Episode 43: Reflecting on the School Year
It's important to reflect on your school year so you can learn from your experiences and plan for the next year. We offer three questions for you to consider in your reflection, and we answer them ourselves with plenty of humble moments of learning as well fun ideas you might even want to try this next school year. We also answer the question, "What are some free resources for teaching letter recognition?" Tune in for some helpful ways you can learn from our mistakes and successes!
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Show Notes
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Scoop on the Coop
These creative wooden puzzles are a great way to spend about one hour and enjoy a simple, beautiful time together with your child.
Curriculum and Unit Studies Successes
Musicals: We studied musicals! The “curriculum” I used was simply just this Musicals book and lots of musical showings including Fiddler on the Roof and Hamilton. A second edition of this book just came out a few months ago, and at a better price!
Latin: Our kids, ages 5-10 years old, loved learning our Latin curriculum this year, especially the songs. Maybe their Daddy as teacher singing right along with them had something to do with it.
Math: Our Math-U-See curriculum was a favorite of both of ours, since the curriculum moves seamlessly from one skill to the next, and has a DVD teacher to go along with it.
History: While studying Indigenous Americans, I especially enjoyed the primary source book I read aloud to my children which was the firsthand telling of American Indian life.
The Unexpected from the Year
Music: Want to get your kids started learning to play the piano by ear? Try listening to the Suzuki CD every night as they go to bed. My six-year-old is smitten with Suzuki.
Technology: My kids got really into computers this year, coding with their BitsBox subscription boxes, designing children’s books on Canvas.com, and also starting their own website for kids!
History: Diving deep into Greek mythology was an unexpected highlight in our year as well! With book series such as Olympians, Percy Jackson, and Hopeless Heroes, there are plenty of fun and adventurous options to choose from. Or, just read all of them over and over again like my daughter did!
Favorite Moments from the Year
Art: Our study on Claude Monet was full of delicious French food, lessons in oil painting and impressionism, experiences painting lily pads and touring an art museum, and learning all about Claude himself. Check out our blog article all about it so you can do it yourself!
Science: Undeniably, a top pick for both of us was our Donut Road Trip! We had a blast traveling all over San Diego area for some delectable taste-testing and chart-making with our friends! More about that to come!
Social Science: It was election year! We had our own Coop Group Election which was a big highlight for us. We read What is the Presidential Election, What is the Declaration of Independence, and What is the Constitution? You can check out our election as well as learn how to host your own mock election with free downloadables.
Literature: Our Coop Group Mad Hatter Tea Party was a big highlight for us. Themed for our Alice in Wonderland book club, we had wonderful moments of costumes and conversation, as well as a beautiful rendition of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” performed by our own Coop Group moms.
What Did Not Go According to Plan
Theme Days: We had a few great ones, but didn’t dive into this type of learning as much as we wanted this year. Check out our Theme Days site for a how-to design your own theme day, ideas, and free downloadables.
Planning Around My Child’s Interests: Checking in with our kids’ interests questionnaire would have been more helpful in building the year around our kids’ passions and interests. Schedule a regular check-in to ensure your children’s voices are heard.
Gather Round Unit Studies: We both added a unit study that was not part of the original plan! The Human Body unit study from Gather Round Homeschool utilized a workbook, enriching beloved videos by Operation Ouch, and more which addressed developmentally appropriate content needed at this time.
Coop Q&A
What are some free resources for helping my child with letter recognition?
Try focusing on the teaching your child the sounds of a letter first, instead of the name of the letter. This approach could lead your child to learning reader faster, since its the sounds of letters that matter most. The names of the letters will naturally come with media such as Sesame Street, Super Why, Letter Factory; printables such as those available on TeacherPayTeachers (use the “free” filter), on Pinterest, and educational websites; use music songs and make a Spotify list that teach letters and sounds; sensory bins with letter activities (digging, magnetic letters and fishing magnets, etc.); letter magnets on the fridge or white board; and so much more just in living life with your child.
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