Wednesday, September 26, 2018

The school year so far


As usual I have many huge topics in my drafts folder, and I'm not sure when I will be able to sit down and finish those off. But no one wants to read long posts anyway, right? So maybe it's better to write about everyday life.

Home education:

David is 6 years old, kindergarten age for Russia but in U.S. he might be in first grade by now. At any rate, he's not going anywhere at the moment. It's partly the school system and partly his complexities. Let's just say he thrives most in a one-on-one environment (as opposed to the rumored 30-person class sizes at local schools). Although I wish he had more friends his age, I can also think of many wonderful adults in my life whom he would find very entertaining. It's just a matter of being open to the right opportunities. So, we aren't really worried about socializing him. It just might look different.

We thought about signing up for more classes at the cultural center down the street. But David did not seem eager about it. And since he's only 6, he's still within his rights to say no. ;) But we did decide to prioritize speech therapy at this point. There are many times when I've thought other parents were overzealous in terms of helping their children develop, but in this case I guess it's not just naturally going to get better. The exercises with a professional are clearly helping. A Canadian friend was helping David with his English last year, and he's added some sounds that were missing before. Meanwhile, he goes to a Russian lady now for speech therapy, and always gives a positive report when he comes back. I'm trying to picture myself as a child, going to see a lady for tutoring...I think I would have HATED it. I would have much rather stayed at home and read a book. But she obviously knows what she's doing, and he must enjoy the attention. They are working on pronunciation, reading, and pencil skills-all in a 30-minute session!

So...if we end up homeschooling for a few years (beyond preparation work we're doing now), I might just decide to employ some tutors OR find a group to join. I'd always pictured myself just preparing the subjects myself and presenting them. But I'm coming to accept that 1) I'm NOT an expert in all areas and 2) Other adults sometimes get a better response from my child.

On a side note, I've been reading a lot about Charlotte Mason. I like that there are lots of resources online, makes it quite doable from abroad. However, I'm just kind of exploring at the moment.

That's about all I have time for!

P.S. I decided it would be fun to fiddle with my blog theme to reflect the changing seasons. Everyone was saying a lighter background is better, anyway. Well...back about 10 years ago, I used to do all the changes to my blog design from scratch. Search around and find out how to change the html, etc. Just now I decided to switch the header photo, and it took about an hour getting it to the right size! I'm used to taking photos with Instagram squares rather than something long and narrow. And sadly, the quality is lost. That must mean my phone doesn't take very good photos...certainly nothing that could be enlarged to go in a frame. Very sad! I'll have to investigate further. And do something about my poor header. Another day.





6 comments:

  1. I think it is wonderful that you are considering homeschooling! I wanted to homeschool Sara when she was going into Kindergarten, husband said no, so off to school she went. Five years later, after various issues in the public school, Sara now age 10 and Andrew, age 6 went to a private christian school for the next 3 years. When we pulled them out of the private school, I started homeschooling. I homeschooled for 10 years - Sara grades 8-12 and Andrew grades 3-12. Most of the curriculum I used came from A Beka Book and BJU Press. Both companies offer instruction online or on dvd, if that is something you are interested in. I got curriculum from both companies and there are pros and cons to both. One of my favorite English curriculum came from a Catholic organization. Initially I bought my curriculum new, but found that there is a lot of used curriculum out there for a good price. If there is anything that I can ever do for you, please let me know. I want to support you in any way I can. I'm happy to help, or just listen if you need a listening ear.

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    1. Thanks, I didn't know that! I can always do a direct message on Instagram. My husband wasn't keen on homeschooling, but is a bit horrified by the public schools, so I think he is more open to homeschooling for the tender elementary years. But it's interesting that you started homeschooling later. I have definitely heard of A Beka.

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  2. Now - look! There you are doing just what I'd envisioned doing myself. I am not entirely sure why we ended up sending Monnie to school.... I guess partly it was realizing that I am not entirely sure she works up to potential for me, and I am just not that "taskmistress" that I probably need to be with her. What I did with Aidan and Lydia was a lot like what you suggest! I definitely had other people teach the math and science, because (with science for sure) my only desire was to say, "Isn't it a beautiful mystery!"

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    1. I think with homeschooling there is a great divide between vision and reality! You mentioned on your blog that you found Monnie was ready, so something must have nudged you in that direction! David is pretty receptive to math and science. I'm okay with math, not science as much. Partly I am too lazy to pull together experiments. And I don't want to end up with a lot of equipment. I also see a lot of homeschooling families talking about books, and David has never been one to sit and read by himself. Lately I've been bribing him, saying he can't do TV or some other thing until we have book time. I'm trying to work books more into our day. I was always a bookworm, so it's hard for me to get my mind around persuading someone else to read! I suppose that's the other issue, it's one thing to enjoy a subject and another to teach it.

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    2. He may need a few years of being read to, first! Can he actually read? That's impressive, if so. Monnie is just learning the alphabet, really.

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    3. I think if he were in a preschool/kindergarten program and going over letters each day, he might know how to read by now. However, I've been kind of resisting hurrying him along. Andrei started teaching him the Russian alphabet last year and I didn't want to mix him up, but we started the English alphabet this year (and he does get mixed up). So, we are also only just learning the alphabet. He has been noticing text in "real life" more these days and asking what it says. I'm not really ready for it to be a full-time pursuit. I think I worry more about his motor skills.

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