This time of the year I stop and evaluate all aspects of my life. Homeschool, relationships, blogging, etc. I have been thinking quite a bit about our homeschooling and have been making adjustments here and there. I have really learned quite a bit this year about homeschooling especially now with 5 children.
One of the biggest things I have learned at the tail end of this year is to enjoy homeschool. It is such a blessing. Before I would get stressed when we didn’t complete our work for the day. My oldest is in 3rd grade why was I giving him 8 subjects to do a day?
It took my children and I having homeschool burn out to realize this is not working. Homeschooling all year-long was too stressful. I had taken the love of learning away. How do I get it back? It started in October when I decided to take a week off. My kids and I had picnics, played and had fun. My kids and I loved this time. November and December have been very flexible for us as well, taking days off here and there and enjoying breaks. If we had a playdate or a field trip and it ran longer than I thought then we didn’t do school that day. Don’t get me wrong we do need to get homeschool done and it will get done BUT do not stress over it. The beauty of homeschooling is that it can be done anytime!
Making the most of every opportunity. The things I find valuable are teaching character building, life skills and things that are eternal. You would think living in Florida we would be at the beach weekly but we don’t. With 5 kids (3 of them being little) I cringe at the thought of taking them by myself. Recently my mother in law visiting from New York, she wanted to go to the beach. That was one of the best days, the kids learned SO much that day just at the beach. We saw turtle eggs where the turtles had hatched (the kids got to hold them), jelly fish, coral, a crab and birds.
Socialization is also important not just for children but for us homeschool moms too. We have learned some valuable lessons with friendships this year too. God has blessed us with wonderful homeschool families around us. He has closed some doors and He has opened several new doors for us. We are taking the time to enjoy the old relationships – nurturing them as well as getting to know the new relationships He has placed in our lives. Before we socialized but I limited our family, now we are having playdates one to two times a week. Time goes by so fast so taking the time for them to play and building relationships is essential.
With God’s guidance our homeschooling year in 2014 will be a bit different. Going back to things that I had stopped.
Examples:
For science we will be doing the experiments and crafts to go with the lessons.
Joining another co-op which is all about working together – teamwork is crucial in life.
Taking a week off every 6 weeks.
Breaking subjects up; alternating subjects. History one week not the next and replacing it with Geography.
Adding Spanish to our curriculum.
Better organization, preparing in advance, getting rid of books and materials we do not use.
Making 2 weeks worth of Montessori boxes for my toddler to keep him busy while I homeschool my 3 oldest.
Review more on previously learned materials.
My husband and I are considering giving grades, my kids like the idea. (I will be praying about this)
Spend more time with my 4-year-old, making sure she knows her letters and sounds.
Gather Montessori activities for my baby.
Utilize more free resources (library, on-line, etc.)
Homeschool traveling.
Most of all having fun and giving Him the glory.
Do more cooking with my kids.
What will your 2014 homeschool year look like? If you posted it on your blog please feel free to add it to the linky below and share.
Sunday: 1+1+1=1, Sunday Showcase
Monday: Deceptively Educational, Living Montessori Now, Fantastic, Fun and Learning
Tuesday: Linda’s Lunacy, Rainy Day Mum, Learn With Play at Home
Wednesday: Toddly Mummy, Rainy Day Mum,
Thursday: Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Kid’s Activity Blog, Lessons Learned Journal
Friday: Living Life Intentionally, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers,Homeschool Creations, Sunscholars,
Saturday: Cheerios and Lattes, Crafty Moms Share, Sugar Ants, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff, Tatertots and Jello, Or so she says, Your Homebased Mom, Too Much Time on my Hands, I Can Teach My Child
Going to share this with my SIL who home-schools. I love that this gives her an array of ideas she can use at home as well.
Wow, I really admire your patience and dedication to homeschooling. I am a teacher in a public school and it’s exhausting…even though I collaborate with other teachers to create lessons and activities. I can’t imagine doing it by myself from home. Your idea of working with a co-op sounds great!
It looks like you’ve made great plans for 2014. I love the homeschool traveling plan 😉 My daughter homeschools via online classes (she’s a senior) so that she can travel with me. This winter we’ll be spending 5-7 weeks in southern California. I can’t wait to explore the southwest with her!
I take my hat off to any Mom or Dad who can home school their children. I can only imagine how hard that might be. I think it is awesome how you can find learning even in the “fun” things to take a break for the text books. While I do not home school my children I can learn from this that there is almost always a learning opportunity if you are looking for one! Thank you.
I’ve always thought home schooling to be a fabulous idea. I’m wondering though, is it more expensive than regular schooling?
I remember when my oldest 5 were that age and I home schooled. Don’t stress yourself or your kids too much with trying to “get it right” Relax and enjoy them, they grow up so fast. Not sure if you’ve heard of Konos but I loved using that curriculum for my boys.
This is a great post about stopping and reflecting on the way we do things so we can be more efficient in the new year. What I like about “montessori” teaching that you can totally incorporate in homeschool teaching is the ability to teach anywhere. So on those picnics you took, learning about different kinds of grass, or the eco system, discovering what kind of butterflies there are if one landed on someone’s shoulder. All those things can be integrated into education in a natural way when you homeschool making it fun to learn! I think you are doing great homeschooling five kids, and like you am taking the time right now to analyse my own productivity with things and also making sure in the new year that we have some fun while doing it! 🙂
Loved reading this! The pictures are so fabulous too! Thank you so much for sharing! Happy New Year! xo xo
Homeschooling sounds like a huge project and responsibility, lucky we’re not there yet, my daughter is only 2.
I do have a big, big plan though as we’ll be building our home in a tough economy and small financial resources. I’ve got to break things down into small steps and bargain a lot 🙂
I, too, am looking for ways to improve our homeschool and not be so stressed. Great post!
so smart for a time of evaluation! We lost our love for learning too and had to figure out what was “missing” and a lot of it was on me and the stuff I had stopped doing.
Love reading this. Homeschool fascinates me!
I don’t home school—just out of fear of the burn out and now with my daughter in middle school grade-I’m afraid so much of it would be lost on me! I did have a dream of taking a year long RV trip around the USA and teaching my kids on the road…
I always think about how great it would be to homeschool my kids. I just have not been able to make the jump.
Socialization for momma is SO important. It is so lovely to be able to talk with others on this homeschool journey because they are the only ones who understand what it’s like.
Thank you for this post. We are trying to decide on whether we’d like to go the homeschooling route or get my son into school. There are definitely a lot of things to think about here. Thank you for sharing.
We don’t homeschool but that doesn’t stop us from taking what she learns in the classroom and expanding on it at home through field trips such as this. Your school year looks like it’s full of valuable fun learning.
Thanks so much for sharing your resolutions. I definitely need to start a list of my own.
I love your plan! While I like traditional schooling, the opportunity to travel and have more hands-on experience is invaluable.
How neat! I love your resolutions!!
I think it is a great idea to add Spanish into the mix. Learn a new language is always fun and beneficial.
we don’t homeschool but these are great goals!! i am just not cut out for doing it. a dear friend of mine does and its wonderful
A lot of great info to ponder! I’m new-ish to homeschool and I fight every day against the perceptions of my loved ones who don’t understand homeschool. Of course, they’re all public school teachers… Soooo….