School prep 2020

 Two weeks ago a bunch of moms in my area got together to talk about the upcoming school year and what we each were planning.  COVID has made life a challenge for many and the idea was to exchange ideas, see if we wanted to do anything together, and just generally provide some moral support.  I was one of two veteran homeschoolers in attendance.  As I listened to the various plans - some people had really firm ideas of curricula they were using or which school program they were signing up for, others were totally adrift.  I began to get anxious about MY curriculum choices for MY children.  I began worrying about my writing program for Kenna and Natalie.  I really got concerned.  I started looking up a really renowned  homeschooling writing curriculum and thinking about buying it.

But something wonderful happened a few days later.  I was out on a walk with one of those moms and some sort of question she asked prompted me to reflect and verbalize my original goals and reasons for homeschooling.  Suddenly I was reminded of my WHY and my own personal philosophy and I realized that my worries and anxieties were stemming from forgetting those things.  I quickly stopped thinking about that renowned curriculum and resolved to just let things rest for a bit.

A few days later I was talking to one of my sisters and she reminded me of a curriculum that I used for my girls when they were younger that I really liked...and that it had a version for middle school ages.  Bingo!  I hopped online, realized it fit us perfectly, and ordered it.  I've been feeling excited about school ever since.

I have found that every family educates differently.  Some outsource their schooling just like I outsource certain things now.  Some are very structured, others more loosey-goosey.  Some want to graduate early, others want all the socialization of public school.  I find that if you veer from what feels right and good for your family you are going to be unhappy.

For school this year I've retrenched a bit and decided that I really need to hold true to what works best for OUR family.  Every year when I plan school I take time to mull over where each child is in their learning journey, what I think the best next step is, and how we are going to get there.  Some years it's been obvious that the best answer has been the local public school or a charter school.  Other years it's homeschool.  It varies with the child, the phase of our family, and mama's energy.   Because we are for sure homeschooling this year it made sense to go old school.  Since my family has grown it's gotten busier and the things that worked so well in our lives when my older three were small haven't always worked so well with the last three.  But this year I think we can go back to some of the simplicity of our past life and enjoy that.  I want to be sure I don't over schedule our activities OR our days.  And that includes our study time.  While I deeply, deeply enjoy crafting minute by minute schedules of perfection,  we never follow them.  Usually the first day of school finds us 30-60 minutes off schedule and mama frustrated.  But I'm learning!  This year I planned out a general routine and built in lots of wiggle room.  And then I threw out some stuff and left even more wiggle room.  Because our family is not a public school. We are a home and I actually prefer (this is one of our personal preferences - yours can be different!) that learning feel like part of our every day life.  I'd rather take things slower and enjoy the day, than push my children to maximize their learning and be miserable in the process.  I haven't figured out how to push them in a pleasant way.  

One of the great things about learning at home is that you can accomplish so much in less time.  And it's amazing what children pick up over the course of a few minutes here and a few minutes there.  My personal philosophy is that much of the learning that actually sticks in our brains is done after age 12.  Therefore, except for learning to read and pursuing a consistent course of mathematics, the rest of school subjects are icing on the cake to me; meant to be savored and enjoyed (which will be better remembered anyway) and not force-fed.  I choose my favorite topics and we learn together.  Since I am a history nut, we usually do a lot of history via historical fiction, a lot of reading, and some writing.  I struggle to be motivated for science, so science is light and frankly, infrequent - books, youtube videos and the occasional experiment check that box for me.

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This year's curriculum choices

FAITH - Faith is on the cusp of being a fluent reader and she just needs lots and lots of practice.  We will continue reading Bob books, Usborne early readers and doing our reading curriculum.  My reading curriculum is from a BYU class I took ages ago and can no longer be purchased so I can't link to it.  I'm also using Five in a Row with Faith and signed her up for All-in-One-Homeschool to give her something to do independently if I need her to.  Her math will be https://www.mathonthelevel.com/ which we've used for years with our PreK-6th graders, https://elephantlearning.com/, and maybe some Khan Academy.

NATALIE/KENNA - 6th and 7th graders here!  Because they are so close in age, much of their curriculum is the same.  This year is her first year doing Saxon as she is about done with Math on the Level.  Kenna started Saxon last year.  For science we will finish up last year's REAL Science Odyssey but only one day a week.  History will be Beautiful Feet medieval studies, and for writing we are using Bravewriter's  middle school age curriculum which is a series of monthly writing projects.  We love to fill in our days with music practice, art lessons, and learning to type.  

LOGAN - as a Senior, Logan is doing the district's comprehensive learning program and he is basically on his own for that.  Fingers crossed that he gets to resume school some time during his senior year and enjoy some of that experience!

My one piece of advice for this year's new homeschoolers is.... do what you can and let the rest go.  The kids will be fine and you'll be amazed at how much they grow even when it seems like you're barely doing school.