Summer Vacation at Last!

Well, we survived the first year of homeschooling! I am glad, (no, really) I AM glad that we are homeschooling, I am just really, REALLY ready for summer vacation!! It has been a successful year, for sure, but the ups and downs of learning the ropes was stressful for me. Plus, the way Ry learns had me guessing each day. I'd think I'd have a method down-pat for what helped him, only to discover the next day he'd switch it up and that way wouldn't work. I've learned through research that that is typcial for ADHD children! We were working with My Father's World curriculum, which ended up being far too easy for him and I had to add several phonics books and readers mid-year to supplement. We were using Horizon's math, which is a spiral method and that ended up being a thorn in both our sides!! Apparently, spiral learning is NOT for Ry! That all being said, as I gaze upon my walls still full of artwork and learning projects, I realize that I taught a full school year of good learning to my son all by myself and the proof is all around me! He has learned to read and his handwriting has greatly improved. He has learned to add, subtract and do much more in math concepts. He has learned many many Bible verses and stories and life lessons. He has done lots of science experiments, watching caterpillars emerge as butterflies, hosting an ant farm, building a working volcano, visiting a cave and making butter being some of our most fun science lessons. He has learned how to tell time and keep track of days on a calendar. Counting money has been a hard concept for Ry, but I am proud of what he has accomplished and am confident that he will master it fully in first grade. Our nature walks/nature observation and learning have been the most fun subject we've done. He has learned a lot about animals, plants, trees and all of God's beautiful creation during these times. In looking toward next year, I am excited about the new curriculum we have chosen. After attending the CHAP convention last Friday in Harrisburg, I have a solid plan for next year. We will be switching math curriculums, allowing for a less rigorous pace in math and focusing more on boosting his reading skills. I am really excited about the subjects I've chosen and Ry is too! I only wish there was a curriculum out there that "did it all" for us. However, because of how Ry learns, we are forced to piece together our own curriculum package, using subjects from a variety of publishers. But, I'm thankful that I've learned all this and now know what does and doesn't work before I spend big bucks on all-in-one packages. So, our summer vacation has started today and I am really enjoying sitting here and typing a nice blog at 9:23 AM with only the laundry to do today. Ry is mourning the rain, because his first Monday morning of summer vacation can't be spent outside, but I'll admit to a little bit of gladness that I get a chance to have a lazy rainy day. I will be counting some of our summer activities as First Grade days, among which are visiting the Pittsburgh zoo, a visit to the air and space museum and various other educational field trips I can dream up to count for school days. Saturday, we did a 5 mile hike in the mountains. Ryan learned about poisonous snakes, underground mountain springs, viewed many varieties of butterflies and watched a baby wolf spider, stink bug, aphid and spider mites in action. We marveled at the beauty of the illusive Indigo Bunting and spotted various animal signs. Did I count this day as a First Grade school day?? Absolutely!! Think how much he learned that was much more memorable than sitting in front of a book reading about these things?? Not that reading about things is not valuable! It surely is and we do a lot of that as well. But Ry thrives on these hands-on learning experiences, which is my number one reason for continuing homeschooling next year. They don't offer this kind of learning in public school. And we have the freedom to do all this and more. As difficult as some days are, I am so thankful we have the homeschooling option. I really don't know how Ry would succeed in public school with his ADHD symptoms which cause him to learn much differently than the average child. So, all that being said, we are really excited to have a break from school, yet look forward with anticipation to all we will be learning next year as well! Happy Summer to all my readers! See you in the Fall!