Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Surviving Home-School

We are now five weeks into our home-school adventure and haven't quit yet! {I really won't quit, I'm not a quitter, but you get the point.} People ask me how it's going. I say, "We have our good days and we have our bad days." And that is true. I think it is about half and half so far...




Our good days are really good. He is excited, eager to learn, it goes quickly and smoothly. He does a great job, he makes an effort, and does his best.

Our bad days, are really bad. He is frustrated {not seeing results fast enough}, he throws fits {sometimes things are thrown}, threats of quitting {by him} and usually includes a time-out or loss of his chair.

I love the good days. It is so rewarding to see him learn and to see his progress. The bad days even for me are frustrating. I feel ill equipped and a bit overwhelmed. I have tweaked the order of the lessons to make it feel less like work and more fun, but I am still struggling with how to deal with his frustration. When he starts feeling frustrated we quit that lesson. We can work on it the next day. I do love having that flexibility.

So far he has learned:


  • vowels
  • to write short vowels and know their sounds  
  • to write consonants l, t, b, and n and know their sounds
  • can blend the consonants above with a short vowel
  • to recognize and count numbers 1-20
  • write numbers 1-4
  • write cursive vowels and consonants l, t, b, and n
  • pennies/cents
  • five senses
  • to begin reading some short vowel words








Despite the bad days. I am surprised how easy it has been to just sit down and do "school." I thought that would be the hard part. The flexibility has been nice. Yesterday we tried out the Community Playgroup and went to the Library. We rented a science video and watched it after lunch. If daddy is home in the morning we will do school in the afternoon. {Having daddy around is a big distraction.} We spend about two hours a day doing "school." Sure beats an hour and a half bus ride each way and six and a half hours at school each day. I love being able to spend that time with him rather than away from him.