Journey to Excellence

Because Brynne came home from kindergarten after school started, I didn't purchase any formal curriculum for her. I already knew she was advanced in many areas, so I really just used this year to let her teach me! I wanted to get a good feel for what she already knew, what she was interested in and what style of teaching worked best with her. I already had an interest in the Charlotte Mason method, which worked especially great since I didn't have any formal curriculum to use. We stuck with the 3 R's and did science and social studies units based on her interest, doing lots and lots of reading! And with all of the reading we did she learned to, well, read! In math we used a 1st grade book that the school gave us, but it was boring to her so we incorporated as much hands-on math as we could. We tried to work off of our social studies and science units and do math activities related to them. She liked that! In public school she would be in 1st grade next year, maybe e...

1.  We tend to start later and later every day, thus ending later and later every day. 2.  Without designated times to work with Dawson, Brynne monopolizes my time. 3.  To concentrate, Dawson needs to be in a "school" setting. Sitting on the couch causes him to think lazy. 4.  This teacher feels like we have spun our wheels all day and accomplished nothing. Unschooling could just never happen here. So, I'm going to have to find a way to use the Charlotte Mason philosophy on a schedule . That's what's great about homeschooling .... do what works for you!

 If you have read my Weekly Wrap-ups for the past nine weeks, you have probably seen a trend of cramming a lot into one week! This week, however, I have noticed myself being much more laid back in the area of schoolwork. I am pretty certain it has had something to do with my newfound interest in the Charlotte Mason method. But, on top of that I have seen that with two children at home, learning two completely different sets of things (being 9 years apart in age), I am quickly overloading myself! This past Fall Break was a great one for me. It gave me some downtime and some time to reflect on the past quarter. I realized that I was beginning to pause much more frequently to notice the education that was occurring all day long, without the aid of any school books ... the aha moments ... the learning from doing things they had interest in ... the application of things learned in books to real life! I would stop myself from hurrying Brynne along to go upstairs to resume workbo...

I never thought I'd be a homeschool mom. I didn't think I could do it. Heck, I didn't think I wanted to do it! But I find it to be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I am proud to tell others that I homeschool two of my children. I never really thought I would homeschool any of the kids but Dawson. I especially never thought I would have the stamina for Brynne. We are so much alike. I just never thought we could do it together .. all day .. every day ... But I think I am loving it as much, if not more, than she is! All I know is public school and doing things the public school way. And, that's how I think!   I am a read-a-text-and-memorize-the-material-then-regurgitate-it-back-onto-a-written-test-after-you-have-done-two-weeks-of-multiple-busy-work-problems kind of girl! I had heard of unschooling and eclectic and Charlotte Mason and other homeschooling terms. And since I am a non-conformist on my best day, I wasn't planning to conform to ...