Thinking Things Through

It’s been a long time since I last posted (nothing new there), but I finally feel as if I’ve got the energy and the understanding to write about what we’re up to these days.  I mentioned in my last post the fact that we were on the brink of a big change (for us anyway).  Now we’ve made that step and are a couple of weeks into it.  I’ve been able to see how it’s going to work for us, and I’ve decided that it actually is (for the time being anyway).  So here it is:  online curriculum, specifically Time 4 Learning.  There are so many reasons for this and the benefits are different for each of my kids, but it really does seem to have solved some of the issues we were having. 

 I had been feeling for a long time that I was just Tired (yes, with a capital “t”).  Tired of planning out lessons, trying to come up with creative ways of learning, trying to figure out my kids and how they learn and what they want to learn, trying to fit in these creative lessons with each of them all around my toddler’s schedule and needs, trying to persuade kids who didn’t want to do an activity or unit I had planned to go along with it.  Just tired.  I felt as if I was trying so hard to do everything right for everyone and also to do this version of homeschooling that I’d decided long ago was “the right one” for us.  I had “rebelled” against traditional schooling (although it really did work fine for me and my learning style) because I wanted what I thought would be better for my kids – more living books, more creative projects, more hands-on, more field trips, more fun.  But the truth is this:  I’m really not very good at many of those things (except for the living books – I’m great at finding and using those) and also, at least one of my kids (Ben) doesn’t really want that kind of learning (he really likes to just read and then take a quiz and move on – and he actually remembers what he’s read – it’s taken me all the way to this year to really understand that).  After a long time (years, we’re talking here) of trying to figure something else out and always coming back to the same method of me busting my tail to mix together an eclectic and creative mix of learning resources and activities, I decided to give Time 4 Learning a try.  They have a two week trial period.  I had the recommendation of an IRL friend (Robin of Martinzoo).  My kids seemed excited to try something different.  What did I have to lose? 

So a few weeks ago, we started it.  Madeline and Ellie loved it right away.  Ben, at first, thought it was going to be too annoying and babyish, but he realized after I really made him sit down and give it a try that it was right up his alley.  Since then he has sat down at the beginning of each week and scheduled out his lessons for the week.  He does Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science online and still uses his Math U See curriculum for math (although he may go in and use some of the math for topics that aren’t covered in his Pre-Alg curriculum but that he’d like to review or get more practice with).  He is very pleased that he is doing SS and Science (which he hasn’t really been doing for a couple of years, formally) in a way that is working for him at this time, and I’m pleased that he is so independent and feels so confident with this.  Madeline is working through her topics very systematically too and really loves to get on there each day.  For her, the math has been a great thing because, while she loves, loves, loves math, she hates workbooks.  She approaches math in a very “living math” manner which is wonderful, but she also needs frequent practice to keep her from losing skills, so this provides that in a way that she enjoys and looks forward to.  For Ellie, it is more about learning (and reviewing) in a fun way.  I’d be fine with her not doing any of this and just unschooling at this point, but she likes it and it gives her some structured learning each day.  

Another good thing about the T4L for us is the Language Arts for the older kids.  I have never done any formal LA program with my kids.  They all love to read and were early and mainly self-taught readers.  They read voraciously still.  They are good natural spellers and have a good grasp of basic grammar and usage (both from lots of reading and from other “living” resources such as the Ruth Heller books, Mad Libs, etc.).  But one area that has worried me a bit is formal instruction about reading comprehension.  Mostly I feel that one learns to comprehend by reading and discussing, reading and discussing, reading and discussing.  But there is that school-educated, elementary teacher part of me that wonders if children do need a bit of formal instruction in such skills as “determining cause and effect”, “making inferences and drawing conclusions”, “determining author’s purpose”, and “finding the main idea and supporting details.”  Both of the older children are getting all of this and more in the LA section of T4L and enjoying it.  Ben just said to me today that he likes it because it is new and different.   *insert sigh of relief here* 

So, the kids each get on for anywhere from a half an hour to a little over an hour each day (Ellie for less time, the older kids for more, usually).  They sometimes argue to see who will get to go first.  They often get annoyed when they have to wait too long for their turn.  This is happening more frequently lately since the new computer that replaced our dead laptop (our secondary computer) is having problems and is temporarily out of commission and we’re down to one computer for three kids. 

 So what else are they doing?  Ben does his Math U See (almost done with Pre-Algebra and looking forward to moving on to Algebra), reads books I’ve selected for him that extend what he’s been doing on T4L or that I just think he’d be interested in (lately it’s been books about WWI and WWII and I’m trying to get him interested in a book I found called Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku), and reads his own books of course.  There is still a lack of writing going on, but I’m pushing that aside for now.  He did mention that he’s been writing the dialogue for a comic series he wants to create on the computer sometime.

Madeline reads, reads, reads.  I get a bagful of books from the library each week that are not related to anything, they just look interesting.  She is the kid most likely to pick those up and read every one of them cover to cover.  Also, she is working on a series of writings to go along with a world that she has created.  Her dad finds her cool pictures of magical looking places online and she determines what they might be within her world and then writes a description to go along with the picture.  She is going to compile these into a booklet when she is finished.  She also wants to start a blog about her world.  She continues to be a wonderful help with Sam. 

Ellie reads a lot too.  We’ve been doing some math activities together lately to strengthen her number sense skills (understanding of the hundred chart, skip counting, ones and tens places, etc.).  We’ve all been doing some art projects, painting and making rainbow crafts with contact paper and tissue paper.  She plays with Sam a bunch when he’s about which is great for both of them and for me too. 

The girls and I are doing a short, fun reading activity in which we are taking familiar stories/fairy tales and reading alternate versions of them (“fractured fairy tales”).  I’m using this booklist website for titles.  So far we’ve found a bunch of fun versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  Next we’re going to do The Little Red Hen.  It’s just a fun way to get a little bit of reading in and to get them thinking about how an author creates a story.  I’d love for them to pick the idea up on their own and start creating their own “fractured fairy tales” but I’m not “assigning” it and if they don’t it’s not a big deal. 

Read-alouds are happening as usual.  Madeline and her dad are reading Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban.  Ellie and I recently finished Little House in the Big Woods and The House on Pooh Corner (that one for her book club) and are now reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (also for her book club)

I’m sure there is so much more that they do.  And I keep thinking that I should start keeping track again.  I almost wish (sometimes) that our state required more log-keeping because it would force me to do it if only for my own personal records. 

 Now, I have to say that while the first part of my post might sound like an advertisement for Time 4 Learning, I really don’t mean it that way.  It’s been a good thing for us, for now.  It’s definitely not an absolutely complete curriculum in my mind since it can’t replace reading real books, doing real science experiments (although there are a few on there), going to real places, etc.  But it has filled a gap for us, has provided me with a simple way to cover some basics, and is solving a problem for me at this time (me being the be-all, end-all of our homeschool).  I don’t know where we’ll head next.  I seem destined to not settle into any routine for too long.  But this is our homeschool for now. 

It’s good to be back here at the blog.  I’d love to hear from you if there are any readers out there who made it through this huge post!