Tanner's first day of school was different than most, but it will be sure to be one that he will not forget! We will be studying famous Explorers this year and kicked off the year with a "Junior Explorer's Club Meeting". The kids were greeted by Esther the Explorer, the President of the Club, who got them excited about Exploration.
The "guides" (aka the moms) led them through short activities to introduce them to some of the lifeskills (curiosity, imagination, teamwork, etc.) necessary to be an explorer.
All the kids had a great time and are looking forward to a year filled with exploration and discovery!
Q and A
Since we have decided to homeschool Tanner, a lot of people have asked how it all works. So if you are interested, here is a basic summary of how we are approaching it:
This summer, three other moms and myself wrote the "Explorers" curriculum. This covers science, social studies, music, art and integrates a lot of math and language arts. This curriculum includes lots of activities such as field trips, guest speakers, and group activities. All of this will be done as a group where all the children will participate. We will teach our own children at home individualizing the activities to meet the needs of the child. I am supplementing the Explorers curriculum with kindergarten programs for math and reading.
We also belong to a Charter School. The school is all about Parent Choice and allows parents to choose their own curriculum. We have an Educational Specialist (a credentialed teacher) who meets with us once a month basically to make sure Tanner is learning the CA standards. The best part is that we are given a budget from the charter school that pays for curriculum and extra curricular classes. The Charter school also offers (and pays for!) field trips.
We decided to take upon the monumental task of educating Tanner at home because we feel it matches his very active and inquisitive personality better than a traditional classroom setting. I am very grateful to live in an area where there is a good support system with plenty of other homeschooling families.
6 comments:
How wonderful! You guys are incredible and will do a great job, part of me is envious, and I hope your knee is healed!
You are a highly motivated woman and of all the people I know, I can see you being successful with this. We have friends who home school and some aren't so successful, but some are very. One of the families we know just had their son graduate from and start BYU at the age of 16. I think it's easier doing this when you are LDS as you have church associations for the kids friends.
I personally don't have the patience for homeschooling, though I may re-evaluate that choice as I see what Utah education does or doesn't do for my kids. I would love to look into charter schools as there are way too many kids per teacher here (about 30 per class here as apposed to 20 in MI). We shall see. Good luck and it sounds like fun.
I have confidence that you will do a great job and Tanner and you will have a great year. It all sounds very exciting!
Ah geez- if only my family wanted to be homeschooled
my hat is off to you, sister! home schooling is only done by incredibly wonderful mothers.
That is so awesome, I am proud of you for taking this on, and I look up to you for doing it also. I don't know if I would be brave enough or feel adequate enough to do it, I think Tanner will be blessed (and eduacated) by this program.
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