First Week Of Homeschooling

The first week of homeschooling is in the books, and I have to say that it is both easier and harder than I imagined.

To be more specific, the actual teaching part is easier than expected. It's the preparation and organization that is more difficult. Thankfully we are in a program that makes it easy to navigate through the curriculum. In the IDVA, everything related to progress and attendance is maintained on-line, so we always know where we are in the learning process. Now it's just a matter of time before we become more comfortable with their software and website.

As for the teaching, we have settled into a groove that is rather unexpected. I thought it would take much longer than a week for my son to accept us as teachers. Oh sure, there have been the usual back-to-school bumps in the road like the longing looks out the window at the beautiful sunshine, or the late night reading sessions that became a habit this past summer. I expected those things and planned to ease out of summer and back into fall with a few afternoon outings after studies were complete. But my son came through and made the adjustments quite quickly. The difference, I think, is that he is completely into home-schooling. He's not just apathetic about it. He knows that it's a better, more enjoyable experience for him, so there is a willingness to listen and learn that has made it easy for us to dive into the lessons and simply teach.

Let me give you a quick overview of our homeschooling day... We start at 9am. My son has to be up, dressed, and through with breakfast before then. If there's enough time he can do whatever he wants before school starts. The "school" is in our main family room. We have two desks along a wall, one for the computer and one for books. Even though the IDVA is an "on-line" school, very little of the actual teaching and learning is done on the computer. Instead we work mostly from textbooks and workbooks. He only moves over to the computer a few times a day, usually for an assessment or some sort of interactive lesson.

Around 10:30, after spelling and math, it's time for recess. Right now that means backyard play with his sister. Later on, we'll get together with some of the neighbor kids who are in the IDVA. After recess it's time for literature or science. Or maybe music. You see, the daily schedule is set by us. If science is better in the afternoon, then we'll do it then. Going further, we can even do two or three history lessons in one day if my son is really getting into the Civil War or the Aztec Empire and doesn't want to stop. Literature can be doubled up on Thursday, while science is the focus of Friday. We set the schedule to what is best for the student.

Lunch comes around noon. He eats, plays, reads. The afternoon goes really quick as we move into fun subjects like music, art, and technology. We also finish up any lessons that he might need to review. By 2:30 we're wrapping things up for the day. 5 to 6 hours is what we averaged last week. There's no homework, because there's no need for it. He has plenty of time during his school day to learn all the things he needs to learn.

Extracurricular activities also play a big part in his schooling. PE comes in the form of community soccer and basketball. Watching a cool DVD on lightning and tornadoes counts toward science. An assignment to take pictures of "circles in nature" counts toward art. Or maybe it counts toward technology... I'll have to ask the supervising teacher.

Oh yes, the "teacher"... The IDVA assigns us to a teacher who keeps track of what we're doing through the computer. If we're messing up with attendance or lesson completion, we'll get a call or an email. If there are problems, he's there to help us out. And I'm sure we'll need it as we go along.

So far, like I said, it's working out very well. This blog isn't going to suddenly turn into a homeschooling blog, but it will certainly be something I write about frequently. Not only is my son learning, but so are his parents. Homeschooling is a life changer for us all.