| On the Right Track |
Summer Session SuccessOh, for those who are quick to notice...my title is using alliteration. The girls and I covered that today. They had fun trying to come up with sentences that used it. When we came to similes and metaphors, we were rolling on the floor by the time we were done. It was good to see them "get it" and have fun doing so. That brings me to my reason for this post. How to do school and keep from going down that depressing "burnt out with homeschooling" road. I am doing a summer session for a couple reasons. Is is not because we usually do school year round, or that I am insane. We are doing it because we had a rough start to our school year last fall (lost a couple months to illness and so only covered the bare minimum) and then again in the spring-we had our 2nd graduate (and if you have experienced this, you will understand...it takes time and energy to get ready for the "graduation" and Open House). So, since I knew my kids could use some more instruction, and since I took on another student (temporarily tutoring her)-we are doing "school" 3x per week for 4 hours a day. I worried I would crash and burn like a Roman Candle (simile). I was already feeling a tad fried by March, so I was a bit skiddish to give this a try. I prayed about it, then really gave my school a good looking into. What had we lost that was making this last year drag on? What could I do as the faciliator, to make it more enjoyable and still get the educating in? What did I do when we first started this adventure? Could I re-establish some of those ideas into our school, and pump some life into this barren wasteland (metaphor)? I decided to add more games that educate (bought and homemade), to lighten up the regular workload, only cover what I knew was necessary (for my children and our guest student), and to have a better attitude! Wow! What a difference. I keep lessons short, move along quickly, use more verbal repsonses from the kids instead of paperwork, get them outside to physically move while doing games that teach needed facts, have lots of Bingo games (like Prep-O : prepostions Bingo) with candy treats, have incorporated a lapbook to accompany our book study, and most importantly: get my prep work and planning done ahead of time! I must say, it has given me a new outlook on this session. I feel upbeat and positive that I can incorportate this idea into our regular school year. I am not burned out and/or dread having to "do school". The students seem interested and have informed me that they enjoy it! WOWOWOWOW! This is, by no means, is a new concept...just one I forgot about. Somehow I became caught up in the "to do" of it all, that I forgot we need to laugh more. We need to keep those fun activities in the plans- even though some of the kids have entered into the jr/sr high levels. I need to be prepared (which is work, but once done, makes the week go soooooo much more smoothly). So that brings me back to the idea of this post: if you are suffering from the burnt toast syndrome.....try some new ideas, add some more fun stuff, and dump the junk (non-needed work that just adds twaddle to the day). I will post some of the ideas I am using, so you can try to add some to your new school year. Now I am off to write up my questions for our Candy Cab game for tomorrow (oh yes, I will definately post info on this beauty! Talk about fun!) Til then......
7:08 PM - Jul. 30, 2008 - post comment
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Using a variety of methods, mainly Charlotte Mason, I have been on this homeschool journey for 14 plus (official) years and counting. Hopefully, after all of this trial and error, I have something worthy to contribute to the homeschooling community. Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair-I tend to be wordy-and take a stroll through my homeschool blog. Home User Profile Archives Recent Entries - For my Cindy Rushton Mommy Homework Pals - Ever hear of Polliwalks? - Want to win a free ebook about The Myths of Socialzation ? - Oooh, Have a give-away for ya - Oooh, my blogger pal Christin tagged me!
      
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