Homeschool update

I will soon be making our book purchase for the year. I say I do this in the spring so that I have the summer to get organized, but since we "school" year round it doesn't really matter. Recently I purchased The Cartoon Guide to Genetics by Larry Gonick thinking that it might be something to add to our middle school or high school curriculum. Meredith has read the book in the last two days and wants to know more about genetics. If anyone has any ideas for books that a 5th grader can understand about genetics, please let me know. She is learning so much on her own that I really only focus on math and writing with her. I have the Life of Fred books for Meredith to work her way through in math. I pair these with a traditional math book that focuses more on computation than application. I am still looking for math books that are for the middle school years that will work for us. We are also beginning to work on art history and appreciation rather than just playing with materials. Meredith has always been so easy to teach, because she loves to learn all she can and really seems to understand that life isn't divided into subjects. She wants to learn math, because she can see its use in art and science. She wants to learn about grammar and poetry because it helps her to understand what she reads, which in turn helps her to understand everything around her.

Matthew is writing much better this year. I am so happy to see the progress made from writing just a few sentences at the beginning of the year to writing a page of well thought out information. I was beginning to worry that he would never be able to sit down and write. I found that when I give him a subject, a story starter, even a word to start with, he is able to take off and write, but if I give him an empty sheet of paper, the expression on his face will mirror the blank page. Matthew is ready to jump into 5th grade math, but I am going to work with him on applying math a bit before we jump into the next book. I have found that he needs to see how the math is relevant in everyday life to embrace it. He knows how to do the math. Now he needs to learn why he should even bother with it. (I am going to break her to complain about our current math book, that we got from the public school. It tells us all the time to use a calculator. My children can use a calculator when they are in calculus. They have brains.) We will continue to work on the writing process. Matthew will be writing a book review shortly and then we are jumping into poetry. He likes to write acrostic poems. This year we will cover couplets and limericks. I just know he is going to be a great limerick writer.

Meg is still working on learning to read. She still claims to not be a reader as she isn't an independent chapter book reader, yet. She'll get there. Her attention span is increasing, but I have to remind myself that she is only 6. I will start her first grade instruction this summer as she allows. She is adding and subtracting in math. She is reading words with both short and long vowel sounds. We have started different letter blends such as bl, br, th, sh, ch, and ck. I think she is doing rather well. She just has to stop comparing herself to her older siblings and look at how much she has learned in such a short time.

James is happy watching Barney, playing with blocks, helping me with dishes, coloring in color books or on paper, and drawing on the dry erase board. His vocabulary is increasing daily as he listens to all of the learning going on around him. He will be 2 in just a few weeks. Our lives have changed so much since he came into them. He is a challenge, but one that I am happy to take on.

As the public schools scramble to try to figure out how to make due with lack of funds and more budget cuts, we continue to struggle to make ends meet. In the end, though, I have to do what is best for my family. Money is no substitute for my time and energy focused on my children. I will not be putting the kids back in public school anytime soon. We continue to evaluate all of our options several times a year and thus far, homeschooling still makes the most sense. Where else can the get the teacher to student ratio that they have now, the love and encouragement that a family provides, and the time to be children and follow their interests? Public schools do their best to offer these things as best they can, but just as stated in The Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."