We've been homeschooling now for six weeks and I have to say, I think this is the best decision we ever made. The kids are LOVING it much more than I thought they would and our weekly schedule is a thing of beauty. The flexibility we have is something that is, after such a crazy year, something for which I am extremely thankful.
Let me go into some more detail about each child and myself.
Amita is thriving on the routine we have set. Our schedule is as follows:
Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays:
Breakfast around 7:30/8
School: 9-11:30
Snack: 11:30-12
Nap: 12-2 for Ashima 12-1:00ish for Amita
Play/Errands/etc.: 2:30-5:30
Dinner: 5:30-6:30
Get ready for bed:6:30-7
Bedtime: 7
Tuesdays: Toddler Time from 10-10:30
Thursdays: Music class from 9:45-10:15
Tuesdays: 5-5:30 Dance
Sundays: Church
Soon coming: swim lessons
As you can see, we have quite a few activities throughout the week so the kids are getting quite a bit of socialization and interaction (you were worried, weren't you?!). For Amita, this is golden. She absolutely thrives on the schedule and knowing what comes next. At the beginning of each day we put our schedule on the fridge next to our homeschool room and talk about what we will be doing.
This is just how her personality. She is a very type A person and our days goes MUCH better when I let me know what is happening. There is even schedule in our home school routine. I very much like the idea of coming together for tutoring, going apart to work on independent activities, coming together again, etc. It works well so I can have time with both kids, so that's what we do.
The first thing we do is ring the school bell. It's a two dollar bell I ordered off the internet and took three weeks to come from China. The kids love to ring it, though, and I feel that it is a way to distinguish between play in the school room and learning time.
We start instruction with circle time where I read 3-4 books. The last two have to do with the topic we are are learning about (I'm doing theme based learning) and the first two are books that the kids pick at the library that interest them - no matter what the subject. I think one of the most important things about learning at this age is to teach a love of reading. We sit in a corner of the room where they are facing only me (to limit distraction) and we talk about the cover of the book and make inferences as to what it might be about. Throughout the book I talk about what is happening and have the kids guess what will happen next and ask them how they feel about what is happening. I stop on almost every page and ask them something. This helps keep their attention and helps with higher order thinking questions. For Amita I might ask her what she thinks will happen next and why she thinks that, for Ashima I might ask her to point to the ball and tell me what color it is. Circle time is also the time that I introduce any new topics (while I have their attention) and we do our daily board.
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| This is our daily board where we talk about the weather, days of the week, and days of the month |
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| Our Circle Time corner |
After that, I get the kids up and going on some projects and we are off and running! I come and go from kid to kid throughout the rest of the time.
Ashima likes school too, but I think she likes it more because her sister likes it that anything. I've been working on shapes, color, and letter recognition with her. Because she's still young, I let her come and go as she wants. I don't want to push her and make homeschooling something that is not fun. Besides, she still needs lots of free play. The one thing she sits through, is story time. She loves to have books read to her and identify what she is seeing! It's a joy to see.
I am also really liking this schedule. At this point, it is extremely flexible. If something happens, I just try to make it up one afternoon or we just skip it. The kids are still pretty young so I feel comfortable with the flexibility. The kids are also getting plenty of rest and have bellies full of healthy food, something they were not getting on our busy school mornings before. Sometimes I wish I could get a bit of a break here and there (especially to run errands) but honestly, the schedule is so much more relaxed than it was previously that I mostly just find myself thankful to not be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Another thing we are really enjoying is the ability to schedule time around Ridhwi's schedule. If he is going to have a day off, we plan activities he can help with, and/or rearrange our schedule as necessary. There was also a day where the girls were not up for learning. They didn't get a good night's sleep and were cranky. No matter! That's what the movie Frozen is for, right? So instead we watched the movie, went down for an early nap, and did school after the nap. They were in a much better mood and much more receptive to what we were doing.
It is amazing how much I have seen the girls blossom with homeschooling, in just a couple of months! They are happier, eating healthier (because we are not on the run so much), and are able to tell me so much about what we are learning. Amita asks for school daily. She loves to be challenged and loves the routine. Ashima likes to have the freedom to do some things and be able to play sometimes. It's really been the best decision for our family and we are reaping the benefits.
Amita will turn 4 in May and I have made a decision for her 4-K education. For at least one year, we will be homeschooling through the Central Wisconsin RVA (Rural Virtual Academy). They use a curriculum called Little Lincoln for Pre-K and Calvert for Kindergarten (but have 15 others to choose from if we don't like it). Because of our zip code and they way the RVA is set up, we will be paired with our local school for any and all activities they offer as well as any classes. Once Amita begins Kindergarten she will have the option of taking any classes through the school (art, PE, music, even math and science if I choose) and doing the rest of the sechooling at home. Calvert and the RVA is set up such that there is 160 or so lessons for an entire year - what would be a typical school year after you take out weekends, holidays, parent/teacher conferences, and summer break. As long as she completes the assignments within the year, the RVA does not care how and when I teach them. I have autonomy as to our schedule and she has the benefits of a traditional school. At this point it seems like the best of both worlds! I am excited and looking forward to it. This also works well for me because, as much as I like homeschooling, sometimes the burden of being the person completely in charge of their schooling terrifies me. This will give me the option of working with another teacher and giving Amita what she needs too. Amita will also have the option of working within different grades - for instance she could be in 6th grade science and 7th grade math. My two biggest reasons for choosing homeschooling was that I wanted the kids to be challenged academically no matter at what level they are (neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed) and because I wanted to have flexibility in their schedule for our family. Ideally, this would give us everything we are wanting. Hopefully it is as good in actuality as it is on paper. More updates when it happens. I was not expecting to do a a virtual school, but I am loving the way this one is set up, so this is what we are doing.
All in all, we are happy. Our schedule is great, the kids are happy and learning, and things are even easier for me. After a year of wondering if this was the right decision or not, I am happy to definitively say that it was the best thing for us. Life has slowed down, in the best possible way. Each day my time is spend loving my children and showing them how to understand the world instead of driving them from one place to another. More than anything, I feel blessed to be able to raise them this way.
