Reflections on a year of Homeschooling.

It's hard to believe, that it has only been a year since we started homeschooling.

The fort Theo built during our first weeks of homeschooling.

I can barely remember what life was like when we were chasing off to school every morning, and I am thankful for that. I have always known (since making the decision to pull out of public school) that this was the right educational path for my son- but that's not to say that it has always been easy. He is a difficult child to deal with- a lot of the time. So it puts a lot of stress and worry on me, which at times makes me not want to homeschool any more. But then God always shows up, and reminds us of why we are homeschooling. Because it's worth it, and because it's the best thing for my son, and my family.

Eva testing her sense of touch.

It has been great to have Eva join us as an official Kindergartener this year. Last year, she was kind of on the outside. She participated sometimes, but never really owned it. We have come into our own. We have a rhythm. We are learning how to read each other better. We are learning curriculum but even more than that- learning how to love learning for us. (I include myself because of course I am learning right alongside the kids.) The number of resources, and activities that are offered to my children is astounding. I feel so spoiled, especially because I get to participate in so much of it.

We have met so many amazing families through homeschooling. There is a community of people out there, that prior to jumping into, I had no idea even existed. I always thought that homeschoolers were socially isolated, but I'd have to say that is the farthest thing from the truth! There are many weekly get togethers, and these I cherish. Not only are my children developing healthy relationships with peers, but I have the opportunity to develop true friendships with their parents. It's a win win situation!

I feel SO IMMENSELY blessed to have found the Distributed Learning program that we are enrolled with. The teachers and co-coordinator are truly amazing. Portfolio meetings are the best. My child gets the undivided attention of the teacher for a whole hour. My children read to and show their teacher all the work that THEY have done, all the things that THEY have learned. It just feels so right to me. I love being on the inside. I love not feeling at the mercy of the teacher to find out how my children are doing. I know how they are doing because I am doing it along side of them. Learning is such a beautiful thing. That's why I became a teacher. I never would have thought that my teaching career would end up looking like it does today, but I am so thankful for it.

So that's it people. I love home learning. I'm not trying to brag, or frown upon the system. I just love what we are doing, and feel so thankful to have taken that leap of faith one year ago, to try it. I can't imagine our lives any other way.

First Day of School !

Eva's first day of Kindergarten!

This morning started out with lots of excitement for the first day of school. Everyone was up bright and early as usual. The lunches were packed, we were on to the finishing touches, of teeth, hair, and shoes, when Eva said, "Yuck mom- poo!" Sure enough my (2 weeks free of accidents) pottly trained 2 year old, had pooed on the floor. Thankfully it was on the lino. but still...she tried to clean it up her self with the hand towel from the washroom, and in that process got it all over her feet and hands.

After a stinky clean up where I had to hold back my gagging we were on the road to school. "Hey I thought you homeschooled?" - you may ask. Well we are actually enrolled in a Distributed Learning (DL) program. I don't feel comfortable naming it online, especially since my kids are no longer under sudo names, so if you want to know just leave me a comment.

Anyways, the program is AMAZING. The kids get to go to a public school once or twice a week if you choose to attend. There are tons of awesome field trips planned, there is a resource room filled with teaching aids, games, books etc. I feel like we are getting the best of both worlds. My children still have to listen to and be accountable to a teacher other than me, they get to hang with other homeschooled children, and yet I still get to be with them and teach them the majority of the time. Having them attend school gives us all the opportunity to enjoy a break from each other. I get a chance to get some errands done with only one child- (PURE BLISS), and I get some nice one on one time with Kezia.
So today after a few errands, I took my youngest out for lunch...

This is her new attempt at a smile. Funny thing.

Marvelous Monday !

Yesterday my heart just sang pretty much the whole day.
The night before I had left a little message on the white board for the kids, along with a "Shape of The Day". I left their Journals out on the table with pencils and erasers.
When I came down, it appeared as though the message had been read, but there was definitely no sign of journalism. We had breakfast together, tidied up breakfast, and then had a morning devotional time. We learned that the words we say to one and other can either make their water cups dirty or help to purify the water! We prayed, and talked about how we can use kind words with eachother today. Then we got straight to the journals!
On Sunday, we had participated in the Terry Fox Run and been to the Cannery so there was lots to write and draw about.

Writing is a sore spot for Theo. There has ALWAYS been a battle whenever I ask him to write anything! But not on Monday- he was eager and willing. I was so happy, I was nervous to say anything because I didn't want to jinx the moment. Eva happily drew her picture, but wanted me to scribe for her. She didn't have too much to say so that was easy enough. And then there was Kezia. She of course wants to do EVERYTHING that the big kids are doing so, she drew in her book too.

This was my happy moment. She drew her first Smartie person! During an art class in my B. Education we learned the developmental stages of drawing people and this is the first one folks- Smartie people, where the arms and legs both stem out of the head! I LOVE IT!!! I almost forgot, another Happy Happy Moment- my Eva read her first sentence, with ease! Heart swells up with joy, as both me and her brother are there with her to celebrate!

There was snack and lunch in the mix and then some math and spelling- all of which were met with joy (not always the case). There were puppy plays, colouring princesses and Lego of course. The day was topped off with an impromptu gathering at the park with other homeschooling families. The sun was shining, the kids were playing, the mom's were chatting and all was right in our worlds. A Marvelous Monday indeed!

Let's Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start!

Kezia proudly displaying her Aa card and teeth!

This morning "Jack" went to work to set up his classroom. He had been there all last week too, so we have all adjusted to life as it usually is. Today, being Labour Day, I was actually thinking of taking it easy with the kids. Last week, had been gradually trying to reintroduce them to paper and pencils in anticipation of school starting up again. Anyways, I thought we'd start the day off with some exercise; a little walk along the Dyke. Theo was not yet dressed (surprise, surprise) and the girls were both ready to go, so I gave them a little worksheet to do at the table, while we waited for Theo to get ready. The worksheet was very basic, a picture of Adam and Eva, and then a few letter Aa's to trace, a bible verse and a sentence to trace. I only printed two because I didn't think Theo would be interested. Well I was wrong. As soon as he saw the girls doing it, he wanted to do it too! (This may work very well to my advantage this year!) So I told Theo I'd print one out for him and he could do it after he was dressed. Well he was dressed before I had even printed the sheet out! So much for the walk! Like a mother never wakes a sleeping baby...a mother never interrupts kids who are inadvertently learning! Since they were all working so well together on their colouring and printing, I decided to do the dishes that had been sitting there since Friday (shame I know- but both "Jack" and I have cuts on our hands!) While doing the dishes, I came up with the idea, to just go with the flow and see how far we can take this letter A. thing! I suggested casually, that they all go and see how many things they can find that start with the letter A. Boy was a that a hit! They tore upstairs, and were eagerly showing each other things, and talking about letter A things. The following is what they came up with...

Eva wearing her apron.

Eva displaying the apple that she then proceeded to eat. I love edible learning!

They came up with the word airplane, but couldn't find one, so we decided to make some out of Lego!

Theo the smarty pants with his Abacus!

All of this of course is a bit below Theo's challenge level, so I decided to make him put the cards in alphabetical order. He did so with ease.

We took the pictures because, I thought that we could use these pictures to create our own, Alphabet book.  And don't worry, I won't bore you with new letters each week. After this, I asked Theo to write as many words as he could that started with the letter A. I was quite surprised at some like "artichoke" who knew he knew that artichokes existed? Not me! Anyways, he was VERY into thinking of words, and exclaimed how inspiring it was to think of A words. He dude whatever turns your crank!  = )
It was a lovely, peaceful, spontaneous morning of working together as team, learning together, playing together and enjoying each others company. I hope that today is a picture of what is to come in this, our first official full year of homeschooling!

An Interview...

My friend Kelly recently started a homeschooling website called The Home School Co-Op. I did an interview for her, and here it is. Enjoy! Click on the title to be directed to her site.
jill

A Homeschooling Update

So it has been one full term now, that we have been homeschooling. It truly feels like a lifetime ago that we were running what felt to us, like the “rat race” of a life filled with brick and motor school.

This business of homeschooling has sure had an effect on me as a parent and person. When I think about my flaws, and shortcomings as a parent; these definitely feel magnified when surrounded by my children all the time. This of course leads me to have a deep desire to better myself. I am growing daily in the ways that I interact with my children.  It’s a big deal when you are the main influence on them- to make sure that it is a good influence!

Theo is happy and thriving in his learning. At first when I looked at the PLO’s for the rest of grade 1, I was overwhelmed. But after completing one term at home, I realize that we have pretty much covered all of the PLO’s for grade 1 (and two for that matter).  My biggest task now is actually keeping him challenged and trying to stay ahead of him.  That being said writing is challenge, simply to get him to sit down and do it. When he does it, he is right on track with grade level- but it is hard to get him to do it.

A day in our lives usually looks like this:

Theo gets up around 7am and goes downstairs to play. He will often take out Lego, have breakfast with his Dad or read until Eva wakes up. When the girls join the mix- they play (usually some creative role-play).  I get up around the same time, have my shower, check the email and am usually downstairs by 8am to have breakfast with whoever still hasn’t eaten. I clean up from breakfast and make some tea while they get ready for the day (brush teeth, get dressed, tidy up the play from the morning).  We usually start “schooling” by about 8:30am or 9am.

I set the girls up with an activity at the dining table, and then sit with Theo at the school table. Eva has wanted to join us with school a lot more lately. This has its challenges and benefits. We usually spend about an hour to an hour and half at schoolwork. Sometimes it goes smoothly and we sail through lessons. Other times, we take play breaks in between subjects.  We have a healthy snack together around 10:30am. There is something special about cutting up the apples, slicing the cheese and placing them on little plates rather then putting it all into reusable containers. Snack time is one of my favorite times of day. No matter what has transpired in the morning, we come together as a family and connect again over food. Everyone is always happy to have snack together! As I am cleaning up snack- the kids inevitably get caught up in playing something together again. I am usually then able to refocus their attention on some sort of learning game, or a read aloud. Then I leave them be again while I make lunch.

After lunch we usually go out. This week we were able to garden in our backyard, which was a real treat. Theo LOVES to garden- so it is quickly becoming a hobby for me also.  We take trips to the library where we take out lots and lots of books. There always seems to be something happening at the library. This week there was a jellybean contest. The kids had to guess how many jellybeans were in this long tube. It was a great opportunity for me to teach Theo a practical situation for estimating! Sometimes we bike ride to the park or the beach, or we walk to the Dyke. We meet with my Dad and Nana every other week for pancakes, and have a weekly get together with other local homeschooling families.

Because I am with the kids all day, I feel fine about “scheduling” afternoon activities. This past term they did basketball one day, and ballet/reading club another day.

Theo definitely does miss the social aspect of school. I can appreciate and respect that. He loves Wednesday’s when he gets to go to school. I did some research and found an Awana group for him to join- and he loves that. Honestly, for Theo, he could never get enough of being with people. I am very thankful for our decision to homeschool because I feel like I can now offer him a more balanced taste social activity. I appreciate that I actually have daily interactions with him, a real relationship, learning and growing together in a place and space where I can actually influence him in a positive one - on - three way. This makes me feel great about letting him go out into the world and do his social thing. When he was in school, I felt like I never saw my son. His desire to be out with his peers was insatiable. If I tried to “collect” him after school it was always met with resistance.

I love being able to witness his growth and learning first hand. It is similar to watching your baby stand for the first time. I feel like I get those moments every day, but with some new and different achievement. The learning opportunities offered through the program he is in are amazing. We have been to the Dr. Sun Yet Sen Garden, two kids plays at Granville Island, ice skating, and a marimba performance amongst other things. I have been able to attend all of these activities for free with my other children (except for the performances where I usually leave Kezia with grandparent). Then there are the workshops that happen on school days like 4 weeks of marimba lessons, and science or writing workshops. There is opportunity for pottery classes, ski, swimming, and tennis lessons all during the day. We have memberships to Science World, The Gulf of Georgia Cannery, and the Aquarium,  so whenever I feel like we need a play day we can venture out to one of these places and continue on learning. Best of all we get to do it in the day when these places are less busy.

The challenges of everyday are similar to the ones we had before we homeschooled. For example, Theo and Eva still fight. They are either off or on. It is still hard to get them to clean up after themselves. But at least now, I feel like my words and actions have more weight because of the time that I am investing in them all day everyday.

This has become a very long entry. Here is one last picture of Eva on the swing that she finally learned to pump herself.  = )

A Reflection on Two Weeks of Homeschooling

A Reflection on Two Weeks of Homeschooling

It’s a lot of work.
Or at least it feels like it right now. But of course, the work is SO worth it, because I am preparing for my childs education. I am actively planning out what I will be doing with my son each day. This feels good. To be purposeful about our days- instead of just letting the days pass us by, and adding a few adventures along the way. And of course, once all the “work” is done there is lots of time to play. Like the wonderful moment of fort building on the Dyke this week. It was just one of those moments, those blessed moments that feel like a pure gift from God.

It is fun.
Interacting with my kids in new and different ways. Devotionals are now a structured routine, instead of something that happened when the morning rush was going somewhat smoothly. We sing together everyday, we get out for adventures everyday. I get to watch my kid learn new things. Witnessing that joy and be a part of that joy is a blessing.

It’s hard.
I have yet to figure out a balance between playing with the girls, and working with Theo. I have been so busy; trying to make sure that Theo is enjoying the beginnings of this adventure that I have mostly been putting him first and the girls second. Thankfully the girls play well together. Eva has not been as interested as I thought she would be in “school”. She would still rather do her own thing. She of course joins in when we do a science experiment etc. but is not so interested in sitting down and doing any math or printing. I have a lots of guilt about the huge loss of one on one time I have with Kezia. This something that I still need to work out. I miss my baby!

It is rewarding.
No matter how hard the day; no matter how many fights I am interrupting; no matter how many negative attitudes I encounter; I know that I am investing in my children. I know that I will never regret this time that I am spending with my kids.

The planning.
I’m not sure if it’s because I am a teacher and I am used to having yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily lesson plans; or if it may just be my personality, but I never feel organized enough. Week one I made sure to have at least one fun and interactive lesson a day. Week two I had acquired a few more resources and was able to develop a few more essential routines and units. I planned each day and had a shape of the day. This week, I am trying something new. I planned each subject (at least 5 lessons in a row). I will give Theo a bit more choice about the shape of each day, and have the week’s goals in mind to make sure we accomplish everything by the end of the week.

Overall.
I have felt both supported and pushed down. I have felt alone and like there was a troop of friends cheering me on. I have wondered, “what am I doing?” and “thank you God for guiding me down this path”. It is a journey a Team Schmidt journey and I am going to make the most of it.

Day One of Homeschooling

The day started with me waking before the children, which is always a treat (not to get woken BY them). After dropping Eva at preschool (she goes one day a week now- she used to go twice), Theo, Kezia and I went grocery shopping. Theo brought his allowance spending money ($1.25) to buy something. At the check out, it was hard for him find anything for less than a dollar (I warned him about taxes). In the end he got some mini eggs with a little help from his mom ($.08). Then we set out to the dollar store to find a change purse for him as he has been using Eva’s hello kitty one.

Once home we had snack together. Then we started math. I decided to start with money since he is interested in money right now, and has been given his first allowance. We played a game where we roll a die and then take the number rolled in change from the change pot. He had to say the number, and then say what he was collecting. For ex. if he rolled a 6, he had to say I am taking 6 pennies, or 1 nickel and 1 penny. After each roll, you have to trade in any change that can be made into a smaller number of coins. For example if you have two nickels, you have to trade them for 1 dime- and state what you are doing. We went all the way to a dollar. It was fun and a challenge at the same time; the perfect start to homeschooling. I am sure we will play again.

Next we moved on to journaling. Yesterday, we were at Science World and so I thought he could write about what he saw, learned, and did. He drew his picture first but was not interested in writing any words along side. So I said he could write about anything he wanted. But for some reason, (still unknown) he had a spazz. He scribbled over the picture and then came into the kitchen where I was preparing lunch and he threw the book and the pencil on the floor.

I set lunch out for the three of us, and he refused to come and eat. He just wanted to go on the computer, so I used that opportunity to let him know he wouldn’t be allowed to use the computer until he ate his lunch. Eventually he came and ate. During lunch Theo’s wiggly tooth came out. He has been quite anxious about it, and so I was thankful to be able to be there for him when it happened. It bled a little, and like his father; this made him feel uneasy.

After an unsuccessful attempt at putting Kezia down for a nap, I started on dinner preparations. I asked Theo to peel the carrots and he obliged. While peeling, one of the peels landed on his forehead. We both laughed. I cherished that moment. As he was peeling, he said, “Sorry I was bad before mom.” I cherished that moment. Then I let him do some chopping of veggies.

Next we set up an email account for him. He was thrilled to receive emails from family and typed many replies. We decided to take a photo of the missing tooth and send it to everyone. During the photo shoot, Kezia (who was having some diaper free time) decided to get the potty out. She put it on the bedroom floor and then pooped in it. So again we had another laugh. Thankfully it was solid!

Then it was time to get Eva from preschool. As soon as she got in the van, she noticed Theo’s missing tooth. Then Theo got talking about a friend who had many missing teeth. I said, “who is this friend?” and he replied, “It is a boy in Ms. S’s class.” I was amazed that he didn’t say, “my” class. I thought that it would take more time for him to transition. I realize that this is not necessarily a definite indicator of his transition out of traditional schooling, but it was a comfort nonetheless. The whole day just felt right. I am also thankful that it was just Theo and I (and Kezia) today.

All in all, I feel like today was filled with a pretty accurate picture of what homeschooling will be like: mostly a wonderful experience of spending time with my kids; being involved in their learning; sharing in their joys and frustrations.