Homeschool: Four weeks in and going strong

The Green Parent –

Homeschool: Month 1

Tomorrow the girls and I will begin our 5th week of homeschool.  Not bad considering most of the kids in our area haven’t started school yet.  So I thought this was a good time to look back at our first month and give you an update on what’s working and what is definitely not!

Things we <HEART>:

• Flexibility. Generally, we start our homeschool days at 8am.  But last week when the girls started doing puzzles at 7ish and were still deeply entrenched in them way after 10, I was thrilled to be able to let them follow their focus rather than rush them off to school.  
• Outdoor school days.  Last week, we had the world’s most perfect weather in our area.  The most lovely hint of fall was in the air and the days were meant for hanging outdoors all day.  So that’s just what we did.  Some days we did lessons, some days we just goofed around in the backyard.  And it was all awesome.
• When P.E. turns into Science class. This happens a lot and I love, love, love it.  When subjects overlap in the very way that ensures the girls are actually learning a topic rather than just filing it away under a specific heading.  Like when the girls stop in the middle of “P.E.” (aka scootering) to do some bird watching or water experiments like they’ve been doing in “Science.”

Things we don’t <HEART>:

• Distractions.  They are a-plenty when you are working/learning at home.  From the new kittens to last night’s stuffed animal birthday party, it seems there are a million and one things that can distract the girls throughout the day.
• Explaining myself.  I don’t really love answering all of the questions that people have when they find out I am homeschooling the girls.  The bottom line is that I have nothing but positive things to say about the school system in our area, but this was a personal choice that I thought might work best for my family.  It’s hard to say this succinctly without folks jumping on the defensive about schools, teachers, socialization, and so on and so on.

(c) The Green Parent – Read entire story here.