Homeschool Reflections - Looking Back at September

This year we started our homeschool year the day after Labor Day. It took us a couple weeks to find our groove we seem to be in a good place right now.

Our routine this year is very simple and takes about two hours a day. Math and Independent Reading are done in the mornings between 10:00 and 11:00. The math assignment is done first and when that is finished the rest of the hour is filled with independent reading. A few of the books the kids have read so far this year are The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (Amanda), Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (Austin and Amanda) and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights from the Classic Starts series (Austin and Amanda).

Our second hour of work is in the afternoon when the little kids are napping. During this time we sit down together and I read aloud. We do Bible, Science or Social Studies (alternating books) and Literature. Our Bible reading takes 5 - 10 minutes and then we finish the first half hour with the Science or Social Studies book that we are reading. The second half hour is spent reading our literature books. So far this year we've read Don't Know Much About Space by Kenneth C. Davis and Death on the Nile (A Hercule Poirot Mystery) by Agatha Christie.

This system is working very well for us. I feel like we are covering the basics without taking too much time away from all the other things that are capturing their interests at the moment. Things like building endless models with K-Nex, nursing a sickly abandoned kitten back to health, self inititiated reading just because the book looks interesting, walks through woods and fields, and watching The Learning Channel, Discovery Health and Animal Planet. It allows us time to work together as a family in our home daycare business and gives them the opportunity to earn money of their own. And, of course, earning money and learning how to manage it is another important part of their education.

And I do not have to worry in the slightest about lack of socialization. Amanda has five really good friends and Austin has three that they spend time with, both in their homes and with them in our home. Then there are all the families we learn to know through our business. Add to that activities at church and time spent with extended family and they are in no way lacking socialization.

So over all I feel like our first month of school for this year has gone very well and looking forward to October.