Ever wonder what kind of Home Schooler you are? 

Take this quiz from the Eclectic Homeschool to find out. I have listed my top 3 approaches from the quiz. Very enlightening! Please take into account this is how I feel (as a home school mom) not particularly how my children learn. That quiz comes later!

http://eclectic-homeschool.com/what-kind-of-homeschooler-are-you/

Montessori

Approach

Montessori education began with Maria Montessori in the early 1900s.  With this method, the parent acts as an observer or guide as the child spends long periods of uninterrupted child-led study.  The environment is set up to provide a place for the child to freely explore.  Subjects are explored in an interrelated way rather than separated into different areas of study.

Charlotte Mason Education

Approach

The Charlotte Mason approach to education focuses on educating the whole child and not just the mind.  Charlotte Mason believed in the importance of establishing good habits.  Shorter lessons with focused attention are preferred over longer blocks of time.  Understanding ideas is prioritized over learning facts.  Living books, spending time outside, literature-rich studies, art and music studies, and narration are elements you would find in a Charlotte Mason homeschool.

Unschooling

Approach

Unschooling is child-led learning.  Believers in this philosophy feel that leaning is natural for children and when children lead the way, learning is meaningful for the child.  Parents provide support and act as facilitators rather than teachers.

Information taken from: http://eclectic-homeschool.com/homeschool-philosophies-a-resource-list/

Interesting articles

I will update this post as I find more. I was going to share them on my facebook page, but I don't want to start drama. Drama is not my thing. I feel strongly about some school/learning topics, but I also know that some of my "friends" don't. Because everyone else is doing the same thing is not the reason you should continue to do something you don't agree with, but hey that is just me. "Be the Change You Want to See in the World" I have said it before and I will say it again: This statement has a whole different meaning when that world is staring your children in the eye.

His Kindergarten the New First Grade--Yes it absolutely is. My kindergartener is learning what I remember learning in 1st grade. Last year when my son was learning it he was thriving, but I see my daughter is struggling with some things. It got me thinking--why is she forced to sit and learn this right now for such a long period of time. She is more of a play based learner as my son loves worksheets and "school" work. She learns differently and that is fine. She STRONGLY DISLIKES worksheets---because she writes nearly everything backwards and is constantly corrected. It discourages her and breaks down her spirit. She why is she being forced to learn something that may come completely natural to her in a year (when her mind is ready to learn it)? Now we do about 3 to 4 hours of "work" throughout the day, not in one sitting. The rest of the day is play time. Sometimes that is free play and sometimes we do games and such that are educational--play based learning.

Kindergarten the New First Grade:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/01/19/kindergarten-the-new-first-grade-its-actually-worse-than-that/

This article lists are exactly why we chose to home school! I would also add getting them away from the constant peer pressure. http://eclectic-homeschool.com/10-great-reasons-to-homeschool/

ADHD? Maybe they just learn differently and struggle with sitting for 6+ hours (school plus homework minus recess and lunch).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/07/08/why-so-many-kids-cant-sit-still-in-school-today/

***The Common Core Project is a website that has master lists of curricula as well as standardized tests and states their stand with the common core standards. It is an incredibly helpful list while researching what will work best for you!  http://hsroadmap.org/common-core-project/ *** UPDATE--THIS LIST IS AMAZING! I use it all the time!

http://catholicexchange.com/why-are-homeschooled-kids-so-annoying
This article, titled "Why are Homeschooled Kids So Annoying," is one of those articles you read and say "YES!"

This is exactly my oldest and I so glad I pulled him from public school this year. He is 7 and soaks up information. He is naturally curious, he has confidence with what he knows and wants to talk about it and ask questions about new things. He talks all the time and now that he is home schooled I feel like he can really flourish. In PS I could see him his natural personality changing right before my eyes. He was paying attention to what others were doing and taking it to heart when others were not interested in what he was. He wasn't able to explore and learn what he wanted to, and when he did it seemed to not be "cool" in his peers' eyes. He was annoying to people. He is back to his knowledge holding self and happy in home school. If he wants to talk about and learn about one topic all day, then that is exactly what we do. He cornered grandma the other day and talked about star wars characters for nearly an hour. He loved it and so did we!

Learning

January 18th is day 11 of our home school and to say we are all learning isn't really descriptive enough.

J1 is LOVING it! He is taking everything in, encouraging C, thinking of ideas, constantly asking to learn and do more things. This boy has hit the ground running and is excited.

C likes to do what she likes to do and that is that. She is easily frustrated with learning new things. Her penmanship is what needs practice right now, but the poor girl hates writing. She loves computer time and art, but when it comes to worksheets and journal  Miss attitude makes her appearance.

What I have learned so far is that what we are doing is okay. I would like to get into a set daily schedule, but having J2 running around makes it hard to be strict about the clock....and that's okay. Having realistic expectations is something I have to work on. I can correct C 10 times a day for the same mistake and she just isn't getting it. BUT she just turned 6, does she really HAVE to get it right now?--No. She will learn, when she is ready.

Teaching and learning are everywhere. In this awesome world of tech we live in gives us great resources that make situations so much easier. I'm cooking lunch, J2 is cutting teeth, The laundry is taking over the couch....Hey kids, it's Science time, lets watch The Magic School Bus...for the win!

In a nutshell- we are learning. I am learning how each of my children learn best, which times of day they are most productive, and time management. What we are all learning is that we do not have to go by what society and the schools have taught us--that school must take 7 hours a day. We have been schooling on average 4 hours a day, and what I mean by schooling is worksheets, journal, reading, etc. Then they get to choose shows and computer games that are learning based for as long as they want. The best part is that they have time to play and use their imagination. At least an hour EVERY DAY is free play by themselves. More often than not C is dressed up playing princess whatever or Barbies, and J1 is building lego sets. Even all that is learning.

We are learning through life and loving it!

Getting into a Groove

This is day 3 in our journey to home school and we are definitely learning. The kids have been doing activities daily, but knowing how much to do and when is something we are working on. After researching and creeping home school groups for almost a year I knew this wasn't going to happen overnight. I have been told by so many people that we need to deschool. I thought deschooling was a decent size break between the public school setting and schooling at home. We took a break over the Christmas holiday and are starting out strong. J1 and C are adapting well and are actually really excited. The deschooling though, I am learning, is more about changing your mind set. Having grown up in the public school system and then my kids being in for a couple of years we have that 8:30-3 mindset. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT! I am working on getting us into a routine and right now we are doing about 4 hours of work before the whining starts and they are just done....and you know what, that's perfectly normal. We don't have to be buckled down all day. We don't have to learn every subject every day. We don't have to do the same boring work. We don't have to memorize, pound information in, test, regurgitate information, and compare ourselves with other kids and families. We are focusing on teaching our kids HOW to learn and to LOVE learning.

Monday (Day 1) was a slow day. They did journal entries, a couple of worksheets, and some reading. I was setting up our computers and getting virus protection installed (Hello-that is super important ya'll)

Tuesday (Day 2) hiccup number one. A couple of websites I had planned to use, one being an assessment test for the kids, that claimed to be free resources, in fact were not. They ended up doing a Science video, journal, I read 4 books to them, learning game, Art. hiccup number two- I discovered we can not do Art before our worksheets are done. C had a meltdown because she wanted to continue Art---so we didn't do workbook and decided to keep doing Art (because Hello, we can!). Also they both had Piano lessons so we are getting our music in too!

Wednesday (Day 3) MUCH SMOOTHER! Assessment tests are in swing but we are only doing a portion of it at a time. I want a test first for our records and something we can build upon. They also have fallen in love with (teachyourmonstertoread.com) awesome website people! We have accomplished so many tasks today because they wanted to. They wanted to keep learning and asking questions and didn't want to stop. I am so proud of them. So we are off to take C to tumbling, gotta get that exercise in!