Homeschooling Update

I thought I would do a quick post about how homeschooling is going. We just finished our 12th week and things are going pretty well. We've changed our schedule a bit now that Luke is only taking one nap, which is after lunch, so we wait to do school until he's asleep. It's worked out though since it gives us time to do things we need to do in the morning and then do school later on. We do Bible and Science together first and then I work with Katelyn while Zach has free time. Then while Katelyn is taking a nap (or before if there is time), I work with Zach. It's nice to have our time all together and then time one on one. Katelyn, especially, has really been enjoying the individual time and she asks all morning, "when are we doing school?" It is funny because with her K5 curriculum they don't do workbook pages everyday but she wants to! So I am constantly trying to find MORE for her to do whether it be a game, activity or "papers". I love her excitement and it encourages me to not get lax in keeping up with things! She is super close to reading complete words on her own and she can count to 100. She loves to write letters and numbers and her favorite "toys" are the whiteboard and markers! Zachary is doing well too! He is enjoying our animal study that we are doing in science right now. He also likes magnets and reading. He catches on to everything I put in front of him and will even do the "new" concepts on a workbook page all on his own even before being taught. I am so thankful things come so easy for him. My biggest challenge with him is just keeping him from getting bored! We tweak alot of his curriculum because he either doesn't need all the review or he just learns it so fast that we just move on. I have also been adding in alot of my own ideas and he likes the change of pace.

Speaking of change, I am thinking about trying something new in our homeschool- well, new to me. Apparently, it's this big thing in the homeschool world and I am out of the loop. (; It's called Workboxes and it is a really neat idea. Basically, everyday you fill 8-12 plastic shoeboxes with activities, games and assignments for the kids to do both independently and with mom. When they start, they take the first numbered box off the shelf and do what is in the box. After they finish, they take the velcroed (is that a word?) number off the box and put it on their completed workmat to show the progress they are making. They then take the empty box back and take down the next box in order. You can schedule things in like outside activities to break it up. Anyway, here are some links from other blogs to show you what I mean. I will try to post some pics of our shelves and boxes soon.

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LeslieNelsen/662628/

http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/search/label/Workboxes

http://wayzleyacademy.homeschooljournal.net/2009/07/31/my-workbox-system/

I am excited to start this (probably after the first of the year) and see how the kids like it. Yes, I have to refill the boxes every day with new activities, but I am sure the kids won't mind repeating once in a while. I plan to use some of their curriculum work as well as the plethora of materials I have that have just been sitting in totes waiting to be used! I think this will make things more fun and exciting for the kids too. It will also force me to plan more wisely and not just do the minimum required to say "we did school today". I think the kids will learn more and in lots of different ways. I can't wait!!