Louisa is enthused about the potter’s wheel!
The trouble with homeschool is that there is no start and no finish, no report cards, no deadlines, no “have to.” Of course, that is one of the advantages, but a time of reckoning is a necessary part of any endeavor, including home education. In the working world, employees are given “quarterly reviews” to assess their progress. How are we assuring progress is made in our children’s learning? Maybe we need to do some measuring.
Question:I homeschooled my son in kindergarten and then had to put him in public school for 1st grade. They of course tested him and he is “gifted”. I am blessed to be able to homeschool him again next year. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on what I can try with him? The school’s idea was more work—which would totally backfire with him. I know we can probably go at a faster pace but any other thoughts? Also what do you think about sticking to the 2nd grade curriculum (of what’s he’s suppose to know vs. what he’s interested in?) For example, he wants to learn about the United States geography. Is it wrong to just focus on U.S. geography and not on cultures, government, world history etc.? [Read more…]
Here’s one mother’s clever way of motivating her children to do excellent work!Contributed by Carol Johnson
Gainesville, Florida
I had heard all the arguments for and against grading your children in homeschool, and had decided not to grade. Going along with the theory that they will learn better when something is interesting to them; I teach them until they understand, or until I completely lose their interest. I couldn’t figure out how to use grades in this form of “school.”
Louisa and her cat
Okay, Moms. This is the crucial point. You can have the best supplies in the world, but if you can’t get the kids to open a book, it isn’t going to do much good. So the challenge is getting your kids interested so they are begging for more. And finishing their schoolwork eagerly each day!
Today I thought to myself, “If I didn’t have kids to teach, I’d go back to bed.” Ever feel that way? Teaching children really helps us to do our best—doesn’t it?
