Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Homeschool Open House

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Tiany at Less of Me~More of Him is having a Homeschool Open House. Any homeschooler can join in and link up at her place. She already has over 200 links! The idea is to encourage one another and share any wisdom and tips we may have to offer.

Here is a peek into the Smockity Frocks Homeschool:

  • We have been officially homeschooling for 7 years. None of our 6 children have ever attended any type of school in an institutional setting.

  • Our homeschool day begins with our 3 oldest, ages 7, 10, and 12, getting up at 6:40 to go to work with Daddy, who is the golf pro at our small town Country Club, to learn about child labor economics and work ethic. They make the coffee, unplug golf carts, drive them up to the golf shop, and get anything done that Daddy needs. I usually pick them up between 8:30 - 9:00 and we have morning chores. Then, we begin our studies together with Bible reading, singing, scripture memory, and prayer. From that point, everyone begins on their individual lessons. I usually start the year with a loose schedule of what needs to be done in what order. For instance: 1. Spelling, 2. English, 3. Dictation, 4. Free Time, 5. Lunch. 6. After Lunch Chores, 7. Math, etc. The children know that when they complete one task, they should go on to the next thing. I help each one as they need it and try to sprinkle breaks in throughout the day, so they will have plenty of time to explore books, nature, and ideas on their own.

  • We use The Well Trained Mind as our curriculum guide. However, I have become much more relaxed over the years in my adherence to the schedules that are in the book.

  • We try to continue schooling throughout the year, with very frequent breaks for holidays, vacations, visitors, babies being born, etc.

  • We have an area, not so much a room, in our house where we have desks, bookshelves, a school table, chairs, supplies, lots of books, a world map, etc.

One of the most important things I have learned over the years is that just because something works for another family, or many other families, doesn't mean it will be a good fit for your family. It is your family. Don't be afraid to experiment with your schedule or curriculum until you find what works best for you. NOT that you will ever find the perfect chore chart, curriculum, schedule, etc, but you can find a good fit.

6 comments:

Sonya said...

Thanks for sharing. I hope to have mine posted by the weekend. I agree with all you said about things working for some but not others. I used to be a master planner but quickly learned that I needed to be flexible to accomodate other things. I enjoy homeschooling and savor every moment in each day with my children! Stop by over the weekend and hopefully I'll have my post up!

Anonymous said...

I agree - Just because it works for one family, doesn't mean it works for everybody. I love the variety out there! Blessings on your year. :)

Cindy
www.homeschoolblogger.com/westward

Nikki said...

Wonderful post! Thanks for sharing. I'm inspired to get our schooling going again now that we're finally back home.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing! You kinda' did my meme! ;)
I think Tiany's Open House got a good run out of it! I made it up at the right time!

If anyone wants to check it out, link me and get themselves linked, the meme is here:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JacqueDixonSoulRestES/361573/

And, really, I love reading all of the answers and getting a sneak peek into what we homeschool moms sometimes don't blog - or at least all at once!!
How encouraging!

blessings!
-Jacque

Jenn said...

Thank you for sharing a little bit of your homeschool with us. I hope you have a blessed year!!

Jenn

Melissa Markham said...

That is very cool that your children are getting a course in the work ethic. I am lacking in that area and need to do better! I enjoyed visiting your open house! And the apron is adorable!

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