It has been a wild ride these last few months. We started out with Connections Academy, a virtual public school (they also have a private school) to try and improve our children's educational experience. As most of you know, in school now they move extremely fast. If someone isn't understanding it the way it is being explained, they have to just move them all along like cattle in order to stay on schedule. The schedule of the new and disastrous Common Core Standards. My daughter's 5th grade teacher, whom was wonderful, actually told my daughter that "you are kind of getting it, so we have to move you guys along with the rest of the class". There is no freedom in teaching anymore, if you can read and follow a manual (and have some patience) you can teach. I only know this from my Connections Academy experience. For my 2nd grade son, I was sent an at least 1" thick manual, going step-by-step what to say for each lesson, what questions to ask, what the answer should be or at least resemble. My kids, when they saw these, said "Hey! My teacher had a book just like that." Granted, I believe that most teachers go into education because they love kids and want to make a difference. My daughters 5th grade teacher, and my sons 1st grade teacher were wonderful. I am not blaming teachers, I am blaming the government officials that have taken the fun, creativity and even sometimes spontaneity out of the classroom; for the cookie-cutter one size fits all mentality. Well, now I am just rambling. To cut to the point. We pulled our kids from Connections Academy, the public option, is not flexible or individualized as advertised. In fact, we found that it moved even faster, and there was even more work (busy-work) than regular B&M schools. It was so stressful. My 6th grade daughter, was spending 9+ hours each day on school, that is taking out her 1-hour lunch. Considering most people only work an 8 hour day, that is ridiculous. She was in tears almost everyday. My son, who is in 2nd, I could get him to finish in 5-6 hours. There was no individualized plan, you had to move along, there was not much time to stop and really work on a concept that they were struggling on. I don't know about the private option, but the public is not flexible, nor individualized. So we took the leap, and I am homeschooling.
I never in my life dreamed I would homeschool. Yet, here I am. I have learned so much about my kids, what their strengths and weaknesses are. I have incorporated these into our school day. I am by no means an expert, or even sure of what I am doing all the time. I doubt myself constantly. I also know that I am giving my kids the chance to master concepts that they were struggling with, and I can push them on things they excel at. For instance, my 8-yr-old son, excels at reading. He reads beyond his grade-level, so I let him. He hated writing, that is because he had to write about stupid things, that wouldn't even come close to interesting a boy. I don't make him write a whole lot, when he does, it is a good sentence, or two, maybe three. Guess what? His handwriting has drastically improved, in fact he has extremely nice writing now, especially for a boy in second grade! When it comes to math, he was missing a few concepts, so I moved him back to 1st grade, which is developmentally appropriate for him and he is excelling. Math is important and you can't move them forward, without them having mastered all the concepts before what your are moving them to. There is less pressure to perform at a certain level, they are starting to enjoy school a little more.
My 6th grade daughter struggles, when it comes to grammar and some aspects of comprehension. If she is reading something she likes, she has no problems. It is when she is reading the dry, boring, educational materials for science, history, etc.., when she has problems. I am trying to incorporate more hands on activities, we are incorporating a lot of educational videos on YouTube and Netflix, and library books. I am also working with her on skimming text, something I don't think they worked a lot on in public school. She also thinks she struggles in math, but I have come to think of that as more of math anxiety, because once you take all the pressure to perform off, she seems to pick up math very quickly. She just needs the confidence to believe in herself.
We also have them signed up for various programs at the YMCA, and other programs. We are signing them both up for the American Legion sponsored, National Junior Air Rifle program. I am not some gun-toting fanatic, in fact, I have never in my life shot or handled a gun. I do believe it is important to learn proper gun-safety and handling procedures. I will also be learning how to properly handle a gun and shoot. I also plan on taking a self-defense class with my daughter.
As for the curriculum we are using, we use a site called Easy Peasy All-In-One-Homeschool, it is free! The amount of work the lady did who built the site is awe-inspiring. She made taking this leap possible for us. It is over-whelming to look at all the different curriculum options out there, this is set up for you day-by-day for the entire school year. It goes from Pre-K through High School. So far, the kids seem to like it. There are distractions, like my 4-yr-old who is constantly doing ninja moves and making the appropriate sound-effects. Yes, there are days I want to pull every single hair from my head and theirs, but it is so worth it! They don't dread school anymore, which is very important!
I never in my life dreamed I would homeschool. Yet, here I am. I have learned so much about my kids, what their strengths and weaknesses are. I have incorporated these into our school day. I am by no means an expert, or even sure of what I am doing all the time. I doubt myself constantly. I also know that I am giving my kids the chance to master concepts that they were struggling with, and I can push them on things they excel at. For instance, my 8-yr-old son, excels at reading. He reads beyond his grade-level, so I let him. He hated writing, that is because he had to write about stupid things, that wouldn't even come close to interesting a boy. I don't make him write a whole lot, when he does, it is a good sentence, or two, maybe three. Guess what? His handwriting has drastically improved, in fact he has extremely nice writing now, especially for a boy in second grade! When it comes to math, he was missing a few concepts, so I moved him back to 1st grade, which is developmentally appropriate for him and he is excelling. Math is important and you can't move them forward, without them having mastered all the concepts before what your are moving them to. There is less pressure to perform at a certain level, they are starting to enjoy school a little more.
My 6th grade daughter struggles, when it comes to grammar and some aspects of comprehension. If she is reading something she likes, she has no problems. It is when she is reading the dry, boring, educational materials for science, history, etc.., when she has problems. I am trying to incorporate more hands on activities, we are incorporating a lot of educational videos on YouTube and Netflix, and library books. I am also working with her on skimming text, something I don't think they worked a lot on in public school. She also thinks she struggles in math, but I have come to think of that as more of math anxiety, because once you take all the pressure to perform off, she seems to pick up math very quickly. She just needs the confidence to believe in herself.
We also have them signed up for various programs at the YMCA, and other programs. We are signing them both up for the American Legion sponsored, National Junior Air Rifle program. I am not some gun-toting fanatic, in fact, I have never in my life shot or handled a gun. I do believe it is important to learn proper gun-safety and handling procedures. I will also be learning how to properly handle a gun and shoot. I also plan on taking a self-defense class with my daughter.
As for the curriculum we are using, we use a site called Easy Peasy All-In-One-Homeschool, it is free! The amount of work the lady did who built the site is awe-inspiring. She made taking this leap possible for us. It is over-whelming to look at all the different curriculum options out there, this is set up for you day-by-day for the entire school year. It goes from Pre-K through High School. So far, the kids seem to like it. There are distractions, like my 4-yr-old who is constantly doing ninja moves and making the appropriate sound-effects. Yes, there are days I want to pull every single hair from my head and theirs, but it is so worth it! They don't dread school anymore, which is very important!