homeschooling goals
It might sound a bit odd to write up homeschooling goals in
January. However, I think it is a
perfect time! We do “school” all year,
and I find that I am constantly revisiting my plans for the year. I would love to say that I am great at
picking out the entire curriculum and planning out the year, but I have come to
realize it is better to go with the flow.
We add in things and we take things away, I will realize that a book is
just not doing it for us, or the kids want to spend a large amount of time
learning about bugs and I have to supplement.
Making new goals when we turn the calendar is always a good idea for me!
January. However, I think it is a
perfect time! We do “school” all year,
and I find that I am constantly revisiting my plans for the year. I would love to say that I am great at
picking out the entire curriculum and planning out the year, but I have come to
realize it is better to go with the flow.
We add in things and we take things away, I will realize that a book is
just not doing it for us, or the kids want to spend a large amount of time
learning about bugs and I have to supplement.
Making new goals when we turn the calendar is always a good idea for me!
Projects
We love projects. I
am assuming that most kids do. Projects
mean freedom and also typically include a certain amount of mess (are my kids the
only ones drawn to all that is messy?!).
Last year I read Project Based Homeschooling. I really enjoyed the book, although aimed
more at classrooms than homeschoolers.
The underlying information of allowing kids to fully explore something
that interests them, giving them the tools to do it, and encouraging them to
finish what they start is extremely appealing to me, and also seems to work
well for my kids. However, we haven’t
done nearly as many projects as I would like.
am assuming that most kids do. Projects
mean freedom and also typically include a certain amount of mess (are my kids the
only ones drawn to all that is messy?!).
Last year I read Project Based Homeschooling. I really enjoyed the book, although aimed
more at classrooms than homeschoolers.
The underlying information of allowing kids to fully explore something
that interests them, giving them the tools to do it, and encouraging them to
finish what they start is extremely appealing to me, and also seems to work
well for my kids. However, we haven’t
done nearly as many projects as I would like.
It seems like the rest of school gets in the way. I am not entirely sure how to fix that. I am still planning on the kids doing math
and reading and writing, but figuring out a way to do it in connection with
their projects is a little difficult – mainly because my kids are still so
young and need my help. I can’t send them
off to research something when they are learning how to read. Instead, I think I will try and dedicate
specific time in the day, or maybe weekly, for the kids to work on their
projects. I want them to be available to
the kids whenever the mood strikes, so we will probably leave them out on the
large table we have in their play room, which will mean it is out of my sight
as far as mess goes!
Units
In addition to projects, I want to work more on units. The kids are frequently coming up to me asking
about something, this morning it was the life of a bug, and often I give a
quick answer to the question and move on to “more important school things.” But, I definitely don’t want to kill that
curiosity. I think that in conjunction
with the projects, units would be a good idea.
It can still be the “interest-led” learning that I love for my kids,
while being able to focus on certain ideas or subjects that they have questions
about. I don’t want to necessarily
direct projects, but at 5 and 3 I am sure they could use a little encouragement.
about something, this morning it was the life of a bug, and often I give a
quick answer to the question and move on to “more important school things.” But, I definitely don’t want to kill that
curiosity. I think that in conjunction
with the projects, units would be a good idea.
It can still be the “interest-led” learning that I love for my kids,
while being able to focus on certain ideas or subjects that they have questions
about. I don’t want to necessarily
direct projects, but at 5 and 3 I am sure they could use a little encouragement.
Attitude
OK, so attitude is probably not what you think. I am not talking about a “bad attitude”
towards school or the kids. Nope, I am
really talking about my attitude on how the kids work through school. Oftentimes I find myself telling Emma the “right”
way to do things, and I am trying to stop that.
Obviously I know there is a correct way to write letters and 2 + 2 only
ever equals four, but I need to let my girl do her own thing instead of
immediately jumping in to tell her the way to do it. If she fails, and asks for help, that is one
thing, but I should at least let her try!
I do at some things, but I want to have a better attitude about this
overall. She is learning and has to have
the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.
towards school or the kids. Nope, I am
really talking about my attitude on how the kids work through school. Oftentimes I find myself telling Emma the “right”
way to do things, and I am trying to stop that.
Obviously I know there is a correct way to write letters and 2 + 2 only
ever equals four, but I need to let my girl do her own thing instead of
immediately jumping in to tell her the way to do it. If she fails, and asks for help, that is one
thing, but I should at least let her try!
I do at some things, but I want to have a better attitude about this
overall. She is learning and has to have
the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.
What about you? Do you have goals for how the rest of your
school year is going to go? Things you
might want to change or mix up? home school,
public school, private school, anything goes!
school year is going to go? Things you
might want to change or mix up? home school,
public school, private school, anything goes!
Great list! As I'm thinking about my 3 yr old and 9 month old coming closer to homeschool years, I think about projects and units vs. book work and trying to wrap my head around what I want that balance to be like also. I imagine keeping a running list of things they're interested in to keep projects/units rolling. We'll see.
Our first year of high school is going according to plan so far, which I'm quite surprised! Hopefully by the end of the year, she'll have a decent amount of college credits earned from exams, and she'll have a strong start to her 10th grade year!
We have lots of goals for 2014 and we will continue to focus and work hard on them. I definitely need to keep my expectations between a 9 and 5 year old seperate and remind myself that the antics of a tiger Mom aren't the way I want to portray myself through the school years. We do start each year by listing their goals, hopes and dreams and break them down into home/school which is something that has helped them maintain their commitment through the year in school, community and at home. I just need to ensure I'm doing these same things – your posts serve as excellent reminders for me! When are you starting your ebook again? In all your spare time? 😉