January 26, 2010

Burn Out 2010!

Wow - what a year it has been.  Private school -- homeschool -- Konos curriculum (fun, but a lot of work for this new-to-homeschooling mom) -- My Fathers World Exploring Countries and Cultures (love the layout and the ease, my kids are bored with it now) -- to who knows what!  So, I find that we are a bit burned out.  Looking back, perhaps we should have spent more time deschooling.  We didn't get real schooly right away, but we didn't take a long break from schoolwork either. 

So, we're starting over - we've been deschooling for the past month.  School at home work is non-existent currently.  We've been watching some classic movies, doing a lot of crafts, working on personal projects.  It seems to be helping with the homeschool burnout...  I don't know exactly how or when we'll get back to school, but for now what we are doing seems to be working (or at least not hurting).

Until next time!

January 7, 2010

Happy One Year Homeschooling Anniversary!

Welcome to a new year in our adventure of homeschooling. What a journey it has been!

Exactly one year ago, I pulled my two oldest children out of a local private parochial school. I was so frustrated with so many issues at the school, that it was ultimately an easy decision to pull them out and start homeschooling. My oldest child was in 5th grade and my middle child was in 3rd grade. I also had one in preschool, who I left in preschool. (Now that was a wonderful school program!)

I often get asked... what were the issues? Why would I pull my kids out of school in the middle of the year? Two main problems pushed me to move my children quickly, rather than wait until the end of the school year... bullying (and a lack of administrative support to combat the problem) and large class size. If I had to do it over again, I'd do exactly the same thing (or actually I probably would have pulled them out earlier in the school year.)

Well, that's the beginning of our story... and now it's been a year of homeschooling. Stay tuned for more about our journey.