An end-of-the-year update

So, so sorry about the lack of posts! I have nothing to say except that my laptop died and I haven’t gotten used to typing long items on my desktop yet.

The end of the year is approaching and I have been reflecting on what we have accomplished and not accomplished academically. First of all, a list of what we scrapped totally:

• formal vocabulary lessons
• Rod and Staff English (after about 1/2 a year)
• Abeka History
• all of our formal science curricula

What we had to change A LOT before we got it “right”:

• spelling (Casey)
• history
• science

What I thought would be perceived as boring but turned out to be amazingly engaging:

• read-alouds
• history
• SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

What we did that I had no idea we would do:

• fall in love with Greek mythology
• make a hummingbird habitat
• become really “unschool-y”

What we did that I didn’t want to do but turned out to be the best thing ever:

• unit studies
• read more than 1 Percy Jackson book

But we still did lots of worksheets. Some things you just need to drill.

I have no idea what the kids learned this year. Casey may forget how to spell and how to multiply his 7s and 8s. Joey may forget how to carry and borrow (excuse me, regroup). They may both forget about Jamestown and the American Revolution and the name of the 3rd president. But I know that they love George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And they love math, numbers, puzzles and games. They LOVE to read. They can use the internet to find out what none of us know. We all think Neptune is beautiful and Zeus is scary. We know that hummingbirds love the color red and that impatiens don’t need too much sun. And it’s really cool to find a possum skull under the deck.

I am sure I learned much more than the boys. I learned that they can figure out something to do when they are not allowed to watch TV or play video games without fighting. They can negotiate, even if shouting and tears are involved, without my interference. Joey can be an evil genius. Casey can be bossy and a know-it-all. They can both be unbearably kind to me and to each other.

I learned that even when I second-guess myself I always go back to my original plan. I learned that people react to the notion of homeschooling in unpredictable ways. Surprisingly, lots of highly educated professionals have been very encouraging. I didn’t really expect that. I also got more than one dirty/questioning look when we would do our errands in the middle of the day. Almost everyone thinks they cannot homeschool their own kids. I think it does take a lot of self-confidence and even a bit of arrogance to believe that you can do a better job than the “system” but sometimes it’s okay to be confident and a little arrogant. It’s okay to be different.

I learned that people are curious and will listen to any detail of our time, no matter how mundane, and I don’t know what they are thinking. That’s okay. I don’t know what I think half of the time. I learned that lots and lots of people feel frustrated with the system that exists and wish there was another way, and many of them have considered homeschooling. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but I do think that anyone who wants to can do it.

I also know that my perception of education has changed. I didn’t give them grades this year, and it’s hard to describe why or how I have evaluated them. What does a test grade prove, exactly? How do you think a child should be evaluated on what he knows? Is that any sign that he will know it a year from now?

My non-grade policy caused a snag- Casey’s taekwondo master required a report card for his most recent belt test. He gave out awards based on grades. Well, this is a no-win situation for me and for Casey. How to be objective? All As would look suspiciously like parental blindness or worse, parental need for a medal.  Of course I couldn’t give him low grades- why would I want to label him a failure- plus he does everything I ask him to do (as long as I follow up appropriately). It took me 2 weeks to figure out what I was going to do. (A printed-out report card from the internet, All As and one B-spelling. Decent, but not perfect conduct scores. Master Song, who thinks Casey is perfection, told me I was being too hard on him.)

I have learned the awesome power of the motivated learner.

I have agonized over whether or not I have cheated them out of something this year. Maybe, but I don’t think so overall. The plan for next year is to put them back into public school, but I am unsure how that will work now. I know they will enjoy seeing their friends every day and hopefully enjoy their teachers as well (they always have before) but I worry about the TAKS test. I worry about a lot of things.

If I had to do it over I would do a few things differently. I would organize and plan differently. But overall I think it has gone pretty smoothly. I may do another post reviewing some of the products we used- why they worked or didn’t work for us.

That got long. I knew it would. That’s why it took so long for me to sit down to write it. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

Advertisement