Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Hatch School Diaries - Entry Two

My laundry had overtaken the hallway, so it just gets even dirtier as the temporary backdoor floor mat.  The bed is unmade and the clock reads 6:29......pm.  My dining room is school central, hence any entertaining is done in the kitchen until further notice or college acceptance.  I have hung exactly one picture in my whole house and three windows are still uncovered for all peeping toms interested. 

I absolutely love homeschool.  Love it.  I keep asking Key if he is getting more out of school now, and then I look at him waiting for what has a correct answer.  He figured that trick out early, so he always says that why yes, homeschool is much more indepth in its learning.  I have no idea what the true answer is, but I do know that we feel productive, and so far this is what we have accomplished:

In 28 days we have.......

Kelly -
Learned to read simple books
Gets the hang of word families with short vowel sounds. 
Finished twenty pages of phonics
Read seven books in whole on his own
Completed box one of The Bob Books
Made 40 or 50 word flashcards which he practices several times a week
Copied page after page of words, sentences, dates, and favorites stories
Currently copying his reader b/c Key copied the Declaration of Independence (Kelly cannot be outdone)
Finished fifty math lessons
Made flashcards for addition facts through his twos
Listened to lots of history books
Listened to Johnny Tremain on CD
Illustrated 11 out of the 13 episodes of The Revolution on Netflix
Dictated four pages of knowledge about the colonists
Labeled our map of the 13 colonies
Dated the first half of our timeline for the Rev. War
Helped make Johnny cakes
Designed a farm out of building blocks
Visited Brattonsville
Visited Augusta's Rev. War sites, including George Walton's house
Designed and created a boat out of recycled materials
And that's off the top of my head.

Key -
Read Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Read Indian Captive by I can't remember
Completed two of the three book reports
Tested out of or completed 45 math lessons
Practiced math facts
Played on Khan Academy
Copied the Declaration of Independence
Learned how to diagram subjects, predicates, predicate nominatives, and articles
Written a blog entry on his knowledge of colonial life
Taken notes for 11 of the 13 episodes of The Revolution on Netflix
Listened to lots of history books
Read lots of history books
Described events for the first half of our timeline for the Rev. War
Visited Brattonsville
Visited Augusta's Rev. War sites, including George Walton's house
Designed and created a boat out of recycled materials
And that's also just off the top of my head.

But what's even bigger than all that stuff I listed, is that at the heart of this adventure, we are getting to know each other.  I know so much more about their learning styles, what makes them click, how beautifully they are becoming young men, what frightens them, what their desires are, what they pray about, who they have become and how much I hadn't noticed until now.  I am finding also how much I do not know about so many things, and I am learning with excitement and anticipation about math and science and history.  Our world is fascinating and until now I had not taken the time to truly explore it.  And wow!

What is hardest is letting go of public school and all its trappings.  Its standards and its resources and its schedule and its order.  Those things feel safe, but outside that safety is this experience that our family is living into.  Today we looked through their yearbook from last year.  I miss those kids and those people.  But I don't miss that day.  The one that starts early and frantic and stressful and involves me turning the boys over to others and exhaustion by Thursday afternoon.  So letting go is my theme.  And it is harder than just the physical act of walking away.  I am, in essence, deschooling my brain. 

But homeschooling/ unschooling/ schooling is turning out to be one of God's greatest blessings to me so far.  We'll reevaluate come those long cold days of February:)....