Our First Week

We made it through week one of homeschooling.  

My classes begin next Monday, so this is where the challenges will begin.  I will have my own classes to complete while working with my girls.

So far, I haven't changed much from what I have planned out.   I was tempted to...

My fifth grader seemed to unfocused.  Yes, she would be classified as ADHD in school.  At home, the symptoms are apparent some days.  I wanted her to be able to study her own interests for social studies/history and science. Unfortunately, this needs a bit more structure.  At first she was using a Fun Schooling journal.  She doesn't like it, which surprised me.  Then, I assigned a notebooking page every couple of days.  That wasn't working well either. 

In the end, I scheduled a rotating schedule of Social Studies and Science, using some workbooks I have.  I'll also give her a half-hour a day as free read.  This way she can still delve into what she wants, but also be getting a light load of a structured curriculum.  With her attention span, I think this will work for her.  If I see her totally getting engrossed in a topic, I can cut back on the workbooks.  And once they are completed, I have no desire to purchase more. This means using what I already have and coming up with my own plans.  

Other than that, the lesson plans seem to be going well.  I worried that I had overscheduled my high schooler, but she dived in and has not had major issues.  Well, she has been fighting a cold.  The illness and working a couple of days haven't seemed to hurt her schoolwork. 

I did let her spend the week exploring a different English and Literature.  She doesn't like it.  I already own one that we have used in the past.  In the end, I will let her decide which of the two she likes the best.  She has to use one of the two, however.  

I wasn't sure how my children would take to the McGuffey reading.  I have used McGuffey in the past, but it has been a couple of years, and the previous lessons weren't as in-depth.     They both seem to enjoy them. 

Over all, it was a good first week.  We got a bit back into a schedule.  My goal was to get one going before classes began for me.  In fact, the biggest issue this week was the fact that I dropped a class for college and added a different one.  That caused more stress than homeschooling in me!