2010/2011 School Year, Here We Come!

HOLY  MOLY!  I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted on here!  That doesn't mean we haven't been reading or learning, of course; quite the opposite, really!  We've been having too much excitement for Mommy to occupy herself with such silly things as sitting at the computer and typing all afternoon! =)

Today was the first "official" day of our 2010/2011 school year.  While we school all the time, this is the first time the kids are not all going to be in the same curriculum.  Abby has moved up to 1st grade curriculum, while the boys are still doing their pre-K/K curriculum.  Up until today, Abby was just doing their lessons with them.  It makes her feel so big and special to be moving up a grade!

I have been wanting to share what it is that we are doing for school this year.  Mostly I want to do this so that I can go "look at my blog" when people ask, rather than having to scratch my brain while I try to remember it all! I share out of laziness and forgetfulness.  =)

In a later post I will list out each of the books we are doing.  Before I do that, however, please allow me to jot a few notes about the little details in how our school tends to happen on a day-to-day basis so you will have a better feel for what role those books actually play in our lessons:

• We have no set "schedule."  I keep a planner with a list of what lessons are to be done by each child on each day, but there is no set time we have to do those lessons.  Sometimes we school first thing in the morning, sometimes before lunch, sometimes after nap.  Sometimes we even split it up and do a little in the morning and a little a bit later.  Whatever feels right that day is what we do.  This keeps Mommy from going crazy, baby from going hungry, and house from going to hell in a hand basket (or laundry basket, in our case!).
• I do not keep grades at this point.  I actually doubt I will keep grades until they are necessary for college (so in middle high and high school years).  I am not only the kids' teacher, but their Mommy.  I know how well they are doing in a subject and do not feel the need to record every letter or number grade.  One of the blessings in homeschooling is being able to move at each child's individual pace.  If we need another week on a topic, we take another week.  If a weeklong topic takes one day to grasp and exhaust, we move onto a new topic the next day.  I keep track of what we do each day and make notes of how the children are doing, but do not formally record grades right now.  Another reason for this is that I don't want the kids' focus to be on getting an "A", but to be on truly understanding and appreciating a subject.  An "A" is just proof that you did well in a paper lesson.  But to truly learn something you must be able to have an intelligent, enlightened, understanding conversation about it.  In other words, I have taught you well when you can teach that topic back to me.  How many of us got an "A" in a foreign language, only to forget everything about that language once that semester was over??  I rest my case!
• We have a style of learning that can be described as very Charlotte Mason-esque, with a penchant for all things Classical =)  I'm sure fellow homeschoolers will understand what that means, but for those who do not, let me try and summarize as briefly as possible without robbing those techniques of their richness:                                                                                                        Charlotte Mason is a more relaxed, literature-based, Christ-centered education.  Great emphasis is put on reading living books, studying nature, history, and narration (having the child narrate back to you what they just heard/saw/read/learned/etc.).  I have talked some about this method on my blog already, and a great website for more information would be Simply Charlotte Mason.                   Classical education is based on the classic Greek methods of learning, and includes a school structure called the trivium.  Especially in the younger years (the Grammar stage of the trivium), there is much emphasis on rote memorization and a thorough learning of the basics.  I highly recommend reading The Well-Trained Mind for more information on this method. We seem to meld and weave these two educational methods, Charlotte Mason and Classical, into one style that fits our family to a T!
• School is not forced onto our children, but instead encouraged and enjoyed.  Our children are so 'brainwashed' into liking school that I have to work really hard to resist the temptation to discipline them by threatening "no school"!  They enjoy it so much that even suggesting that their attitude or behavior is not conducive to doing our school prompts an immediate attitude adjustment! I don't discipline with grounding from schoolwork, though, however tempting it may be! =)  It is very important to me that they never feel burned-out or bored with their lessons.  I do everything in my power to keep their work exciting, relevant, and developmentally appropriate.  At the first sign of stress or frustration we move onto something else or take a break, coming back after we have relaxed and are ready to try again!  
• And lastly ... while good grades, great knowledge, and a mastery of skills are all vital, my husband and I both are deeply convicted that our #1 responsibility as our children's teachers/parents is to nurture in them a love, respect, and understanding of God, His Word, and His creation.  A good grade in math, for example, means that our child can not only add, subtract, divide, and multiply, but can also look around and see and appreciate the beauty and wonder of mathematics in the Creator's handiwork!

That about sums it up for now.  It is going to be such a wonderful school year, and I look forward to sharing it with you from time to time!