Just when I had things all ready to go…

NatureGirl decides to call a family meeting. She explains that she is not really happy with how the school year is going so far. She feels like a pinball, jumping from one subject to the next, just when she starts getting into really into something. She is worried that if we keep going like this, she won’t learn anything this year.

WHOA! I was most impressed with the last sentence. She is worried she won’t learn. That speaks volumes to me. She really cares, and is trying to find a better way. What can I do? I quickly decide to throw the schedule out the window.

We opened up discussion about how she wanted to change things up. She loves the total immersion approach of a unit study. She is not like me, able to read four varied books at a time. SHe likes to devour one at a time, and work through a series in a few weeks. She visits websites and reads about the author and draws the characters. She writes alternative chapters for fun. SHe loves projects and creating displays.

We spoke of last year, our first of traditional five-subject-a-day school, and she told me that she didn’t enjoy much except for the few weeks when she did her unit studies on Audubon and birds and the botany unit, with the projects with natural dyes and seed-starting. She recalls little of history, literature, or science outside of that. Yet, she can narrate for me stories and lessons from three years prior, that were taught within unit studies.

It hits me that after all these years, I have fallen into habits of my brick and mortar brainwashing. Why did I feel I had to necessarily change things up last year? Because she was now in middle school. Yet, her learning style thrives with immersion. Why did I think I needed to stop teaching to my kid suddenly at grade 6? I know in the back of my mind, I just fell into the traditional model. But I need to remember that there are more ways to meet the same goal, and there are plenty of amazing teens out there who prove this point.

I wanted to make sure to include her in any future planning and changes. We decided to rank her subjects in order of importance, such as those we needed/wanted to do every day and those we could do less often.

Our list was as follows:
Daily- Math Reading Writing Vocabulary Art/Craft
Less often- History Science Health Geography
Co-Op- Music Theater Chorus Study Skills Scrapbooking

We brainstormed together, and quickly came up with a workable plan. She wants to do math every day, as we are, to prepare her for algebra next year. She wants to then do unit studies of 1-2 weeks that include reading, writing, vocab, art/crafts, and even geography. By alternating the focus of the study between fantasy literature, history, and science, we can still cover everything in a year that she is required by the state, but in a way that encourages the best learning for her.

My job then is to sort out the plans for the year into unit study groups. It will be quite easy, I think, to group the lit: Spiderwick, Terry Pratchett, Harry Potter, Fairies, etc. I will keep our history units following the timeline,starting iwth Marco Polo, and continuing with various units on the Renaissance, The Medici’s, Leonardo DaVinci, The Tudor Dynasty, Exploration, and Shakespeare. We can continue our geography stuies as they fit with our history or interests, just as we will our art and projects. We will stick with our chemistry program, but just hit it hard and fast in one week shots of 2-3 chapters and experiments.

She spent over an hour helping me go over plans, and she is so excited. “This year will be the best ever…” I am still smiling, because I love having the flexibility to make her education everything she wants. Homeschooling rocks!!!

New plan for next week: Marco Polo and the Silk Route….
Time to hit the library.