Whitworth Update

It has been a long time since I have written on here. I just checked the number of views and I was pretty amazed it was so high. Anyway, maybe I'll give this a better shot this year.

I thought I would dedicate this post to how our homeschool year went this past year.

The second year in homeschooling went ok. I have to say it was quite the challenge for both the boys and myself. There were a few things with them that I've done pretty consistently this year. I have also changed a few of our daily activities from last year. I have learned that homeschooling is a fluid thing. There is no right or wrong way to do it. You just do what you know is best for your own family. I love homeschooling in Texas b/c we don't have a lot of rules or regulations to follow. It is freeing for me and I am blessed to live and homeschool here.

One thing I've really learned (again) this year is that we homeschool for very different reasons than most of the families I know and have met. I admire those families with children who are memorizing and learning about things that are pretty impressive, but I've learned to accept that's not us. I knew going into homeschooling that we were doing this so the boys could learn at their own pace and not be rushed through the basics of school. I didn't realize I'd be judged for this slower pace in the homeschooling community. I expected it somewhat from parents and friends who put their children into public school. I almost welcomed the debate. But to be judged for not doing a certain type of homeschooling...I did not expect. Thankfully, I have found families who have children who needed homeschooling for the same reason as my boys. They have been a super encouragement to me after a rough start here in Texas. I'm looking forward to 3rd year of homeschooling surrounded by these friends who have been there, done that and have actually graduated some pretty fantastic kids!

I made a few changes to curriculum this year that I thought I would share. Like I said, homeschooling is fluid.

First of all, I have a terrible confession to make...I am HORRIBLE at getting them to read. There, I confessed it. I have always struggled with this. I used to read a lot as a preteen/teen. However, reading to my own children (especially reading out loud) has been difficult. I do not enjoy reading anything out loud. I cringe when asked to read out loud for any reason. In part, I believe this has to do with some of my own learning issues I've been discovering. I have a tendency to skip lines and exclude words. I do this with spelling as well. When I was in elementary school I went to extra classes to help me with reading. As I got older I read more fluently and like I said I enjoyed reading for fun as a preteen/teen. I recognize my detest for reading out loud as a major issue in homeschooling, so this year I have found a few things that help me with this.

First, we purchased each of our boys a Kindle Fire this year. This has been the BEST decision I have ever made for any Christmas gift. There has not been one day since receiving them that I regret having them. They were given the least expensive Kindle Fire. This tablet has helped a great deal with reading. Now, when I want them to read a book we go to Amazon and download it. There are many kindle books that are actually free. The blog Free Homeschool Deals has a list monthly of free kindle books. We have taken advantage of that list several times. In addition having the book on the kindle (no more lost library books...YAY) the kindle also READS it to them! OHHH HAPPPY DAY! So now, I will sit with them and read books with them, but I do not have to read out loud. They also can go and listen to books on their own. It has helped them greatly with their fluency and word recognition.

The second thing we have done is to spend each day working on Istation. I found out about Istation from an online friend. It is free for public and homeschooled students in Texas. It's called Istation. It has been really good for both of the boys. We have consistently done this program since January and it has really helped them. That has been a huge help in knowing their actual reading level and helping with fluency. Istation tests them each month to show their progress and then continues using games to help them improve at their own level. Logan improves each month. It starts at a 3rd grade level (his actual grade last year) and he is still falling below grade level (as he has always tested from the time he started school) however, he shows excellent progress each month. I am noticing it in everyday life with him as well. Cole is also using Istation. He was by grade level in 2nd last year. Istation is technically for 3rd and up, but I felt he could do the work. He is scoring at or just below grade level. Which is encouraging to me. Cole is my reader and he's doing GREAT when I can get him to focus (that's another blog!)

Finally, I've just been more intentional with reading with them in every day life. Logan has recently seen the benefit of knowing how to read signs when he helped me to see some signs at night while I was driving. He also looks on with Whit during church while we are reading from the Bible. His fluency needs work over all, but he's getting the hang of it.

Another change I made was to chuck The Phonics Road and start with a different phonics based book. The book was recommended to me by another homeschooling mom who was also certified as a reading specialist. The book The Ordinary Parents Guide To Reading has been very helpful in giving me a way to systematically teach the boys Phonics. I go through the lesson with them and also pick spelling words from the lessons we are working on for the week. We sometimes find readers that follow whatever rule we are working on. It has been much easier and something I actually keep up with doing.

We are also working through Easy Grammar This has been a good book for all of us! We are, as always, working through both of these books at their pace. We stop for awhile and repeat if necessary.

Math U See continues to be my math choice. Cole has taken a little longer to go through this. We started out a little behind so he's still catching up. Again, this tends to be more of a lack of attention thing vs. an inability to do the work. Logan has done excellent with this series and continues to work through his book.

This past year we didn't do a lot with Science and History in the conventional/traditional sense. We read some books on history and did some Apologia Astronomy Science, but it was difficult to get into a groove with these subjects. We did start receiving Learn Our History DVD's. I see these as a great supplement to what we've been learning. Often after a hard morning with reading and math exercises, we would turn on a history DVD or a Science show on Netflix and just learn something while we ate. The boys enjoy it and I get a little break.

Our 3rd year of homeschooling is about to begin and I'm excited to incorporate some more things into each week. Homeschooling is definitely not for everyone and not for the faint of heart. I think this will be the greatest challenge of my life and I hope one day I not only turn out kids that know a few things, but also kids that respect their elders, are a pleasure to work with and are happy and adjusted. So far, socially, I am seeing great things in my kids. I am super proud to be their mom and take this journey with them.