Friday September 14, 2007
For those that have been following the protected posts, this won’t be a surprise, but we officially unenrolled Zane from school today. A lot of prayers and discussion preceded this, but my stomach was filled with butterflies walking from the car to the door of the school. Once I got home, both Zach and I were almost giddy with excitement and anticipation. It is a little scary, but I know it is the right thing to do and will be a great thing for our family.
We are thinking we will get Miquon math with the Cuisenaire rods and possibly supplement with Singapore Math. We are waiting for word from his speech therapist (they also have a residential school there) for a phonics program that will work well with his speech therapy. (he seems to be gaining speech as he learns to read, so I want to get something that will keep that going and encourage better language). We are also going to delve into the Handwriting without Tears with a little more deliberate attention for handwriting.
The rest of the stuff will probably be covered in a comprehensive way with unit studies that combine history, geography, science and reading. (and anything else we discover along the way). I am going to look at the Five in a Row books for some inspiration, and have been browsing the internet for ideas. We will probably be a bit more freeform with this, finding books and then expanding on them as Zane leads us.
We also got a few piano books two weeks ago, before we decided to homeschool, that will be a good addition. One is the theory book and one is the practice book. Most of music will still be the more free form stuff, but I would like to start teaching him how to read basic music at least, and maybe start him on the piano. I am not very good at piano, but I understand it enough to get started until we find a Music Therapist or Music Teacher who can understand how to teach Zane.
I think we will find ourselves more in the “unschooling” or “child led learning” more than a strict school schedule for most of the things. (ala John Holt) For him, math is fun and we will let him choose the pace because I don’t want to hold him back. There are some things that will be a little more pushed, like Handwriting, but I am going to work to break it up in short segments so it doesn’t overwhelm him. Same with the phonics. As long as he enjoys it and keeps progressing, we will continue to be child led, but we might have to push a little here and there to get him through some of the things that are harder for him.
I guess it is a rather eclectic approach, but I think it will suit us well.
Yay! I’m so happy that you guys are feeling good about the decision. I can’t wait to hear how he’s growing and learning.
It’s gonna be great.
Just went back and read about the school situation. You ARE strong and you CAN do this! And Zane will do great at home. It sounds like the school routine and rules were causing unneccessary stress. Don’t worry so much about what curriculum to use at this age – although I will say that we used HWT and liked it, also liked the series “Draw, Write, Now” but don’t know if that would appeal to Zane’s artistic sensibilities – each kid is different
I’m glad you have found what you feel will work best for all of you. I know you can do this and that Zane will thrive under your continued care. I’m looking forward to hear all the adventures you have together.
It’s the beginning of a fantastic journey!! You are doing the right thing. Zane is going to thrive.
We started Singapore Math this year and are really liking it so far, and we like using the Cuisenaire rods to illustrate lessons and to play with as well. Looking for materials can be overwhelming because there’s so many good ideas out there, but it’s fun because of the same reason! There’s just so much good stuff. Congrats on your decision.
Congratulations! School really did not sound like a good place for Zane to be, so I’m glad you’ve found homeschooling as a solution. Actually, that class didn’t sound like a good place for any kid…