Samantha has never begged or cried to be homeschooled like the four before her. She loves her teachers and loves being with friends at school. She did have a rough time with a tricky little fella in her 1st grade class that pretty much made her miserable, but otherwise loved public school.
So why did we homeschool? Eliza and I were having too much fun and we missed her. We felt guilty going on field trips without her. And Eliza needed a playmate. So after Christmas break Sam joined the homeschool party.
My favorite things Sam learned this year were not from me. With a more flexible schedule she had time for piano, dance, and the Homeschool Connection where she learned French, Cooking, Chemistry, Literature, Acting, and Health. It was so much fun! (Dance only lasted about three months. We blamed it on my surgery, but really it was they didn't like it. But it was pretty cute watching her and Eliza do tap and ballet.) Piano she is going to keep going with, and I am glad. And the acting class gave her the theater bug and she is signed up for community musical theater this fall.
To be totally honest I wasn't focused on academics. (I hope that doesn't come back to haunt her in her future life.) But at the public school first grade is serious business. Like, super serious, at your desk, working their tails off serious. They hardly ever played and what I wanted for six year old Sam was to learn through play and to wiggle and have fun. And boy did she! It was difficult to get the girls to stop playing long enough for them to do their school work! Luckily her homeschool year coincided with me pulling the plug on daily electronic use in our home. So she and Eliza really got some good play time in.
We used some of the curriculum pictured below. We used her school math book to keep her up with public school, although it was torture for me to do common core and not have her do Life of Fred. We did try a bit of the Power Math curriculum. Really great stuff but didn't fit my teaching style. (AKA super teacher talk centered and repetitive.) We read books and did science projects with Eliza. For a good stretch we did Good and Beautiful language arts. Every day she wrote in her creative writing book. I think that was her favorite academic homeschool thing, writing. She liked to take her time and not be rushed when she was doing her creative writing. And she read, read, read the Magic Tree House. She is on book 23 now! We pretty much ended the bulk of the academic instruction when I had surgery in April. But she and Eliza played on and enjoyed all the company and visitors we had that came to help me.
My favorite part of homeschool semester with Samantha was just getting to know her better. She is a wonderful person- so thoughtful and kind. She is silly and fun, but serious and sensitive too. She is INCREDIBLY patient- with both Benson and Eliza. She is a nurturer at heart and out-mother's me often, always looking after Benson and being concerned for his well being. She makes me laugh and is still a total daddy's girl. :)
I remember telling Jodi about a year ago, "I just don't "get" Sam. I want to, but I don't ever know what she is thinking or feeling, or why she does what she does. We just don't connect." I was worried I would never have the same connection with Sammie that I do with some of the other kids. But I am so very happy to say I DO "get" Sam now, and I love to be with her. We connected. I am so thankful for the wonderful spirit she is and she is such a blessing to me and our family. You just can't put that on a report card anywhere. But if you could A+ all around for her semester at home.
