Looking back to how this year has been going for us, with
regard to our homeschooling, I feel like we didn’t have the best year. In fact,
I think this was our worst. Stress, moves, living in someone else’s house, and extended family needs are just a few things that affected our ability to homeschool effectively
this year.
That being said, we didn’t just NOT learn anything. Zoe
learned to cursive write some words. She continues to surprise me with her
spelling, reading, and her athletic ability. Austyn learned about fossils, crystals, rocks, minerals, and meteorites. He continues to learn more as time passes. He
read a beginning reader and started a second. I got worried about his reading
and through trying to get him to read, I learned that I need to let go a bit
more and let him choose what, where, and when he wants to read. I will post
later about his reading (I’m currently doing some research on this matter).
On a positive note, we did a good deal of things outside of
the house. We were out most of the time. Hockey, skating, hiking, tobogganing,
shopping, traveling, play dates, park days, gymnastics, a co-op, lacrosse, and
the list goes on. We were rarely home. This probably was needed, so that we could
meet friends for support. Going out made things easier when taking over a local
group an easier task. I didn’t know any homeschoolers in this area when I took it over and that was a challenge. I went from organizing
things and having nobody come and chatting online with hardly any response to a
great turnout for homeschool skating and great chats online about things that
really matter most to the local homeschoolers. They have been an important part
of our lives through their support when times were getting a bit tough. This may not be the best place to homeschool in Canada, but it sure is working fine for us, now that we are settling in.
Looking back, this year looked like an unschooling family
that was struggling through stress and thinking that we need to be doing more school-type things because of everything that was happening around us and the bad behaviour we
were all carrying around.
With the stress and behaviour improving, now that we have
our own space, I’m feeling more positive. Things are coming together and we are
meeting many new friends. We have great support. We are in a new house. We are still unpacking and
organizing and I notice a huge difference in all of us. The kids are starting to initiate their own learning again. I think I just need to
relax and look forward with positive light. Things will fall into place.
Proof of this is already presenting itself. Society and pressure may have a grasp on my feelings sometimes, but then reality hits, I realize what works best for us. We will get back on track, and just
like people who have a baby or have a death in the family, we are homeschoolers
who are human. There are productive years and years that we just need to
realize that SHIT HAPPENS! ;)
