Homeschool Moments

I have had quite a few people recently ask me what homeshooling actually looks like in our home. I shot this short video to give you an idea of a typical homeschool morning. We are working on the Olympic Homeschool Packet that I recently posted on my blog.



Homeschooling in our home is typically done in the morning. We usually spend about 1-2 hours a day doing school "stuff." Since my boys aren't technically in Kindergarten yet, I simply try to find activities that foster reading/writing and math. Occasionally I will throw in something science or social studies in nature, but basically, we just stick with the basics.

I usually do not prepare anything beforehand other than printing stuff off when I find something interesting online. (I don't go looking for information unless I want something specifically. I am a member of a few blogs and rely on information I get from them and from friends to do the job.)

I do not have them doing an activity for longer than about 15 minutes. Some activities garner more interest, and we then might stick with it longer, but generally, as soon as I see them starting to lose interest, I quickly move them to something else. This might be playtime or some time on one of our computer learning games (like Starfall.com or ABCMouse.com).

I am usually standing up during all of our homeschool time moving from kid to kid or to the baby (if she is awake.) Speaking of the baby, I really try to do schooltime when she is asleep if I can.

Abigail is starting to do little things too, but generally, she gets out a coloring book or a puzzle or is off playing with something else. I also do not require them to work in the same place every day. Sometimes we are the kitchen counter, sometimes upstairs, and sometimes, like this day, in our sunroom. I also let them help make decisions regarding how much they do and when they do it ... sometimes. And sometimes, I don't give them a say in it.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have. Here are some links that might help shed more light on our homeschooling adventures if you are interested:

Homeschooling: What We Are Currently Doing
Homeschooling: Q & A
Homeschooling (All past entries)