Homeschool Reflection: Part One

Today, I would like to do a bit of reflecting about our first few weeks of homeschool. This is a brand new year in curriculum, schedule and even students! I think it is so important as a public school teacher or home educator to continually reflect on where you are at, what has been working and what might need to be changed! I will be focusing on different areas over the next few days. First, I will start with what has changed this year from last year. So let's take a peek:

What has changed this year?  This year we have added a new student, Sunshine! She has definitely added a whole new dimension and it takes more effort to keep her occupied during instruction. I have found that she LOVES school so she wants to be a part of the whole morning. This makes it more difficult when I am instructing one of the older girls. To help this, I am constantly keeping my eyes open for activities that will keep her busy and engaged on her own. Sorting sticks, "sewing" projects with thread and patterns, and soft building blocks are all activities that keep her interested. She also has freedom to color if she would like or write on a white board. After instruction with the older girls, I spend time with her by reading books, learning new colors and learning her first few numbers. I also have soft alphabet and number puzzles that she loves to play with that I use as introduction to these concepts. I do not put a lot of pressure on her, I just make sure to give her freedom in exploration as well as times in which I guide the exploration.

Another change has been the schedule. This by far is my favorite change! We have changed to a semester schedule and the pressure of the day has been alleviated. We are no longer rushing to finish! We have the time to "take our time" in our lessons. This has proven to be a very effective move. Our days are filled with many smiles and fewer tears, actually no tears so far this year! It also gives plenty of time in the day for silent reading and art projects.An added bonus is that it means fewer headaches for Mom! It's a win-win! :)

The third change is with our curriculum. I have been a faithful ABeka supporter for the past three years. This year I took the plunge, researched my own curriculum, and bought what I thought would work best with my girls. This has been an amazing move! We still have structure but we also have more freedom. I love the Bob Jones curriculum as it is a bit more colorful and interesting. I also like the progression. The Apologia Science has already been a topic of focus on this blog and I will once again say that I love it!

Tomorrow, I will be talking about some things that we have been successful with as well as areas we need to strengthen. Friday, I will write about what we have accomplished so far this year! I hope to see you there!

As today is Library day, we are about to head out to the van. Our library is BRAND NEW and is about a mile down the road from us. We are loving it! Happy blogging!