Relaxed homeschool Week 1

[Halcyon]

Thought it might be a nice experiment to turn the Ever Desire A More Relaxed Approach into a weekly thread where people can post about their week, their attempts towards having a more relaxed homeschool while still maintaining a challenge (whatever that means to you) for their children, etc.

 

My week has been eye opening. Because i have been sick and a bit down, i have backed off certain subjects interms of "plowing through", and realized review IS schoolwork. Younger s making a Spanish Lapbook, and older is making a Chemistry lapbook instead of doing a chapter test. Our K'nex are spread out in the living room, as the boys are in the middle of a project. We have affixed Spanish flashcards to various household items and are watching Senor Wooly a lot. I am realzing that my expectations for what we can calmly accomplish in a day (with a steady but not frantic pace) is less than what i envision. I realize i also do this in my day to day life, which is why i am often running late to things. :tongue_smilie: I have also been listening to Pandora's Joni Mitchell radio while schooling; folk songs keep me calm :D

 

Hope you are having a good week so far.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Halcyon

[Chrysalis Academy]

What a nice idea! I think my major epiphanies this week have been that even though we focus on just one content area - science or history - for formal "lessons" (and I was feeling kinda bad that I wasn't fitting in both every day) we are actually covering *more* content, in both topics, than we did when I tried to cram it all in. So even on "history" week, we watch some science docos in the afternoon, or read from the piles of science books stacked around the living room, or do an activity with Mo's school (yesterday it was dissecting owl pellets :)). In "science" week, we still read historical fiction, listen to our composer's music, look at art books, read poetry . . . by taking a more relaxed and living books based approached, and by seizing receptive moments, we're getting more in by being more flexible.

 

I'm also right there with you in slowing down and realizing that review *is* a lesson. We're taking Latin slow - we're supposed to memorize all 6 declensions this lesson, so we're giving it plenty of time and reviewing and making sure each one "sinks in" before moving on to the next one. We didn't start a new CE lesson this week - we're reviewing the previous words, and again, letting things sink in. Just generally letting go of the feeling that we have to rush through things, and going at the pace that lets us really savor each new thing we're learning, and incoroporate it with the rest of our knowledge, make connections, etc.

[SonshineLearner]

Ok, I'll bite :) My son is 9yrs old. We're doing "Life School/Field Trip school" this year. I thought my husband suggested it, but it was actually a miscommunication about what he thought would be a good idea. But, I decided to try it till at least Christmas. SO, We're doing no electronics during the day, until after 5:30pm. He's read Science books, talked about numbers... (Is having fun doing some math orally using Spanish) Walking to the park... (him riding his bike) Visiting the Science Museums around here. We just started Latin again last week, so I'm going to try for a lesson a week with that. :)

[momto2Cs]

I took time off from formal science and history this week, in part because we had two field trips - one to a local Renaissance Faire (living history!) and one to the California Academy of Sciences (experiential science!) - and in art because I needed to rethink things.

 

As far as schoolwork, we've been making progress in math, phonics (dd) and writing/spelling (ds). I've been reading aloud a lot - Ozma of Oz, various picture books, The Snow Queen (part of our Narnia study), etc. We've had a nicer rhythm to our days this week, even with all the hectic-ness of field trips!

 

I feel like I am able to take a deeper breath this week... it is a good feeling! And yes, review does count, and yes, science and history can be very enmeshed! I'm actually really looking forward to next week - I think I've got a good idea of the way things could flow, I finally have everything together for our Books of Centuries (one for each kid), we're ready to start up BFSU again. It should be solid learning at a relaxed pace, and with a lot of fun!

[8filltheheart]

. I am realzing that my expectations for what we can calmly accomplish in a day (with a steady but not frantic pace) is less than what i envision.

 

The reason the mantra " it is a marathon, not a race" is repeated so often by moms of older kids to homeschooling moms of younger kids is b/c distance helps give perspective. ;) Everything does not need to be accomplished now. Things build on each other, pace increases w/age, emphases shifts, etc.

[Hedgehogs4]

I have pared way back on my commitments outside of the home so that I have time to be relaxed in our homeschooling. I think we are so often inclined to over-program our kids to make up for the "programming" that they are not receiving in school. Even so, they still have three outside things: swimming, piano, and AWANA.

 

We as a family decided to put in a patio, and over the past month it has ended up being a major lesson in basic construction and drainage! My ds11 worked with his dad to dig two french drains, lay base, sand and pavers, use a compactor, watched the patio sink into a hole, install a 3rd french drain, repeat all of the above steps, and fill in the grout with polymeric sand. After the third french drain it did not sink. It didn't dare! :glare: He did a man's work and did not complain one bit, and earned about $130 doing it, as we had agreed to pay him $3 an hour to work on it. Meanwhile on the days he wasn't working, he kept up with his school work and didn't complain about that. On the days he was working, he was working.

 

I am very glad that we gave him that opportunity and foresee this happening more often. If we had been over-committed to co-ops and activities and a schedule that demands we get certain things done by a certain time, this could not have happened.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

This is the first week after I threw out our English. Just one more subject that I am choosing to go written curriculum free with. So far I have dropped all history, Bible, Reading, spelling, and now grammar and writing. My next year we will have dropped science too. (That is curriculum for those subjects, not the subject itself.)

 

My husband is off this week so already we planned on taking an easy week. We have been hitting the nature trails, playing games together, and doing family readings. We also went to the apple orchard which has our theme table...something new I am starting...to have a basket of apples. Dd has to spend time at the theme table daily but is free to do writing, art, science, or anything she feels like relating to the theme. She has written poems and drawn pictures of apples. Wrote a paragraph about her own version of an apple (peanut butter crisp...made from planting a peanut along with an apple seed, it is an apple filled with peanut butter). Measured, weighed, compared and tasted different apples. I have had to prompt her along the way but she is starting to get the idea of what to do at the theme table. Next week it will be spiders or pumpkins.

 

We also pulled out the snap circuits which seem to be a hit.

[Alte Veste Academy]

The reason the mantra " it is a marathon, not a race" is repeated so often by moms of older kids to homeschooling moms of younger kids is b/c distance helps give perspective. ;) Everything does not need to be accomplished now. Things build on each other, pace increases w/age, emphases shifts, etc.

 

I am embracing this lesson this year. Our new school motto is, "Slow and steady wins the race." 

[Halcyon]

This is the first week after I threw out our English. Just one more subject that I am choosing to go written curriculum free with. So far I have dropped all history, Bible, Reading, spelling, and now grammar and writing. My next year we will have dropped science too. (That is curriculum for those subjects, not the subject itself.)

 

My husband is off this week so already we planned on taking an easy week. We have been hitting the nature trails, playing games together, and doing family readings. We also went to the apple orchard which has our theme table...something new I am starting...to have a basket of apples. Dd has to spend time at the theme table daily but is free to do writing, art, science, or anything she feels like relating to the theme. She has written poems and drawn pictures of apples. Wrote a paragraph about her own version of an apple (peanut butter crisp...made from planting a peanut along with an apple seed, it is an apple filled with peanut butter). Measured, weighed, compared and tasted different apples. I have had to prompt her along the way but she is starting to get the idea of what to do at the theme table. Next week it will be spiders or pumpkins.

 

We also pulled out the snap circuits which seem to be a hit.

 

Interesting! Can you tell us more? I am doing my own thing with youngers science, grammar and (less so) writing...he likes a more freewheeling approach than older. For grammar, we use kiss but also games, comic strip grammar, real books....for science we are vaguely following creek edge press cards.....

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Interesting! Can you tell us more? I am doing my own thing with youngers science, grammar and (less so) writing...he likes a more freewheeling approach than older. For grammar, we use kiss but also games, comic strip grammar, real books....for science we are vaguely following creek edge press cards.....

The theme table? I am picking a theme each week based on interest, season, holiday or whatever seems like something that could be fun to study. The table has library books, hands on samples if possible, art supplies, science supplies that could be used with the theme, writing paper with some writing ideas (creative writing, poetry, grammar), nature journal ideas, and anything else I can think of that would help with the theme. I have ideas on what to do but they are just that, ideas, to help if she cannot think of something to do with the time at the theme table. All the ideas are in a binder for her to flip through for inspiration if she needs it. Since I threw out her English I am doing my own thing but whatever I cover in English for the day, the work will be based on our theme of the week . I am making dd spend time at the table daily, no set time but she has to be doing something constructive there based on the theme.

 

My idea is to get her thinking cross curricula, immerse herself in a theme, learn through play and experiment, and move on before she gets bored. The weekly theme change is not written in stone and if she wants to spend more time on a theme we will. It's something new I am trying, so we will see if it works.

[Halcyon]

Thanks for sharig that! Very cool.

 

Today we hit the beach BEFORE school-unheard of for us. We always say we will get to the beach after school but we never do, so this was a change. Now we are going to finish up some projects, clean the house, work on math and latin, and then i am going to get a cut and color. On the heels of a mani pedi yesterday-first time in years!

 

I think i am figuring out this relaxing thing :lol:

[missmoe]

Halcyon,

 

Thanks for this thread and the original. I've been thinking about how to get rid of the always rushed feeling we have. My expectations of what we can get done are too high which leads to kids that never feel they have accomplished enough.

 

Thinking back on our past school years, I realized that having a scheduled amount of time for each subject has worked best for us.

 

So, I've sat down with my kids and worked out a schedule for our days. And I've changed my daily lesson plans to checklists. We will work on history for five hours a week--what gets done during those five hours is what gets done. Next week we will pick up where we left off. And if a friend calls and wants to meet at the park, we can do that and then simply pick up with our schedule when we get back. No trying to cram what we missed into the rest of the week. There is always tomorrow.

 

Anyway that has been my thinking this week. We will start on Monday---and I will work on relaxing as I already know that we have three different appts that will affect our schedule! :tongue_smilie:

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Thinking back on our past school years, I realized that having a scheduled amount of time for each subject has worked best for us.

 

So, I've sat down with my kids and worked out a schedule for our days. And I've changed my daily lesson plans to checklists. We will work on history for five hours a week--what gets done during those five hours is what gets done. Next week we will pick up where we left off. And if a friend calls and wants to meet at the park, we can do that and then simply pick up with our schedule when we get back. No trying to cram what we missed into the rest of the week. There is always tomorrow.

 

Anyway that has been my thinking this week. We will start on Monday---and I will work on relaxing as I already know that we have three different appts that will affect our schedule! :tongue_smilie:

 

Appointments affect our schedule frequently, so I'm trying to decrease the stress they produce. What you've described sounds similar to what works best here.

 

I've also started to track closely what subjects are getting done. It lets me see when we've missed certain subjects over and over for appointments, so I can either change appointment times or rearrange subject times.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Hilltop Academy

[AngelaNYC]

Jumping in here on the relaxed homeschooling. It seems it's the only way we can truly get things done. I asked him to help me make a schedule and this is what we came up with. So, this week ds started each day watching a 10-minutes news program for tweens/teens called Channel One News. Current events are usually kinda interesting and he enjoys it. Also each day he did some Saxon Math. I'm shooting for 2 lessons a week since he zones out after 30 minutes, but at that rate he'll be still on level 7/6 2 years from now :glare: . Every day ds did a lesson in one of his language arts workbooks - this week it was Spelling Skills and Simply Grammar. We read some Narnia each day, finally finishing LWW and starting Prince Caspian. It's a series he actually likes and gets into. We read some of The Everything American History Book together twice this week and he narrated. Then each day he read one of his own books silently for about 20 minutes. He's dyslexic and as long as he's reading it's OK with me. We went on a field trip with our homeschool group to Brooklyn Bridge Park to seine the East River. That covered science for the week. We pulled in a bunch of sea creatures and identified them using a field guide. He also watched youtube tutorials on magic tricks, Minecraft hints, iPod Touch apps, and video enhancements. This coming week I'm hoping to also get in some nature study, some formal art, and a trip somewhere.

 

I like this relaxed week. We're done in less than 2 hours each day and ds is retaining everything he's learning. He sings in a show choir on Saturdays and goes to CCD class on Sundays, where he does more reading and writing. He plans on going to high school in a few years and I've been through this already with his sisters. I've learned that a focus on reading, writing, and math for daily academics and a light and fun approach to science and history a couple of times a week (websites, documentaries, experiments, field trips, etc) is what works for us. Also, getting outside every day is important, whether he's playing basketball with the neighbor kid in the backyard, tag with all the kids on the block, or just running errands with me. My resurfacing view on homeschooling is to have no stress and to enjoy our time together.