This morning, I spent the my time watching the Littles and going through a list of curriculum standards for what my older children should know at the grade level they just finished (by age). In spite of not having much "formal schooling", they had addressed every area of study, and were at or above grade level in every area.
In fact, it struck me that a lot of what they needed to learn was easier to address by time to live in the community, our church, the outdoors, etc. than the artificial institution that is school. Many of the things Curly was supposed to know in first grade were richer and more meaningful by experiencing the "real thing" rather than reading books about it. Learning common animals, flowers and birds, for example are much more interesting when seen from our family walks, trips and outings than they would be by just looking at pictures in books.
Throughout the course of our year together, we managed to thoroughly cover everything they needed, from math concepts to reading to science to social studies, and we added things not on the list like music and Bible. Even without hours of planning, and merely using the teachable moments that came up each day, we learned in a fun, relaxed, meaningful, relevant, exciting manner, and amazingly, nothing was skipped or left out. In fact, in the areas of technology, music, reading, imaginative storytelling, and mathematical calculation, I'd say both Curly and Mister are far ahead of their grades (not bragging or doing the dreaded "my child is a genius" routine. Yuck. Curly is not a genius or even necessarily gifted. She is bright and eager, and has a good environment, is all. Mister has a brighter mind and better memory, but lacks in the area of motor development and social skills. You could say he's a typical nerd, even at age 5).
It's nice to wrap up the year with a sparkling report, even though (thankfully) in our state, the only person I need to report to is myself. If I ever DID need to report to an outside agency, I'd have no problem submitting a good one! :)
In fact, it struck me that a lot of what they needed to learn was easier to address by time to live in the community, our church, the outdoors, etc. than the artificial institution that is school. Many of the things Curly was supposed to know in first grade were richer and more meaningful by experiencing the "real thing" rather than reading books about it. Learning common animals, flowers and birds, for example are much more interesting when seen from our family walks, trips and outings than they would be by just looking at pictures in books.
Throughout the course of our year together, we managed to thoroughly cover everything they needed, from math concepts to reading to science to social studies, and we added things not on the list like music and Bible. Even without hours of planning, and merely using the teachable moments that came up each day, we learned in a fun, relaxed, meaningful, relevant, exciting manner, and amazingly, nothing was skipped or left out. In fact, in the areas of technology, music, reading, imaginative storytelling, and mathematical calculation, I'd say both Curly and Mister are far ahead of their grades (not bragging or doing the dreaded "my child is a genius" routine. Yuck. Curly is not a genius or even necessarily gifted. She is bright and eager, and has a good environment, is all. Mister has a brighter mind and better memory, but lacks in the area of motor development and social skills. You could say he's a typical nerd, even at age 5).
It's nice to wrap up the year with a sparkling report, even though (thankfully) in our state, the only person I need to report to is myself. If I ever DID need to report to an outside agency, I'd have no problem submitting a good one! :)
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