My younger son is reading the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. We’ve been doing reading quizzes after every book to check his comprehension and (since he likes to read to himself) hold him accountable for the reading.
I’ve been lucky and found some great free resources on teacherspayteachers.com but we’re on book # 6 now, Afternoon in the Amazon. I created a quick reading quiz and then (because my printer is eternally out of ink) converted it to a Google form so that he could complete it on the computer. You are more than welcome to use them! I may make more in the future.
They aren’t pretty – no weird scholastic smiley people here – but I think they are appropriate for 1st-3rd grade depending on reading level.
It’s Tuesday morning and we are sitting at the dining room table where we do 90% of schoolwork. The boys have copy books I make them to practice their handwriting and vocabulary/spelling books. They HAVE them but they are not writing in them. They are discussing/playing with a fidget cube. Daniel actually redirects and starts – Aaron is cheerfully non-compliant. Less cheerful when I get involved.
The cat is scratching up my new chair for the umpteenth time. I have a super-sized Little Mermaid mug filled with hazelnut coffee and pumpkin spice creamer.
The chair destroying perpetrator. He’s lucky he is such a pretty cat.
Today is still better than yesterday. I was struggling with my insomnia and couldn’t get myself moving until 2:00pm. Guess that was a sick day, folks.
After our writing and vocabulary practice – we are going over a growth mindset series from Khan Academy. That’s been a win – the kids have been asking about it – and I’ve heard them reference it in conversations with me and between themselves.
Daniel will probably work on his Native American project first – we’ve beaten this subject like a rug – and I had such high hopes for it. Aaron is going to work on fractions. He soaks up new math work like a sponge. We learn a new concept very fast and then we go and review old ones.
And we’re still working on writing, while discussing how no one slept while last night.
More screwing around…
I overestimate my patience. God bless teachers everywhere.
Aaron is chanting “Albert Einstein” and has taken 25 minutes to write 3 lines of text. The dogs are wrestling like lunatics in the living room but at least they aren’t snacking on cat litter or chewing my boots. Small blessings, y’all.
Aaron’s copy book – I make these semi-weekly with quotations, sayings and jokes. The kids at least sort of enjoy it – if they like what they are copying.
Daniel is re-writing Christmas songs and loudly singing his creations. Aaron just needs to write “Einstein” and WE CAN MOVE ON. So as slowly as possible with letter by letter updates is the way he’s choosing to go.
Then he threatens to erase it – and my first lovely swear comes out.
Is this a scene you are familiar with?
Later, Aaron and I spent an hour on building a Lego ice castle. He just wasn’t in the head space for sit-down and write work. We got through it – a battle at a time – but I always have the nagging feeling that we could have a better day.
Daniel worked resolutely – but he takes his time – he gets very distracted. I was pleasantly surprised and a little gratified when he self re-directed. I didn’t have to say a word! I’m still working to help them be more independent learners. Today, Aaron actually used a word book to look up spelling while writing in his journal. Small wins.
I didn’t know why I started chronicling our morning but I like how it ended up. I guess the point of this is that each day is made of good, great, not so great and just plain bad moments but the bad moments are worth the good ones.
Tuesday started like a hurricane – ended a little stormy – but there were some really great moments that I don’t want to forget.
It’s not pretty. In all honesty, I have about 3 days mapped out so far. I want to see how we do and what is working for us.
My homeschool space doubles as our dining room. We have two bookshelves dedicated to homeschool materials. I recently put up a small whiteboard and bulletin board set. I’m using these to keep info that we need every day. I’ll probably write the date on the whiteboard to help us all keep track.
Each of the kids have their own binder where I am keeping supplemental material and where I hope they can store their work. I also have a binder – it’s pretty rudimentary right now. I have a copy of each IHIP and a calendar for keeping attendance. I also have a place for my daily plans. I have been scratching them out on looseleaf paper organized by subject for each child.
I plan on using the internet extensively for material to fuel hands on learning. I’m really excited about science experiments, demonstrations, and projects. I have a ton of recycables and basic art supplies on hand.
I reviewed their IHIPs and started looking at the resources I’ve accumulated. I have started what feels like a small library – not that we didn’t already have one – but I purchased some workbooks and went through the books we already owned looking for non-fiction I could use for different subjects. I found out that we have a crap-ton of dinosaur books.
I felt that we needed an easy start so I used their Brain Quest workbooks to jump start our first few days. I like these because they help me to see what I need to cover in each grade level. I’m using these as a guide and a starting point for topics. We are going to be covering each topic in more depth and according to my child’s individual needs. For instance, my second grader is a developing reader. We are going to use the first BQ worksheet on digraphs as a starting point and continue practicing them throughout the week. I am going to accomplish this with worksheets I found on Pinterest. We’re also doing that with math. We are going to be working towards better understanding of the hundredths place value so we’ll study that for about a week.
I am going to cover some topics with both my 6th grader and 2nd grader. We’ll be doing a coordinated study of U.S. History dating from immigration across the Bering land bridge to… however far we get. We will also be doing Art, P.E. and music together. Music isn’t even a required subject but I think it would be terrible to miss so I’m on the hunt for some materials. In lieu of having a solid plan for Music, we’re going to start with classical composers.
I am excited and nervous about that first day. I’m not planning on jumping into lessons right away. I am going to use the first day to get them excited. We’re going to name our homeschool, talk about how we learn best, make lots of slime and maybe go on a walk. I want to find out what they want to learn about and do so I can incorporate that.
I’ve planned a week’s worth of activities and fun for your kids (grades pre-k – 2)! There is a theme for each day which includes a craft, some easy discussion questions/expansion activities, and some curated links to keep the fun going! Each day has a completely different theme so they don’t need to be in order. You could even do one a week.
Disclaimer: I’m writing as a newbie to homeschooling.
I’ve never done it before but we decided as a family that it was our best option this year. Our district is offering a hybrid school week – with in person learning for two days and distance learning for three. They are also offering a distance learning only program. Neither of those feel like great options for us. I’ve been exploring how to start for a few months because I wanted to be prepared.
Homeschooling has always appealed to me and I’m kind of excited! One thing I like about it – flexibility! We are going to go at our own pace and schedule. I can also spend extra time on things that interest my children and on things that they need more help with.
In order to start homeschooling in NY, you must submit a letter of intent (LOI) to your school district. It should include your children’s names, ages and grades and state that you are homeschooling for the year. If you’d like some help writing one – you can use mine!
After that, you have a certain amount of time to submit an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP). This follows the state’s requirements and includes the curriculum you will use to teach your children. I’ve seen examples that are both very simple AND extremely detailed. Here is a shell to get you started!
Your child is required to be in attendance for the substantial equivalent of 900 hours or 180 days. You should keep some kind of record in case it is requested and for your own purposes. My plan is to use this academic calendar and mark whether each child is “present” or “absent”.
I’m using Brain Quest workbooks to get started and to get a better idea of what needs to be covered in each grade. I don’t think these will be adequate to use for our whole curriculum but I do like them as a beginning framework. I have no idea what 2nd and 6th grade look like these days!
I’ve also been following a classmate who’s been homeschooling for 5 years and runs a successful blog and home business. Kristy has made a great list of her articles and ideas that will really help new homeschoolers! I always love the chance to give her a shout out!
That’s what I’ve got right now! Let me know if you have any questions or ideas about homeschooling in the comments below!
It's All Whimsy 