First Day

Today is our first official day as homeschoolers.  I decided that a blog would be a great way to document our progress through this experience, hoping that it helps to keep us organized and on track.

Sohn is 9 (3rd grade) and we've decided to homeschool him because he is dyslexic.  Traditional teaching methods are not very helpful to him and he becomes very frustrated.  Two years of working with the teachers and trying to get him the best help had me looking at other solutions.  I was TIRED.  He was tired.  We were sick of being frustrated with school and knew that there had to be a better way.

Don't get me wrong- I'm nervous about this.  I NEVER wanted to be a homeschool mom.  I never had even passing thoughts that I would be the best teacher for my children.  But in our opinion, this is the best option for my son- so this is what I'm doing.

Tochter (6, 1st grade), is staying in school.  She thrives on social situations and needs the structure of the classroom environment.  To homeschool her would be a detriment to her education. 

SO.  Today we got Tochter to her first day in a new school- walked her in to her classroom, helped her get her things put away and got her settled in.  She was nervous about a new school, and wasn't thrilled that I had to leave, but she knew that (A) Moms & Dads can't stay at school all day and that (B) I had to get home because Sohn was starting his "school" today also.

I'd sat down with Sohn last week and discussed my plans/goals for this first week with him.  Last night we talked again about his first writing assignment- the first thing I wanted him to do today- and I wanted him to think about a book to read today.

Sohn sat down and wrote (with little complaint) on the topic I'd asked him to work on.  I told him that I didn't care about spelling, but I just wanted him to get his thoughts on paper.  His spelling stinks, so I didn't want him to stress about it- just wanted him to practice writing.  He did pretty good, especially considering how much he hates to write.  Kid did 10 minutes last week on how archaic it is that we still use pen/pencil and paper to communicate.  :)

Next we settled in for some reading.  He'd chosen a book about the 50 states and how they got their names.  I told him I want a minimum of 30 minutes of reading (aloud) every day- it took us almost that long to get through Alabama and Alaska.  We'll do some more later today.

He is currently practicing his typing.  He asked last week to learn how to type, so I found a great learn-to-type website  that he's been using.  He thought it was pretty hard to remember what keys were under his fingers, so I put a piece of tape on each finger and wrote which letter of the home row that finger is supposed to cover.

And that has been the start of our day.  I will try to update this at least once every school day, using it as a way to keep track of what we are doing (and what progress we make!).