Tag: home educating

Time to Reflect

~ wattlesandcombsfarm ~ Leave a comment

As we get nearer to our halfway point for this school year I find it’s time to sit down and evaluate how we’ve done. Sometimes it helps to be a little honest with yourself and really discover what is working for your homeschool and what maybe needs to be thrown out. It could be something as simple as re-working your schedule or as complicated as needing a new curriculum. For us, the things that are working are things that have been working for years. I’ve mentioned it a few times, but we have found a couple of companies that we are sticking with for the long haul. Our Language Arts, Math, and Spelling don’t need any changes. (You can check out my post on my favorite curriculum if you would like more info on that) However, not everything is working as I would like. I still haven’t found a great science curriculum and so far my trying to make unit studies isn’t working. So here in the next few weeks, I need to find something and get it ordered. Especially right now when so many companies are running great curriculum sales. I may end up going back to BookShark for science. I liked their science enough to know that it would at least work well and we would get it done. Or, I have always wanted to try Apologia Science but sometimes their lessons look very overwhelming and LONG. I guess there is a bit more research for me in the near future. History is another subject I’m not entirely happy with either. We are currently working through an Usborne Encylopedia about the World Wars. It’s working but it’s not exactly great as a main spine. I feel like I need a bit more. I would love to go back to BookShark for history because I have always loved their book selection, but it ends up being way too much reading out loud on my part. Maybe if I just use their main spines and worksheets. Once again, there are a few decisions to make. Other than that our school is ok. We could do a bit better with our time usage but I feel like everyone could say that. Overall I am pretty happy with how things are going. Most importantly I can see my kids are learning and growing. That is the main goal anyways right? To see our kids learn and make progress. One of the biggest benefits to being a homeschool mom is that I am the one that gets to watch them progress and grow, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

Here is the link to the Evaluation pages I made if you would like your own copy. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Homeschool-Evaluation-Form-8886267

Home and Back Again

~ wattlesandcombsfarm ~ Leave a comment

One of the big benefits of homeschooling is the ability to have a flexible schedule. This last week we took some time to travel to Texas and be with my family that I haven’t seen in a few years. It was WAY overdue. Our trip started with a 17-hour drive. On top of the drive, we were pulling our camper which adds a few extra hours to the total drive time. To say we were exhausted is an understatement, but after two days we made it home. Since this would be the only holiday we were home for my mom went ahead and planned Christmas and a birthday party alongside Thanksgiving. We pulled into her driveway and were greeted by a house completely covered in Christmas lights. My mom has always done the holidays big. We spent the next week eating too much food, laughing a ton, and really just soaking in time with family. There really is nothing like time with your family to sort of re-ground you and remind you of who you are. Especially if like me, you don’t live anywhere near them. It felt so good to actually be a part of the family holiday celebrations again. I am so thankful that we didn’t have to rush this trip. Homeschooling allowed us to take our time and just hang out. We didn’t have to be home by a certain time and we ended up staying an extra day because we wanted to. Once we were back in our home our break was extended to give us a few recovery days after another two-day drive to get back home. In total, we took two weeks off school and it is all scheduled in the yearly plan. I love the life that homeschooling allows us to live. We get to do so many amazing things together and we get to do them on our own time. This time it was a trip to Texas. I can’t wait to see what the next adventure will be.