Today I'm a little frustrated....Owen isn't really into naps anymore so we only have him take them every other day. On the other days he gets to have some down time in our room to watch a movie. Once it's done he comes downstairs and hangs out with us.
Today I thought it would be fun to have some teaching time. He loves to learn! We worked on the computer for awhile on PBSkids.org and then I tried to get him to write. Oh my goodness...it's like pulling teeth! He got this Cars number book from GG a couple Christmases ago and all we were working on was writing '1's'! Oh no...he wanted to write 'M's'! There was no getting him to work on what I wanted him to work on.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my friend Kim and I are planning on home schooling our kids together. I wasn't home schooled (I went to Christian School) and neither was she (She went to public school), but we both feel that home schooling is what we want for our kids so why not do it together. We are planning on starting Owen in Kindergarten in the fall, but after today...the public school system isn't sounding too bad after all.
Kidding aside (okay maybe I was a little serious)...I do really want to home school my kids and I know that with help we'll get through it. Kim and I still aren't sure about all the specifics we have thoughts and ideas in our heads and we'll have to play around and see what works for everyone, but it is exciting to know that we will be entering this chapter in our parenting journey soon. I'm eager for Owen (as well as Jack and Ella eventually) to embrace learning and see the excitement in his eyes as he "gets" something that he's been working on.
Are there any home schooling parents out there willing to offer advice? What's worked for you? How do you get your kids excited about learning or maybe just willing to learn what you want to teach them in that moment?
1 comments:
We've always kinda gone back and forth about home schooling, but as of now are almost 100% sure that's what we'll will be doing when Elliott starts Kindergarten in the fall.
We had him in preschool this past fall, but we pulled him out after Christmas break. It was not a good fit for his personality and was causing him a ton of anxiety, not to mention it was a HUGE pain for Mama as it was right in the middle of nap time for the younger two!
In the past, I've done some informal preschool stuff at home with Elliott and Norah, off and on. Now that he is home, I do preschool stuff with them 3 mornings a week usually for about an hour sometimes more.
We have come to learn that Elliott is delated in his motor skills, probably related to his eye problems. It's hard to be coordinated when you can't see :- ) So, we mostly focus on motor skills, gross and fine. Lots of games with balls, jumping, running... We practice cutting every day, and some form of coloring or drawing, and some writing. He can write his name, but he struggles, so we work on that every day too.
I think the key is to work on what they are excited about. Yes, you are the mama and the teacher, and they need to learn to follow instructions and obey. But sometimes I think it's ok to let them take the lead a little bit too. Also, I've learned not to push something, if it's not absolutely necessary. We've worked on reading off and on, but he usually ends up getting stressed out or bored. He knows all his letters and sounds, and knows a handful of sight words, but I figure I'm not gonna push it. It's no fun to work on something thy don't want to do. Sometimes you have to power through, but that's the great thing about homeschooling, you have the freedom to cater things to your child's learning style and personality and go at a pace that you are both comfortable with!
There is a home school expo in the spring at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. It's a great resource! I briefly look into My Father's Wolrd curriculum last year. I think that may be what I will use next year.
Good luck to you : - )
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