There is a lot of information on the internet about homeschooling- dare I say way, way, WAY too much informaiton, to the point where it is overwhelming even to begin sifting through the curricula, lesson plans, theories, and methods available to the new-to-homeschooling mom.
There are homeschoolers, unschoolers, earthschoolers, zenschoolers... You name it, someone has probably already coined their particular style and claimed it superior.
I realize I have a year before Eliot actually "starts" school, homeschool or otherwise, officially, but I think one constant theme in all homeschooling methods is that learning at home is about creating an atmosphere that encourages the natural aquisition of knowledge- and that is an atmosphere we have tried to cultivate, and will continue to develop, well before Eliot or Ivy ever start their mandatory schooling (the age where our homeschooling will be supervised by the state).
As random as it may sound, the best way I can think of to organize our homemade curriculum so far will be to organize it according to the seasons. Weird, right? I'll go into this in more detail soon.
In the mean time, I'd love it if anyone would comment with resources they enjoy using for their own kids, or favorite books, etc, because I'm absolutely ok with not reinventing the wheel.
In the mean time, I'll be making it a goal to write a homeschool related post once a week, with the homeschool label, to make that informaiton easier to find for anyone coming to my blog for that reason.
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4 comments:
I think one interesting way to approach homeschooling is to make a list of everything that happens to children and everything they learn in school -- positive, negative, and indifferent; academic, social, formal, informal, and otherwise -- at each age. Then one can go through the list crossing out the items one is glad to eliminate from one's child's education; checking off the items one knows one can provide or improve on at home; and circling the ones that will require further study or supplementation.
Are you interested in homeschooling/unschooling blogs that I find pretty cool? They tend to be more geared toward older children but it's the spirit that I find attractive. There are a couple that I can think of.
I can so totally see this working out for the best in your situation, even though I've never met any of you. If I were getting that kind of feedback from the school (jumping? really?) you betcha that I would also be strong-arming hubs :) at least for the early years.
Seasons sounds like a great starting point to me, because early childhood does a lot of that anyway and thus there are a lot of thematic resources out there. Are you going to be homeschooling bilingually or in one language only?
I've also been doing some research into how Scholastic Book Clubs work internationally, so if you are interested in that send me an e-mail! I can also send you the names of a cool literacy program that our school used. It's not so much of a program that you have to follow (re Hooked on Phonics) as it gives you the basic research and ideas on how to adapt that to your classroom. I personally love it.
Cheering you on,
Michelle
Speaking from an early childhood standpoint, seasons really do make the most sense...and not because they have pre-made "stuff" and curriculum for the seasons, but because that's generally what children notice and are curious about. "why do the leaves change? Why do we celebrate certain holidays? Why is it so darn hot?"
I'm a complete advocate for the Reggio-Emelia approach. This is what made the most sense to me in college and still to this day makes the most sense. You study things in DEPTH. Things your children are interested in, and you help guide them. For example, the children kept talking about poop, so instead of ignoring it, we talked about it and studied it. After many flow charts and ven diagrams with the children's ideas and many trips to the library, we studied our body's system, nutrition, and the sewer system! We got the community involved and had a man who works in the sewer treatment facility come and speak to the children. In the meantime, we incorporated developmental skills and tasks such as math, reading, science into this research. It's a much more meaningful way to learn such things compared to rote memorization and worksheets...
Read up on Reggio Emilia, and I think you will find it very valuable for homeschooling purposes. One book I have that I find useful is Young Investigators by Judy Harris Helm and Lilian Katz.
Have a GREAT time homeschooling. I was super scared to start it 3 years ago. (My Mom is a college professor of Education and thought homeschooling was very bad.) However, my kids and I have had so much fun together. Enjoy!
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