Over the past years we've "set up" school in many different ways. We've swung with the pendulum from no schedule/no curriculum all the way over to lots of curriculum with an hourly schedule. And back. And forth. And back....It has completely depended upon what worked for us at the time we were in.
Currently our pendulum has come to rest somewhere in the middle of None and Lots to what my hmmmschoolers refer to as Float School.
Every week, I have a list of things I'd like us to accomplish. Math and reading are daily items, but other subjects don't have a designated day. We get to them sometime during the week. This allows us the freedom to do art when creativity is at its peak or science on a day the weather cooperates. It also allows for gobs of time to tackle those historical discussions that seem to (happily) go further than I think they will.
The boys like Float School because its a mixed up mash of schoolish stuff and just plain running around and being boys. According to the boys, we float from thing to thing. (My Hush-Hush Mom Secret here is that the gentle floating suggestion of "Hey, why don't you come in and do your (insert subject) now?" is generally called out by me when I can hear the backyard sword fighting escalating to something angry that might actually break a bone. ;)
So what does Float School look like?
A little of this...
...and then some of that.
And then some of this...
...and then more of that.
A bit of this...
...and then some of that.
And then more of this...
...and more of that.
And on...and on...and on.
Homeschooling works best when there is balance, and we Hmmmschoolers are quite satisfied with where the pendulum is currently resting. Or, rather...floating. ;)
Although Rhiannon isn't yet at the point where it's really possible to have a "sit down & learn" time, we do things like letters, words, colors, etc throughout the day.....kind'a "Floating" like you described! Although a set schedule may be a bit in the future, I think I like the whenever it strikes us idea AND the schedule idea; floating sounds great to me!
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of float school a lot. It really describes what goes on around here as well. Like you, we try to get math and reading in daily, otherwise important concepts get lost really easily...but the other stuff? Geography, Anatomy, Geology...etc.--that all happens when it happens and when it does we go the whole day (sometimes) with it. It's kind of like combining unit studies with straight up sit down work with goofing around and learning stuff accidentally. Float school. I love it!
ReplyDeletePerhaps we're floaters too? LOL
ReplyDeleteMy kids had their first day back this morning. The oldest did Language Arts, Math and Science and the middle did Language Arts, Math and History, and the youngest built Star Wars figures out of Legos. (He starts tomorrow.)
And then there was riding bikes, playing with the chickens, reading, going to the library, and traipsing through the woods in search of caterpillars.
Your boys have a wonderful school life!
I love the idea of floating. Sounds like things are going well!
ReplyDeleteI giggled out loud! This is awesome. I think we do a good bit of floating as well. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like the perfect balance for those wonderful boys of yours:) Happy first day of the new school year!
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me! We go back and forth a lot from structure to unstructured....right in the middle is the usual place though
ReplyDeleteI REALLY like the term "float school"! Perfect :) Balance is so very important.
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