Name: IJ
Age/Grade: 8/3rd
Learning Style: Auditory
Cathy Duffy Learning Style: Socialable Sue and Perfect Paula
IJ is very easy to homeschool. I buy a ton of books and set him loose. This year he loves history, science, and art. He wants to learn everything there is to know about DNA and cloning, being a detective and solving crimes, animals, the jungle, and history. We are using Sonlight Core 3 and The Story of the World for history. IJ sneaked off with my books and read ahead already. We are using Teaching Textbooks for math this year. I like this program because IJ can work independently on the computer with headphones while I work with other kids. Science this year is Chemistry Did you know that I have my minor in chemistry? It was an accident! And faster than a minor in dance!
Name: S
Age/Grade: 7/1st or 2nd
Learning Style: NOT auditory. Visual with a little kinesthetic thrown in.
Cathy Duffy Style: Wiggly Willy
S is not easy to homeschool. He is the yang to IJ's yin. He is very good at memorizing things and doesn't need to be shown the why's of math computations twice. This year he is interested in space and Pokemon. Only. I'm just doing random workbooks with him so far, but I'm thinking I may just have to design a year long unit study with Pokemon. I am trying out Sonlight's Core K that I did when IJ was five years old. It seems to be going okay so far. Otherwise I try to keep him interested and involved with surprise learning materials from the dollar bins at Target. He would be the perfect unschooler, but I don't go there...unless I'm sick or tired or both.
Name: E
Age/Grade: 4 3/4 and Pre-Kindergarten
Learning Style: I don't know yet
Cathy Duffy Style: Know-it-all Nadine. Just kidding, I made that one up. She's closest to a Competent Carl.
E has learned her letters and numbers on her own just by hanging out at the homeschool table. I have Kumon workbooks on hand for her to dabble with. I tried to teach her to read a few months ago, but she wasn't quite ready. She has been sounding out words on her own, so I may try again using the book that I used with IJ. She thinks she knows everything and likes to say things like, "I was going to say that!" She is also enjoying Sonlight K with S, which shouldn't surprise me. I always thought S and IJ would be a study group and E would buddy up with F. But I see now that there are some subjects where E and S are perfect teammates.
I noticed today that my kids are doing most of their work independently and I am managing more than teaching. It was a little weird, but okay. I do have a lot of balls in the air this year! When I made my "perfect" schedule/routine, I made sure each kid (even F!) got some one-on-one time every day for subjects they struggle with and/or subjects we loooove to do together (snuggling on the couch reading). But you know what I forgot? Recess. I don't care. I take them to soccer four nights a week and we are starting swimming twice a week. We roller skate every other week. The boys do taekwondo and E does gymnastics. And then there is the afternoon tree climbing and pond "duck baths" and rooster chasing (that would be S's game) that they do when I say "School's Done!"
