We are nearing the end of July and this is when I really get going on my school plans for the year. I love planning my year, but I have had enough failures that planning needs to involve more than just my dreams. This is when the TJEd (Thomas Jefferson Education) philosophy comes in to play. HERE is a link to the four phases of learning. Jason up through Daniel are in Core phase. Fiona and Genevieve should be in Love of Learning phase, but I think Fiona is still lingering in Core. Shane is in Transition to Scholar phase. And I hope Ian is in the Scholar phase, but I'm not sure because he hasn't been a TJEd-educated kid and I'm pretty sure I killed his love of learning over the last few years (sad sad mama).
I sat down and made a few lists, starting with Shane. I asked, What does Shane NEED? What does he want? What can I do to help him reach his goals? I spent some time brainstorming and I came up with a pretty decent plan. He is very motivated to succeed in school and he wants to make sure he is at grade level if/when he goes mainstream. He has a desire to learn, he prefers organized checklists and schedules, and doesn't mind workbooks. I've offered to set up a quiet space for him to study in my new office. At his request, he is going to learn World Geography, General Science, Algebra 1, and Language Arts (he wants to score higher on the standardized test). The electives he chose are typing, Spanish, logic, and he might try learning some guitar. When Bookshark releases their History of Science level, he would like to explore that as well.
I asked the same questions, but for Genevieve. She only loves horses right now, so the only thing she wants to learn about is horses. And art. She loves structure and routine and doesn't really care about test scores or future successes...yet. But she will! She is used to having required schoolwork, so she is thrilled to be studying The History of the Horse and making a scrapbook of her learning. We are also going to go through drawing lessons together. And math. Everyone is inspired to be required to do math.
My Lower Core kids (Lula and Heidi) are going to hear stories and stories and stories. That's all they need. My older Core kid (Daniel) is going to hear stories and stories and stories. And some other stuff, we'll see. Right now his favorite book is The Arabian Nights. He told me that he was going to marry Sheherazade so she can tell him a story every night before he goes to bed. Everyone at all ages needs to hear stories.
And Fiona. Hmmm. She doesn't have any subjects that she is excited to learn about and she is easily distracted with her play and siblings. She loves to read to herself though. I've read that the oldest sibling sometimes progresses through the phases slower because they need the next oldest coming up behind them to motivate them. Fiona isn't the oldest, but she is the oldest of the second subset of kids. Daniel coming up behind her may be what she needs to settle down and memorize her math facts. (And Lula reading may be what Daniel needs to get him reading on his own-hahaha)
But the best is what I'm going to do! Check out #7 HERE. One of the hardest things about homeschooling older kids is they reach the end of their parent's knowledge. I didn't like Ian asking me questions about politics and current events and having to say, "Go ask Dad." My education has a hole, right at high school level. School for me was more about socialization than education. I've invested in some of my favorite homeschool company's high school levels for myself and I spent afternoons doing what I want...and it's lovely. I'm reading about the history of the Christian church and American Government. I'm reading classics I've never read before. I've purchase a workshop on DVD that teaches me how to teach writing, a subject I have always struggled with.
So does that mean my Love of Learning kids won't be doing the rest of their subjects (like history and science)? NO! We are finally getting to the Eastern Hemisphere level that I've been wanting to do forever and Anatomy for science. The whole idea behind loving to learn is the teacher being enthusiastic about what she is teaching. And I'm enthusiastic and inspired, that's for sure! I can't wait to get started.
