Homeschooling Around YOUR Schedule

I was going into 8th grade when my folks decided to homeschool us. A big reason they finally made "the jump" was time. Homeschooling allowed us to spend more time together as a family. With both parents back at college and working--we would have been latch-key kids for far too much time during the day.

When I first attempted to homeschool, I was way too focused on schedules, getting "it all" done in a day, and overall just putting way too many rules and restrictions on our life. Now that we've started a bakery our schedule is a bit unconventional. And that's okay. This time around with homeschooling, I'm making it work for us, instead of us being a slave to the schedule.

Today is Monday. For our family that is recovery day. We bake all weekend and sell at farmers' markets. It's exhausting, as we sleep very little until Sunday afternoon. We also need to sleep in on Monday. Of course, since we bake and sell all weekend, the house cleaning gets puts aside. So, that's what we started with today--cleaning house. We listened to worship music--LOUD, and Little Bun did hand motions (hilarious). We followed that up with reading--Big Loaf read to Little Bun. After that we had an art/history/Bible lesson. The kids made playdoh sculptures of the days of creation, and then had to explain them to me. (This allowed me time to workout and shower.) Then, a picnic lunch with friends. We skipped rest time today, since we didn't get much "book work" done. This was the kids choice. They had the option of rest time, but they know they can't play with iPods or watch movies until schoolwork is done. So, we completed all of our English lessons and Math lessons today--in less than 2 hours. Now both kids are happily enjoying quiet time (one watching a movie, the other playing games on his iPod) while The Baker (who also happens to teach music) is teaching a guitar lesson.

See how that worked out? It's not our "normal" schedule, but getting to see these friends today, sleeping in,  and cleaning house was important. Rest time moved from 1:30 to 4 p.m. We adapted to fit our needs and wants. This is a big reason I love homeschooling.

You Should Not Write When

You are tired & have been drinking. It was a lovely evening. Good night.

Word-full Wednesday

In the blogosphere, many mommy blogs do "Wordless Wednesday." I'm going to buck the trend, because what a day we had.
--(Side note: This made me think of A Good Day by Henke. Go get it. Read it. Your kids will love it.)

I woke up early in an effort to actually start school on time (which, I haven't yet been successful at this week--close, but not technically on time). For me, waking up early apparently only means more opportunity for crap to happen.
We didn't have eggs. We didn't have milk. We did not have fruit. Toast is not a substantial breakfast.
I decided to delay school for a quick trip to the market. It's shopping day anyway. I was hopeful that we'd be home & fed with enough time to start 30 minutes late. Still enough time to get it all done.
Yeah, right.
By the time we were done eating it was 9:40 (school starts at 8:30). I told the kids we'd have to hurry through school, b/c we still had a bunch of schoolwork to do. Owen, my son, the genius, suggests: "Mom, how about we run errands & then do school so we don't have to go fast?" Sounds like a good idea to me.
We book it to the USPS--NO LINES--a miracle, folks. My mood brightens. Next up: the bank--again no lines, and a chipper teller who gets it done fast. Yeah!
Our next stop is to Target. Monday I bought a shirt for Owen only to discover that it has a small tear. I knew it was the only one at the Target in our town, so we went to the next town over--which, was close to the grocery store we needed to go to. Hurrah.
Sadly, they did not have the shirt. They did have this though:

I would like to inform the world that this game is NOT called Farkle. I have been playing it since I was about 3 years old. It's called Greedy. Anyone who grew up in Alaska, going to Bible camp KNOWS this game as Greedy.
The Target dude told me that the other Target, that is 2.98 miles away--so says Google maps, has four of these shirts. So, I head that way, but first I have to stop at the grocery store.
Love this grocery store. I get what I need, but I notice that my list is a bit off. Several items are missing. Hmmmmm...something went terribly wrong apparently with my online planner. (Which means yet another grocery store trip this week...*sigh*)
As I head to the next Target, I call the store in hopes of someone finding the shirt & saving me some time. I dial & get the auto attendant. I push 0. It rings...the auto attendant. I repeat this over & over. I finally hit the button for electronics department button, get a live person who finds another live person who goes to find the shirt. However, by this time--I am in the Target parking lot. The gal says she has found my shirt & brings it to me at the front. NOT THE SAME SHIRT. *face palm* Thanks anyway, Target.
I ring Gramma. She'll bring her fray check & we'll do some creative stitching. (Owen really loves the shirt.) Gramma is awesome.
Home. Lunch. Start school. At 1 p.m. *sigh* We get a bunch done, but the kids are zonked. Nap time is a must--for everyone. We sleep until 4:30. Wonderful. More school--we get the basics done by 6:15 pm. The kids are outside playing (thankful it's still daylight outside), and now I'm getting ready to get dinner done. Then, a game of Farkle Greedy, and we're off to bed.
Best news of the day--Matt finally found a mixer (and a good deal) for the bakery. Yeah! Now his arms won't fall off from literally mixing and kneading everything by hand.
What a day.

Our first day of homeschool 2012-13 happened yesterday. Best part--my husband telling me how proud he was of what (little) we had accomplished. Owen & Eden were eager to start--I really wasn't planning on getting going until September, but when the new books and supplies arrived there was no stopping them. I thought a little post on our homeschooling journey would be appropriate.

For those who are interested, here's our line up:

English
-The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (Wise)
-First Language Lessons (Wise)
-Writing With Ease (Bauer)
-Plaid Phonics (Modern Curriculum Press) Levels K & B
-Spelling Workout (Modern Curriculum Press) Level B

Math
-Math In Focus (HMH) Kindergarten and Grade 2

History & Bible
-Mystery of History
-Creating our own Book of the Centuries timeline
-Bible verse memorization

Science
-NoeoScience (check it out here: http://www.noeoscience.com/)

Art
-Various crafts that align with the themes in our history, literature, and science studies. (I find a lot of art  projects, as well as projects for other subjects on pinterest.)

Music
-piano lessons

PE
-swim lessons

Owen is also attending Access, a homeschool enrichment program, on Fridays. He'll get quite a bit more art, PE, science, music, as well as Spanish on Fridays.
If it wasn't obvious from the line-up, we are following many recommendations from The Well Trained Mind (Wise & Bauer).

Again, for those that are interested--our (very flexible) daily schedule:
8:30-9:40  English
9:50-10:30 Math
10:40-noon History & Bible (MW) Science (T) Art (TH)
Noon Lunch
-wrap up & clean up-
1:30-3:30 Rest
3:30-4 Piano
5 PM Swim (MW)

Why do I say "very flexible?" We just started a bakery. We are busy and tired. That's an understatement. We didn't do Science today. I decided that getting O's resp therapy done (which we forgot yesterday) was more important, as well as getting a good nap done. And you know what? That's okay. That's what is awesome about homeschool.  Making it work for your family's needs. Sometimes our schedule will include a trip to the library, zoo, museum, Menchies--whatever.
We're also schooling year-round. We school 3 weeks and then take a week off. Most of the time. For instance, we started this week, but we already had a camping trip on the agenda for next week. (Of course, camping lends itself to several "homeschooling learning moments." While we won't be doing textbook work, they'll still be learning.)

So, how do I manage two kids of different learning levels, styles, & abilities?
1. Eden can learn along with Owen in almost every subject. In English, we're actually starting at her level. Owen can benefit from the review, and "helps" teach his sister. In writing, where Owen is much more advanced--I give her more simple sentences. She needs my attention to ensure proper technique, where as Owen could copy chapter books for hours on end.
2. During English we have "free reading time." I have a stack of books they can choose from. When I work one-on-one with either kid--the other picks a book, and gets comfy on the sofa for about 15 minutes.
3. Eden needs a few more breaks than Owen. She likes to draw and color, so I have supplies handy. She knows the rule though--quiet at the table. Sometimes she stays with us--sometimes she goes to her room. I also have several supplemental workbooks at her grade level. Easy worksheets that need little assistance from me, and she gets a bit more practice in her various learning areas.
BONUS: My friend gave me a dry-erase board made from--get this--shower surround from Home Depot. Seriously. It totally works better than expensive dry erase boards. Eden loves to write & erase, write & erase.

Okay, so if you've read all of this, obviously you must have some interest in homeschooling. Here's the first thing you should know (given to me from a long-time homeschooling, wise woman):
FIRST GET THEM TO OBEY.
If you have not taught your child HOW to obey, homeschooling is going to be rough. They need & want rules and boundaries. Your authority must be clear. Until you do this, nothing else really matters. You will have to constantly & consistently be establishing this throughout their lives. Obedience. Obedience. Obedience. It's not a one-shot deal. It takes practice.