For those of you who’ve followed my blog or seen my posts in the HomeEdders Community, you would know that I am a homeschooling mom/teacher of five.
I’ve always wanted to be a teacher and perused an education in becoming one. It just so happened that I ended up having my own little school right here at home. The decision to teach my own kids wasn’t a tough one at all. I knew I wanted to be at home with them as I am the best teacher for them after all. No one knows my kiddos better than me and will take the time that is needed for them to succeed in all they desire.
Last week we just finished our first year at the homeschool co-op we joined. It was a pretty amazing experience; learning lessons and a lot of growth as a teacher came with it. I was the home room teacher for grades 1-6 and also the first grade history teacher. I ended up subbing for the kindergarten class for a full month and really enjoyed that too.
So school is out and I decided to give my students this full week off of just lounging, kicking back, goofing off and resting. This is one of the reasons I’ve been able to post and curate more due to the free time I’ve had to unwind.
Each year we do school all year round, yes including the Summer…until this year.
We have decided that I need a real break and so do our kids. Everyone needs that down time to rest their brains and body. We will only do bits of school (which is more like studying and brain refreshers) throughout the Summer.
We do this because my kids tend to forget a lot of the things they learned the previous year. It’s a good practice that helps keep their mental sharpness and the concepts they learned intact. We will only do Bible, reading, cursive writing and math a few days a week. They will have the other days to play outside with their friends, paint, craft, build with their hands and whatever else they long to do.
I do plan on setting up play dates with our friends and getting us out to explore this Summer too. I know how boring it can get just being here at the house so on the days we’re not studying we will be out enjoying ourselves.
I used this entire week to clean and organize our room and helped the kiddos get their rooms in order. Next, we will work on our schoolroom as a family to get rid of things we no longer need and take note of what we’ll need for the coming school year.
I’ll be busy finding a new Math curriculum for us. I love the curriculum we use, Christian Light Education, but their math work is not for us. We all struggle with it and it is time to find a conceptual solution that will teach our kids not only how to do it but why they do it.
I suck at math. That’s no understatement folks. I shamefully cheated my way through middle and high school just to pass.
Yea, I literally looked at my neighbor’s work and copied answers…I was a desperate fool back then and didn’t realize the damage I caused myself.
The older my kids get the harder it is for me to teach them math because I struggled with learning it myself. I need a math curriculum that not only gives us the steps to take to get to the answer but also clearly explains why these operations work the way they do. We find this with conceptual math!
My husband is a math wiz and will be taking the lead from now on in their math classes. They will be doing it in the evenings once he gets home from work. I am really excited about finding a new math because I get the chance to learn properly this time and hopefully will better understand it along with our kiddos :)
That’s one thing I love about being a homeschool teacher is that I get second chances at being my best and relearning things I struggled with. It holds me accountable to study and make sure I can teach my students properly.
It’s also a joy being able to know their strengths and weaknesses so I can adjust my style of teaching appropriately for each of their individual needs and understanding. I learned early on that that I can’t teach each of my kids the same way as they are all different and learn differently. Our homeschool is not a one size fits all but instead we make adjustments to how each one learns and in the end they succeed in all they do because they “get it”.
Well, I’m off to enjoy the rest of the day and this weekend. I have a ladies night out to go to which I am really looking forward for. As a mom and a teacher I have to make sure to take some time away to miss my kids. I look forward to adult time because let’s face it, though I love my kiddos they do still drive me 🍌🍌🍌! 😂
All photos are my own
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