First Grade Homeschool: Week 1

When we started the school year, we planned to give it a semester before deciding whether to take the kids out to homeschool. Unfortunately, the first couple months didn't go very well and the teachers pretty much refused to challenge our kids beyond what the rest of the class was doing. We met with the teachers and principal, then even gave it a few more weeks, but enough was enough and it just wasn't working. This was our first week of homeschooling Ben, Maddie, and Jon, and our first week at home went extremely well.

These three wore school uniforms for all of kindergarten and for the first couple months of first grade. Since they often seemed a bit jealous that Will could choose his own outfits each day, I expected them to be excited to not have their clothing predetermined. What surprised me is that all three got together the night before our first day of homeschool and set out matching outfits to be their "First day of homeschool uniform." They came downstairs for breakfast in matching swirls of color and black pants. :)

Allen and I worked hard to create a list of our education goals for the kids. I worked hard to choose a somewhat flexible curriculum that I think will work for all four of us -- thought that remains to be seen. I decided to just work on developing a core routine for the kids and me. In a few weeks, probably at Thanksgiving, I plan to add in a bit more. For now, we are focusing on getting used to each others' learning and teaching with math, reading, and writing. I hope to add in arts and crafts soon, but PE (for now) will just be playing outside while I help Will with his school work. At the end of November, I'll start thinking about how to pull in Spanish since they all really want that. One day at a time for now... but its been a great five days for most of us. The only major challenge is that Will isn't used to sharing Mama in the afternoons.