What I Haven't Done

When we made the decision to homeschool our two children, we knew a few things we'd be up against: questions of socialization, the loss of a second income, having to choose curricula.  The first two, though decidedly un-American, we've dealt with.  My kids are not shy recluses, though I admit that my daughter is something of a history geek who has announced that she prefers Colonial history despite Byron's efforts to get her interested in the Civil War.  I don't have a problem with that.  And the second has somehow worked, by the grace of God.  Remember that fish-and-loaves miracle?  Well, let's just say Jesus never changes and though we're not taking lavish Disney vacations, we always have enough.

The third is where I continue to struggle.  Folks, there are A LOT of options out there for homeschoolers, and at times it can be overwhelming.  And part of the struggle is finding what works for your children, who (guaranteed) are not going to learn the same way you or their siblings do.

Take Akea, for instance.  We're on reading program #???.  She's an auditory learner who can memorize anything from Shakespeare to Robert Frost...and she could probably pass a high school history SOL test.  But throw a word at her that she's never read before, and she falls to pieces.  I, on the other hand, am a visual/kinestetic learner, so I have literally cried over the past two years in trying to find a way to teach her to read without shelling out thousands of dollars that we don't have for a private tutor.  At seven, I thought she'd be at least plowing through Shakespeare Magic Treehouse books, but even those are a struggle for her.  And it's been a struggle for me, too.  I've taught older kids, but had been told teaching a youngster to read is simple.  Sorry to say it, but in our case, that's delusional.

I also thought we'd have started a foreign language program by now, but that's been put on the back burner.  AND I thought I'd have time to teach her some drawing skills, go on field trips once a week, and do weekly history and science projects.  We are a part of Classical Conversations, and I thank God for that program.  And though we've done several lapbooks this year, it's been a struggle to find the time to do those, because above all, I want her to be able to read the books she loves so much.

So what are we doing?  Well, I dig the whole phonics thing.  Really, I do.  I found a wonderful program called All About Spelling that focuses on phonics and presents the information in logical, bite-sized ways.  And don't let the "spelling" part fool you.  This is very much a program that can be used to teach reading, though they have come up with All About Reading recently.  I've started that with Charlie and have been very pleased.

Last week I added in something else that I think is helping her tremendously.  At my sister-in-law's recommendation, I got a couple Mr. Pudder and Tabby books from the library.  At Byron's suggestion (he is also very auditory), she sits down with one and reads a chapter.  On a scrap piece of paper, she writes down words she can't decode (read).  I then transfer them onto flashcards, using my best wanna-be-elementary-school-teacher handwriting.  We have a pretty big stack from just one book, and we go over them daily.  Phonics purists may cringe, but you know what?  It's working.  It's strengthening her visual memory.  And being the nerd that I am, I point out phonics rules to her, though I think for the most part they go in one ear and out the other.  Maybe it's a Machiavellian approach, but she's reading those books beautifully. 

I'm including this in the Rural Thursday blog hop because like homesteading, homeschooling is a bit of an "opting out."  And I'd love to meet others who have similar struggles/solutions/ingenious suggestions.

Oh, Right. I Homeschool, Too.

This weekend I was brainstorming for post ideas.  Not usually necessary - there's plenty going on around here to write about - but last week our computer stopped recognizing external drives.  Which means I had to think about what I could post without the need for photos. 

So I thought I'd share what we're doing this year for homeschooling.  Akea is in second grade and Charlie, since he has a late birthday, is pre-K-ish.  This means I'll do as much with him as I can, but my focus is going to be Akea and getting her to the point where she can work a bit more independently.  That's the nice thing about homeschooling - you can be flexible!

Here's the rundown of what we're using:

Reading/Spelling: Explode the Code for both kids, All About Spelling for Akea.  Bob Books for Charlie and All About Spelling Readers as Akea progresses through the program.
Grammar: First Language Lessons (Well-Trained Mind)
Writing: Writing with Ease (Well-Trained Mind)
Math: Saxon (It kills me, but the girl can add and subtract in her head!  Gotta stick with it!)
Everything Else: We're in our third year of Classical Conversations, a classical program that meets once per week and covers history, geography, science, English, Latin, math, and Bible.

Classical Conversations is mainly memory work, though it also includes art, music, presentations, and science experiments.  And since I'm somewhat neurotic, I also try to expand on the science and history at home.  We use the Story of the World series for history, library books for science, and I recently decided that this is The Year of the Lapbook.  They're fun, artistic, and you can really tailor them to each child's level!  We just completed one on Jamestown and I helped Charlie make a small model of the fort. 

Well darn it, I guess I could have included photos in this post after all.

In the meantime, pray we find a good deal on a new computer!

Benedict Arnold Likes Red Shoes

I was thinking the other day that I haven't written much about homeschooling.  I've stuck a couple sentences about it in other posts, but this is my first post dedicated entirely to homeschooling.  Yup, I like to live life on the edge.  Anyway, I'm in my second year educating our kids at home, and besides it being a huge responsibility, it also prompts us to take advantage of educational opportunities anywhere from our backyard to places actually designed to be educational in the first place.

So following is my plug for Colonial Williamsburg.  And no, I'm not getting any freebies for it; we just love the place!  Actually, Byron's parents graciously blessed us with year passes a couple months ago, so we're thinking of going back soon to enjoy the holiday scene circa 1776.  During our visit there with my in-laws, we enjoyed re-enactments, house tours, learning from various artisans and shopkeepers, eating at a tavern, and a most amazing concert featuring the harpsichord.  And Byron's parents put us up in a colonial tavern.  Believe me, I'm not gloating here; we just really, really appreciated their generosity because we wouldn't normally treat ourselves to anything like this...and at the moment it's out of our budget.

Anyway, Williamsburg has some sweet deals for homeschoolers.  They host two homeschool weeks yearly: one in the spring and one in the fall.  The tickets are comparatively dirt cheap, too.  Upcoming dates for 2011 are:

Spring Homeschooler Experience: February 26-March 5, 2011
Fall Homeschooler Experience: September 10-25, 2011

Unfortunately, when the homeschool kids' dad is a teacher, it's tough to take days off to take advantage of the special weeks.  But if you go at any other time, you can still get discounted tickets.  Just bring proof of belonging to a homeschool organization (I had to run back to the car to get mine, but at least I'd brought it).  And public school teachers get discounts, too!  Byron didn't have his ID with him, but they were able to find him on the staff listing on his high school's website.  Click here to go to a link for homeschoolers.

Here are a few photos of what we enjoyed:

One of the first events we attended was the reading of the Declaration of Independence.  Several actors shared in the reading, which made it quite captivating.

A bit of Revolutionary City.  Here Benedict Arnold threatens the revolutionaries, but he did complement Akea on her red shoes.  Not that that suddenly makes him an admirable historical figure.

Some photos I took on the tour of the Peyton Randolf House...

Old school brooms.

Can you tell I like rusticity??

Akea and Charlie with Grandma and Granddaddy

In addition, we visited the Governor's Palace and ate way too many ginger cakes.  I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but we really did have a fun, educational journey back in time, and got to spend a couple days with Byron's parents, who we don't see very often because they live a few thousand miles away.  If you have the opportunity, Colonial Williamsburg is a pretty unique place to visit!

Where do you like to go as a family?