This is also something that I try to remember as we are doing our homeschooling. I want me and the kids to keep moving forward as we learn. I can't get caught up in trying to make my kids do their school work. I don't want to be bossy...no one likes to be bossed around. I've been trying a new strategy to get them to do their work. They have more choices when it comes to what they are going to do with their school work. For instance, Looloo can choose whether she wants to do math or literature, or writing or vocabulary. Giving her the choice seems to make it go smoother instead of telling her that we're going to do math (or whatever subject I decided she needed to do at that time). When she didn't have the choice she was less cooperative.
Yesterday I gave her the option of working from her math book or practicing time on her clocks. I bought some dry erase clocks at a yard sale so she can use her markers to practice time. One of the best yard sale purchases ever. ;) She, of course, chose to do the clocks and did a great job with a happy attitude. Success!
Looloo has struggled the most so giving more choices has helped her more than the others. At first, I tried setting up a schedule for each of the kids. Each hour they would work on a certain subject then move on once that hour was up. If they got done early they could go back and finish something that they didn't get finished earlier. This worked ok, but I decided to change things...again. I've realized that I may never feel like our routine is perfect. I feel like I'm going to be changing things a lot as we make this journey together. I think it's good to keep things fresh instead of staying the same all of the time. Not to say that we won't have consistency so they will feel secure. We will be consistence in the general aspect of our schooling, but I will be changing little things here and there so we can get out of ruts we might get in. Not only that, but some things might work for a while and then not. Changing things when they aren't working is a must. Now, I have their schedule for the day on the white board with everything they need to complete for the day. It is up to them to get it done. They can do it in any order they want as long as everything gets done. This gives them more responsibility and more freedom to do their work. Except Looloo. I still give her options, but not as much freedom since I need to help her more than I help the others.
I have also changed their daily schedule to include double lessons in some areas so that we can take Fridays off to do other activities. They stay on track to finish all of their lessons in each subject area by the end of the year, but they get a day off from lessons every week. When I first told them of the plan, they thought they would just get a day off completely. Umm...not so much. I will still utilize the day to include learning, but in different ways.
On one Friday a month we will be getting together with one of our homeschool groups for a field trip. This won't take the entire day so I want to add another activity such as visiting someone who might be lonely. Maybe someone at the assisted living place or at the hospital who doesn't have family close that can come and visit. This is out of my comfort zone, but I am determined to teach my kids compassion and the joy of serving.
Another Friday we will be learning about the culture of another country or area in the world. I want to find some recipes we can make together and maybe watch a documentary and read books about the culture. I'm super excited to learn about different areas with my kids. I want to expand their knowledge of our world to teach them to embrace the many different ideas, styles, abilities, etc. that different cultures experience. Not only will they learn to accept the differences of others, they will also learn about the cultures. Learning tolerance is not something that I want to teach. It's one thing to tolerate the differences in our world, it's another to embrace them. I want my children to learn to embrace the world, not just tolerate it.
We will have a project day on another Friday. This could be for art or science and it would be a major project that we would work on together. I want my kids to learn from each other and enjoy working together. The goal is to become united in their efforts when working on and completing these projects.
The Friday that is left will be another field trip day. If it's possible we might travel to the city and go to some museums and have a brief visit with family and friends. If a city visit isn't possible we will find something local that we can do for a field trip.
The goal is to build on what they have already learned or are currently learning in their lessons. Also to grow closer together and have a fun time together. I hope they will look forward to Friday and will learn while having fun.
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