25 August 2008

homeschooling update

two weeks ago i was feeling quite overwhelmed and unable to cope with this homeschooling lifestyle... feeling very anxious at the idea of not sending my kids off to school at the end of the month. believe me, i considered it. yet my heart was still saddened more than it was satisfied by the thought of being away from my 7 year old for at least 35 hours a week. the time may come for that in the future, but not yet.

and now that i am more organized on the academic side of things, i am looking forward to what we get to learn together over the coming months. because really, some of it requires teaching but in most cases i am learning right along with them. (i'm convinced that i retained maybe 2% of any history i may have learned in school.) we purchased a used Sonlight set from another family in town, which is a literature-based curriculum. it is at miriam's level, and for levi i will just be filling in with some brief reading and writing lessons. (i try to at least have the boys playing quietly nearby while i read some of the more advanced stuff, but to make them sit for all of it at this point would not be fun for anyone involved.) and miriam's writing lessons are taken right from the books she is reading, which i really like.

i'm also excited that miriam & levi will be attending a friday school for homeschooled students starting in September -- excited for them to have a weekly outlet and change of atmosphere, and excited for me to have a bit of a break to look forward to each week. i think that will be really good for all of us. it takes place very near our home and and will cover things such as music, art, drama, spanish, and phys ed.

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