Homeschooling on the Road

Hi! We are in the lower 48 visiting family for a month and it has been a busy time. The trip from Alaska to Florida is long, especially when traveling alone with two young kids. At least they can walk now and I don't have to push a double stroller through the airport or try to change a diaper in the airplane bathroom while keeping an eye on a 2 yr old who was into everything. On second thought, the trip down south was easy!!

On the homeschooling front, we have been able to do math  by the lake, science at the beach and reading everywhere in between.  My kids were examining  starfish and hermit crabs on the beach while  it was 15 degrees at home. Ahh, I will miss the warmth when we go back. We have also managed some spelling and handwriting lessons, but most of their education (for the moment) is in the form of interaction with family. The kids have been able to spend time with their great grandparents who are over 90 and still live in their own home. Their great grandfather recently had a heart valve replaced and we were there to bring him home from the rehabilitation center. This would not have been possible if the kids were in public school. 

I LOVE the curriculum we have been using and have a lot to review when we return home! First up will be All About Spelling. Until next time, Happy Schooling everyone.

First FIAR

Prior to purchasing Five in a Row, I wanted to try out the concept first. We checked out the first book "The Story About Ping" from the library and found some online activities to go along with it.We made it 3 days before I heard  "not that book again Mom". **Update 11/4/12- I found the Story About Ping at a used bookstore and purchased it for our collection even though the kids said they were tired of it. That night the kids pulled it out of the bag and begged their grandpa to read it. The kids also were excited to tell grandpa about our Ping activities. The three days we used it made a lasting impression!**

 Day one we read it and discussed ducks-preening, air bladders and webbed feet. We followed this with a visit to feed the ducks and how to tell the drakes from the hens. We made a duck craft we found on enchantedlearning.com and did an experiment on bouyancy.
 Day two we curled up on the couch and read it again. This time we also read a small book on China, located it on the map, and made egg rolls and egg flower soup (not very original, but best I could do on short notice). We could have spent the whole day discussing maps.
Day 3 we discussed rivers and dams. We watched a short video on the 3 Gorges Dam that was built on the Yangtze and talked about extinction. Did you know the Yangtze river dolphin was the first mammal declared extinct because of pollution? Me neither.

I love the concept of Five in a Row. There is so much more we could have pulled from the book, and may have to "row" it again. I am excited for the official guide to get here on Friday!! I bought the combined volumes 1-3, so we can row whatever books I have available.And I have found a wonderful blog with a lot of ideas for "Lentil", that may be our next.

Sensory Bin

sWhile the kids are away, the adults will play. Not really. I am saving the sensory bin for them to play in when they get home. I must confess that I played in the popcorn for a few minutes.

 

 

Autumn Sensory Bin

One of the things I want to try out are sensory bins.  They are designed to stimulate the senses and inspire creativity. I used popcorn for the base to play in, added some miscellaneous autumn accessories, cinnamon sticks and some scoops for digging around with. I hope they enjoy this as much as I think they will. I'll update once they get their hands in it.

Update: The kids loved it! Unfortunately we were playing on the table and it spilled. Next time we will do this on the floor.

Out of town blues

 Another reason we are trying homeschooling is because we live in Alaska and our families don't. It is expensive to fly and even more expensive to do it during the summer or over normal school breaks. My husband has taken the kids to the lower 48 to visit his family for 2 weeks. Shortly after he returns I am taking them see my family for a month. I miss them terribly. Hopefully next year we can all travel together.

But every cloud has it's silver lining. It has been quiet here and I have been able to spend time reseaching and buying curriculum. So many choices, so little time!  Complete grade packages or a la carte, in books or online, go it alone or through a correspondence course...How to choose?
We have decided to go through a public school that allows you to choose your own courses and curriculum and teach those at home. I think for the first year this will help us get on track. We are required to submit an ILP (individual learning plan), quarterly work samples, and semester grades. We are also assigned a contact teacher that we are required to speak to monthly. This can be done by phone, email, or if we see her at the grocery store-it counts! Homeschoolers that go it alone are not required to do any of this in Alaska. Going through the public school system has another great benefit, money! We can tap into the taxes we pay. While it is not a lot of money and the purchases must be approved by our contact teacher, there is something satisfying about being able to spend some of our own tax dollars on our kids.

3 more days until they return. 3 more days until my books get here. Friday is going to be an exciting day.

Hi! I am new to both blogging and homeschooling. The decision to homeschool came about when Bear (son, 5) did not win the "lottery" and get accepted into a charter school. The charter school we applied to grouped kids by ability, not age. My son is reading at a 3rd grade level and excels at math. I was afraid he would be extremely bored and lose his love of learning if he was forced to sit at a desk and rehash what he already knows. Sure there would be something new scattered here or there, but I doubt enough to keep his interest. His mind is like a sponge and I want him to keep learning at his own pace. I had heard about homeschooling, but this idea was very foreign to me. No one I know has done it. And I went to public school. Several of my in-laws are public school teachers and they are all smart, caring, well-educated and more capable of teaching than I am. Shouldn't the experts employed by our government be the ones to educate my kids? But the thought of putting my son on that yellow school bus did not feel right. It felt like I would be cheating him. And so begins our homeschooling journey...