As a home schooler of 10 years I could say that I have some experience. It has been the most fantastic and the worst time of my life. The most enjoyable and the saddest time of my life. And yet, I would not change the last ten years if I was able to.
We started homeschooling for many reasons. The most important one was that we moved to the Eastern Cape. The schools were all Afrikaans and because we had many other reasons to home school we didn't even try to find a school. Caleb was 5, Hannah 3 and Sheth a couple of months old.
We bought a curriculum called Konos, Math-U-See and Llatl. We thought we were set! Well when I opened up the Konos file I panicked! It was overwhelming. The supplier didn't help at all when I contacted him. So, I started planning all my own lessons. I still used Math-U-see and Llatl. We hated it. It was taking us 4 to 5 hours per day to get through 1 page in each book. Caleb cried, I shouted and cried, and I felt like I was failing my child.
I read Better Late Than Early and stopped schooling him. I had gone to Waldorf Constantia when I was at school and had loved school. If there had been a Waldorf Home school curriculum then that's what I would of done right from the start. Well, we bought Little Footprints and did that for a year and a half - with me writing a lot of the schooling as well.
5 or 6 years ago my friend, Carle, told me about Waldorf Homeschooling. I bought the kindergarden to grade 8 from A Little Flower Garden for 175 dollars. She even let me pay it off! What a beautiful and trusting woman Melissa is. I started reading and didn't stop for years. I got onto Waldorf Yahoo groups and blogs. I bought more and more resources and became fully immersed in Waldorf education. I became happy, Caleb became happy, Hannah and Sheth were happy.
Caleb started reading at 11.5. He started reading the Narnia Series. He hasn't stopped reading since. Hannah started reading at 7 and hasn't stopped. Sheth is 10.5. He has just started reading his own school work, slowly, but he has yet to pick up a book and read by himself. I am not worried as I realise that every child is different.
We started Waldorf at grade 1 with Caleb and Hannah, went through it quickly as they were older, went through grade 2, 3 and 4 quickly and then started settling in at the appropriate grade for each child.
Caleb finished grade 8 Waldorf, then worked on Scout advancements, and badge courses. He had a lot of studying and log keeping to do for scouts. This was what kept him happy. This year he is doing SOS, grade 9, badge courses, Llatl, Math-U-See, Khan Academy and Creation Science. SOS is monotonous, and boring. We are using it because it gives the child a report at the end of it. Caleb will need this report as he will be applying to study Engineering and Related Design next year at college.
Hannah is finishing up her Waldorf grade 8 this year. She has almost completed her First Class Advancement so she will have to wait 2 years before she can get her Explorers. Next year she will be working on badge courses through Scouts, working on getting her Bronze Presidential Award and she will be doing projects for schoolwork.
Sheth and I will get fully immersed in Waldorf, I can't wait!
So what is my conclution? Every child is different. Remember that and adapt accordingly. If you love your child and want them to prosper in life you will never fail them. You will give them what they need to get an excellent education. And, they in turn will make you proud.
Showing posts with label schooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schooling. Show all posts
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Our year, three
Caleb and Hannah have had really busy years with their extra curriculum.
Sheth is 9 and we, Greg and I, feel that the kids should be kids as long as possible, so we keep the extras for when they are older. In saying that, Sheth does cubs and piano. He did guitar at the beginning of the year and really didn't enjoy it. He asked if he could do piano instead, which he now does. He enjoys it and practices without being asked.
Hannah does Piano and music theory. She loves doing it. At the beginning of the year she had wanted to become a music teacher.
Now she wants to be a sound engineer.
Hannah has been asking if she can do flute for about 3 years, so because she did so well in her piano and theory exams we said she can do flute next year. She got in at Hugo Lambrechts to do flute!
Hannah started dancing at the beginning of the year, it was like a dream for her, as she has been wanting to dance since she was 2. Greg wouldn't allow it because he did ballet at UCT when he was younger and he found the pressure too much. He didn't want Hannah to be too young with the pressure.
She started with a teen class, which did all different genres of dance. From hip-hop to ballroom. She loved the class.
She also started with modern grade 1. Hannah started dancing with 2 left feet, bad posture and a very serious determination to work hard. She worked really hard to the degree that I would laugh at her serious facial expressions. She has become a beautiful dancer with good posture and a lovely smile when she dances. She has done so well that she is skipping a grade next year and is therefore doing grade 3 modern. I am so proud of her.
Hannah's favourite genres are contemporary, ballroom and modern.
Hannah also does Scouts. She is in an all girl patrol called the Springboks. She has advanced quite quickly. She has one small thing to do before finishing her Adventurer advancement. Hannah has worked at badges this year. She has 7 badges already. Because Hannah is quieter than Caleb and not as adventurous she is not really noticed at Scouts, and yet she is probably the youngest scout to have completed her Adventurer at 1st Durbanville. Well done girl!
Caleb is a Junior Ranger. This is his third year. He loves it and thinks he may want to be a Ranger one day. He will move up to level 4 next year.
Caleb does piano and music theory. He really enjoys it. He will be doing Cello next year at Hugo Lambrechts. He has been wanting to play cello now for just over a year. We will see how he copes with 2 instruments, grade 10 art, grade 9 Switched on Schoolhouse, etc. If it becomes too much he will be able to do the instrument that he prefers. Oh, and he and Hannah will have to do orchestra as well.
Caleb is the ultimate Scout. He loves extreme adventure. He worked hard to finish his Adventurer this year and he is more than half way through his First Class advancement. He has 17 Badges. He is working towards all 3 Explorers and all 3 cords. Some of the badges are scoutcraft, so they don't count for his Explorer. He has 4 of the 6 compulsory badges for his Sea Explorer. This year he became a patrol leader. He is really chuffed about this.
Caleb does hockey on a Tuesday and sometimes on a Thursday. It is a social game run by a couple of dads in the area. We also try hike. Caleb runs up Lions head every second Thursday or so. We do this as a family. It is great fun.
All 3 kids do arts and crafts on a Thursday morning at the Tygerburg Art Centre. They love doing it. It gives me 2 hours to mark, check and plan schooling.
We have signed up on www.khanacademy.org . The kids do maths and computer programming on it. With the maths they earn energy points and badges. This is a really good incentive for my kids as it works on a similar level to Scouts with badges.
Ice-skating is definitely one of the childrens favourite past times.
At this point Caleb wants to go to Northlink College, technical school, with carpentry as his technical subject. This will be from grade 10, 2015. We are looking at doing SOS schooling or Impact next year as he will need a grade 9 report to get in. I just have to research if SOS does this. If not, we will have to get him onto Impact next year.
So as busy as this year was, next year will be busier.
I am so proud to see my children working hard and achieving good things. Well done guys. I love you. Mom.
Sheth is 9 and we, Greg and I, feel that the kids should be kids as long as possible, so we keep the extras for when they are older. In saying that, Sheth does cubs and piano. He did guitar at the beginning of the year and really didn't enjoy it. He asked if he could do piano instead, which he now does. He enjoys it and practices without being asked.
Hannah does Piano and music theory. She loves doing it. At the beginning of the year she had wanted to become a music teacher.
Now she wants to be a sound engineer.
Hannah has been asking if she can do flute for about 3 years, so because she did so well in her piano and theory exams we said she can do flute next year. She got in at Hugo Lambrechts to do flute!
Hannah started dancing at the beginning of the year, it was like a dream for her, as she has been wanting to dance since she was 2. Greg wouldn't allow it because he did ballet at UCT when he was younger and he found the pressure too much. He didn't want Hannah to be too young with the pressure.
She started with a teen class, which did all different genres of dance. From hip-hop to ballroom. She loved the class.
She also started with modern grade 1. Hannah started dancing with 2 left feet, bad posture and a very serious determination to work hard. She worked really hard to the degree that I would laugh at her serious facial expressions. She has become a beautiful dancer with good posture and a lovely smile when she dances. She has done so well that she is skipping a grade next year and is therefore doing grade 3 modern. I am so proud of her.
Hannah's favourite genres are contemporary, ballroom and modern.
Hannah also does Scouts. She is in an all girl patrol called the Springboks. She has advanced quite quickly. She has one small thing to do before finishing her Adventurer advancement. Hannah has worked at badges this year. She has 7 badges already. Because Hannah is quieter than Caleb and not as adventurous she is not really noticed at Scouts, and yet she is probably the youngest scout to have completed her Adventurer at 1st Durbanville. Well done girl!
Caleb is a Junior Ranger. This is his third year. He loves it and thinks he may want to be a Ranger one day. He will move up to level 4 next year.
Caleb does piano and music theory. He really enjoys it. He will be doing Cello next year at Hugo Lambrechts. He has been wanting to play cello now for just over a year. We will see how he copes with 2 instruments, grade 10 art, grade 9 Switched on Schoolhouse, etc. If it becomes too much he will be able to do the instrument that he prefers. Oh, and he and Hannah will have to do orchestra as well.
Caleb is the ultimate Scout. He loves extreme adventure. He worked hard to finish his Adventurer this year and he is more than half way through his First Class advancement. He has 17 Badges. He is working towards all 3 Explorers and all 3 cords. Some of the badges are scoutcraft, so they don't count for his Explorer. He has 4 of the 6 compulsory badges for his Sea Explorer. This year he became a patrol leader. He is really chuffed about this.
Caleb does hockey on a Tuesday and sometimes on a Thursday. It is a social game run by a couple of dads in the area. We also try hike. Caleb runs up Lions head every second Thursday or so. We do this as a family. It is great fun.
All 3 kids do arts and crafts on a Thursday morning at the Tygerburg Art Centre. They love doing it. It gives me 2 hours to mark, check and plan schooling.
We have signed up on www.khanacademy.org . The kids do maths and computer programming on it. With the maths they earn energy points and badges. This is a really good incentive for my kids as it works on a similar level to Scouts with badges.
Ice-skating is definitely one of the childrens favourite past times.
At this point Caleb wants to go to Northlink College, technical school, with carpentry as his technical subject. This will be from grade 10, 2015. We are looking at doing SOS schooling or Impact next year as he will need a grade 9 report to get in. I just have to research if SOS does this. If not, we will have to get him onto Impact next year.
So as busy as this year was, next year will be busier.
I am so proud to see my children working hard and achieving good things. Well done guys. I love you. Mom.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Our year, two: schooling
This year has been a bit disjointed with schooling. With packing up a house, moving etc, it hasn't been easy to keep a routine going. But, we have finished our year and that is all that matters.
This year Caleb has done:
He has done art and music with other teachers which is great for him and gives me a break:
Well, when I look at this list it does seem that he has done quite a lot.
Hannah:
With other teachers:
Also a full schedule.
Sheth:
Well all in all a very busy year.
This year Caleb has done:
- Grade 8 Waldorf
- Exploring Creation through General Science.
- He has done the first 4 modules of 'Exploring Creation through Physical Science'.
- Math-u-see Pre Algebra and has finished a third of Algebra 1.
- He has finished Llatl Green book.
- Train your brain, South African english.
- We are working on Afrikaans, using 'Pret met Afrikaans'.
He has done art and music with other teachers which is great for him and gives me a break:
- Music theory Grade 1, Trinity.(We are waiting for his marks)
- Piano practical, Intro Grade, Trinity: 78% Merit.
- Arts and craft at the Tygerberg Art Centre.
- Junior Rangers: level 3.
- Scouts: he completed Adventurer and is almost finished First Class. He was appointed as a Patrol leader and is working on his badges that go towards his 3 explorers and 3 cords!
- Bronze Presidential award, he will have completed this in January.
- Ballroom, hip-hop, african and contemporary dancing.
- Khan Academy: maths and computer programming.
Well, when I look at this list it does seem that he has done quite a lot.
Hannah:
- Grade 6 and7 Waldorf.
- Math-u-see Zeta.
- Llatl tan.
- Afrikaans, Pret met Afrikaans.
- Exploring creation through general science
With other teachers:
- Music theory, Trinity, grade 1, waiting on marks.
- Piano practical, Intro grade, Trinity: 87% distinction.
- Arts and crafts, Tygerberg Art Centre.
- Modern dance grade 1, waiting on marks.
- Scouts: Hannah has a talk with her Scouter and then she has completed her Adventurer award.
- Ballroom, hip-hop, african and contemporary dance.
- Khan Academy: maths and computer programming.
Also a full schedule.
Sheth:
- Llatl red book.
- Math-u-see Delta.
- Little Footprints.
- Waldorf.
- Guitar.
- Piano.
Well all in all a very busy year.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Life
It is the middle of the year. We are on holiday and we all need it!
This has been an interesting year and one of the busiest that I have had in a long time.
I have been studying Thai massage to be a practitioner and to be a teacher. I am a practitioner now and am building up a client base. I love healing people and working on people.
I am schooling three children using the Waldorf pedagogy. I use most, if not all of Melisa Nielsons curriculum (http://waldorfessentials.com/). This year Caleb and Hannah have basically been self studying. I plan their work and put it in their diaries. They have done well academically but the craft and art has been lacking big time. Sheth and I school about two hours every morning.
I am starting a new programme that Melisa has called Thinking, Feeling, Willing (http://waldorfessentials.com/tfwfaq/). I am so excited as I feel it is going to get me on track again. Getting to do more art and craft with the children is my aim. Getting us back into the beauty of life and not just the drudgery of every day boredom.I love having my children around me, I love teaching them and nurturing them. I love my family and want them to prosper and love life. Greg and I want to bring up happy well adjusted adults. This is not such an easy task to do, as we are finding out.
Rhythm, love, patience, boundaries and consistency are all very important when we bring up our children. This gives them a sense of being wanted, loved and being part of the family. This gives them security and comfort.
As the children get older they become easier yet much more difficult. With two children at the early teenage stage we definitely have a lot of attitude around here. As they get older my patience has grown in leaps and bounds.
This holiday we are going to relax, have fun and get back into the beauty of life
Friday, February 24, 2012
Grade two maths
Sheth and I have been having a lot of fun doing maths, the last couple of weeks.
We have been recapping our four processes. We have heard stories about the processes. The monkey and the crocodile was for subtraction.
We heard about King Turnip Counter, which opened the door for us to count to 100 twice and then count backward from 100.
Then to the book work! Sheth drew lily leaves in water, he numbered them and then coloured certain numbers for his skip counting. He has the sweetest turtle which fits on the leaves, so we make up games and play.
We then moved on to the 3 and 6 times tables.
I am teaching Waldorf maths and we use the odd word sheet from Math-U-See.
Sheth enjoys maths where Caleb never did. This is because Caleb did Math-U-See only: book work, book work, book work! No time to play and learn through play. If only I had found Waldorf home schooling sooner.
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