Can it be Wednesday of Week 3 already?  Time flies when you are having fun.  Unfortunately, time flies when you are having fun - I repeat that because sometimes our "fun" keeps us from getting our lessons completed.  My philosophy of teaching at home is that if it's fun it works.  I stand by that statement.  However, it's the fun in the process of educating that makes it work!  There are a few things that the students can learn along the way when they are playing, but a dedicated effort has to be made for the core subjects.

At our house, we require daily math and reading.  The other things we do fill in all around it.  For some, that is history and Bible - studied chronologically from the early years of schooling.  For others, it's applying Biology or Health with experiments or writing projects.  And for others, it's curling up on the couch to read for mom or have a read-aloud time where mom does the reading.  There are LOTS of "electives" going on around this house any given day.

We have a blend of scheduled curriculum - like those math assignments and reading the history cards or doing a handwriting projects - and unschooling - where the kids pursue the things that excite them.  Today, that has Timothy putting together a roller coaster made out of K-Nex pieces - it has a motor and everything - and really works.  Other days it might involve Susannah sewing something or Nicole doing an experiment or Jonathan and Timothy having a rousing game of chess.

One day last week, Steve was working from home. So, to keep the kids quiet while he took a conference call, we played a game of Nerts (a card game where everyone has their own deck and plays off each other like solitaire with lots of people).  That game has a negative score (for cards left in your hand when someone else runs out) and a positive score (for cards you played in the middle of the table on the "ace" piles).  For Nicole, it was reinforcing her lessons from pre-Algebra about absolute value.  Later, when Steve told Jonathan that he needed to get busy with his schoolwork, Jonathan (our 5 year-old) replied with "I've been doing math all day".  We laughed so hard.  That 30 minute game had really taxed his mental math!

If you've just started home-schooling this year - may I encourage you to relax your ideas of what school looks like?  You'll be so glad you did.  Give them some structure and some assignments, then make it fun.  If learning is fun, it works.

I'll leave you with one last thought - from Bruce Wilkerson's 7 Laws of the Learner series - - - if my students are passing, that is great!  If my students are failing or just failing to understand, I have to tailor my way of teaching to help them get the information into their heads.  If I'm figuring out what method works with each student, they cannot fail.  Only "I" can fail - by not speaking the language that they understand.  I'm not talking about laziness, where the student WON'T do the work.  I'm talking about those blocks in learning or those times where they just look at you with their eyes glazed over - - - in those moments, try another tactic and another, until your student HEARS you and the light bulb comes on!

This is a terrific journey that you're on!  Hope you enjoy it! 

Next time, I'm going to write about discouragement - so take courage for now and find the fun in your day!