Winds of Change Blowing from Schooling to more Unschooling

After taking a long winter break, we started homeschooling again this January.  I had not planned on taking a long break. We moved in October, took 2 weeks off to get unpacked and settled in, and began school again.  After 3 weeks of struggling through our days, my hubby and I made the executive decision to stop, regroup and try something different.  

We have been using Heart Of Dakota for most of our schooling.  I enjoy it and so does my 4 year old, working on Pre-K and K.  My 6 year old in 1st grade is not enjoying it as much.  He is a high-energy kid, who likes to move.  Any type of learning that doesn't have him moving or playing is boring and not fun.  I have made up lots of games for him along the way.

This began my look into child-led learning and unschooling.  Such terms were foreign to me.  So let me explain them as I understand them: child-led learning is more like unit studies, but you let the child decide what they want to learn about.  Let's say they show an interest in sharks.  As the educator, I start them on a quest for books about sharks, find educational shows to watch, and visit an aquarium, the ocean or an online live feed of a shark tank.  Then, you incorporate creative writing, which can cover grammar and spelling, geography (map of the oceans), science (life cycle, how gills work, what is cartilage), history (were sharks hunted by people groups, shark attacks), art, math, etc.  If the child shows an interest in the oceans, or say a group of people that hunted the sharks, you start moving in that direction.  I see it as possibly becoming labor intensive since you can't really plan ahead and you would have to make up the curriculum as you go.  But the positive side is that your child would really enjoy learning, since he is interested in every topic you are studying.  

Unschooling is very similar to child-led learning, but I think of it as I have a plan of topics to cover and teach through learning by play, projects, cooking, games, etc.  There are many different ways of looking at the two terms, so please do not take my thoughts as the final say in how to do either of them!  

I have started to move towards unschooling.  Pictured below is my schedule from the beginning of the year, before our move (Monday's column) and after moving (Tuesday's column).  The scheduled times had flown out the window. I just used the order of subjects to keep me on track.  

I was using read-aloud History books for history, science and geography, with the science and geography relating to the history topic.  I changed copy work from poetry lines, which we used in the fall, to sentences from our Bible story.  Jman's (1st grade) reading was a book that I was picking out for him, as well as BG's (pre-k/k) phonics lessons.  Math for both were out of workbooks.  First grade language arts was spelling flashcards and one grammar lesson per week, while pre-k/k was workbooks.  Lots of sitting.

Flash forward to my new schedule, which I started this week.  I threw out the times and strictly went by subjects for the week.  We are doing a lot more together while we figure things out.  I am sticking with the read aloud history, but tweaking the lessons a little to incorporate play while they listen.  For example, today we learned how the pilgrims built board houses.  Why not let them build their own houses with legos while I read?  Or make "logs" out of playdoh? It keeps their hands busy and out of most trouble.  Granted, their little imaginations get going and we have ninja towers, playdoh ice cream cones, but they listened!  

I decided to pick my own science topics and make my own plans, as well as incorporate a few of the fun activities already in my teacher manual.  This week, to go along with building board houses, we are studying beavers.  I tried to keep the two related.  I found books about beavers with pictures and stories and a Wild Kratts episode to watch.  I am keeping the oiled windows activity and build your own wall project.  I'm adding my own art projects to match our science topics.  My goal is to keep things moving and fun.

I'm adjusting math to workbooks and math games every other day for both boys.  I decided to let Jman pick his own books to read to me.  Of course, they are off of a "Special Shelf" that I filled with appropriate leveled books.  Giving him that little bit of executive power makes it exciting for him.  I am sticking with the spelling flashcards and one day of grammar, because I want to have him do a little bit of sitting each day.  It is good to have him be sit and be still for a few minutes.  I kept Jman's copy work to the Bible story.  God has given him a heart for His word and reading and copying it is enjoyable!  

As for BG, I am adding more play activities in his handwriting, like writing letters in bubbles and playdoh.  He is my mellow, sit down and focus child.  So I am keeping it light to keep school fun.

My stack of books and materials hasn't changed much, but the attitudes and levels of excitement have definitely changed for the better! 

I'll let you follow along as we continue to tweak our homeschool unschooling.  Look for more updates to come!

July ~ Hitting the Open Road

Ode to being late!  But alas, I have gotten around to SOME of my summer pictures!

July, you were hard on my back!  I drove over 3700 miles, saw 11 different states and 4 different capital cities.  All I can say is wow.  America is a beautiful country.  God's creation is really stunning!

The month started with my sister flying down, only to turn around and drive back north with the kids and I.

 

Pit stop in Kansas City = Dinner at Cracker Barrel

We made it to Fargo!  Everyone was relieved to get out of the car after 2 long days, especially Auntie Ash.  In all fairness, it's hard to jump into a car with 3 kids for 2 full days when you are not used to it.  CRAZY road trip!

 

July 3rd was BG's big 4th birthday!  

 

Uncle Troy is in charge of candles!

Uncle Nick always has cozy blankets readily available.

 Fourth of July drinks poolside.  (The blow up pool was in the yard.  It counts.)

A trip to Fargo always includes a trip to the farm.  The boys had a photo shoot with every single tractor they could find...(that equals lots of pictures.)

 

 Grandpa Roger and the kids going for a spin.                         A moth I found hanging out on a door.

BG got a tent for his birthday, so we put it up!

We visited the Fargo Air Museum in Fargo with Auntie Ash, Ethan and Grandpa and Grandma.  It is really nice inside and has lots to explore.

Camp out with Uncle Nick on the deck in the backyard.  Lots of memories were made!  Nick was the only one willing to sleep out there.  He deserves a medal!

We had so much fun visiting eveyone.  I haven't organized the photos from Montana yet, but when I do, expect a kaleidoscope of pictures! 

Goodbye 2013!

I am switching things up for the new year and welcoming 2014 with a new look for my blog.  Change is good (as well as posts)!  I will be back very shortly in the near future, but for now I leave you with heartfelt wishes, hoping you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

June ~ Full of Firsts

Oh June.  I love the month of June.  The end of another school year, beginning of summer, warm sunshine, barbeques, family trips; the making of memories.

I love looking back at pictures and recalling family trips, birthdays, weddings, time with friends.  Though, in all of our family trip pictures, none were of just Nate and I.  We had never been on a vacation, just the two of us, since our honeymoon in 2004.  June brought the first one in almost 9 years!  We flew to Orlando, since Nate had a work conference there.

We would have gotten a day and a half to ourselves before his meetings began, but we both got the flu when we arrived.

There was a NCIS marathon on our "sick day"

 Thankfully, it only lasted 24 hours, but by the time we both recovered, our fun together days were over.

     

 I, on the other hand, got to enjoy the resort all week by myself, while Nate worked during the days.  It really was a relaxing week for me.  I read, laid by the pool, napped, and took walks around the resort.  It was fabulous, even if it was a little boring.

 Here are a few pictures of the resort and "my pool" as I referred to it.

          

          

                                                     I laid at this pool every day, all day.

We did get to play a little bit.  We had dinner out at Bob Marley's restaurant and got to experience Universal Studios.  It really was fun!

     

This was my last day to enjoy the pool.

                Hogsmeade, for all my Harry Potter fans!                                        Hogwarts Castle & Nate

We really did have a good time.

So on top of our first vacation alone, I had my 31st birthday.  I didn't throw a big bash or spend the night out on the town.  (I'm too old to stay out that late anymore!)  We did, however go out for dinner at Johnny Carino's and enjoy some time with friends and family.  My in-laws were in town watching the kids while we were in Florida, which just happened to be right around my birthday. 

June was filled with memory making moments.  We are very blessed to be able to go on vacation and spend time together.  Go make some of your own memories!

Blessings!

Summer Edition 2013

I'm just going to call this post "Summer Edition."  It has been so long, I can almost call it my "quarterly installation."  I have so much to update you on, I'm going to just highlight the biggies out of each month.  (I will do future posts with pictures for the birthdays and vacations!)

May (pulling out my calendars to try and remember): Jeremiah played t-ball in April and May.  He loved it.  His team was called "The Razorbacks" and it was no joke.  They had embroidered hats, really nice jerseys and he had to wear red socks, black baseball pants and a red belt to each game.  They played their hearts out, no matter how hot it was!  Jeremiah did awesome, playing mostly at short stop, but a little at third base, first base and outfield.  He was a great hitter and was super fast.  It was so much fun to watch him. 

Benjamin started going to speech therapy twice a week.  We have seen a great improvement in his articulation and fluency.  Even after the first week, our friends and family noticed a difference.  What a blessing for Benj to be able to communicate easier and for us to be able to better understand him!

Lulu is still plugging away at being a little sister.  She's always curious and finding the action.  Keeping her busy during school time is a challenge, but I find ways to distract her or have her join in with minimal interruptions.  There is never a dull moment!

This also is our final month of school.  I had been planning on finishing in June, but an unexpected vacation became available through Nathan's company and I decided to finish before we left.  It was a lot of work and I'm happy to say that we did finish by the end of the month and the kids all enjoyed the school year.  Jman is reading well and astonishes me with how much he can learn and retain.  BG is a quick study and is a little sponge as well.  This fall, Jman starts 1st grade (crazy!!) and BG will be in preschool again, with just a few more add ins this year.  Lulu finally gets to officially start preschool, even though she's really been with us in school since she was born!


June (flipping pages): Lulu turned 2!  Grandpa and Grandma Davis made the journey south and joined us for the birthday party and baby sat while Nate and I went to Florida for a week.  We left the day after Lulu's birthday party, with Jman having the flu the night of our departure.  We got to Florida and both ended up having the flu.  Our first 2 days in Orlando were spent in our hotel room.  Once we recovered, it was fabulous.  It was very relaxing (for me.)  Nate was at a conference for work, so his days were completely booked up from 7 am until 10pm.  So while I was all alone, all day long (don't feel too sorry for me), I sat by the pool.  Literally, all day long.  I got up in the morning, grabbed breakfast for the walk to the pool, found my lounge chair and that was it for my day.  I only moved from my lounger to cool off in the pool or get food.  It was wonderful.  I finally finished Anne of Green Gables, which I adored.  We got home on a Friday and the following Tuesday, I turned 31.  My birthday started off with a doctor's appointment for BG, speech in the afternoon, and crown at the dentist for Jman in the afternoon.  All appointments were scheduled before hand, not by my choice, but from doctor availability.  Go figure.  I did get to enjoy a nice dinner with family and friends and that's all you really need.  We had an early birthday party for BG with his friends in Texas since we were going to be out of town on his actual birthday.  It was a huge success with water balloons, squirt guns and a slip-n-slide.  Perfect for a hot Texas day!  The very last weekend of June began my BIG vacation, 2 weeks in North Dakota and 1 week in Montana.  My sister flew down, only to turn around and drive 2 days up north with the kids and I.  I am so thankful she drove with me.  It would not have been a grand "adventure" if she hadn't! 


July (finally caught up, but still flipping pages): The first 2 weeks were spent in Fargo.  It was so great to be with family.  We had birthday parties for BG, a day at the farm, lots of time with GG, dinner with Great Uncle Leroy, the boys camped on the deck in a tent with Uncle Nick, a day at Chahinkapa Zoo with Grandpa Roger and Uncle Nick, and lots of time spent outside in the little pool, sprinkler and on the play set.  It was definitely a time of making memories.  Nate finally flew in 12 days after we first departed and we were fortunate enough to get so see my aunt Sandy for a little while before we left for Montana the following day.  We ventured west for Nate's grandma, LaVerne's 90th birthday party.  I met some family for the first time and saw many that I hadn't seen in over 7 years!  It really blows my mind how fast time goes.  We had multiple family dinners of about 30 people.  I had such a good time getting to better know everyone.  We all had a fabulous time.  We spent one day in Yellowstone National Park.  God's creation is so beautiful.  His imagination really shines there.  We also went to visit my cousin Holly and her family for an afternoon.  We hadn't seen them in 4 years!  All of the kids had a blast playing in the huge yard, checking out the neighbor's chickens, and racing on the deck.  We were so blessed to get to spend so much time with family we rarely see!  The trip home was two 12+ hour days, getting home on the second day at 2 am.  (So technically 3 days, but we aren't getting THAT technical.)  It was almost like a big exhale to get home and finally be home.  We do miss everyone, but there is something about being at home that just feels nice. 

And of course we jumped right back into the swing of things come Monday.  Jman started a week long, morning soccer camp, BG started up speech right away, and Lulu is "thinking" about starting potty training.  Nate is back at work and I'm trying to finish up school planning.  (I'm refraining from telling you about my chores because those are no fun to mention.)

Regardless of how busy we are, where we are, or what's going on, we always try to keep Jesus Christ at the center of our lives and our eyes focused on Him.  Who would we be without him?  I am so thankful for the many blessings he continues to give us.  He is so good!  Worthy is He, the Lamb of God.

I hope to keep my blog from reverting back to a quarterly journal, but I make no promises.  Until the next time you join me here...

Blessings!