Why we homeschool

During my last seven years of homeschooling I have been fortunate enough not to encounter any major discouragement from non-homeschoolers. Most people are interested when they find out, and many ask questions out of genuine curiosity. I always enjoy talking about homeschooling, and it doesn't at all offend me when people want to know why or how we do it.

Ninjaschool homeschool

Our first week of school in photographs

We had an amazing first week of 4th grade and preschool. Here's a little bit of what we did!

Some presidents had mutton chops (and other things I learned in homeschool this week)

Nothing can make an 8-year old boy cry like some good dictation work.

Instilling character is a lot harder than teaching any academic subject.

Sometimes your child will say things like, "We're reading poetry and discussing rhyme scheme today? YES!" or "Hey! I can use this math in real life!" and your heart melts just a little bit.

Martin Van Buren had some pretty impressive sideburns. Go ahead, Google him.

There is some really fantastic children's literature out there. This week I read Holes by Louis Sachar (ages 10 and up) to judge its content before passing it on to Asher. I could not put the book down.

There's something exhilarating about opening a textbook and realizing you have fewer pages to go than you have already done.

Homeschool planning

In my five years of homeschooling, I'm still constantly modifying my methods. That's one of the things I love about homeschool: you stick with what works for you, and if something doesn't work, you can change it! I love not having to be married to one specific method of teaching or planning or organizing.

That being said, I thought I'd share my current planning method. It's a conglomeration of several years' worth of different ideas, keeping what worked and ditching what didn't or what was too time-consuming. I'm quite happy with where I've ended up.  

The good, the bad, and the blessings that follow

We're in our seventh week of school. We've already taken a two-week break for our Disney trip, and we'll be taking another week-long break when friends from Bermuda come to visit us in November, and then another holiday week over Thanksgiving. Yet we're still plugging along and exactly where I had wanted us to be by this time.

But it wasn't without a few difficult days.

Parking lot counting activity

Okay, so this was not my own idea, but it's so brilliant and simple that I wish I had thought of it. A friend posted it on facebook, and it looked really easy to make, especially considering we have two little boys (we have lots of toy cars) and we do a lot of online shopping (we have lots of delivery boxes).

Getting ready for 3rd grade

It is truly hard to believe my "baby" will be starting third grade this fall.

And it's also kinda hard to believe I've been homeschooling formally for three years, not including preschool. I am in no way an expert, but I have to admit that the planning part of things gets a little easier each year.

As I've mentioned before, we're following a classical style of education. In a nutshell, that just means we're studying history chronologically in four-year cycles, and our subjects align with the history we're learning that year. I use an incredible book called The Well-Trained Mind as my guide, and then I choose my own curricula based on how my child learns.

After this year's homeschool convention, I read the following statement in a pamphlet:

Man, was I convicted.

Catching up

This time of year is always the busiest, despite the fact that things are winding down. Here's a quick, brief synopsis of what's been happening over the last month or so!

1. My sisters, niece, and I walked in the Richmond March for Babies again this year. It's a fun spring tradition for a great cause!

We had an absolutely gorgeous day!

The first day of school... for them

School started this week.

Well, at least for everybody else it did. We just finished our fifth week of 2nd grade.

However, this year Asher has a few friends who attend regular, non-homeschool school. In Bermuda, all of Asher's playmates were homeschooled. He knew school existed, but that was about it. We did school at home, and so did his closest friends.

This year, however, we are living in a new country and a new house. Our neighbors - two little boys Asher plays with almost every day - go to public school.

First week of 2nd grade is in the books

We started school a little bit early this year. Last year we made an international move in early September, so we didn't begin 1st grade until well after Labor Day. Throughout the year we squeezed in a couple trips to Bermuda and Disney World, so by the end I was a little stressed about finishing on time.

Not this year. This year we started an entire month early to enable us to take more holidays throughout the school year for vacations, sick days, and those days we just need a break. Basically, I wanted enough cushion for flexibility.

We were both ready to get back into the swing of things the first week of August. I missed the routine of the school day, and even though he would probably say otherwise, I think Asher did, too.

So on Monday, August 5, we started 2nd grade.

Summer school challenge

First grade is over!

But we're still going to do some school work over the summer.