Posted in Molding Minds
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Here it is almost a new school year again. I think the thing I hate about that is the decisions I have to make. Each child is different and trying to work with their needs, learning styles etc. is always a challenge. I wished sometimes I were sure of which style or methods I wanted to use. It would make this time of year so much easier. So I have my middle daughter that is ready to begin middle school and I have to find a curriculum that will best suit both of our needs. I believe she has an interest in reading and writing but don't feel that her language skills are all that strong. She claims to want to go into marine biology so I also want to nurture that interest, which should be fun since we don't live near an ocean.(Right now anyway.) Then I have my youngest which is 5. She is already reading chapter books much to my amazement since she practically learned to read by herself. I don't know exactly what to do with her yet either. She learns so well on her own and has a sincere interest in it I really don't want to do anything to hinder her. I have used the computer based curriculums in the past because they were much easier to manage for me. I am afraid that they will lose interest in those quickly so there in lies my dilemma, not to mention my extremely limited budget. Last year they were both in public school because we had decided I would go back to work. After spending a year in the public school classroom myself I decided that was not for us. Of course, the soon to be middle schooler disagrees. I am not a big fan of decisions although I know I have to make them. There are just so many things to choose from it fast becomes overwhelming. Any Ideas you may want to share? |
Posted in Molding Minds
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I am so ready for school to be over. I really believe we have lost any momentum from the beginning. How much is enough for you to do in one year. I am guessing that technically we have not completed the required days for school but we have mentally reached the end with all the stuff going on in the other parts of our lives. Stress is really not conducive to learning, on any level. Well I think I would like to just call it a year and be done. But the 10th grader is barely through half of the units in the curriculum. If she were closer to 8 of the 10 units I would be more inclined to let it go. I don’t know maybe I am just tired. We will see where we are tomorrow. |
Posted in Molding Minds
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Well it is that time of year again. You know the time of year when you have to decide what curriculum you want to use. In the past this has been really simple for me. With our oldest we have used Switched on Schoolhouse for four of the five years and it has served us well. I still may use it for my younger one but I think it is time to change for #1. She is very much, academically anyway, like a typical student.
She does the work but only because she knows I won't let her do anything else until she does it. I have had to evaluate this year and realize that it is just not the atomosphere of learning I desire. I want my kids to love learning and to look forward to it.
I don't know maybe it is just because it has been such a tough year for us. I mean we have moved away from all we know, she was the most resistent, my husband was gone for a month during the holiday season, and we were packing up all she has known for her whole life. Since we have been here one of her great grandmothers that she was very close to as a child had a stroke and passed away as well as other family members passing too. We have been under a tremendous amount of stress financially and....
Anyway all of that has made me think about what I really want my girls to learn in life and education. I have always believed, even when the professors where telling me something different, that you really get what you expect from children. If I enjoy learning I hope that my children will enjoy it also.
I guess when they reach that high school age you just start to worry if they are going to have enough time to learn all the things necessary to go to college and get in if that is what they want. Well I think this coming year I would like to focus on the things that we are finding necessary just to survive in our new surroundings... hmmm ...like a foreign language that most of our neighbors or anyone we see speaks. We haven't put a lot of emphasis on it in the past even though we knew it was a requirement for college.
Help!!!!!! The perfectionist in me is going to struggle with a relaxed way of teaching, what to do, what to use? |
(OOPs this was suppose to be about education and homeschool.) 