There are as many different ways to homeschool as there are homeschoolers.....and almost as many for why a family starts homeschooling.
For us, it was basically a matter of necessity and of faith. The school Logan was supposed to go to for Kindergarten was performing so poorly they were ranked a "1" out of "10" in all their scoring. They wore uniforms due to gang problems, and 85% of the students didn't speak English as a first language. Logan was doing so well with reading and math, and even playing chess, that I just couldn't bear to send him there. So we got in on the lottery for the local charter schools and didn't come close to getting in. We couldn't swing the tuition and fees for private school, soooooo....homeschooling it was!
And truth be told, I was truly concerned at the decline in the quality of curriculum in the public schools and the far-leftist bent so many educators had taken. There seemed to be many educators going to great lengths to dumb down curriculum, diminish (or extinguish) any acknowledgement of the Judeo-Christian worldview, and the general coarsening of the overall educational culture.
We were very blessed that both our families were supportive and respectful of our decisions--this isn't to say that it's the same choice they would have made (they might have thought we were a little odd, but the good kind odd that grows on you! : ), but they felt that we as parents had the right to make what we saw as the best decisions for our family. If they did roll their eyes behind out backs, we never knew about it!
So I said "Great! Soooo.....how do I homeschool?" I slowly realized that there is NO answer to that question. Oh good heavens--there are about a MILLION different methods and curriculums, and I had no idea where to even begin. Oh, and Jacob was due 6 weeks before the school year was to start......
One thing led to another, and we finally decided to enroll in the local public charter homeschool. A certified teacher would visit our home once a week and check on us to see how we were doing, record progress, supply curriculum and answer questions.
We were very blessed, as our teacher was so great. I turned in weekly lesson plans to her and we essentially sailed through the year. Logan's biggest gain that year was his handwriting--it improved dramatically with regular work. By the end of Kindergarten Logan was confidently reading chapter books and LOVED us reading to him. We had a very positive experience, and I attribute it largely to our teacher's sunny, easygoing personality. Not to mention the fact that Logan was a bright, easy-to-work-with Kindergartener.
We moved to Virginia the summer before his 1st grade year, and we bought our house in a nice little area. The school Logan was to attend was OK.....but I decided why stop a good thing? for the time being. I reasearched Virginia homeschooling laws and turned in our Notice of Intent to Homeschool (NOI).
Now, I was on my own. There wasn't a comparable home charter program that I could find here, so I decided to strike out on my own and be eclectic. We used workbooks, read a lot, did a lot of math and a lot of field trips. We did a standardized test to show proof of progress at the end of the year, and he scored 100% in every area. Yeah!
Then second grade came along.....now I had not only Logan but Aaron entering Kindergarten as well. Yikes! Seriously, how was I going to do this with two boys in "school," not to mention a baby on the hip?
Aaron is a completely different learner than Logan. For one thing, Aaron entered Kindergarten 7 months earlier than Logan did....and it showed. He was way "behind" Logan in phonics and fine motor skills. I broke into a cold sweat when several months in I saw Aaron was not making anywhere near the progress Logan had made in the same time frame. I got out Logan's old papers and saw how quickly Logan moved through material, and especially how quickly his handwriting had improved those first 4 months of Kindergarten. We were not required to show proof of progress for Aaron's Kindergarten year, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I read to him all the time, worked on his phonics and handwriting (when I could get him to sit still!), exposed him to numbers whenever possible, and prayed for the best possible outcome for my inexperienced attempts.
Thankfully, Logan tested almost perfectly on his 2nd grade end-of-year standardized tests. Nevertheless, I decided that after doing a lot of research and reading, we needed a more classical approach. I am a great lover of literature, and the classical approach relies heavily on reading the classics and mastering the fundamental concepts in the core subjects. I joined Classical Conversations as a tutor and enrolled Aaron for 1st grade and Logan for 3rd grade.
Classical Conversations is a co-op that meets once a week and drills memorizing facts about core subjects, as well as covering art, music, science experiments and public speaking. I was tasked to tutor Logan's grade level, and had an AMAZING class. Logan truly benefitted from our first year in CC. He read Tolkien, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Treasure Island, Moby Dick, Swiss Family Robinson, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and anything dealing with history or literature he could get his hands on.
Aaron....well, Aaron was Aaron---a boisterous, goofy, incorrigible wiggleworm inside his classroom and out. (Sort of like a caged spidermonkey!) He had a great time, but I think he almost exhausted his tutor's patience for the year by the third week! : ) Luckily she had a GREAT well of patience to dig down deep into, and I know he was exposed to a great deal that enriched his education.
By the end of his 1st grade year Aaron was finally reading fairly confidently at the chapter book level, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the improvement. His handwriting could still go way wonky if he was bored or tired or not in the mood to concentrate, but it was pretty (mostly) legible. His focus (what focus?) and self-control (lack thereof?) are completely unique to his personality, so I'm trying (failing?) to work on my patience in this area......
Aaron tested adequately, and Logan did well....but not as well as he had done on previous tests. That concerned me, but I reminded myself that tests don't tell the entire story. Nevertheless, I made a committment to re-structure our time and add to our curriculum this year.
So now, we are ready to tackle 4th grade, 2nd grade, and K4 (pre-K).....and are once again enrolled in Classical Conversations. This time, Jacob is joining in the fun and will go to a big boy class and learn just like his brothers. I'm tutoring Logan's class again, and this year it's all boys....something I'm very comfortable with! : )
How is this year going to play out? Only the Lord knows....but I am truly confident that at no point will it be dull!
No comments:
Post a Comment