Convention Time!

I spent today at the CHAP Homeschool Convention in Harrisburg with two really good friends of mine.  They had never attended one of these conventions before, so I had a great time showing them around.  (I totally geek out over curriculum and books!)  I think they were both surprised and overwhelmed by the sheer range of curriculum available to parents who wish to homeschool their children.  I felt a little bad at times, because I had some definite purchasing missions I was there to accomplish, and I kind of pulled them along on my power-shopping trip, but they were really great sports about it.  I think they both felt like it was okay to go off on their own when something caught their eye. 

I finally made some decisions regarding math.  Prior to the convention, I was looking over the websites of our math possibilities and asking the boys for their input.  When we watched some of the sample lessons on the Math U See website, both boys gasped with understanding they have been lacking on certain topics.  The exact words from one of them were, "Why couldn't the math program we are using explain it that way?  It makes so much SENSE!" 

As I asked for their feedback, Aidan's question was, "Mom, if I want to do Math U See, will you be mad at me?  It really looks good to me." 

Mad?  About my kids not complaining about doing math?  About my kids maybe even enjoying it a little bit?  No, not mad at all!

So, Math U See was my first stop at the convention.  The boys will do Math U See over the summer to fill in gaps in understanding from this year's curriculum, and if they still like it we will stick with it as our primary math curriculum.  If they decide they don't like it, we will try one of the others. 

I always leave the convention inspired and excited to start the upcoming year.  Today was no exception.

Getting Back to What We Love

Well, we tried something different for this school year.  We moved from traditional homeschooling to an online cyber-charter school.  There were a lot of factors influencing our decision, including my needing some support while we unraveled the exact nature of my 8-year-old's learning difficulties.  All of the teachers and other people at the online school were truly wonderful to work with.  However, the curriculum did NOT work for my boys' learning styles, and actually seemed to get in the way of their understanding of so many concepts. 

So, for next year, we are going back to homeschooling.  My goal is to remove roadblocks for my kids so they can get down to the business of understanding the concepts they need to know.  And I, personally, want some joy back in our learning process. 

I have added pages/tabs to my blog to share what curricula I plan to use for the upcoming school year, for anyone who is interested.  Some of my final decisions will be made this coming weekend, when I attend the big homeschool convention in Harrisburg, and can see all of these items in person. 

I am allowing my kids to have some input in our course of study, too.  I think they will be more engaged if they feel like they have some influence on our choices.

Our cyber school year is complete on June 15.  We will begin our independent homeschooling adventure June 16, even though I cannot count activities and hours for next year until July 1.  Our family's educational experiences do not follow the typical school calendar. We do math and language arts all year round.  In addition to that, I am really looking forward to a summer of fun adventures, outdoor science lessons, camping, swimming, and nature hikes.