by Janny Jackson
We have officially completed the first nine weeks of our homeschool year for 2024 (of days schooled, not just time passed), and I am pleased to say that it has been the smoothest start we have had in the last 5 years of homeschooling. Not only has it gone incredibly smooth, but it’s also been the most consistent couple of months we have had in our homeschooling journey so far. Given that this year has been the most workload heavy, I’d say I deserve a little pat on the back for keeping us on track!
Have I Stuck with My Plans?
Remember how I talked about planning for the year? Taking these extra steps really set me up for success and allowed us to start the year off strong and stay strong as the weeks have passed.
I have scheduled several homeschool breaks throughout the school year. One that went as planned was a mom trip with two of my longtime friends to north Florida for a couple days. It was much needed and so relaxing, not having to handle any responsibilities other than taking care of myself and finding souvenirs to bring back to my family. We had such a good time. I highly recommend all moms to take time away from their families every once in a while, for your own mental and physical health, whether you do it alone or with others.
We also ended up taking an unexpected break to hurricane prep (ahem, Milton). We did end up doing school that Monday, but spent the rest of the week making sure we had all of the supplies and preps needed for loss of power, possible damage, etc. Thankfully the worst we experienced was a lot of tree debris that we were able to clean up the following morning, and two days without power, which because we were prepped for it was not a big deal at all. Even with the week-long break, we still are on track for the year, so no harm no foul there.
Curriculum Update
Everything, and I mean everything, I have had planned for my third-grade daughter has worked out really well, and she actually enjoys doing her schoolwork, is being exposed to a lot of new information, and is learning a ton. I am very pleased with my choices for her, and I feel confident that I have supplied the curriculum she needs to have a successful school year this year and will be able to do the same for her in years to come.
To be honest, I debated for a couple weeks on some of the curriculum I purchased for my fifth-grade son. There were times I was unsure of if it was accomplishing the goals I had for him, and if he was really learning how I thought he should. Then there would be times when he would be assigned a project or a reading that I would think was really neat and could see the growth in him, so my doubts would be settled for a bit.
As of now, we will be sticking with everything that I had planned from the beginning of the year. Overall, it has been going well for both of my kids. You can see what I planned for curriculum for this school year for my third grader here and for my fifth grader here and last-minute changes I made here.
Have I Seen Growth?
I have seen growth in both of my students already as well, and that has been really encouraging for me to see, not only as their mom but also as their teacher. My third grader has developed a deeper understanding with reading comprehension, which was one of my main goals for her this year. She has always been an excellent reader, but we definitely needed to work on comprehending what she was reading, and I have seen her excel at that recently as we are consistent on working on it daily.
As far as my son goes, he is my graphic novel enthusiast. He would flat out refuse to read any books that didn’t have pictures prior to this school year. Not because he couldn’t read them, but because he thought they were boring. If you have a kid like that, you know how frustrating it can be when you want them to read a certain book, but they won’t even give it a chance. The other day as I was planning out his language arts lessons for the week, he took a look at a new book we would be reading together (that has no pictures) and actually said “Oh that’s easy!” The way I gasped! I made sure to point out to him how his mindset has shifted from the start of the school year to where we are now, and I pray that as we continue on with his literature-based curriculums that he one day chooses books without pictures on his own to enjoy. Baby steps!
Other happenings
We have done back to school homeschool photos for the past two years and I love seeing how much my kiddos have grown over time. This year my preschooler was able to join in and they turned out so cute!
We had the opportunity to go on an “official” homeschool field trip with a friend of ours and her homeschool group, and it was a blast! We went to iFly and spent a couple hours there learning a lot, experimenting, and flying in the huge air tunnel, and it was so much fun.
Well, my husband and kids had more fun than me, I watched from the sidelines and took video and smiled the entire time as I watched them have fun.
We are awaiting the arrival of our newest family member, so obviously I couldn’t fly in the air tube. Our past couple of months have been riddled with baby appointments, at first monthly, and now weekly, that we have had to fit into our schedule along with our homeschool days. My big kids have been absolute troopers as I have brought along their work they can do independently while I have my checkup. Thankfully the appointments are quick and the facility I am at is very family friendly and accommodating.
Not homeschool related, but a piece of our life right now, my husband threw me a surprise baby shower! He and my friends planned this for months and I had no idea, nor did I have any desire to throw myself a shower or receive gifts from anyone. With us expecting our fourth kid, I know what we need and what we don’t, and I didn’t want anyone spending money on us for things we wouldn’t use or need. Thankfully our guests just gifted diapers, wipes, and gift cards, and I was able to purchase the remainder of items we needed, and I felt so loved and blessed by it all. It was beautiful and intimate and everything I could’ve wanted in a baby shower. We are all very excited and impatient as we await our little lady’s arrival and will be taking a nice long break from homeschool to adjust to a new normal once she is here.
Overall, this school year is going really well. My kids know what is expected of them every day. I rarely have anyone arguing or complaining about our school days or schoolwork. Every day during the week is a school day and we have full school days and work hard to complete everything we need to in a timely manner.
I am very thankful!
How is your school year going? As planned, or have things changed up for you? Let me know below, and as always, thanks for being here!