Sharing What Works
I've been hard on myself for the shape of our homeschool in 2013. We've prepared our home to sell (it hasn't, yet), we've searched for and purchased a new home (we close on Nov. 26), and we took a giant vacation to see family and friends whom we haven't seen in 4 years or more. We still have to actually pack and move! All of these have sucked the life out of me, and the "good" parts of school have fallen by the way.
Today I read an invitation to share what works. I'm taking that invitation as one of my Father in Heaven's tender mercies reminding me that I am not a failure. I should take a moment to review just one thing we're doing well.
Instead of forever focusing on my failings.
What works?
Composition books.
We love composition books. I buy them by the dozen when they are on sale before school starts. I pass them out liberally to my kids and keep quite a few for my own use.
One for scripture journaling
One for copywork
One for a reading journal
One for writing
One for math
One for science
One for history
One for . . . anything our hearts desire!
Sometimes we make them fancy with glue and pretty paper. Sometimes we leave them plain. But we always fill them up with things we're learning.
My kids do their schoolwork in their composition books and then put them on the kitchen counter. I pick them up from the counter and read what they've done. I make notes for correction, encouragement, and congratulation in the margins and stack them back up on the counter. The kids pick them up after breakfast the next morning, and we write again.
We need to do more science experiments. We need more crafting and building. We need to pick up our old ways of weekly nature walks.
In the mean time our composition books are keeping us reading and writing and curious.
And I might need to restock our supply when we do add in more of the "good" stuff!
Today I read an invitation to share what works. I'm taking that invitation as one of my Father in Heaven's tender mercies reminding me that I am not a failure. I should take a moment to review just one thing we're doing well.
Instead of forever focusing on my failings.
What works?
Composition books.
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| (Image borrowed from here) |
One for scripture journaling
One for copywork
One for a reading journal
One for writing
One for math
One for science
One for history
One for . . . anything our hearts desire!
Sometimes we make them fancy with glue and pretty paper. Sometimes we leave them plain. But we always fill them up with things we're learning.
My kids do their schoolwork in their composition books and then put them on the kitchen counter. I pick them up from the counter and read what they've done. I make notes for correction, encouragement, and congratulation in the margins and stack them back up on the counter. The kids pick them up after breakfast the next morning, and we write again.
We need to do more science experiments. We need more crafting and building. We need to pick up our old ways of weekly nature walks.
In the mean time our composition books are keeping us reading and writing and curious.
And I might need to restock our supply when we do add in more of the "good" stuff!
Ooo, I'm always a fan of composition books! I love when we find something simple that keeps us moving in a positive learning direction. For one of my children it has been taping a feather onto the back of a pen for a 'quill'. Several of mine love composition books, decorated or not. Thanks for linking up!
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