Easing into Homeschooling

We have been doing what I call "homeschool lite" this week.  Rather than do what our public school does which is have a whacky schedule of starting full tilt on a Thursday and then having a 3 day weekend, we have a system whereby we gradually add in the subjects over a period of weeks.  Thus far, success.  This is the first year we have homeschooled both Rob and KC.  Technically KC did some schooling last year but I didn't feel locked into anything as he was not officially on the homeschool intent letter.  It is funny how that intent letter makes it all really official to me.  Kindergarten is not mandatory so I just free wheeled through his kindergarten year.

KC decided on using a little computer desk in our living room for his homeschool space and last week we got that all set up.  He has his own little light there which he adores, and just the right amount of space for a wee fellow.  He doesn't really like wide open spaces, he is a nook and cranny kind of guy, so the fact that this is tucked into a corner of the living room is perfect.  Also it will be warm and toasty in the winter which is important in our drafty old home.

Rob works at the island in the kitchen and while there is ample space for two people to work there, I suspect they would entertain each other and little work would actually happen.  Also I think at some level Rob perceives this is "his" space as he has schooled there for 5 years now.

For some reason recorder practice and lessons happen in the dining room.  I think it works easier for the two kids and K to spread out music on our gigantic dining room table.  That just sort of evolved, it wasn't really planned, but it works well.

So thus far, KC has been doing recorder, art, english and math.  Truthfully he did math most of the summer.  I have found that he is consequently signficantly beyond the bounds of grade 1 Oak meadow so we are just continuing on with the Kunan system we have been doing for the past year. Then I am going to add in some basic currency, some basic time telling etc because he is out ahead of the curve. This morning, KC gave himself science (laugh) because he wanted to make rainbows and we played with prisms and talked about how rainbows are made in nature and with the prism.

We have not done the reading component yet for his class, but he reads often and well with me so I have not really got any worries there.  I have looked at the literature component and he will do well there. But because he has so much down all ready, I confess that when he needs a day off I feel okay with that.  The past two days he  had a nasty cold and I really just let him veg on the couch and draw. 

Rob has begun his geography, started his first English Lit book which is The Wizard of Earthsea     
and done recorder.  Rob has to ease in a bit more slowly as he gets overwhelmed easily and doing this gradually allows time for him to remember some of the routines and structures of schooling.  Next week I add in algebra for him and K will add in his Environmental Science component in September after we come back from camping.

Lissa ,to my everlasting joy, has been begging for school so she does either coloring or cutting (which she has become very facile with) when I am teaching math.  I am mulling around in my head a crafty thing for reinforcing the alphabet.  I think I may give Rob and KC some old magazines and have them cut out pictures that begin with specific letters and then Lissa can glue them on a piece of paper with a big letter in the middle of it.  She would get to use glue for that which would rock her world. LOL I consider that our story time at night covers her language component and she has lots of opportunities for a myriad of craft things during the day.

I will not lie.  I don't unschool and the level of homeschooling we do is often tiring to me.  As you can tell by the pitiful short list of adult reads on my blog page, I spend a lot of time planning classes, reading kid lit and am thrilled when I get the odd half hour for a magazine  or a bit of a novel I am interested in.  But on the plus side, I really get to participate in my kids education and I honestly love that.  I love  that most of the time that thirst for learning is present--in my experience and I realize this is a statement only to the experience of myself and my children--public school has so much to do that fostering a love of learning truly isn't on their short list, so to speak.