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Homeschool Open House 2007: My Entry
Tiany at Less of Me, More of Him is hosting an awesome open homeschool open house! This is my entry as part of this fun event!
I homeschool in the foot hills of Virginia and I can't believe it, but I am beginning my 6th year at this (okay, 10 if you count since birth). I have a 10 1/2 year old son and a 7 1/4 year old daughter (they tell me those 1/2's and 1/4's are very important!) I have two grown stepsons 21 and 18 who attended public school And the reason we homeschool the younger two has a lot to do with our experiences with the older. Plus, my son recognized all the letters of the alphabet by the time he was 2 and was adding in his head by the time he was three. I didn't want to send him to school and have him be bored and learn to hate learning.
We were fortunate enough to land in a great homeschool group our very first year. We actually signed up and attended activities with three groups, but decided in the end that the Unschooling Group that encompassed a huge area was the group for us. There was a large mix of people who followed a variety of schooling methods. And of the three groups, this was the friendliest. The group has changed over the years as people have left homeschooling and started homeschooling. Different small groups have formed to create co-ops, class studies, drama groups, etc. There is always something that we can be part of.
In six years we have never homeschooled the same from year to year. The last two years we went to year around homeschooling. We are not hot weather people and prefer to 'take time' off during the Christmas holidays and the cooler months. We have never used a set curriculum. One year we tried using mostly computer CDs, but that didn't last for long. We all lost interest in it despite my son being very computer oriented. The great thing was that we were unafraid to try new things and had the flexibility to try new things when something didn't work out.
This year we will be using the following: The Story of the World (we are starting at Part I), Saxon Math 7/6 for Jack, Prentice Hall 2nd grade math for Katrina (which she is already 1/3 of the way through), Story Starters by Karen Andreola, Natural Speller by Kathryn Stout, Simply Grammar by Karen Andreola, and for science we will be doing unit studies, meeting with a local 4-H group 2 x a month and working on projects there, and meeting with a nature homeschool group 2 x a month. We also attend a Rock study club once a month called Rock Raiders.
Our day is sort of flexible. I try to get our schoolwork done in the morning. Afternoons are more for chores, my work that I do from home and errands. We do history first as it starts with me reading and that kind of gets the kids up and awake. Then we will spend time in the science area, then in the grammar area (going back and forth between our three options) and then math. About 45 minutes in each area. If any work doesn't get done during that time, they get to work on it on their own in the afternoon. The other part of our day includes about 1 hour of read aloud time before we go to bed. I read 20 minutes of a book Katrina picks, 20 minutes of a book Jack picks and 20 minutes of a book I pick. And we have devotion time. This is my favorite time of the day.
We mostly sit at the dining room table or out on our new deck to do our school work.
Must Share Tips:
1. Always have fun and enjoy the time you have with your children.
2. Remember, you can learn right along with them.
3. Remember that learning doesn't mean you have to do dry rote exercises, learning should be a living and fun adventure.
4. Don't forget to carve out sometime for yourself everyday.
5. Be sure to teach your children how to find the answers and then encourage them to do so. One thing I learned in college was that is wasn't important that I memorize everything. It was important that I know where to find the information I needed.
6. Encourage your child to follow their interests to the fullest.
Questions or Concerns:
1. I always wonder am I doing enough? Am I teaching them correctly? Are they going to make it in the world? But I suspect that most of those questions plague all parents whether they homeschool or not. I can only do the best I can do and hope and pray for the best.
LOL! I like your comment on my blog about French! I had 3 years of French at school and hated it... and so I'll subject my kids to Latin instead!!! Oh dear, poor kids!
I think 99% of homeschool mums have the same questions and concerns you have :) Don't let anyone tell you otherwise - you are doing a GREAT job!
Love,
Joy
August 1, 2007 8:50 AMYour day sounds a lot like ours, Melissa. And yes, I think we all are plagued with those questions. It's all on our shoulders, we think. But really, it's on God's shoulders. Just do our best and know that God is taking care of our kids.
August 1, 2007 8:54 AMI have the same question and concerns. You are not alone. Thanks for sharing your homeschool with us!
Have a blessed day!
Theresa
#14 on the list
We loved Story of the World! It's been nice meeting you. :)
August 1, 2007 10:55 AMOne of many benefits of homeschooling growing by leaps and bounds is the amount of groups and resources readily available!! I loved reading your story about choosing to homeschool. Nice to meet ya!
Jenn
August 1, 2007 5:03 PMThanks for sharing your homeschool. Thanks for the tips too, there great!
God Bless
Jess~
I have really been getting into Karen Andreola's books. I am also using Simply Grammer and I am currently reading Pocketful of Pinecones and I just LOVE it! You have a great schedule going! :)
August 1, 2007 5:27 PMLooks like we use a lot of the samethings or will use.
I have Simply Grammar, Story Starters and The Natural Speller. I was going to use them this year but am saving them for another year.
Thanks for sharing =)
Blessings,
Linda>
Your must share tips are great. With those for your focus, you don't have to worry about your concerns! It sounds to me like you're doing a wonderful job and your children are getting a steady diet of all of the learning they need!
August 1, 2007 9:21 PMGreat tips! Even a 9 year veteran needs to hear them again.
Thanks for the invite to your open house!
August 1, 2007 9:43 PMThanks for sharing your homeschool with us. And thanks for dropping by my blog.
Have a blessed week.
Many blessings,
Lynn (mcgyver959701) Camelot Homestead Academy
Thank you for participating in the "Homeschool Open House"! It has been such fun putting it together but this is the icing on the cake for me, visiting you all! Wonderful post!I loved your tips! :-)
When you get a chance please email me so I can get some gifts to you! :-) Please put "Top 20" in the subject line of the email!
Hugs & Blessings,
Tiany
Tiany@cox.net
I enjoyed hearing about how your homeschool! Thank you for sharing the great tips too!
Kelli
Learning should be fun! Yes! So true! Dull is not good.
Stopping by some of the open house blogs. Thanks!
Thanks for giving us a glimpse of your homeschool. I really enjoyed reading about it. I too often question if I'm doing enough. I think it is just natural.
Have a great year!
JoAnn
I loved reading about you homeschool experience and what led to your decision to keep your younger children home. I also share your concerns about whether or not we are doing enough. I think every Homeschool mom feels this from time to time.
Thanks for sharing
*Kristie*
I have enjoyed visiting your homeschool open house. We have never homeschooled the same year to year either. We love being able to cater to our children/family each year.
Thank you for visiting my open house, too! ;o)
~ Christina
August 2, 2007 11:17 PMwe sound like similar kind of homeschoolers. Rock Raiders sounds like great fun!
August 3, 2007 12:05 PMGreat post! Thanks for sharing!
August 3, 2007 2:45 PMThanks for visiting my blog!
Good to know of you!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and inviting us into your open house. I actually see alot of similarities in our homeschool styles. Off to google "Story Starters" now, sounds like something we could use! lol
~Heather
I really liked getting a peek into your homeschool. We have very similar interests of books. I want to thank you for the heads up on Karen Androlea's new book. I will have to put that on next years list. [0=
God Bless
In Him>
-Mary
Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog.
I enjoyed reading about your homeschool days, and I love your tips--especially about teaching our children not to memorize everything, but to know how to find out. My 4 yods loves to say "Let's read and find out."
We have an oldest like yours, that would have been terribly bored if put in public school. Homeschooling has been the best decision for us.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
It sounds like you have a great shool year planned. I had used Abeka primarily because it was recommended to me from a family member that is a teacher. My husband and I also weren't sure how long I would homeschool and if we would enroll the boys in school later. Now I must say our plans have changed drastically and we will continue to pray continually for the Lord to direct our plans. We are switching things around this year and I am excited about it.
I also agree that we as homeschool moms and parents worry if we taught our children enough. Trust in the Lord, He will never let you down. Have a blessed year and I have enjoyed looking at your site! God bless, Jennifer #86
I enjoyed reading about your homeschool! I hope this is a great year for you!
August 6, 2007 11:00 AMI hope you all have a great year. Great site!
August 6, 2007 12:27 PMWe used Simply Grammar a couple years ago. I like Karen Adreola's style.
Thanks for commenting at my blog. This is so fun to "meet" so many new friends.
Michele
Everything you said in this post leads me to have complete confidence that your kids don't need "More" anything. I, like you, have changed styles, methods, material.. over the years and my kids have not lacked anything. It's increadible what the confident encouragement of a mother can do to raise up a child who is confident, creative, and able to conquor any challenge in life.
August 8, 2007 12:38 AMMelissa, Thank you for visiting my blog & leaving that wonderful advice! Hope you have a great year!
August 8, 2007 9:56 AMThank you so much for stopping by my blog and for leaving such sweet comments! SURE, come on over! There is ALWAYS room for more around here!
Many blessings!
Tina
Your tip about not having to memorize information but knowing where to find it is one I plan to share with my children. (Especially the two in public school.) I always get hung up on feeling like I am failing if they can't remember something. So what? If they have the ability to find the answer, they will be fine.
Thanks for the glimpse into your school!
August 9, 2007 9:36 AMThanks for visiting my blog and thanks for the info on getting the picture into my post. Now in IE, I appear to have two pictures. Oh well, I use firefox anyways!! :)
inspired
August 9, 2007 5:24 PMThat's one great thing about Homeschooling, we can keep changing and adapting according to our families needs!
August 12, 2007 7:29 AMHi! I enjoyed reading your Open House. Thanks for sharing. I'm using Story Starters, Natural Spelling and Story of the World pt. 2. :)
August 13, 2007 2:59 PMI love the advice that you can learn right along with your child. I think you are right on with that one. What better than to take them with you to the bookshelf and look it up together! :) Great entry :)
August 13, 2007 10:08 PM
