When I've mentioned in passing that we are thinking about homeschooling, I've actually been pleasantly surprised to find that we're not the only ones thinking about it! What I thought was a fringy-weirdo educational style actually seems to be coming more mainstream! Granted, there are still many stereotypes and skeptics out there. But as I've been asked by more than one individual to keep them posted on how our adventure goes in homeschooling, I decided it was a good excuse to start a blog! If I post more than the 4 times I posted the last time I attempted to start a blog, I will deem this a success.
So we have taken the plunge! We have stepped over from 'thinking about homeschooling' and 'potential homeschoolers' into actually homeschooling! We ordered the curriculum, and then we started! It was kinda as simple as that. Though this is still technically a trial run, being that its January, and my daughter is still concurrently attending part-time preschool. So if we fail, its off to real school in the fall...
So far, the biggest challenge has been logistical. How to keep a toddler boy and a preschool girl occupied while attempting homeschooling kindergarten? So far, we have discovered a few things that do not work, and only one that does. We've learned that trying to involve Mr. Toddler in any school activities is a disaster. He is so quick to rip the paper, eat the manipulatives, and run off with the inflatable world. Miss Preschooler likes to sit and learn along with her sister, and for the most part, she's not disruptive. But Toddler is another story. I learned that strapping him into his high chair with a pile of flour to play with made for a far longer clean-up than the few minutes of uninterrupted time it afforded. And most other distraction methods have failed. The only success we have had so far is homeschooling during naptime! This is ok, but the Toddler is trying to give up his afternoon nap, and keep his morning nap. This means that he will only sleep from about 9:30am to approximately 11am, and this is my only toddler-free window during my day! Luckily, the curriculum we've chosen is based on Charlotte Mason's work, and she apparently believed in shorter lesson time and more free learning time! So we have easily fit our lesson time into this window. I just hope we are doing enough teaching to make it really count as kindergarten! And meanwhile, I am working on pushing Toddler's naptime to later in the day, and hoping it will start lasting longer! So far, I'd say we've had a successful week and a half of homeschool. Kindergartener says she 'loves kindergarten', and listening to the sweet sound of my children singing 'This is my father's world', while carrying around an inflatable globe, is music to my ears, both figuratively and literally.
