Have you ever noticed that your life -- homeschool or otherwise -- gets super busy this time of year?
This is my busy season.
Events to attend. People to visit. Shopping to get done. Food to cook. More events. Events which require shopping. Events which require food.
One thing that is in danger of going by the wayside is homeschool. This time of year, we always slack a bit.
And that's okay. Sometimes.
I found a pretty decent fix for this year. Since I'm taking on novel writing in addition to the rest of my holiday season commitments, it was imperative that we find a way to continue education, even in an unconventional way.
I thought I'd share what's been working for us with you. Because surely I'm not the only mom who turns into a crazy person this time of year. You all have full schedules, right? It's not just me? (tell me it's not just me)
Workbooks: If we're not using them all the time, they are a novelty. I picked up this one from Kumon on fifth grade writing. And this one from McGraw-Hill on fifth grade math. One page from each per day gets math and language arts out of the way painlessly.
We're still reading through Life of Fred. We don't use it every school day, but it entertains Tuna and she's still learning from it. It still bugs me. But she loves it.
Online School: We just signed up for Time4Learning. Tuna used it today for math and language arts. I'll be posting a review of the program soon, after I have had a chance to use it a while.
Reading Aloud: This is so important. Even as Tuna gets older -- especially as she gets older -- reading aloud helps us connect and exposes Tuna to great books at the same time. Kids who are read to generally become kids who love to read. Right now, Tuna and I are reading Bud, Not Buddy. Read alouds help center us, giving a calm period of time in our hectic schedule.
Games: We love games. This is another way to center our day while giving Tuna a great education. A simple one we like to play: Take a deck of flash cards (we're using multiplication and division right now) and lay them in a circular pattern on the kitchen table like this:
You'll need one die and a marker (steal marker pieces from another game -- we use our Harry Potter marker pieces) for each player. Rolling the die, move your marker that many spaces up the spiral of flash cards. Answer the fact. Answer correctly to move on for your next turn. Answer incorrectly, and you're given the answer, but you have to re-answer on your next turn in order to advance. Winner is the first to the center of the spiral.
Other games we love:
- Blokus
- Monopoly
- Scrabble
- Yahtzee
- Battleship
Real-world learning: Field trips, cooking, shopping, car care -- I recently had to put washer and power steering fluid in my car and used the opportunity to teach Tuna how to do those things.
Co-ops: We still have homeschool P.E. and critical thinking, though we don't always make it to class. We've got some holiday-related activities coming up with our co-ops, too.
Random stuff we do: We have been loving Brain Quest cards. We're learning random facts on multiple subjects. Tuna does art on her own, making several pretty fantastic chalk pastels. We'll be making Christmas crafts at home, too.
So as you can see, even though we're crazy-busy, we can still get a solid education in our day for Tuna without having to send her to the big brick block down the road. As a matter of fact, I still think what we're doing is superior to the public school system, particularly because it demonstrates self-discipline during busy times, and adaptation based on personal needs.
One thing I've learned this year: Our educational needs vary from season to season, year to year, and even week to week. Being flexible and creative helps ensure Tuna gets the best education I can offer.
How do you cope with the busy season?
