This year, I had hoped Peanut could to go to a preschool for three or four days a week. I wanted her to have some structure in her days and the experience of being outside the home and in a learning environment with her peers so the transition to "big school" would not come as such a shock.
Unfortunately, given our move, this was not going to happen. I did find her a school, and she will be attending, but it is only two days a week, and the classroom set up is so fluid they don't even have a designated time for lunch. It isn't what I had intended at all!
So I have an alternate plan.
Peanut will attend two days of school a week. She will associate with her peers, learn the realities if a hierarchical playground pecking order, and gain further confidence in being away from her family for hours at a stretch.
But the remaining three "school" days a week, we'll be homeschooling, complete with a schedule that involves set times for snacks! It's the best I can do in the position we are in, and hopefully it will be sufficient to set Peanut up for success.
We'll do literacy and numeracy every day (even preschool days, they don't seem to do much at school...) then on non-school days, we'll have PT and science one day, geography and art the next, then finally history and music. I know that sounds very scheduled, and it's meant to, but it's a schedule for me only. The actual lessons will be play based, last around half an hour (or more... or less... depending on interest level!) and start with provocations. I not a fan of piles of busy-work worksheets, I don't think they actually help much with retention. If I have my way, Peanut will barely realise she's "doing school".
I'm excited to start early in the new year, and no doubt I'll write about it here, so feel free to follow along!
I so wish state schools were more open to halving the time kids spend there - I just know they'd learn more in both situations. I think you've got a great plan and I love it when kids have parents who take responsibility for their education :) You know this though as we've spoken of it before - I'm doing afterschooling with TFG and I am going to attempt a take over of the lacklustre playgroup at the school for OFG :) I will be following your journey with great interest....and lots of whoohooooing from the crowd :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlotte! You're so encouraging :) how's after-schooling going for you? Do you find TFG is very tired after school, especially early in the year?
DeleteI have gone sort of casual with it as I set up an activity for her to do after she's done her arvo chores and before dinner (so only 30-60 mins). For English we type emails to grandparents or write letters to Aunties, for maths we count our piggy bank contents or do some of the maths games, there's knitting or painting or drawing for gifts....I've tried to tie all of the things she is learning back to anchor it in 'real'life, because that is the main thing I feel standardised education lacks. It is helping her to put into context what she experiences in the classroom - plus it adds the creative-ness so lacking in her school (no performing arts, fine arts or homecraft at all!). And (because I'm always so careful I'm honest!!) when we do have an off arvo where she is just too grumpy or exhausted...well bring out the BBC documentary DVDs and go planet surfing or floating around the coral reef etc :D My mum (who home educated me and my siblings) always says that if she had access to today's resources she would have been just so much more excited about exploring the world with us (not that books don't cut it but wow today is a magic time to be learning).
DeleteYep - there I go rambling along lol I'll stop now before I babble on for half a mile but I do hope you are always excited about showing the world to your little people - parents teach us whether to fear it or rejoice in it, and I just know your girls are going to confidently rejoice :D
Having nothing constructive to say on either home or pre - schooling I'll just hope the move went hitchless and that you all have a lovely Christmas behind the green picket fence.
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