Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Homeschool Hop #5



The Homeschool Hop is hosted by Kylie over at Our Worldwide Classroom. Come join in and have some fun checking out other's homeschool blogs. So far we have met each other and the families and also found out why we are homeschooling. This week the theme to share is "Style." What style or approach to educating your kiddos are you using?

I remember when I first learned about homeschooling over a decade ago and the only thing I could picture was a school-at-home approach. When I started to really research homeschooling as a "real" option for my "babies" I was surprised at how many different approaches there are. I looked into Charlotte Mason and liked some of her ideas, such as dictation, narration and living books. When I read about unschooling I was intrigued. But I can't see me, with my personality, being able to stick to such a radical approach. I find myself leaning more towards a relaxed approach with the girls. I want to make sure they are learning the basics. I want to make sure I have some sort of plan to go by to make sure we are doing something. Right now we have 5 years before we have to be official. The plan right now is to use the "curriculum" I can throw together, though sometimes this seems a bit too overwhelming as I found a bunch of stuff at the thrift shop for really cheap, but of course it is not complete (most of it was Abeka) and I am not sure how to combine it all. I have several different books for beginning reading/phonics. Always felt I could see if one approach worked, if not try another. But now I am wondering if that will frustrate the children. (Just for an example of why I am a mite confused) Right now all we are really doing is a letter every week or two using some ideas from Letter of the Week. Mostly I get some ideas for books, poems and theme words from this site and I try to come up with craft ideas, because I love doing crafts with the girls. Some are out of my head, others are from ideas I've seen. But we also review word cards and play "I hear 'ssss' when I say 'sun'" (for example). I make sure to focus on the sound the letter makes instead of the name, though I do share that too. Something I learned while working at the Montessori and that was reinforced when I read the book by Barbara Curtis called "Mommy, Teach Me to Read!" She is trained in Montessori and has homeschooled her children. I have also included Montessori activities, some of which the girls seem to enjoy others just sit on the shelf. I would love more room to be able to have more activities out at a time. I try to teach from what goes on during the day. When I have energy we have done baking and I try to teach math concepts from that. And while we eat. We read lots of books too.

Anyway, while the girls do not have to be officially homeschooled we will definitely be throwing things together. When they are old enough I have toyed with using the Weaver Curriculum, not sure what that will make us. I like that I can work through that curriculum with the girls together and they can each learn the same thing just at their level.

Not sure if this is really sharing my style or not, but this is what we do. Check out the links below to see what others are doing.


MckLinky Blog Hop

7 comments:

  1. I found you through the Homeschooling Hop and so glad I did! I'm your newest follower. Love your activities with the girls!

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  2. Sounds to me like you are doing a wonderful job. :) It will all come together for you.

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  3. Hello, I do a lot of the things you would like to do. I make my own curriculum, materials, and Thrift the rest. I just mix and match a lot of things. I do not normally buy from big companies though...abeka, etc. Just do not have the funds for that. But, I have heard great things about it. Good luck with your endeavor!

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  4. Okay, this is slightly bad of me, but it does make me feel better that someone who loves MOntessori doesn't always have their activities go well. I know shame on me.
    From what I've seen of your blog so far you've come up with a lot of great ideas, and your kids are learning a lot!

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  5. I found your blog from a Google Alert for Weaver. If you would like more info on using Weaver, please feel free to join the email list or Facebook page, check out the blog, or just poke around at unofficialweaver.com for more info. And don't hesitate to contact me (kelly@unofficialweaver.com) if you have questions! I'm here to serve!
    ~Kelly H.

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  6. Learing at home with the people who love them---is the best thing ever!! Thank you for sharing!!

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  7. Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I agree with Kylie, it will all come together! You're doing great! Relax about having to have a "curriculum". It's ok to bring good ideas from many different sources together. Changing everyday probably wouldn't be good, but trying new things isn't a bad thing. Don't be too hard on yourself:) Ask the Lord, He'll give you wisdom.
    Blessings,
    Wendy

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