Joyfully Overloaded

Reading days My 5th grade teacher did the idea and I loved it. It’s super simple but a welcome change of pace. We make little cozy spots, have fun snacks and school that day is simply just reading. I usually do a read out loud to them for a bit and they read on their own as well or work on their book projects. We get their sleeping bags out, pull cushions off the couch. Sometimes we even set up a little tent and they read inside. I often have mellow instrumental music quietly playing in the background. The day is shorter, cozy and fun. I don’t usually plan them in, but when I notice the boys seem run down because of life or colds I’ll throw one of these days in. I’ve done the same with science where all we do all day is science experiments that I’ve had waiting. Snow days I always make them do school on snow days, with the reminder that once Spring gets here we don’t want to be stuck inside doing school. However I do make snow days a bit more fun. I require them to do their basic math...

You might want to pop popcorn and grab a fun drink. It's going to be a long read. I decided to break this post into two parts. I’m going to start with the personal stories because I believe it is important to know that the best part of homeschooling is catering your children’s education to the needs and lifestyle of the family. Therefore there is no black and white, right or wrong way to homeschool. That’s the beauty of it. Find freedom in allowing your family to learn in your own way. After you see that we will move into the different curriculums and I’ll leave you with a million links to their websites. Here are some things you should know before we dig in: 1-Just because you bought it doesn’t mean you are married to it. I have twice now gotten halfway through the school year and chucked a program because it was making everybody miserable. It’s okay, it’s part why we homeschool, we get to choose what our children study and how they learn. 2-Don’t let the price scare you. I unde...

I almost skipped over this completely to go straight to curriculums but how we teach is personal to each family, child, parent, and even what life brings that year. For example this past year I was the most hands off I have ever been.  I personally hated it, my biggest was not in favor, and I think my middle boy was neutral about it. I was struggling with Lyme, and had a developmentally delayed toddler on top of teaching the two biggest.  I was exhausted, and they are at an age where they can learn on their own.  The test scores are in for the school year; they scored (at or above grade level ) at least grade level in everything or higher. That shows that even though the method wasn’t what I wanted the boys grasped the knowledge put before them.  There is no secret formula to homeschooling because every family is different.  One year we turned our dining room into the water system. You can see the water evaporating from the pond here. Below I’ve brie...

Between the two of us we experienced a little of everything for our k-12 education.  I started in the public school system and then as I entered my middle school years I was given the option of being homeschooled or attending the local private school.  I choose the private school.  In high school I went between the two private and public schools but officially graduated from the private academy. My Strong Man started at a private academy but ended his highschool career as a homeschooler.  Honestly we see the positives and negatives of all three systems. When it came time for our kids to go to school we felt the public schools were understaffed with the student to teacher ratio not being optimal. I liked the idea of homeschooling some day, but not in the early years. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to teach my kids to read and that I would ruin their education for life. We decided on a 10 student to 1 teacher private school a few miles from our house. It turns out th...

Covi-19 has turned the world upside down. As a homeschooling family we felt the changes, not  quite as drastically as other families, but it’s still been a big change for us... -We missed a three day field trip to the Grand Canyon. -We had to postpone a belt test to an unknown date. -We had to postpone our entire Maine study as 90% of it involved field trips and hands on activities. - We missed a Court of Honor to celebrate our Scout’s hard earned rank achievement. - Gym class was canceled. -Piano lessons canceled. - We grieved just like everybody else. It seemed to really sink in for the boy’s about three weeks in. BUT… -We also quickly changed our schedules and focus because we realized we were living out history, someday they will all be telling their kids about the Pandemic of 2020. - We took our standardized tests early. - We started our summer break early. (Actually they are still learning, but they don’t realize it.) - We have watched the life of a...