I don't talk much on the ol' blog about the fact that I homeschool That Other Kid, but it's true, I do. During the time when I was working full time it was EXTREMELY difficult and if I'm being honest here (which I want to be) I really didn't do much in the lines of school the entire 7 months I worked, but in my opinions that is one of the beauties of homeschooling in Texas. I didn't have to "prove" my work (or his) to anyone other than myself and dh. Now don't get me wrong, we worked on some math and some handwriting and even attempted working on phonics occasionally it just wasn't consistent and it wasn't much. It never really seemed to matter that much to That Other Kid because he was busy playing, watching tv and just doing whatever. UNTIL we went to Kansas for my 5K and he started talking to his cousin who is 5 months younger than he is! He then found out that "she is in first grade and I'm supposed to be in the same grade as she is because I'm older than she is!!"
Hold on here...peer pressure from the cousin...hum, something I had never thought of!
So when we got back to good ol' Texas I told him I was no longer working and I would be home almost all the time now, so we were going to get moving with school, so he could be in first grade like his cousin. Before I continue I should mention that he has been doing first grade math (ABeka) and handwriting (A Reason for Handwriting) since he started kindergarten last fall because he basically knew everything in the kindergarten curriculum before we started doing ANY school....but phonics was another story. He knew his letters but start putting sounds to those letters and he was stumped so we had to take phonics at an incredibly slow speed (at least it seemed to me). So we were about half way done with math and handwriting and only about 1/3 of the way done with Level 1 of Hooked on Phonics, which is what I am calling kindergarten phonics. So...enter in some peer pressure. He wanted to know when he would be in "real" first grade like his cousin, so I told him once we finish Level 1 of phonics he would be in FIRST GRADE! So we did a little math and a little handwriting this past month but mostly concentrated on phonics! On Friday he had 10 little books to finish reading and then he would be done. Over the weekend, YES, I SAID WEEKEND, he finished all 10 books so now we start this week as "an official first grader"! He was sooooo excited yesterday when he finished his last book that he was literally bouncing off the couch and screaming, "I'm a first grader!!"
So...today we start first grade and I plan to add spelling (spelling words from Hooked on Phonics words he is learning), geography and art into the mix and see how that works. We already go to a cool science class every other Friday, so that subject is pretty much taken care of for this year. We will probably finish his math and handwriting up sometime in January so then I will need to decide if I'm going to buy the 2nd grade level or just do some "extra" things for math and handwriting until he "catches up". Just another day in the life of a homeschooling mom!
So...I just wanted to let ya'll know that I have an "official first grader" and I will be spending more of my time getting That Other Kid edjamucated!! I am almost as excited as he is but don't tell him!!
1 comment:
Hi AnnG...it is great mothers want to home school their children. Many do excel faster than traditional school children; however, many miss the interaction with other children and possibly the student/teacher relationship.
I did some research on
hookedonphonics and saw a lot of good reviews about children really learning from the program. You and your child have had success with the program also, evidently.
Of course, the debate goes on about the pros and cons of home-schooled children and what is best for them but at least parents are able to make the call.
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