Drew and I have spent the past three weeks homeschooling. It is not the version of homeschooling I would choose for us were we to do this long-term, but rather the closest we can come to maintaining his at-school curricula and schedule with the resources we have available. Our goal with maintaining a similar structure is to ease the transition back into the classroom when the time comes. Since transitions are a major struggle for Drew, this is of paramount importance. If we were homeschooling "our way", it would be more like unschooling than the traditional image of homeschooling. He is a self-motivated learner which would make it easy to follow his lead. In fact, that is why we chose a Montessori school.
Today he spent nearly three hours doing math on a fabulous website called Math Playground. It's right up his alley. Tons of games. Challenging questions. Best of all, he doesn't have to write anything down or show his work. And, truly, how often to we do math in our daily lives where we have a chance to "show our work"? It's been an amazing process doing this homeschooling thing; getting a glimpse into how his brain works, how he processes numbers, approaches physics with such determination, and never runs out of things to do, learn and discover.
Homeschooling has been the easiest part of the past three weeks, even doing it in a more traditional manner. The hard part has been the emotional roller-coaster and general disruption of our world. Stress is an understatement. I can't remember the last time I pulled an all-nighter to type a 7-page report. I was certainly young enough that I didn't need 3 days of sleep afterwards. My google skills and Bob's partnership have been key to getting things back on track. We're still accepting prayers and happy dances if anyone's offering.
*Welcome to Holland was written by Emily Perl Kingsley in 1987. Our family has been visiting Holland for quite some time and has come to enjoy its beauty. If we ever make it to Italy, it will most certainly be by way of Holland.
Today he spent nearly three hours doing math on a fabulous website called Math Playground. It's right up his alley. Tons of games. Challenging questions. Best of all, he doesn't have to write anything down or show his work. And, truly, how often to we do math in our daily lives where we have a chance to "show our work"? It's been an amazing process doing this homeschooling thing; getting a glimpse into how his brain works, how he processes numbers, approaches physics with such determination, and never runs out of things to do, learn and discover.
Homeschooling has been the easiest part of the past three weeks, even doing it in a more traditional manner. The hard part has been the emotional roller-coaster and general disruption of our world. Stress is an understatement. I can't remember the last time I pulled an all-nighter to type a 7-page report. I was certainly young enough that I didn't need 3 days of sleep afterwards. My google skills and Bob's partnership have been key to getting things back on track. We're still accepting prayers and happy dances if anyone's offering.
*Welcome to Holland was written by Emily Perl Kingsley in 1987. Our family has been visiting Holland for quite some time and has come to enjoy its beauty. If we ever make it to Italy, it will most certainly be by way of Holland.
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I love all you guys. We all do down here in the 'hood.