Read and Read Some More

In an effort to seek out good reading material for my kids I went to Sonlight and took inventory of their readers. I have heard ongoing good reports on the quality of the readers they recommend and supply.

Fortunately I could get many of them locally at Loot.co.za.

I will just share with you the two 'official' readers we are looking at for this term:

1. Sarah, Plain and Tall

with a very thorough and detailed reading/study guide (free in pdf) Both my girls will be able to work through this guide at their specific level.



2. The Courage of Sarah Noble

PDF comprehension printables in chapter by chapter form  exercises are found here.

While both girls are avid readers I am trying to ensure they read books across a wide spectrum of genres. Historical fiction CAN be fun.....however they have learnt to dread that term and I am going to show them that it is, in fact, true!

Goodnight Mr Tom

Honey is currently reading Goodnight Mr Tom.

I decided to do some research on it and found some wonderful educational packs online. They vary from Grade 7 level up to Grade 12 so can be used for a wide variety of ages.

You can download the Word file here for the Senior Primary worksheet, guided reading documents as well as a free copy of the book via Amazon.

New Opportunity

Honey is home. Today is her first official day.

I have given much thought to how to play out this last term and due to her nature I have decided to spend most of it 'unschooling' her.

Her idea of homeschool is School At Home. She wants us to emulate school traditions and processes at home. We have had a few discussions about how it is going to be NOTHING like that and I do think she has some anxiety about how this new life will play out.

She is extremely academic and has thrived at school. Leaving for her was not a quick, knee-jerk response. It was a journey which I will ask her to share with you at some stage. Needless to say she has to learn to trust the process and trust me. Trust that I will get her where she needs to go (and further) and this may take some time.

Today we make collages and beginning a 'visioning' exercise. In these boards
they place anything that resonates with them around homeschool. A little window
for me into their dreams, fears and expectations.

We have agreed there will be no threats from either of us for this term (I wanna go back to school / I will send you back to school!) and that we will spend time re-looking at what learning and education really means to us. We will turn things upside down and back to front - like going to the beach or mountains all morning and come back and do school at 3pm.



Paradigms need to be shifted. Not just for her but for all of us. We also need to settle into the routine of being 3. It is a large adjustment for me to move from schooling one child to two and it does not escape me that next year it will probably be three!

And then there were TWO!

Yesterday was my eldest daughters last day of formal schooling. Yes, it has finally come to pass.

I had no intention of ever schooling my other kids when I took Lulu out in May. I had specific reasons for taking her out that did not apply to my other two kids however as time has gone by my thoughts have changed drastically about home education.

I am now in a place (and have been for about 2 months) where I really would like ALL my kids at home. The thought of taking them through their entire school career no longer daunts me. While I have fears and insecurities, like any parent, I am confident that I can provide a home  education of a very high standard.

I have had to WAIT for the right timing. I did not want to take Honey (Grade 6) out of school until she was ready. Initially the thought of homeschool was abhorrent to her; she could think of nothing worse. Slowly but surely little things have changed - I do believe it has been a journey for her - and she is so ready to try this adventure.

It seems just crazy to people as there are only 7 weeks of school left - why not wait until next year to take her out? I asked myself that question and all I came up with was WHY WAIT? There seemed no good reason to wait at all. So I didn't. :-)

Again, I have to say the school have been amazing. They support us fully; have provided me with the full terms worksheets/curriculum for use. This may be useful if she decides to return to Grade 7 in the new year - at least I have all the material and can catch her up. (worst case scenario!)

I have high hopes that my lad will join us next year, but that will be a post all on its' own!