Okay, so I started this little blog to share all about our neat little year of homeschooling our eldest, our kindergarten gal, our first little student, the one to ease us into the whole homeschool journey. But here we are, doing what we do. We’re adapting, we’re growing, and we are trying our hardest to go with the flow of doing what works for our family. Long story short: our youngest two are now homeschooling with us. That’s right. Here we are a-homeschooling two preschool gals and a kindergarten gal. We’ve got us our own little academy.
So here’s what I know so far about teaching more than one kid and on more than one learning/grade level: it’s a lot of work. Man, it takes time, and it takes focus and patience, love and creativity. It takes ideas and organization….and…..AND it takes letting something else go sometimes. Last week it was my schedule, and this week, well, so far it looks like it’s the laundry’s turn to take some time off.
But, I’m glad to report that we are learning. Our kindergarten student is learning about the War of 1812 (her choice, not mine), and she’s learning that just because she knows how to write doesn’t mean she can now chicken scratch her way through her writing lessons. (Yes, I just said chicken scratch….just like a real life teacher….). Our pre-k student is learning that it is okay if everything is not perfect. She’s learning, or beginning to learn that mistakes don’t always have to go into the trash can or go flying through the air on a balled up wad of paper; they can be corrected, fixed, or sometimes adapted into something way cooler than what she began with. And our teeny preschooler is practicing taking turns (not her favorite), improving her sign language skills, and learning sounds made by each letter in the alphabet.
Usually the kids have their individual school time, but sometimes we all learn around the table together, and some of those times, we even find a way to do this without chaos. And those times are pretty great.
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