We are in our third year of worldschooling. If Lucas and Henry were back in our old lives, they would be in 6th and 3rd grades, respectively.
Earlier this year, they spent a semester in the Montana Hybrid Academy, an online academy. Lucas and Henry enjoyed it and liked going to Montana to meet a majority of the kids in the program. We love the program, but with our travel schedule and time zone differences, it did not work out for this school year.
This year we are back at the Watkins Academy. We were terrified two years ago when we started. We have learned that it is a fluid endeavor. We are constantly trying new things and working with Lucas and Henry to get input on what they like and do not like. We are not terrified anymore, but it is challenging.
We have fallen back to workbooks for language arts and reading comprehension. Math is done mostly online with a program called Teaching Textbooks and a program called Prodigy. For writing, we have a program called Night Zookeeper/ Lucas and Henry also get writing prompts and paper topics. We allow them to tell us what writing topics interest them.
Science this year is a blend of science, history, and geography. We are learning about the great scientists throughout history and their discoveries. It is a curriculum by a company called Beautiful Feet. This company uses a Charlotte Mason philosophy of teaching history and other subjects through stories. We read books about the lives of scientists like Archimedes, Einstein, and Marie Curie. We conduct experiments related to their discoveries. It is a lot of fun.
Reading is a big part of what we do. The boys always have a book they are reading, and I read a book aloud to them. If anyone has any recommendations for good family books, please let me know.
Lucas and Henry have a lot of freedom to play. Currently, we have been playing a lot of tennis. We all have bikes now, so we go on bike rides. Online games with friends are still a big part of their week since COVID continues to restrict our activities. They play with friends we have met along the way.
We recently saw friends that we met in 2018 in Mexico who came through Winston-Salem on their road trip adventure. Lucas and Henry had a blast playing with the kids. It was an instant connection; like three years had never passed. We have made so many great friendships on our travels that have stuck even though do not see them often. Friends that we know we will see again someday.
We also get to hang out with adorable puppies. My Aunt Sandy got a new puppy, Jillian. The boys are in love. We do not have pets, so we love getting the chance to hang out with other people’s pets.
If you asked us ten years ago if we would be homeschooling our kids, we would have said absolutely not. There is no right way to do it. Every kid is unique. We are constantly tweaking our system. Although it is not easy, we enjoy the flexibility. It allows us to have amazing experiences and to focus on what we believe is important for our kids to learn as they grow up. There is no one answer for raising kids, but we like the path we have chosen. It is working for us.
