Saturday, February 28, 2009

Our first year of structured but "unofficial" homeschooling


Where we live, we don't need to register as a homeschooler / get exemption from attending school until a child is about to turn six. So, Rebekah turning 5 this year, I decided to start a practice/ trial year of homeschooling mainly for our own benefit, just so I can say to all those people out there that ask me why she is not at school that I am homeschooling her (wink wink) and also I wanted to trial a schedule for her and get her used to some more structured work before we embark on the real deal next year.
I chose Living Books Curriculum to do this as they have a teachers guide and lay it out all there for you, rather than me having to fend for myself.
Yes, I know there are lots of freebies out there etc etc but I felt I was spending too much time trying to research and put something together myself and also not being experienced at this, I felt it would be great to have my hand held so to speak while we start out.
I love the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling and while I don't do everything she suggests, I do "try" as much as possible to follow her philosophy as I can see the huge benefits of it.
I will post more on some of her methods in the future, and some things that have worked for us and have really been "proved" here at our place.
So, we are doing a Kindergarten (sort of) year for Rebekah this year.
We commenced in January and have just finished week 8.
Woo hoo!
We are both having a ball!
I will post more on the books we are using etc along with some pictures. By the way, the above picture was of Rebekah's "first day of 'Kindy' ", Jan 5th 2009 with her folders and books in the background.

4 comments:

Wendy said...

Good luck with this! I wish I could homeschool but we can't really afford to take off work at this time. Also, I think my boys and I would butt heads too much. I bet my husband could do it though. He's the patient one in the family! :)

Joyfulmum said...

Thanks Wendy!
Yea, we had to make some serious financial adjustments when I stopped work but I'm saving that for another post! About the patience factor, yes one does need atleast a little bit of this to homeschool:)

Kathy said...

Welcome to Blogosphere and to homeschooling! We live in Phoenix Arizona where it is hot quite a bit of the time. I was just looking at Living Books curriculum just before coming here. I am in such a quandry what to use this year....this is our 5th year of homeschooling, and I have two children. wondering if LBC would be too much with two.

Blessings, and a joy to meet you! In Christ, Kathy

Kathy said...

Rosemary, I posted this on my blog as a reply, but thought I would post here also. Blessings!

Well, i don't know about that Rosemary. I am at His mercy daily I assure you. LBC looks good because they have so much literature, and m children love that! Secondly, they cover both world and American History simultaneously. There's a part of that that appeals to me. We're also considering My Father's World: Exploring Countries and Cultures.

Speaking of ventures, isn't homeschooling the most wonderful adventure and privilege!

So glad you came by! This is a thinking-out-loud kind of blog, so bear with me. You can also visit A Field Lily at http://fieldlilyx.blogspot.com, which is where I post about everything else, sometimes homeschooling too! God's best.-Kathy