What's Working...

So I've taken the last few weeks and have organized my thoughts and goals. We have been doing "school" on the days that Parker does not have preschool and I am filtering ideas and finding what works...actually what doesn't work. For example - Parker's attention span to sit at the table and look at charts - no matter how colorful - and do w

orksheets only is about 15 minutes. My original plan was to get some kindergarten materials for now and over the summer and see if he breezes through those. That way wecould begin 1st grade stuff in the fall and spend more time in school. I'm sensing this is not going to work - not because the work is too hard but because he isn't able to sit at the table and focus long enough to learn the material WELL.

I've realized about myself that I want to homeschool a 6th grader - concentrated schoolwork until one or two o'clock in the afternoon. That's not where we are so I'm changing gears. I've decided to do themes or units each week. I think I can incorporate math, phonics, reading and handwriting into the themes every day with gam

es and activities. I can find fun science activities a few times a week and fit in cool lessons about people and real world things to talk about, read about, find videos about, ect.

My goal between now and September is to get him reading. He's really good at consonant - vowel - consonant words and he has several sight words as well. We have been using StarFall.com, ReadingEggs.com, Phonics Pathways and Explode the Code. I'm also trying to read A LOT more than we do now. We just started Charlotte's Web and he's into it. Here are some things that have also been working for us:

This is Lego word builders. I just put w

hite tape on the side of each duplo lego and wrote a letter

on it. I wrote a list of about 15 words and he built each one and got a prize at the e

nd for getting them all right.

This next picture is a sight word game with twister rings. We can connect the rings in any way that we want to make a cool path. We pretended that everything outs

ide of the rings was lava. I called out words and he had to jump to the correct word

without falling off. Then he called out words and I jumped - this turned out to be much more effective because he thought it was hilarious to watch me jump a long distance - he had to get the word correc

t or my jump was not quite as dramatic.

This one is just a word family activity. He was not a fan of this one ha ha. I think it was boring? He did it though...

This last picture is a board game we made up. We rolled dice and moved Lego Ninja's that number of cards. When we landed on a card with a sight word on it, you had to read

it. If you got it right, you kept the card. If you got it wrong, the card stayed out. The game ended when all the cards were gone and the winner was the person with the most cards. Parker really likes to play "teacher" and correct me. I can get him to do work that he doesn't want to do by asking him to "be the checker". He always knows when I've made a mistake.

We are having lots of fun and working hard!

Make New Friends

This morning the boys and I went to a new friends house. I have known her for years but have never been in playgroups or anything with her. She pulled her oldest son out of school last year after kindergarten and is now homeschooling. She is involved in a local homeschool group in our area and I was hoping to get to know her a little and maybe tag along to the next meeting. We had so much fun talking! She brought out the books she uses and showed me around her school room. Her second son is Parker's age and they had a great time too. This sounds bad to say - but they are so normal! I think the stereotype is that homeschooling families have shy, socially awkward kids - and maybe the parents are fanatical or trying to escape modern life. They totally aren't like that. In fact - she was telling me how many families I know who homeschool at our church and I was very surprised. There is a group of them who have kindergarteners and first graders - all young families with babies like us. They have joined the network of museums and zoos and go out and take advantage of the homeschool activities in Dallas.

I've have been concerned about what Parker and I will do with ourselves all day once the actual work is done - I feel assured that we will not have an issue with this - I think we are going to have lots of fun and be out in the community learning a lot. Very exciting stuff!

In The Beginning There Was a Decision...

Every journey has a beginning and this is mine - well our beginning.

Well actually - that's not true. Seven years ago, I never imagined that I would consider homeschooling any future children that Jon and I may have but sometime between "back then" and touring kindergartens the idea has planted itself in my heart.

My dad taught me how to make pros and cons lists when I was really young (I was a worrier back then too). I have lists all over my house with the pros and cons of homeschooling, private school, and public school. Jon and I have talked for hours - consulted our parents, friends, researched, and most importantly, prayed to God and have decided to homeschool Parker in the fall.

I have a million reasons for doing it and I also have several concerns that I am placing in God's hands because Jon and I both believe this is right for us.

There are days I am motivated by academics. There are days I am motivated by religion and the desire to preserve Parker's innocence as long as I can. I saw a sign yesterday that said "I have seen the village and I don't want it raising my child" ha ha. There are days I am motivated by finances. There are days I am motivated by how much I love to spend time with Parker and I am so excited to continue to have time with him when he is at his best - not the leftovers.

So that is that. Decision made. I'm on board. We're all on board. We are doing this thing. When I have moments of panic I think to myself - Kindergarten is not even mandatory in Texas so I can't really screw everything up.

Besides - this might be the best decision we ever made.

We decided to take education one year at a time and keep open minds and also the boy's best interests at the top of the priority list.

I love to write. I need to write. I am hoping to chronicle this year from the beginning and have it "out there" to remember. For better or worse - we will all be learning next year!

Making the decision was a huge step. It feels good and right. Next - I'm going to start to investigating some curriculum ideas. There are several "one stop" packages that include entire curriculums with teachers manuals and lesson plans - or we can pick and choose. Overwhelming? Yeah, to me too!

I also checked out "The Well Trained Mind", "Homeschooling. When is it Right for Your Family?" and "Homeschooling the Young Child" at the library.

I'm also finding some local homeschool groups to connect with so we can stay busy and social during the week. I am blessed to have a sister-in-law, aunt and a few friends who are homeschooling successfully.

Say some prayers for us and if you're up for it - follow us on this new journey. I expect good days and bad but I feel like it's going to be an incredible experience!