may 4: mostly happy school days

FYI: If you aren't interested in childhood education, this will be one of the more boring posts you've read on this blog.

We recently had to re-evaluate our school regime. It was starting to wear all of us down. It wasn't enjoyable anymore, and not just because we are nearing the finish line and just needed to press through. We'll be schooling through the summer to finish up 1st grade for both the older two since we took so many weeks off before and after Eleanor's birth, but that has nothing to do with our newly formulated plans. At the ages of 5 and 6, I'm not really sure a 3-month break from daily reading or basic math is all that good for them.

This seed of discontent had been growing for a while. How could we be spending all morning on school and still not have time to draw, and paint, and memorize poems, and do crafts when the mood struck? I went back to that ever-helpful list by the Bluedorns to remind me what I really want out of these early years: Ten Things to do with Your Child Before Age Ten 

The entire article is worth reading, but here's the quick version:

1. Reading & Writing	Intensive Phonics; Copywork; start English Language Notebook
2. Oral Narration	Daily
3. Memorization	Bible; poetry; passages of literature; Greek and/or Hebrew alphabet
4. Hearing & Listening	Read aloud 2 hours per day from a variety of fiction and nonfiction; start History Notebook; timeline
5. Family Worship	Family Bible study morning and evening using grammar level questions
6. Arts & Crafts	Provide the time, space, and materials; develop creativity
7. Field Trips & Library	Start learning elementary library research; investigate the world
8. Work & Service	Schedule for chores; visit nursing home, etc.
9. Discipline	First-time obedience
10. Play & Exploration	Develop the imagination

(I'm not sure we'll get to the Hebrew alphabet this year...)

We started Saxon Math 1 at the beginning of the year. I love Saxon, because it's fairly hands on, and I really appreciate how they've ordered the skills to be taught during the year. Each lesson builds on the next, and we've enjoyed it. What we haven't enjoyed are all the worksheets and math fact drills. I was only having the kids do one of the worksheets and a drill, in addition to the lesson, and it was taking us over an hour to do math each day. Now, we only do a math fact sheet twice a week, and the other days it's all verbal. I do the same thing with their worksheets, putting the questions on the white board, and letting them write it out or we just talk about the answers. It was WAY too much writing for them, and we accomplish the same skills in about 1/4 of the time. Saxon is known for being repetitive, which is an asset at times, but lately I've felt more freedom to skip lessons we really have a handle on. It's probably a newbie homeschooler mistake to feel like you have to do every lesson when clearly, you know exactly what your child knows well and what he needs to practice more.

We are also continuing to plug away with the Phonics Museum, from Veritas. At first I loved it, but after finishing all of Kindergarten, and some of 1st grade...not so much. They teach italics for handwriting, which looks great but I have to say is SO confusing for the kids. I think the theory is that it makes cursive easier to learn. Perhaps, but for now, my kids could hardly tell the difference between a "j" and an "i," and a "t" looks sort of like a "j". Anyway, perhaps for smarter children.

My second complaint is that the readers are almost impossible to understand. Yes, my kids have a much better vocabulary because of the readers. So do I. I've actually had to look words up. Granted, they were short vowel words I probably should have known, but can you define "abet" and use it in a sentence? If I had more time I'd quote a sentence from a reader for a good laugh.

We've plugged away at them, and the kids don't mind the readers (did I mention they are also about 20-30 pages long?), but they were feeling no sense of accomplishment, and their reading skills weren't all that great either. They ARE learning phonics, and as far as an intensive phonics curriculum goes, this fits the bill. I purchased it used, so I will probably keep it. But I've laid aside the readers in favor of the Abeka (gasp!!!) summer readers just to give them a little break. I don't want them to hate reading.

Instead of the handwriting with Phonics Museum, we began to do daily copy work. The quote on the board (in the picture) is from Little Susy Stories, by Elizabeth Prentiss. We read the book earlier in the year. They copied it down every day that week, and by the fourth day of school (we take Fridays off for now), it was beautiful. I was so impressed. Perhaps writing out a quote (which they mostly memorize by the end) is more interesting then rows and rows of letters and short words?

I made them each a Nature Journal, and they've gone out and started looking for bugs, birds, trees, etc., to add to it.

We still read chapter books daily, and we are back into the library habit, which means we are reading fun shorter books every day, too. Thomas will sit for a long time and seems to love the chapter books, but I think the picture books are really good for him, too. 

So we haven't made radical curriculum changes, but everyone is enjoying school more, they seem to be learning more, and we have time to do the things I think are truly important when you are six and under.