It’s been an interesting journey this last year and a half.  We took Simon out of one of the best schools in the state to homeschool.  Just who do I think I am, superwoman?  I’m sure some  of you have thought that over the past year and a half…heck I know my husband has!

There are certainly moments where I wonder if it was the right decision.  Usually those moments are tied to Simon’s lack of interest in something I think he “should” be interested in, or his lack of motivation at practicing some skill that he would be doing if he were in public school.  That is when I need to take a step back and look at all the things he has learned and reevaluate what value I place on the things he would normally be learning at this stage in a public school setting.

His writing has improved immensely, in fact he just willingly writes notes, lists, maps, labels and all sorts of other things now.  Do I sometimes think I should give him more worksheets to practice?  Yes, I still do…even though I shouldn’t because it’s really clear he can write whatever he needs to and people can read it.

His reading has improved.  Have I measured it?  No, but you can just see it.  He reads signs, magazines, websites, headings on tv shows and sports.  He reads recipes and packages while he’s helping in the kitchen.  He reads directions for games and science kits.  And yes, he even occasionally reads books.  It’s hard not to focus on the fact that he doesn’t read more books, but hey…how many books do I get to read as an adult vs. how many of those other things I mentioned do I read on a daily basis!?

He knows how to find out the information he wants to learn.  He can use a computer, tablet, iphone and yes, book to find out information if he wants to learn something.  If he can’t find it, he knows how to ask for help to find it.

There are so many other things he, no we, have learned this past year and a half.  I really truly enjoy learning with my boys and as long as I can keep that little voice from traditional school models out of my head hopefully we can all keep learning together for a long time.

 

man…I really stink at blogging.  Once a month if I’m lucky.  I could throw all sorts of excuses out there but alas, it’s just not a big priority I guess.

We are about to kick off another semester of homeschooling.  We will be joining the Homeschoolians co-op again on Mondays.  I’ll be co-teaching the preK class and a Water Science class for the older kids.  I’m looking forward to teaching and I wish Simon was looking more forward to attending.  He’s just not that keen on the idea but hopefully he will enjoy getting together with friends again more regularly and be enthused!

We hope to gather with our Green Moms Homeschooling friends a bunch and develop some deeper bonds and routines with them.

We look forward to getting some winter gear on and going outside more despite colder temperatures.  We had a really warm early winter and were able to be outside a lot without much preparation.  I need to be less of a wimp and just get my long johns on and get out there!  The boys are rarely cold in any weather.

We will continue using Reading Eggs, Math Seeds, and Mystery Science online programs for curriculum and Life of Fred Books for Simon’s math work.

I look forward to seeing what other interests the boys come up with.  They got several science kits for Christmas so I expect we’ll be doing a lot of experiments.  My plan is also to read…a lot!  We slacked off on our daily quiet reading time towards the end of the semester and we need to get back on track with that for sure.