Friday, March 10, 2017

Homeschool Tips

For those of you who are curious about how the Thornock family homeschool works, here are a few things I'd like to share.

First of all, I consider our homeschooling to be very eclectic.  In other words, we don't strictly follow any one homeschooling philosophy.  I like many of the ideas out there like Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, and Montessori, but mostly I take what I like from this and that and adapt it to our own likes and needs.  

We have a fairly large family so the simpler the curriculum the better. A few curriculums we have found successful are Teaching Textbooks for math, Institute for Excellence in Writing for writing skills, and Montessori: Letter Work and Phonics Pathways for teaching reading.

I value my children's time to play and explore on their own, which is why I was attracted to the Waldorf idea of not teaching children to read until they are in first or second grade.  This takes a lot of stress off of me and the young children.  Their job is to play and learn how to help out around the house.  When I do finally teach them to read they catch on well and have enjoyed reading.

Once in a while, when my energy is just right, we go on a field trip.  Because we live close to Brigham Young University we get to take advantage of their museums--the Museum of Art, the Museum of Peoples and Cultures, the Life Science Museum, and the Museum of Paleontology.  Here are a few pictures of a recent trip to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures:
Kimball
Samuel, Parley, and Brigham

Kimball

June taking a nap



Enoch, Samuel, Kimball, Parley, and Brigham

Enoch



Brigham

Parley



Samuel




Samuel and Brigham
Samuel





Kimball and Enoch on a field trip in the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures.




No comments:

Mary and Martha

[Written June 2014] Here are some insights I gained from some fellow class members in our Gospel Doctrine class at church today. We discus...