My new blog is up and running...come find us here
Homegrown Minds
Isn't the name fantastic?! My husband thought that one up for me.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Plan Comes Together
As of yesterday, my classroom had objectives written all over the white board, books spread all over the floor and my filing cabinet looked like it had thrown up. Today is not much better.
In PA, you must file an affidavit to homeschool your children. This affidavit must include a list of your educational objectives. Everyone I have spoken with has strongly encouraged me to keep these as vague as possible. This was a challenge for me. I love details. I rewrote these stinking things about twenty times before I had something vague that made me feel satisfied to put my name on it.
Once that was finished, I realized the fun had only just begun! Now...what to teach these boys? I wrote out the list of subjects required to be taught in elementary when homeschooling on our whiteboard. (Pardon the lousy photography...it was late, but you get the idea.)
Then I went to my enormous pile of books and materials I have always wanted to use and sorted them by subject. This left me with a floor covered in piles of books. Too many books. I spied the Calvert boxes that I had not yet unpacked and pulled out more books. This just made more piles.
I decided to change my approach.
"Let's do this by subject," I said to myself. (I had banished all other humans from the room.)
I chose science first. I pulled the Calvert 2nd and 5th grade science text books from the piles and checked what topics they would cover. They seemed to line up with each other fairly well. I sat down at the computer and outlined the units and chapters from each book, including vocabulary words. Two hours later, I had a plan. I chose three of those units to cover in this school year. I pulled all books I had related to those three topics and put everything else away for later.
One down...how many more to go?!
I am looking at math next. Math and science are the two that give me the most difficulty because I'm always second guessing the best approach for the boys. I just learned of a cool math program today and think it might be the ticket for JT. Living Math! If I had to do it all over again, this looks like the kind of math I could have enjoyed in school. I printed out their suggested book lists and a sample lesson to check out.
I am feeling a bit stressed by all I need to do. But I'm also feeling a freedom I haven't felt so far in this process. I was telling a friend who cyberschools her children about our decision. She told me she had been considering making a change too. She said, "I always feel like I'm racing to meet some goal. Like there's a carrot dangling in front of me that I can never reach."
I'm so glad we've left the race. I never really liked carrots anyway.
Please note: This will be my last week posting at Adventures in Cyberschooling. We will be making the transition to a new blog shortly. I have a name...but I won't tell you until it's ready! I will provide the link here when the move is complete.
In PA, you must file an affidavit to homeschool your children. This affidavit must include a list of your educational objectives. Everyone I have spoken with has strongly encouraged me to keep these as vague as possible. This was a challenge for me. I love details. I rewrote these stinking things about twenty times before I had something vague that made me feel satisfied to put my name on it.
Once that was finished, I realized the fun had only just begun! Now...what to teach these boys? I wrote out the list of subjects required to be taught in elementary when homeschooling on our whiteboard. (Pardon the lousy photography...it was late, but you get the idea.)
At the elementary school level, the following courses shall be taught: English, to include spelling, reading and writing; arithmetic; science; geography; history of the United States and Pennsylvania; civics; safety education, including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires; health and physiology; physical education; music; and art."
Well...I didn't write it quite like that. I only said safety education, not "including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires." I guess PA can thank Benjamin Franklin for that one...Then I went to my enormous pile of books and materials I have always wanted to use and sorted them by subject. This left me with a floor covered in piles of books. Too many books. I spied the Calvert boxes that I had not yet unpacked and pulled out more books. This just made more piles.
I decided to change my approach.
"Let's do this by subject," I said to myself. (I had banished all other humans from the room.)
I chose science first. I pulled the Calvert 2nd and 5th grade science text books from the piles and checked what topics they would cover. They seemed to line up with each other fairly well. I sat down at the computer and outlined the units and chapters from each book, including vocabulary words. Two hours later, I had a plan. I chose three of those units to cover in this school year. I pulled all books I had related to those three topics and put everything else away for later.
One down...how many more to go?!
I am looking at math next. Math and science are the two that give me the most difficulty because I'm always second guessing the best approach for the boys. I just learned of a cool math program today and think it might be the ticket for JT. Living Math! If I had to do it all over again, this looks like the kind of math I could have enjoyed in school. I printed out their suggested book lists and a sample lesson to check out.
I am feeling a bit stressed by all I need to do. But I'm also feeling a freedom I haven't felt so far in this process. I was telling a friend who cyberschools her children about our decision. She told me she had been considering making a change too. She said, "I always feel like I'm racing to meet some goal. Like there's a carrot dangling in front of me that I can never reach."
I'm so glad we've left the race. I never really liked carrots anyway.
Please note: This will be my last week posting at Adventures in Cyberschooling. We will be making the transition to a new blog shortly. I have a name...but I won't tell you until it's ready! I will provide the link here when the move is complete.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
