Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The first days of school

So we started homeschooling again this week and it went really well the first day. I would recommend to anyone to check out Harry Wong's book, The First Days of School, to read. It is almost completely irrelevant information for a homeschooler ( hence the library checkout vs. buying) but it has some good ideas about organizing procedures and making your school day go with efficiently.

It is so easy with homeschooling to drag the day out and be disorganized.That was fine when I was doing Kindergarten with one but now I am teaching 2 separate grades and will eventually have 4 to teach. One of the hardest things I am implementing is writing the day's schedule on the board so the kids know what to expect. This is hard for me because I like leaving my kid's in the dark so I can be flexible and not do things I don't feel like doing. Well it's time to buck up, Kimmy!

The other nice thing to implement is board work that the kids start on immediately in the morning. I put up a few assignments the night before and while I finish my morning work they are already working. I give them a time it should be completed. The book has other good thoughts about being prepared but like it said most of it is irrelevant and it is written in an annoying style. On that positive note you should check it out if you're a disorganized homeschooler.

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