Sunday, August 22, 2010

Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 4

Not Back to School Blog Hop

This week's theme is a Day in the Life. We're supposed to share what our average homeschool day looks like. Since we started school last week, we're still working out the kinks, but here's our general schedule.

We always start off the day with prayer and Bible study. This year we're studying the book of Proverbs. The children are keeping a notebook of our study, writing down and explaining each verse as we go. We began with Proverbs 1:8 - "My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother." Could there be a better verse for homeschooling?

Next comes language arts. We're using First Language Lessons, which I love! This curriculum uses a gentle, repetitive approach to teaching grammar and punctuation. It's perfect for my kids, especially the Princess. She is retaining the lessons very well, so I'm pleased.

After grammar, we do a spelling lesson or handwriting, sometimes both. Then comes math. So far we've done some review and I've been surprised by how much both children have remembered. Yay!

We are using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy and so far the children are enjoying it. We use a notebook for this, too. I highlight definitions and people that the kids need to know, then they copy these into their notebook.


This year we started The Mystery of History Vol. I. The daily readings are concise but informative. Each child is keeping a timeline in their notebooks using figures I purchased from Homeschool in the Woods. They color in the figures, then we cut them out and glue them in the appropriate spot on the timeline. They are really liking this activity. So far most of our events are things they're already familiar with - Creation, the Fall of man, the Flood, the Tower of Babel. I can't wait until we get further in and they see how all of history works together to accomplish God's purposes. Can you tell I love history?

Of course, scattered throughout these subjects are break time, sometimes a snack time, and hands-on activities or art projects relating to their studies. Sometimes we even have a guest student show up - our dog Alexandra (Xandra for short).


When our lessons are done, I read aloud to them. We started the Little House on the Prairie series last year and are finishing that up. I haven't decided what read-alouds we'll do after that.

Usually we have everything done by lunchtime. The children don't like to go back to school after lunch, so they will work diligently to get everything done before. It really helps to have our afternoons free. We can go to the library, the store, or even complete projects around the house.

Some days everything goes smoothly. Some days we take more breaks than usual! It's not flawless and we're learning as we go, like everyone else. But I love the flexibility of homeschooling and the one-on-one time I get to spend with my children every day.

If you're a homeschooler, head over The Heart of the Matter Online and share a day in your life with us! Have a great week!

12 comments:

  1. I'm going to be interested to see what you think of Mystery of History - I'm looking for a history program and that one is on the list of possibles.

    Have a great year and thanks for sharing!

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  2. Thank you for sharing with us! It sounds like your day has a nice flow to it. I hope you have a wonderful year. :)

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  3. I haven't heard of Mystery of History before. We are doing Story of the World pt 1 this year. I will keep following your posts about that to see how it is. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Great "Day in the Life"! Homeschoolers have so much fun and are so creative :) I love History, too!

    Thanks for sharing and have a very enjoyable 2010-2011 school year!
    ~Tamara
    www.BranchOfWisdom.com

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  5. We enjoyed MOH and love the Homeschool in the Woods timeline figures too! Sounds like a great day.

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  6. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I love history too!! And I think you are right--we will count it as our first homeschooling field trip :-)

    I love reading your blog! As a first time homeschooler, I learn sooo much from the blogs of homeschooling moms!! Thank you!!

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  7. A lot of your curriculum choices are either things we have used or things I would like to use. Makes me want to go check out the others that you mentioned - I bet I would like those too! Sounds like a great routine. Happy homeschooling! :)

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  8. Everything sounds great! I like your mixing and matching. Makes it fun!

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  9. I think your days sound great!! I still need to work on my library book list. I hope you have a great year-oh, and I LOVE the verse!!

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  10. www.waddleeahchaa.com
    I am a homeschool grandma and aunt. That means My daughter and sister both homeschool their children. They each have their own schedules but both homeschool about four days a week and have field trips on Fridays. They are both also using Math U See, Alphaphonic and Reading A-Z. They both go to the library regularly, there is reading and writing time which also covers history, science and geography. After lunch is projects time which could be art, watch an educational video, music, outdoor play and exploration. Pretty much a full day with some adult directed learning but lots of time for child directed activities and learning also. Visiting from HOTM, thanks for the post. :)

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  11. ahhh...we had our afternoons free like that last year and it was GREAT!!! This year though, adding Kindergarten to the mix I know will require individual time with me for that as well as individual time for my 2nd grader which requires a LOT to stay focused, and hopefully my 4th grader will be much more independent with the workbox system I'm going to adopt.

    Thankfully we can tweak and adjust as needed to find what works for us. WOOT!!

    Great day in the life post, thanks for sharing yours. =)

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  12. Enjoyed hearing about your day! I love Little House on the Prairie- my oldest two have been too old for it, so I am excited my 2nd grader likes them now. lol Have a great year.

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