At the start of the school year, someone asked if I was still homeschooling any of my kids. "Just all of them," I replied.
It's just as daunting as it sounds. I think we're more scheduled with outside activities this year than any previous year. All the individual pieces are good and beneficial, it's just a lot, and it means we spend a significant amount of time in our car. When I first wrote out our September family calendar, it was dramatically different than our more carefree summer calendars. October was even more packed. So far, November and December look a bit less hectic.
Aubree is in 7th grade. She would've loved to keep our co-op going over the summer. She loves learning and she loves friends. She was thrilled when co-op started back up after Labor Day.
Our Homes United Co-op decided to become a middle-school co-op, so we have students in 6th-8th grades. This is great for me, because it means that when Bryce hits 6th grade, I don't have to start a new co-op for him, he can just roll into the one we've already established. Same for Thane, and Graham, and Nellie. So, in other words, I'm planning to be invested in this for the next 12 years or so!
We have 11 kids in co-op this year. About half were with us last year (we had a bunch of kids move over the summer, and two decided to try public school), and the rest are new to our group. It's a different flavor this time around (as I'm sure every year will be), but it's still such a great group of kids and parents!
We still meet M-Th for a little over five hours per day, with Monday/Wednesday classes and Tuesday/Thursday classes. The classes we have this year include: Literature (Shakespeare, taught by yours truly), Math (based on the concepts from "Mathematical Mindsets" by Jo Boaler), Speech and Debate, History (Middle Ages), Art, Life Science, Writing, Choir, Health (with an emphasis on emotional/relational health), and a Bonus/Catch-all class.
Outside of co-op, Aubree has violin lessons twice a week (a private lesson and a group lesson), and is trying out participating in the public middle school's after-school drama program.
Bryce and Thane:
I'm listing Bryce and Thane together, because their studies, curriculum choices, and activities largely overlap.
Bryce is in 4th grade this year. He tested again last winter for the Discovery program and scored just below the cut-off scores. He was disappointed, so we sat down and tried to come up with a school year plan that was more tailored to his specific interests. He agrees that we did a pretty good job of that, but he still has a hard time getting back into school after taking breaks. I knew that might be the case when I didn't require school work from him over the summer, but c'est le vie.
Thane is in 2nd grade. He likes to do everything quickly, and his school work is no exception. Most of the time that works out wonderfully, but we're working on identifying situations where it's better to slow down.
After a few years of sticking with primarily the same curriculums, we made some pretty big switches this year. The main one is that we switched to using The Good and The Beautiful (TGTB) for language arts (it also incorporates spelling, geography, and art). So far, we've been pleased with that switch. Bryce is flying through Level 3 (mostly because Level 4 is independent and I wanted to make sure he had a solid foundation with the curriculum before moving him on), and Thane is doing Level 2. We are also using TGTB for handwriting. Bryce is on level 5, Thane level 3, and Graham level 1.
We are still using All About Spelling in addition to TGTB, but at a much slower pace. Bryce is finishing up Level 5, and Thane is finishing up Level 3. They'll both start the next levels within the next few weeks.
We are still using All About Spelling in addition to TGTB, but at a much slower pace. Bryce is finishing up Level 5, and Thane is finishing up Level 3. They'll both start the next levels within the next few weeks.
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| A page from Thane's TGTB workbook |
For math, we are still using Math U See (Bryce is in Epsilon and Thane is on Gamma), but we are supplementing with tasks from youcubed.com (see "Week of Inspirational Math") and Jo Boaler's 4th grade Big Ideas book. If you haven't read the book "Mathematical Mindsets," I highly recommend it.
For history, we are doing the fourth and last volume of Story of the World, the Modern Age. While I still love the SOTW book, I'll admit that there's a major jump in the content requirements in the accompanying activities book. That makes sense, because this volume is geared for grades 4-8. That means Bryce is at the very bottom of that range, and Thane isn't even close. A lot goes over their heads.
We are still doing our weekly mini-co-op with our friends, and together we do a supplemental math activity and a SOTW history activity. It's a good thing we have the co-op, or else we probably wouldn't get around to doing the fun bonus activities!
The main area Bryce wanted to switch up our homeschool plans was science. He wanted to learn about things like electricity, circuits, motors, coding, programming, and structures. All of that is way outside my knowledge base. We talked about trying to pull together a curriculum to meet those needs, but then I remembered that we have a local business that specializes in STEAM. I stopped by and talked to the owner to see if she would be interested and willing to put together a year long weekly class for homeschoolers that covered those topics. She loved the idea and had already been considering creating just such an opportunity. Hurrah!
So, Bryce and Thane attend a weekly, 2 hour science class. The just finished their first unit that covered electricity, motors, and circuits. Now they are learning about bridges and structures. They are loving it. And I am loving not having to teach science.
We are still participating in the Parent Partnership Program (PPP) that provides a stipend to be used on curriculum and related classes. Between the three school-age kids, we have an allotment of about $5000. That pays for Aubree's violin lessons and Bryce and Thane's science class. I'd also planned to use it to pay for Bryce and Thane's piano lessons, but their teacher raised her price to $25 for a half hour lesson. So, instead of doing piano lessons this year, they are doing weekly art and PE lessons instead (and both of those hour long classes together are less cost than one half hour piano lesson). Their art classes are again with my uber talented neighbor. Their PE classes are at a local athletic business. The boys love both classes.
Don't worry. We haven't abandoned piano entirely. Both boys are doing Hoffman Academy (the premium version) and Bryce is still working through his Piano Adventures book. I recognize that since I have no piano background or skills, this is a pretty big risk, but so far it seems to be going pretty well. The current plan is to put them back in regular lessons next year.
Also new this year, we started using Nature Journals. For us, that basically means we got small sketch books and a couple times a week we choose a nature topic (animal, plant, etc.), learn a little bit more about that topic via youtube, then draw that item. Usually we choose a topic based on something we've seen outside (like when the sun turned red from the fires), from something we've read about in our studies or read-alouds, or from something we just want to learn more about (like when Bryce suggested wombats). I've been doing a nature journal along with the boys. It's been surprisingly enjoyable.
For scripture study, we recently finished our Old Testament journals and will be starting Book of Mormon journals as soon as I can get to the library to print them out. Bryce is also using Duolingo to learn Spanish and typing.com to work on his typing skills.
To help manage our homeschool days, I made checklists for Bryce and Thane of all their daily tasks. This way, they can be more independent in knowing what they need to accomplish and don't have to come to me to ask, "what next?"
I slipped the checklist into a dry erase sleeve so they can be reused. On days they finish all their assigned tasks (not every task is every day), they get a sticker on the back. When they get ten stickers, they get a small reward (usually an ice cream at McDonalds). Thane finds this system incredibly motivating. Bryce took a bit longer to get on board, but it's mostly working for him as well.
Graham:
Technically, Graham is still in pre-kindergarten, but he's already five so we are using our typical kindergarten curriculum, Five in a Row, with him. Five in a Row (FIAR) is such a great way to start "formal" learning. It's all about immersive literature, time spent together, and exploring concepts and ideas. We coordinated with two other kindergarten friends and all of us are doing the same progression of books. We get together once a week to do bigger FIAR activities.
Again, the co-op situation is beautiful because it means the more involved activities actually happen. Even better, they happen with friends.
I'm planning to start Graham with the K level of The Good and the Beautiful next week. He's been begging to do what his big brothers are doing.
Graham is also participating in Let's Play Music classes. I've been hearing rave reviews of this program for years, so even though it was a bit complicated schedule-wise, we decided to make it happen for Graham. So far he's really enjoying it. As an added bonus, he's teaching Nellie most of the things he's learning. It's kind of a two-for-one deal.
Nellie:
So, Bryce and Thane attend a weekly, 2 hour science class. The just finished their first unit that covered electricity, motors, and circuits. Now they are learning about bridges and structures. They are loving it. And I am loving not having to teach science.
Don't worry. We haven't abandoned piano entirely. Both boys are doing Hoffman Academy (the premium version) and Bryce is still working through his Piano Adventures book. I recognize that since I have no piano background or skills, this is a pretty big risk, but so far it seems to be going pretty well. The current plan is to put them back in regular lessons next year.
Also new this year, we started using Nature Journals. For us, that basically means we got small sketch books and a couple times a week we choose a nature topic (animal, plant, etc.), learn a little bit more about that topic via youtube, then draw that item. Usually we choose a topic based on something we've seen outside (like when the sun turned red from the fires), from something we've read about in our studies or read-alouds, or from something we just want to learn more about (like when Bryce suggested wombats). I've been doing a nature journal along with the boys. It's been surprisingly enjoyable.
To help manage our homeschool days, I made checklists for Bryce and Thane of all their daily tasks. This way, they can be more independent in knowing what they need to accomplish and don't have to come to me to ask, "what next?"
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| Clara, Graham, and Molly learning about squares |
Graham is also participating in Let's Play Music classes. I've been hearing rave reviews of this program for years, so even though it was a bit complicated schedule-wise, we decided to make it happen for Graham. So far he's really enjoying it. As an added bonus, he's teaching Nellie most of the things he's learning. It's kind of a two-for-one deal.
At two, Nellie isn't doing any formal schooling or classes. She's just along for the ride!
1 comment:
I'm from Hoffman Academy - glad to hear your family is enjoying the lessons, and that it's helping as a stepping stone on your children's musical journey!
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