What's happening for school in 2014?

Whew!!! The first semester of this home-schooling business has flown! Overall, it has been much better than I ever expected. Of course, there have been days that have been far from good--tears, yells, groans, ripped paper (mostly from me--the adult).  But after the meltdowns, I somehow get it together and the day ends well!  I have had to detox myself from a traditional education mindset. I was surprised how much I have been affected by working in the educational arena for 14 years.  As some of you know, one of the primary reasons I decided to homeschool was the fact John Gannon was a struggling reader.  Throughout this semester, he has made tremendous gains and somedays he asks to read all day.  Initially when this started happening I was like, "No, we have to do some math and we have got to work on the next states, etc."  What in the world was I thinking? I am under no timelines, no semester limits, no mandated holidays.  Yes--you can read all you want!  I now only have limited plans, and he decides what we do most days.  When he asks me a random question, I write it down, and we find out the answer along with a lot more than we originally planned.  We sometimes talk, read, watch videos on a particular subject for a week or so.

As for some changes, here are some new plans for 2014:

1.) Math Quests: I have printed a map with x's marked as destinations to conquer.  We are going to read about some Generals and discuss their leadership skills and how they had to make decisions, etc.  For math, he is going to assume the role of General as he tackles certain battle quests. For example: In quest
1: there are three areas of the town in which the enemy is prepared to battle.  You have 108 men.
   *If you divide the men equally among the three areas how many men will be in each group?
   *Is dividing the men equally the best option? Why or why not? (Consider location, access to    
     supplies, etc)
   * Draw out a battle plan.
   *Write a letter to each of your leaders that details the plans you expect them to follow.
   *Create the scene and act out the battles.

2.) I plan to have class in other places at least 2 days a month (in addition to the field trips). One of his quests mentioned above is to create a business plan, implement it, and make at least $10 profit after all expenses are paid.  We will go talk to some small business entrepreneurs and see how they did it. Other ideas--we are going to do some activities at health works in which we figure out some stuff related to our bodies and health.

3.) We will be getting way more books than we have been getting off of the bookmobile! I think we have enough for a few weeks--we are done in a week!  Jackson wants me to read 5-6 at a time!

4.) I am not going to open the binders that contain the Common Core Curriculum or any other standards for that matter! We are going to learn and enjoy it--I remember back in the day (since I have been in the educational system) that a kindergartener had to master tying his/her shoe as a curriculum objective.  Honestly--does it really matter if a kid learns that in kindergarten versus fifth grade? Does it matter if time is taught in 1st, 2nd or 3rd?  We'll get to it all--I don't have to worry about the almighty test at the end of the year.  The achievement test he takes--will be used for what it is intended to--to show mastery and areas that are in need of improvement!

5.) Jackson is going to have more "already created" stations to engage him with when he asks to be a part of school.  I never expect him to do school with us--he joins in when he wants--but sometimes I have to stop for long periods of time getting something ready for his to do! I am a little better prepared now!

6.)  John Gannon loves telling stories.  We are going to start a writing journal to begin improvement on writing and start gaining some spelling skills. I haven't worked on either of those all semester due to our primary focus on reading.  I have got to get creative on this one--I think it is going to be a task...any good recommendations would be appreciated.  He is dyslexic (still reverses letters/numbers, combines or skips sounds, can't hear sounds when he verbally says a word).

7.) We will continue our decoding skills.  At the end of this semester we started a difficult word journal of difficult words he came upon while reading.  At the end of the day we would pick a page and he would try to "beat" his score by saying more of the words that he did the previous time.  The first two days were anything but glorious.  But after those two grueling days, when he saw he had improved by 64% he was pumped! We will continue this.

8.) Start typing skills again.  We started this at the beginning of the semester but I didn't like to program I was using. Any suggestions of good (ENGAGING) programs would be great.

I have also learned a few things myself during this process:

1. I am CERTAIN Egypt is in Africa.  (Thought you would get a laugh about this daddy!) He had me doubting what I had taught them and almost had me convinced it wasn't!

2.  The relief of the pressure to make sure I "cover it all" was really a burden!  I had self doubt I mean, really--what does that mean anyway? Cover everything the government requires, cover everything  that prepares them for life, cover everything that prepares them for college?  I think you see my point--it finally hit me that all of that is an impossibility and to be honest--I'd rather them learn things that prepare them for life and college--so, we'll just do our best!

3.  And finally, I can't take credit for this one.  I read it on someone's blog--wish I could remember where to formally give credi. It was really a turning point for me.  It was the definition of a successful day.  I have decided that a successful day for us is when we have spent quality time together and shared truths that ultimately will lead us to a better life.  I am pretty sure that is a goal that can be reached everyday!

Live a Meaningful Life!