We are a family of 8. My husband and I were married in 2003 and we have 6 children (13b, 11g, 9b, 7b, 5b, & 3g). We lived in Houston, Texas for 6 years before moving here to Illinois for a change in my husband's job. We decided to homeschool when my oldest finished 2nd grade, so we are going on year #5. I am an organizer and planner extraordinaire. Growing up I always wanted to be a mom and a teacher and now I'm both! My husband loves to fix and build things. My kids are into computer games, board and card games, building with legos and blocks, reading, and playing all day instead of doing "school." We are so grateful that homeschooling has allowed us the opportunity to travel whenever we want to and not be tied to a public school schedule. We love going on major homeschooling field trips. Our favorites were our Washington, DC revolutionary war trip and our Westward Ho trip out West. Super fun! One of the best things about homeschooling has been to watch my children create relationships with each other that I'm not sure they would have if they were in public school all day.
:: Do you take the Summer off from homeschooling, or do you continue year round? If you continue, do you do things any differently?
We were originally going to be a 3 weeks on, 1 week off and continue year round. That ended up not working for us because of summer camps, swim lessons, and cousins who are not homeschooled wanting to play. The week off was great for me getting caught up on life in general (you should see my never ending piles of laundry!), so this year we will try something different and take every Friday off to play "catch-up." I will say that during the Summer we do have a routine so that everything doesn't fall to pieces. The kids read each day (we do the library summer reading program) and do one lesson in math as often as we can. They also must do 10 minutes of on-line learning (no one complains about that part), and complete a summer zone job (any area of the house that could use some organizing and decluttering).
:: What are some of your favorite Summer activities to do with your children?
We actually don't do anything much during the Summer. We actually prefer to do more of our exploring in the other seasons while all the public schools are in session. There is nothing better than being in an empty museum! We do hit our community pool a lot.
:: Do you have a favorite Chicagoland spot for Summer fun?
Believe it or not even after 6 years we still haven't explored the Chicagoland area all that much. Being a redhead with fair skin that burns easily I hate the Chicago heat! We have explored some of the museums downtown and especially love the Museum of Science and Industry and the Brookfield Zoo. We love when the Fall free days come out!
:: Do you have a special way of storing and organizing your homeschool at the end of the year?
This is something that I'm still trying to figure out. I have begun to put the children's work in a bin at the end of the year as a record, but I can see my organized self going down to the basement and tossing a bunch of it. I am working to create a filing system for lessons I know I will come back around to once the younger ones reach that stage.
:: As you reflect on the past school year what is something that you felt was a success, and what was something that you would like to change for the coming year.
I feel like after 4 full years we have definitely gotten into a groove on what our school day looks like. I let the kids choose how they want to complete their day and we generally were always finished by lunch time. I love the curriculum I have chosen and that the kids like it (for the most part) as well. One thing I would love to improve on is making sure I don't get so involved with getting the core curriculum of math, reading, and writing finished that I forget to put in the fun stuff. It is hard to shake my public school upbringing and realize that there are other, more engaging ways of learning.
Thank you of sharing with us, Jennifer.
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