I'm already leaning towards homeschooling first grade, and will probably research a curriculum to use, at least in areas like math and science. I also plan to start her and probably Shannon too with piano basics as soon as I take the time to sit down and order some books. I could probably wing it with that for awhile too, but would rather have them going with a system so I don't confuse them or miss something.

Following are a series of pictures I took over several days in the last few months, which illustrate one of the best reasons to homeschool, at least in the eyes of a fashionista like Amelia. You probably wouldn't send your kid to school in most of what she's wearing...

Here we are in the classic long sleeved velvet shirt and shorts. This is where school mostly takes place too, at the table where we eat. Note the tidy, orderly appearance of the table. This is on a pretty good day.

Here's Belle working on her handwriting. On this particular day she was working on the letter "p" and was coloring them in. When I asked her why she was doing that, she said...

"They're black eyed p's!"

This day she came to the table dressed like this. She said, "I can probably wear this to church." I told her I wasn't so sure about that, and she said, "Yeah, it's probably too fancy."

Here's a favorite, her very tattered Cinderella night gown, which is worn as a dress up at least once a day.

The look of the gown is greatly improved by adding one of Shannon's jackets. It was cold on the back porch that day and we were working on measuring with colored water.

She loves when we practice measuring.

Now here's a scandalous looking outfit. Would you send your daughter to school looking like this? The beads she's wearing are actually from one of the days we were practicing patterns.

Where are the other kids, you ask? I've found that the easiest time to do school each day is in the early afternoon when the others are napping. I'd rather get it done in the morning, but it usually takes a good deal longer because I'm having to keep the others entertained with something since they want to "do school" too. Avery and Shannon will both play with play dough for awhile, but they usually at some point become a distraction. Elizabeth is usually happy to keep us company while we work on stuff, and more often than not if she's awake I'm feeding her and teaching Amelia at the same time.

I've started the Teach Your Child to Read book with Shannon now that he has turned four. Since he has an October birthday he will be two years behind Amelia in school even though he's just 14 months younger. I believe this is a good thing, judging from the way our reading lessons are going! He knows most of the stuff he would learn in preschool as far as colors, numbers, etc. go, but reading just isn't clicking for him at this point. This is probably mostly due to the fact that he can't sit still for more than two minutes. Apparently the chair I put him in has something pointy and sharp in it, as he literally starts springing up from it after reaching the two minute attention span threshold. His eyes dart all over the place, his head rolls around, and he loses all ability to focus. That's okay...I'm not stressed about it. We'll just break "100 Easy Lessons" into about 300. And I'll work on keeping myself from saying, "Why can't you be more like your sister..?"

Some day I'll detail "why" I like the idea of homeschooling. For now I'm content to know neither I or Amelia missed this because she was at school--

Girl time with baby sister. (Elizabeth, just ignore the outfit. Your father would never let either of you girls leave the house dressed like that anyway.)

Besides, she would be the envy of all the other kids with her incredible fanciness. We wouldn't want to distract all the other kids at J.P. Nix Primary School from their studies...