We are wrapping up the 2014-2015 school year.
This time of year drives me crazy! My kids are ready for summer but I'm stuck wrapping up the school and looking towards planning the coming school year.
So I decided to take a few minutes and really honor the school year we completed.
The one lesson that really stuck with me this year (even though I knew it!) children move at their own pace. Just because text book, program, and even a child expert says your child "should be" doing something by a certain age, doesn't mean every child is READY to be doing that particular thing.
This clearly came worth with my very stubborn 3rd child. She is kindergarten and so naturally she should be reading. Actually, because we homeschool, common school of thought is she should have been reading a year ago. So we dove into the program I spent hours researching and knew it was the "best" fit for her. However, after two months of butting heads - I had to admit she wasn't ready. So I put the books aside and just enjoyed her! Enjoyed her creativity, her spunk, and her just being 5! Shortly after Christmas, she initiated the want to read and we picked the program back up. The pieces are falling more easily in place.
The same came through with my oldest son with Algebra 1. While he can do the work, he is requiring a lot of coaching. It is very clear, the concepts aren't cementing and we need to spend another year on the material. So we (yes, him, his father, and myself) made the decision to spend another year with Algebra 1.
My second lesson I learned this year - was don't be afraid to change it up! One of the motto's I keep hearing within the homeschooling circles is "Keep it Simple!" I realized, we need to make it more simple for our family. I had a real conversation with our kids about what they liked and what they didn't like. My oldest shared he didn't care for Scholastic News and wanted to switch to a Math or Science magazine. My oldest daughter told me weekly Scholastic News overwhelmed her, while she enjoyed the reading would rather switch to a monthly or quarterly magazine. So I'm changing it up - I've also decided that have 3 kids doing 3 different levels of Social Studies and Art isn't going to work for our household. We are making it simple with one program and then activity work will be grade/age appropriate.
My third lesson this year that I truly learned was not all learning takes place in a classroom, from a textbook, or perfectly designed study. I've been amazed at what my children have learned from just being let loose in the library! Just being allowed to pursue their own interests or follow up on interesting facts they have come across. Due to this (and a talk I heard at our home school conference), we are completely changing up Social Studies and Literature studies for my oldest two children.
I know I'm suppose to be teaching my children, but truly I think they are schooling me in a lesson or two!
