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Here's a shot of our homeschool room. All my little ducks working hard.
After 2 weeks I can definitely find some positives and some negatives.
Positives:
1. Rosetta Stone for Chinese. In the pic, Jack is actually working on typing but he'd just finished Chinese. He's already speaking in phrases and understands quite a bit of what he hears/reads. I'm impressed. How much will he retain? I don't know but he's definitely learning.
2. Rod and staff preschool for Grace. Simple, basic. She loves it. She's my workbook kid so this fits the bill.
3. Our word wall catepillar. I started this with Sam (and realized while writing this I should've posted a pic). He adds a "body" piece each time he learns a new sight word. I found the idea here.
This has been the best motivator for that little boy.
This has been the best motivator for that little boy.
4. Our morning routine. I bought, from Teachers Pay Teachers, a booklet of morning work for Jack and Sam. In the morning, the kiddos, independently (read -- without mom) say the pledges, recite a weekly memory verse, fill out "today, yesterday, tomorrow" and complete one page of morning work. FABULOUS! They love the independence; I love the last few minutes to finish my coffee or fold the laundry. I also love that the morning pages provide simple review for skills that either I overlook or that could use a little enrichment or that don't require a lesson but still need a little practice (like rhyming or alphabetizing).
I love most of my curricula choices -- Tapestry of Grace is awesome; Jack is in love with Growing with Grammar; Kay Arthur's Bible study is tough but so rich. There are a few negatives though.
Negatives
1. This biggest negative -- and this is a doozy in the homeschool world -- is science. I just do NOT like Apologia. I know, I know, I know. Everyone loves it. It's great. The best. Blah, blah, blah. I think it is soooooo boring. Dry, dull, snooze fest. And I like science. So Apologia is on the cut list for next year. It's like first round draft pick that just didn't pan out. I paid too much money to not let it finish the year but I don't think I'll be renewing that contract.
2. IEW's PAL. This isn't a HUGE negative. I actually think it's a fantastic curriculum. Sam is learning a lot and his reading is improving with leaps and bounds. BUT...it is very, very, very cut and paste heavy. And Sam (just like Jack) is so done with cutting and pasting. It's hard for a kid to learn if he hates the method of teaching. I'm improvising and I think it will work but I don't like having to even do that. This is the only year we will use IEW for Sam so I don't have to think too heavily about that choice. And I'm pretty sure I'll use it with Grace -- although as much as she likes arts and crafts, she may love it -- turning that negative into a positive.
3. Muzzy Spanish and our typing software are kinda stinky. Muzzy is odd -- very short lessons but games that are too difficult. The teaching seems incomplete. The typing is just boring. It takes too long to get to the games; it also presents this fantastic "island" to explore but then forces you to master one section before exploring another. The kids are bit burnt out on that one.
Other than that our first two weeks have been a success. Enrichment Fridays were a great idea, allowing the kiddos to either do something fun like Foam Dart Physics or to catch up on work from the week since we have so many doctor appointments with Sam. If the first two weeks are any indication, I think we are looking at a great year!
I love most of my curricula choices -- Tapestry of Grace is awesome; Jack is in love with Growing with Grammar; Kay Arthur's Bible study is tough but so rich. There are a few negatives though.
Negatives
1. This biggest negative -- and this is a doozy in the homeschool world -- is science. I just do NOT like Apologia. I know, I know, I know. Everyone loves it. It's great. The best. Blah, blah, blah. I think it is soooooo boring. Dry, dull, snooze fest. And I like science. So Apologia is on the cut list for next year. It's like first round draft pick that just didn't pan out. I paid too much money to not let it finish the year but I don't think I'll be renewing that contract.
2. IEW's PAL. This isn't a HUGE negative. I actually think it's a fantastic curriculum. Sam is learning a lot and his reading is improving with leaps and bounds. BUT...it is very, very, very cut and paste heavy. And Sam (just like Jack) is so done with cutting and pasting. It's hard for a kid to learn if he hates the method of teaching. I'm improvising and I think it will work but I don't like having to even do that. This is the only year we will use IEW for Sam so I don't have to think too heavily about that choice. And I'm pretty sure I'll use it with Grace -- although as much as she likes arts and crafts, she may love it -- turning that negative into a positive.
3. Muzzy Spanish and our typing software are kinda stinky. Muzzy is odd -- very short lessons but games that are too difficult. The teaching seems incomplete. The typing is just boring. It takes too long to get to the games; it also presents this fantastic "island" to explore but then forces you to master one section before exploring another. The kids are bit burnt out on that one.
Other than that our first two weeks have been a success. Enrichment Fridays were a great idea, allowing the kiddos to either do something fun like Foam Dart Physics or to catch up on work from the week since we have so many doctor appointments with Sam. If the first two weeks are any indication, I think we are looking at a great year!
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