Our home education has evolved over the past 4 years. We started out with a curriculum, ABeka K5. We kept up with the lesson plan for most of the year, but then we were getting ready for an overseas (military) move and we did not actually complete the year. Our son did learn a lot though. He was able to read 3 letter words and write in cursive. In first grade we used Sonlight. It was ok in the beginning, but we fell way off the "plan." By the end of the year our dear son "hated" school.
He is a very happy and easy going child, but whenever anything in reguards to school came up he became upset and dissagreeable! (That is putting it mildly.) I really didn't know what to do. I logged on to a christian homeschool chat room I occasionally visit and asked for help/ advice. A kind woman asked me a simple question, "Why do you homeschool?" Well that was an easy answer for me, I/we homeschool because we want to raise a godly man and a lifelone learner. We want him to love to learn. She suggested I back off and take a break. OK, I thought, I can do that.
So I planned to take 4 weeks off, it was June anyway and we were moving to a new appartment, and start school back up after the 4th of July. We were supposed to be going on vacation to Hawaii on the 10th of July, so I planned on doing a unit study on volcanos and The Uss Arazona, USS Missouri, and the USS Bowfin before we left.
Durring that 4 weeks I did a lot of research on unschooling and especially about not "teaching" reading. The research I found said if I read to our son, when he is ready to read he will, and it will only be about 6 months before he catches up to others of similar age reading level (wheather they begin reading at 6 or 16). The reason for quickly catching up in reading level is because he will have a large vocabulary. My husband and I discussed what I had found and we agreed to not push him to read. It has been scarry at times, especially when I listen to other mom's talk about all their curriculim and what their kids are reading.
Well, I ended up ill and in the hospital for 18 days and then recovering from surgery. He had nearly 3 months off from learning. When we did start back up is was very relaxed and easy going with me just mostly reading to him. He continued Math-U-See by his own choice. He occasionally, very occasionally ,did a page iout of Hooked on Phonics, if he so chose. We checked out lots of books from the library, whatever he was interested in. Sometimes I would read them to him and sometimes he would "read" them himself. I have read aloud a lot the past 2 years. There were times when I had to say, "Mommy can't read anymore right now, my voice hurts." It is a good thing he is the only one at home.
We go on lots of field trips. We learn about anything and everything that interests us. Yes, sometimes I drag him on trips because I want to learn about something. He usually ends up likeing whatever we have done. He has a very broad knowledge base, on many different subjects to build on. Because his older brothers no linger live with us, he has spent a lot more time in adult company and he converses easily with adults. If he tells you something about African Wild Dogs, you should believe him. He is facinated with them and has learned a lot about them. He can tell you many things about the animals it the zoo that I don't know also.
So, about that reading. A few months ago Andrew (thats our son) started taking books to bed with him at night to "read". I went along with it, figuring he would probably loook at pictures as he has always done. I told him he just has to put the books down and close his eyes at 9:30. (We try to have him in bed by 8:30 so hubby and I can have some time alone before we are too tired to converse.)
Last month my dear husband had to be out of town for 5 days. We (the 3 of us) have a family devotion at Andrews bedtime. I usually read the bible verses and my husband reads the devotion. (We use a Devotions for Boys book.) Andrew said to me he would read the bible while dad was gone so I wouldn't have to read so much. (Isn't that sweet?! ) It is usually 3-7 verses and we read from the International Children's Bible at night, so it isn't really hard words, but they are not all easy either. He did it! He would try sounding out a word and try different sounds until he came up with a word. It was so neet watching him do it! He did not want me to jump in and help either, not until he had exhausted all his resources. We couldn't believe how well he did. Wh have encouraged him to contimue reading the bible at night, first just 1 or 2 verses, but now dear husband is away again for 10 days and Andrew is reading the bible verses with limited help. Mostly words that just can't be sounded out or he will ask me where the" divisionation" is.
So we will see where is is in 5 months! A couple of weeks ago we were in the book store and Andrew was looking at books and picked up a chapter book and asked if he could get it because he wanted to challenge himself! We bought the book. It is in his bed and I don't ask about it. He did tell me he was on chapter 5 or 6 one day!
So that is the beginning of how we went from ABeka to Unschooling to somewhere in-between. We live just outside of Boston now so we are learnign a lot about the Revolutionary War. History is sooooo much more interesting when you can visit the places it happened!
Well that is all for today. I hope to add more thoughts soon. Until then God bless you.
In His love,
Christy | 
