10 Random Homeschool Thoughts

This week Many Little Blessings is hosting "10 Random Things" I am thinking about our homeschool.  Here is my list of random thoughts.

1) Just two weeks to go until school starts ~ We did most of the fun on our bucket list.  We did not get any of the painting done.  However, we got most of the 1931 icky basement cleaned out.

2) We might need to think about year-round schooling ~ Summer break is proving dangerous for our family.  Last summer we were plagued with stitches and casts.  This summer we have had all manner of bee stings and strange rashes.  I am currently covered in poison oak or some such poisonous rash.   Yep, it sounds like it is time to retreat to the indoors.

3) This year we will have a dedicated science area ~  Our dryer died a while back, and we are hoping to replace the washer with a stackable washer/dryer system in a few months.  This leaves enough space in our laundry room for a science table.  I plan on rotating different science subjects through this space monthly.  The kids will have free access to this area whenever they wish to explore.  Currently, the children are exploring with the microscope.

4) Unlimited media for one week ~ There is always more media during the summer.  We just hate the heat and I am always trying to get projects done.  The kids slip into the bad habit of turning on the TV.  Instead of going "cold turkey" back to a strict media schedule this year, we are having one week of unlimited media.  You should have seen Tom Sawyer's face when I told him he could interact with media from sunrise to sunset!  My hope is that they (especially he) will get sick of media a bit and make a smoother transition.  Day one ~ Goldilocks spent about 3 hours on media, Little Red Riding Hood about 1 hour and Tom Sawyer was on 6+ hours.  We shall see if this works.  Next week they go to 1 hour media a day for the school year.

5) End of Summer deep clean ~  I will be using the next 2 weeks to declutter and deep clean the house.  It is really nice to start off the new year with a clean house.

6) Summer accomplishments (kids) ~ The kids each had a separate week of summer camp.  They all had a wonderful time.  The cost really took our entire summer budget but seems to have been well worth it.  They also did free swimming lessons.  Tom Sawyer will not need any more swimming lessons next year.  The girls are in level 4 now and are building confidence.

7) Summer accomplishments (me) ~ By the time we start back to school, I will have finished six books!  This summer I read Scarlet,  A White House Garden Cookbook, Overcoming Dyslexia, Dumbing Us Down, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading, and Great Books About Things Kids Love.

8) Box Day ~ We started Box Day last year on our first day of school.  It is like Christmas opening the boxes and seeing all of the new learning things.  This year we will also be going out to buy a new pair of shoes for each child.  Some kids are walking around with holes in their soles ~ ahem.

9) Relief and hope ~ I am learning more and more about dyslexia and feel like there are some techniques that really might help us next year.  It is a relief to have something NEW to try.

10) I really want to only do the important things this year ~ My new motto is "If it isn't going to benefit our family more than the effort I have to put in it, we are not doing it."

I am joining Top 10 Tuesday this week.

Blessings, Dawn