For someone like me, this is a difficult decision to make and stick with. We have decided to home school...but selecting a style and curriculum is something I've been thinking about and looking into since the twins were born. The biggest problem is that I have a problem sticking with ANYTHING. I call it 'my curriculum ADD'. Perhaps there are too many choices out there, and I have been looking at them too long. Either way you slice it, it's showtime. Jack & Sarah are almost 5, and I need to pick SOMETHING...and stick with it. I need to TRUST myself (advice from a veteran). But how do I trust myself when I know how very limited my abilities are???
Last winter was a difficult season. It was very very long... and cold... and depressing. In addition to that, there were countless financial hurdles thrown at our family that made it impossible to look at the bright side. I'd like to say that I met the challenges face on and and dealt with the issues one at a time until we saw daylight again, but that would not be entirely accurate ;)
One day as I was googling things like "how to get off of the computer" "SAHM schedule" and "how to enjoy life again" I stumbled upon a blog that had some very practical tips to staying sane while being a homeschooling SAHM. The first thing that struck me was that the winter time is difficult for a lot of SAHM's for many of the reasons that it was difficult for me. The second and most profound thing that I read was "first turn off the media in your own life." Huh. What a concept. I began reading Beatrix Potter stories while I let them draw, or playing classical music from one specific artist for a few weeks at a time, and really trying to expose them to nature and all the cool things there are out of doors. Next, I sort of made a plan & broke it up into steps. The following are my steps I took while trying to get out of my unusually awful winter funk:
Step one - is making RULES for myself. A set time to get up each morning, and get moving immediately. It is not uncommon for me to be schlopping around at 3:30 in the afternoon with my pj's on still. This is a no-no to do on a regular basis - I don't care who you are. I am not against "jammie days" I just know that they need to be far & few between...imho.
Step two - turn off the media. TV, computer, blackberry...all of it. One thing that I have found that helps also is to turn my settings to all of my email loops to "no notifications" (this goes for facebook too;)) Yes, I may miss out on that Little Tykes water table for $5, or immediately see all those comments on the beautiful pictures I post of our children...but that's a price I have to pay. I know myself too well.
Step three - Plan. Plan meals, plan field trips, plan outside play, plan naps, plan movie days, planplanplanplan. A great idea a girlfriend shared with me that I have yet to put into motion in our house is to write down meals for 2-3 months that you end up making. I'll include all meals along with snacks. Then each month duplicate the ones that were accepted from the family, and the ones you don't want to duplicate, use that opportunity to try new things. But at least you aren't starting from a clean slate each month, right? For field trips, I get a few memberships each year so we are never left without ANYTHING to do. Check out the science centers, zoo, Art Quest, children's museums, etc.
Step four - Choose. Choose curriculum, style, direction. I've already done this step. I think. I have done some reading on Charlotte Mason, and stumbled onto Ambleside Online. It's a free curriculum, with a lot of it's books already online that you can read or print off. There are websites it even directs you to that narrate the stories for you. That is cool! I also really like KONOS. If someone were to merge Miss Mason & unit studies...I believe they'd have KONOS. I think it may go off without much realization that we're really doing school work too - which is a major plus to me :)
Charlotte Mason's ideas have been around so very long, but I feel are so refreshing! What are some of her ideas that have revolutionized my way of thinking you ask? How about - she believed that children are born whole persons, not blank slates. Think about that for a minute. When my 3 year old wakes up in the morning, has needs, desires, wishes, and hopes for each day. Same when she goes to bed. Just like me. My kids will often ask me for a happy thought before they go to sleep. And often, the happy thoughts I give them are ideas. Ideas of things to do together (ie: bringing a picnic lunch to the park & then go feed the ducks at the lake near by). So they go to sleep that night thinking about doing that one day soon. It's important to them. Just like sometimes I go to sleep thinking of building our dream house, or going camping with my family, or whatever puts me in a happy place at the time. They're whole, just like me. They want their ideas and thoughts and dreams and wishes to be respected. They have important things to say.
The other thing that struck me as sort of revolutionary about her philosophy is habit training. She advises you to take the time when the children are pre-6 & 7 year olds to habit train. Taking the time to instruct and teach my children how and why they should act a certain way is a lot more difficult than snapping, "No! We don't talk to people that way!" or "Wash your hands" or "We don't hit!" I'm working on this transition, because I see the long term benefits of habit training. I also see how much easier it is (right now) to just snap an answer at my kids rather than take that time to truly teach them and be consistent. The mental picture I see when I think of this is building a house. To build one that will last out the storms and provide adequate shelter throughout life is one built on a good and solid foundation. One build on little or no foundation will fall. And I love my kids too much to not give them the tools and instruction they desperately need at this young age. Even though it is a lot easier in the NOW to just tell them what I expect.
Ambleside Online's kindergarten is nothing but a reading list of picture books because the idea of school before the age of 6 or 7 is not recommended by Miss Mason. Because my kids like to do workbooks (sometimes), science, draw, and explore things, I am going a little against the grain with this concept. This is probably the year we'll do KONOS and see which one works for us better come 1st grade.
We will be doing a mish-mash of things for kindergarten. Right now my twins are doing the Rod & Staff workbooks for preschoolers. Don't let the "preschool" level fool you - they are very challenging. My 3 yr old is doing a set of workbooks sold by Rod & Staff that are a little more on her level. Mostly tracing and learning biggest, smallest, most, least, etc. Once these are completed, we will begin a few other things. For now though, our youngest just likes "doing her school work" like her big sisters and brother.
Math - Math-u-see. I really love this program. My kids love watching the teacher on the dvd...so there you have it.
Reading/Spelling/Writing - Spell to Write and Read by Wanda Sanseri. I am glad I got this program a year ago because it has taken me this long to really get a grasp of what all is entailed. The other book I'm using with this is "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann. By using these two tools, my 4 year old daughter is already reading and spelling. I haven't done anything formal with her yet, except learning the basic phonograms, reading to her myself, and going through a few lessons from the '100 easy lessons' book.
Everything Else - we will READ READ READ, PLAY PLAY PLAY, EXPLORE EXPLORE EXPLORE.
Step five - Setting goals.
#1 I want to read books I've always heard of, but never read. I also want to read the Charlotte Mason Original Homeschool Series in Modern English. This is a 6 volume series and it looks like a very daunting task (books are thick & have thin pages with small print), so this will be an ongoing thing, not something that I will be able to complete in a few short months. It may take several years for me!
#2 Get my house in order. This is laughable, really. I have recently discovered in my son's closet, old pictures, clothes, curtain rods, tape recorders, etc. What do I DO with all of it? Sigh....One room at a time, one closet at a time.
#3 Get in shape. I know I'm not alone when I say that I could stand to lose a few pounds. I know I'm not alone when I say I need to eat healthier. One day at a time.
#4 Get my family back on some sort of schedule (kind of goes with goal #2). Not necessarily "8:00-8:30 breakfast" and so on. But more of an order to each day. So the kids automatically think "we just ate our breakfast...so it's time to feed the animals" - THAT sort of thing. Too much to ask?
#5 Most importantly, spend more time in God's Word. I know this. Why does it seem to be the most difficult for me to do?
Step six - Enjoy life with the wonderful wonderful blessings God has given me and be a blessing to the people around you. I have a wonderful husband who works 3 jobs and even goes to school part time in order for me to stay home with our children. I have a home. I have friends. I have food. I have clothing. I will take the time to be thankful. I also started a book club. Right now we only have 5 ladies in it including myself, but I am happy we've done it. I don't really like the term "me time" but in a way, I suppose that's what it is. In this season of my life, I am very needed by my children, but keeping my toes in the water and dabbling in hobbies that interest me now will pay off when the kids are grown, as well as the present, I believe.
I'm excited for next year. Our oldest will be in high school and will be leaving each day to attend the Early College in our area. I'm proud of her, excited for her, and excited for us to see what the year holds. But for now........BRING ON SUMMER!! :)
