Reefgazer Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 What broad improvements would you like to make to your homeschool for next year?My improvements:1. Bring DS home from public school and guide him to becoming an enthusiastic student. 2. Get a grip on scheduling so that we are not careening from activity to activity, trying to cram in one more math lesson before our next appointment/event/activity. This might mean we have to drop things. :( 3. Transition to a homeschool that is heavily literature-based, and ditch most of the busywork we spent time on this year. 4. I need to learn more patience when teaching my kids. I've gained a whole lot of it this year, but I need a whole lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claluck Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Within the last couple months my DH and I have poured over home school philosophies, parenting philosophies, and personal observations. We have also looked realistically at what we think the goals should be at preparing a child to be a good citizen in their home and community and what means should be taken to help them get there. We have above average children who are naturally bright, though not extremely talented in any particular area or genius' by any means. But we both feel we need to offer them more to encourage them to broaden their view of the world, increase their creativity, and to expose them to more breadth than depth. I know that isn't always popular but after much thought we have decided we want our children to know about many of the possibilities out there instead of limiting them. Yes we pursue depth when there is interest but or need but generally this is the time in their life to explore and discover. As adults we realize how locked into our lives we get. How perhaps other things would have been talents or even careers had we known they existed when we were younger. 1) Anyways basically we are loosening up on science and humanities type subjects. Covering more variety. We still want to tackle the R's well and deeply. 2)While I love the CM idea to writing I just cannot seem to pull it off. My older children's writing is horrific. (I have tried it for three years and I can honestly say while their vocabulary has improved their general writing may have even gone backwards) So we have already started and will continue traditional avenues to learning better structure for writing. 3) I am hoping to evaluate the whole less is more concept. I think I may be trying to do too much. 4) I am going to plan all lessons out into a LONG checklist lol. Because I am due to have a baby literally the first week of school and want to know exactly what I am doing so I dont have to think too hard while helping my oldest through his first year of high school, ds#2 through 8th (so he is prepared for high school), my twins with their 3rd grade year, all while shuttling a first grader and preschooler off to PS, and chasing a 16 month old while nursing a newborn baby. I am thinking preparation will be a HUGE key to surviving. I might be in over my head but I will do my best to prepare for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I want to spend more time having DS write. I want to add more literature and discussion. I want to replace all the science and history busywork with simply reading, for now. I want to re-read WTM and get ideas from there, ideas of where I've veered off the path I wanted. I want to be more strategic with how we spend our time and cut out things I am doing for the sake of checking boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Broad Improvements I'd like to make... - Solidify our rhythm and regularity. Currently we just pull out the books whenever there is a calm moment, but I know with two school-aged kids now that I need to work on consistency and regularity. - Get kids on chore schedule - Get our circle time/morning routine established before baby arrives! - And in general, I need to do another toy purge before baby arrives. We already cut in half this school year, but I can see we can cut in half again and still not be lacking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Mine isn't so much improvement as change. I'll be adding a student (younger DS only did a few minutes a day every so often this year, so next year will be his first "real" school year) and dealing with a baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Build time for exercise into our day! For me and for the kids. I've struggled with this ever since I started homeschooling. Stay relaxed. We all like it. ;) Figure out how to support older dd's passion for theater, and her changing social needs. Figure out how to afford horseback riding lessons for younger dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Build time for exercise into our day! For me and for the kids. I've struggled with this ever since I started homeschooling. Prior to pregnancy, the kids were doing the 30 Day Shred dvd in the mornings with me! LOL I don't let them do weights, I'm too afraid of losing a toe. My son also enjoyed doing You Are Your Own Gym with me. :-) I'm looking forward to getting back into shape after baby comes, and including the kids in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Ha! I just started 30 day shred. I can barely walk . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lieutenant Stranger Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 1. Add more to our school. Every year, we've added on just a little bit more to our homeschool. In the beginning, (literally) we were doing good if we could get 1 page of math. So, each year, we add on subjects, or more pages, etc. We're FINALLY going to retackle history, and I'm considering adding Latin to it, too. We'll see. 2. While we have a routine (which can get hectic from say, October-March with activities) I STILL don't have a cleaning schedule set for myself. I need a cleaning schedule! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I'd like to: Have ds do a bit more writing Keep having ds read a lot Focus more on ds's strengths and interests Stick to more of a set daily routine (not just for academics, but for eating, exercising, cleaning, etc) Get back into field trips and homeschool classes Have more fun together - with ds and with the rest of the family, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Next year, the beginning of high school, we'll need to adhere to a more strict daily schedule. By that, I mean that there will be specific times during the day when I will be available for the classes we do together (precalc and then calc, ancient history, chemistry, some elective). I'd prefer to do two classes first thing, and then I'd be able to exercise while she does another class in the am. Chemistry and elective (or lab on those days) will be done in the afternoon, after lunch and Arabic (live class 2x 11:30-1, talk about an awkward time for the east coast). Now we're all loosey goosey with our day. She does subjects in whatever order she wishes (an hour each day, more or less) so I don't know exactly when I'll be needed. I do say I am unavailable after 4pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Improvements for next year: Better integrate work and school. More guided reading together, reading up and reading the same book for better discussions. Better teacher planning for the year and daily student planning with deadlines and due dates. More writing across subjects. Focus more on science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 I love Jillian Michael's Shred, but I had better luck regularly doing it when I did it every other day. She also has a terrific yoga DVD. Ha! I just started 30 day shred. I can barely walk . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Improvements: work on social skills writing and reading comprehension We seem to be OK in other areas but still a bit behind in these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I want to be ready to start earlier in the mornings, introduce oral narrations, and help DS build up his stamina (mostly in reading and writing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I've got to get more read alouds in. It's so hard with this spread of ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Keep it simple! I want to remember how important and beneficial read alouds and independent reading are to my kids' education. I really want to focus on it this coming school year (we're officially calling it second grade in June). A little bit of math every day no matter what. More games, puzzles, MadLibs, etc. More time outside. Those are my top priorities. I'm not going to worry about anything else - it's only pre-k and second grade. Whew; what a change from two years ago! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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