A New Beginning

I had kind of given up on this blog because I was forcing myself to post something I learned Every. Day. That was kind of awesome, and I still think that most people do or should learn something every day (even if it's something they've learned before), but it got tedious. However, I'm bringing the blog back to life because I'm officially starting homeschool with my 5-year-old. She would start kindergarten in the Fall (she's old for her grade) and I'm not shipping her off to school.

I've been devouring homeschool books, blogs, and articles lately (and yes, I'm a fan of the oxford comma), and found myself wishing that I was journaling about all the things I've learned and the thoughts I've had about the different philosophies, learning styles, teaching materials, etc. I'm not going to go back in time to give details on everything but I'll give a brief summary of where I'm at right now.

First off all, Lydia is reading at a 1st to 2nd grade level, though she still needs help, of course. She likes to draw pictures and she will write on her own for little storybooks and whatnot. To this point I've used Usborne's Very First Reading Set, First Reading Set, and Phonics Readers with her (which we've loved), as well as the Hooked on Phonics App on the iPad (all of this is rather expensive, but worth it, IMO). We also read a LOT of books, we're currently working through the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. She's also gradually worked her way through big Preschool and Kindergarten workbooks and is partway through a big First Grade workbook. I don't force her to do these, especially in the preschool stages, but I would often ask her if she wanted to or pull it out, and if she didn't want to or got bored I let it go. She likes them pretty well at this point. And of course, Adam and I are science nerds so we talk about random scientific topics a LOT. Just last month she started showing an interest in piano so I've started to teach her (again, very laid back at this point... I want her to WANT to play, and she's only 5) and she's mastered a few simple songs.

Last week I added in our first "homeschool curriculum" piece (as if all that other stuff doesn't count). She started using Math-U-See Alpha, mostly because my sister gave us a few years worth of Math-U-See materials and she will like the hands-on aspect of the manipulatives. We've only done one lesson so far but she likes it. I'm also planning on purchasing Core A from Sonlight (or whatever name they change it to on April 1st.... I think they're trying to make sure they don't get confused with Common Core Curriculum because THAT would cost them some business from the homeschool community!). I like that Sonlight is literature-based, and though it is expensive, I like that I can re-use it with my other kids (the question of ending up doing 3 or 4 cores at once as my kids get older is a question for another day!) For now we're just going to do some nature walks and gardening for science, and will add a science curriculum maybe in the fall or winter (I'm leaning toward Apologia based on reviews, but I'm not convinced yet). For writing/language arts, I think she'll just do some copywork and I'll let her keep improving there on her own.

I am leaning a little toward the Charlotte Mason philosophy and she doesn't start teaching grammar formally until age 9! No composition until 14! I'm not sure if I'll wait quite that long, but I do think that Lydia will continue to advance well based on all the books we read, copywork, and talking to me when she has questions. She is figuring out apostrophes and things on her own so I'm not worried about it for now.

Speaking of Charlotte Mason, I just finished reading When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper, which is a condensed, edited book about Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy. I'd like to do more research and reading about it but so far I like what I've read. It's very natural, structured but not forced, and seems developmentally appropriate for different ages and skills of children. I think I will have some trouble getting Lydia to do narration, but I think it is important for children (and adults) to be able to talk about what they've heard and learned, and to pay attention well enough to narrate effectively.

So, that's where I'm at! Hopefully I'll keep this blog active, with updates about how homeschool is going with the kids, and with things that I learn along the way. Happy Learning!