Wednesday, July 9, 2014

A change


For grade 1, 2 and most of 3 we have been working through Oak Meadow. I have loved it. We have also mixed in some Jolly Phonics and Grammar. 
I am not sure what came first but it doesn't matter we have looked at a change.
DD had been working on an amazing story which she was very proud. She asked every adult to read it. It took some work but you could really understand what she was saying...her spelling a work in progress.
Sadly one day she asked great Nana to read it. Nana was not impressed and handed the little hand made book back saying she couldn't read it because it was full of mistakes. ARGH!!!
DD stopped writing.
Then things started to get difficult. Or were they already getting a little bit challenging? There is repetition in Oak Meadow as there is in everything...but most kids don't like it. So DD was starting to put on the breaks.
Hummm.
Dave and I have been reading "Free to learn" by Peter Gray and we have become a little bit more enlightened. While I have worked with total unschooling before and we did amazingly well...i became very burnt out with keeping on the go all the time.

And I think DD is a little burnt out too. We've been working pretty hard.

So 
Well I love Oak Meadow I think I could use the highlights and slowly put them out "Strew" them around and see how we go. So far its worked really well and its only been a few days.

We'll keep the basics of me reading aloud often, DD and DS reading to me (well at the moment DS is working on Jolly Phonics words which is very cool to watch and listen) 
We'll keep on with the writing but not about the stories suggested by Oak Meadow but things closer to us. We'll try different styles too. Poetry, articles, short stories, recipes etc.
We'll keep on with the maths and times tables, the maths in the garden. 
But only 1 hour a day.
I think ;-)

It will take a bit of adjustment but we might have a new more relaxed style. I was pretty wound up with my planning and OM but I just love it so much.
But we can come back to it and its good to have a change every so often...thats why we are doing what we do...to work with out kids not against them.

No comments:

Post a Comment