Sunday, December 28, 2014

Learning Notes For The End Of The Year

So, we've been home schooling for four months now and it looks totally different than what I thought it would.  We started out with workbooks, lots of nature walks, reading a lot of books aloud and some educational television, plus the occasional craft or activity when I had the energy and time to set it up.  That lasted about, oh, a week.  Pretty quickly I realized I couldn't manage that level of schooling while holding a baby and entertaining a two year old.  The baby cried a lot and the toddler needed constant attention and entertaining while I was attempting to explain a work page or craft to a four year old.  When I left the two year old alone she would destroy things and when I left the four year old alone he would take initiative and try and finish pages he didn't understand - essentially wrecking them.  And they wouldn't work together, so essentially it was impossible.

I knew there would be bumps in the road, and honestly I was okay with this.  We switched 'off' school while we dealt with colic, and tried a more unschooling type approach.  These days we go to the library for storytime once a week, and read together at home, we have our eldest go to a Bible club one night a week, and we also try to attend a weekly playgroup.  Beyond that we don't do outside activities, which I'm okay with because getting everybody out of the house is a disaster waiting to happen.  At home we do activities that require very little prep time, and we still watch educational television and listen to a lot of music and stories.  Nature walks happen, but not as frequently as before mostly due to the weather.  And we look for learning opportunities where we are - talking about stars and machines and bugs...it's been pleasant.

Do I crave structure?  Yes!  I'm a person who simply couldn't unschool for the long haul; I love and believe in structure, but life is full of seasons and this season is one of loose unstructured learning.

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  1. Melanie BettinelliDecember 28, 2014 at 11:26 AM

    When I had a four year old, a toddler ,and a baby that's pretty much what homeschooling looked like: piles of books from the library, a few nature walks that never felt like enough, an occasional craft, some nature videos. I know it doesn't feel like enough structure, but for that age, it really is. My four year old conceived a slight interest for penguins, so I went with it and grew it to a fascination. We got books and videos not only about penguins but all of Antarctica. It was fun and to this day she's still a penguin nut. I'd suggest you find one thing he sort of likes and do a unit on that. Bugs, trucks, flowers, pinecones. Anything that will hold his interest. But mostly, just read with him and let him help with your chores around the house. My oldest daughter learned odd and even while sorting socks with me and so much measuring and counting while cooking. Even just counting the eggs in the carton. There will be so much more time for structure when the littles are older.

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