Week One Done

Well, we survived our very first week of homeschool! Yay! We had our ups and downs, but mostly ups. I'm learning more about my child and her learning styles. She is a pretty smart cookie if I do say so myself. :) But, she's also pretty darn stubborn when it comes to things she doesn't like..... handwriting. We'll make it through though. I did notice that she's singing her handwriting technique songs she's been listening to this week. Maybe they'll help more than me standing over her telling her over and over how to do it. :) I thought I'd share a few things that I have learned this week:

1. Be flexible! I heard this over and over at the conferences I went to, but this week I discovered what it truly means. A pretty little schedule written out neatly in an organized binder looks nice, but that doesn't mean we're going to stick to it exactly! If she says, "Read me more", than by all means I'm going to keep reading! If she wants to build more math problems and work through our science block - we'll do extra tomorrow. :)

2. Be prepared! I did a pretty good job this week of being prepared, but one day I spent a little less time and it was the day that was the least productive. It is important that I know exactly what needs to be done and have everything ready to go.

3. No TV before school! One morning I allowed her to watch a cartoon before class so I could get a couple of things done. Not a good idea. It immediately gives her an unproductive mind set and it's hard to get her back into the groove. It's important to start school as soon as possible. She did a good job sticking to her morning "Busy Bee's" routine. We just have to jump into class afterward so we don't lose momentum.

4. It takes time! I spend a lot more time at night than I thought I would preparing for the next day's lesson. I'm sure in time I'll have the hang of it and won't have to spend quite as much time preparing. As for lessons, it takes us about 4 hours a day to get through everything. Gives us a full afternoon to have fun and spend time together.

5. Be creative! Take every opportunity to teach. It's about making the lessons come to life. If she finds a bug and wants to know about it - run with it! Turn it into a lesson and find out as much as possible. If something isn't working, do something different. Teaching her without her knowing it is priceless. ;)

6. My kid is cool! Not that I didn't know that before, but I've really enjoyed spending time with her this week in this capacity. She's a smart little girl and she really enjoys learning. I love watching her get excited about learning. And, I'm grateful for the opportunity to share along beside her and not miss out on her education.

So, that's the wisdom for this week. I'm sure there will be many more insights and "ah, ha" moments this year.