Back to Homeschool

Today was our first day of homeschool for the new school year. We enjoyed our tradition of a special breakfast (waffles) and surprises that I put out the night before, kind of like Christmas morning only with school supplies and educational games. It went pretty well, although everything took a little longer than anticipated. I think we were just having too much fun with the new school supplies, in addition to the kids needing hand-holding with some of the new programs I am using. I haven't used programs or curriculums much in the past, as I try to follow the 'classics, not textbooks' mantra, but there were a few choice picks that really seem to speak to my kids learning styles that we are going to try this year. We saved up to get the Shiller Math kit for the younger kids, because I love the montessori manipulatives and how it uses all the senses in every lesson. My oldest son wanted to do his math with a video tutor DVD, so I watched that with him today. He seemed to enjoy it, and the younger kids came in and wanted to try some of the math problems with him too. I found it rather dry but they thought it was cool. It's all about what appeals to them I guess. We played a geography game and danced around to a physical education CD with fun songs to get you moving, and over lunch I was able to start reading Swiss family Robinson aloud. The little ones were just bursting with enthusiasm, and my 3 yr old kept asking, 'Now what 's my Next homeschool?' He wants to be busy doing homeschool too. So I did some simple reading lessons with him, had him paint and play with pattern blocks, and trace his name. He was very pleased.


There are still some kinks to work out with the flow of the day, and the structure of time so that everyone has time to get their chores done, I have time to help those who need one on one, and the day runs smoothly. My biggest obstacle right now is my toddler. I have heard Moms complain that they can't figure out how to do their homeschool with a toddler. I never understood it until now. I have had 4 toddlers before this one, and she is just very high maintenance I guess, compared to the others. She gets very jealous if my attention is divided in the least from looking at, holding, and playing with her. When she is happily playing on her own for a change, she is causing havok - dumping the containers of markers and crayons, stealing her brothers' papers, removing the keys from my husband's laptop computer (that was yesterday), and just causing mischief wherever she goes. I don't know if it is intentional or if she is just curious in a destructive way. But it does make it very hard to do anything with the other kids! She is loud and cranky when it is time to sit down and read scriptures or stories as a family, and makes it impossible to hear. I'm going to have to do some thinking to find a solution for this - maybe there is something that will hold her attention for a while that is safe and relatively harmless, or maybe I will have to have the big boys each take a shift playing with her so I can help the other kids. In the past, babies and toddlers have never impeded homeschool, since it was a family affair. I have never tried to separate my kids by grade, but rather tried to do as many subjects as possible as a shared family activity. Often I would be nursing a baby while I read a story, or holding a little one on my lap as I sat next to a child and gave him guidance. Often once they were walking they just toddled around and played with toys in the middle of devotionals, making a little noise but not anything that made it too difficult. Now I understand what those Moms of toddlers are going through and why they might question whether they can homeschool! It is tricky. I'll keep you posted on what I figure out. It may be that I just have to wait it out until she grows out of this and do the best we can.

As much as I have had misgivings going into this school year, and wondered if I have the energy to keep going, I realized again like I do every year that I do love homeschooling. It is so fun to watch my kids learn. It's fun to be a part of it, and learn and relearn things myself. It is fun to plan things that I know will spark their interest (although I sometimes miss the mark on that) and to experience life as a family, all day long. Yes, I continue to need my own little getaways for refreshment and preparation, but I feel blessed to have almost limitless opportunities to spend quality time with my family. There's nothing else quite like it!