It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a chance to talk about homeschooling here on OBE. For the last year or so, we’ve been mulling around our educational options for the tiny person and it wasn’t until this month, actually, that we solidly moved forward with our plans to home-school.
It’s not that I think other educational options aren’t great. So many exciting options are soon to be available in the Comox Valley – Waldorf and the Beachcomber Community School – along with the already popular public school Montessori program, French immersion, Francophone and mainstream public school.
But, we’ve known for a bit that our daughter’s temperament and learning style wasn’t going to lend itself well to public school. Then when we got the news that she’s coping with a bit of a neurological hiccup putting her fine motor skills at odds with her zooming brain, and we knew that homeschooling is the route we need to take.
With that began our new structure and process at home – one of theme-based learning that keeps us on topic, the tiny person focused in a way that best suits her needs and also allows lots of room for creativity, science, outdoor fun and the reality that both Ken and I work from home.
I don’t think you have to be a homeschooler to make theme-based learning work for you and your family. In fact, we have discovered it a great way to celebrate the seasons and plan ahead for simple things like library books, or something as planning-heavy as an educational family trip.
For us, it’s all about combining the “classroom work” with everyday experience – which makes it fun, totally keeps her from thinking she’s learning and gives us the chance to explore a topic from top to bottom (age appropriate of course).
We use some of the basic tools like:
- Reading – Read fiction stories and nonfiction books about the subject,
- Writing – Practice writing skills by working on words that go with the topic,
- Math – We involve lots of counting in stories and writing,
- Science – Pull together projects that are age appropriate on the topic,
- Social Studies – Stories, again, bring this study space to life,
- Art/Music/Performance – We do tons of art, puppet shows, watch films and more that connects us with creativity,
- Field trips – Special field trips are a huge part of each theme. We always plan at least one trip around a topic, and
- Outdoor education – Getting outside for a big learning project every week is huge. We have a special day dedicated to outdoor learning every week.
But, really, the fun part is coming up with the theme every month. We sit down as a family toward the end of each month and talk about what time of year it is, what holidays are coming up and what the tiny person is interested in checking out.
Then, we plan out the month – give ourselves a lesson plan, check out books from the library, download resources off of the Internet and do some research – we even do a little shopping (wahoo). It’s exciting, seeing what we can pull together and come up with.
Part of that plan is an end-of-the-month party where we plan a big meal, take an adventure and see if all the things we’ve worked on the previous month have sunk in.
It’s easy for your family to get started. With that in mind, I wanted to share a few of my favorite resources and invite you to jump in and share yours.
Yay for learning!
THEME-BASED LEARNING RESOURCES:
- Home Science Tools,
- CurrClick (Learning Curriculum),
- Young Readers, and
- Be Out There.
Hahhaha – two Robins, same decision (just convincing Jim now). I’m going to stick with the NIDES option, at least at first, because I don’t have the time to provide a more ’rounded’ experience as yet. Plus, the one day per week of shared experience and socialising would be grand.
Have fun on the adventure!
I saw in the beginning of the article you mentioned something about the ‘popular public school Montessori program’. I was curious if you could provide any links or additional info for this? My family is still pretty new to the Comox Valley, and although our little man is years away from a formal school system, I’d love to learn more about what is offered here so we’re prepared when the decision time comes. Thanks so much for a great article, on an especially great site!
Robin, ooo, I see some shared classroom time in our future.:)
Nate, welcome to the Valley! The Comox Valley Montessori Society is an AMAZING group of families that fund raise and advocate for the continuance of a public school montessori program through SD71. You can see what they are all about at http://www.cvmontessori.com/
Keep an eye here as we’ll have some new articles about Montessori and local programs.
Fun! I know you had been toying with the idea for some time now, already testing out the waters so to speak and you guys are going to have so much fun
Love the idea of sitting down all together and coming up with a monthly theme to. That’s a wonderful. Looking forward to some peeks inside the journey of a fellow homeschooler 
Nate, if you are interested in learning more about the public Montessori program, there is an Information Night on Tue Feb 2 at 6:00pm at Queneesh Elementary (you can check out the SD71 website at http://www.sd71.bc.ca for details). Even if your children are not going to kindergarten this year, you are very welcome to attend to learn about the program. There will be presentations by the school administration and the Comox Valley Montessori Society, as well as a chance to view the classrooms and meet the teachers and some of the families who already attend the program.
And Robin, thank you for the kind words about the Montessori families and program. We work hard to support the program and feel very fortunate to have public Montessori education here in the Comox Valley.
I love the idea of theme based learning or unit studies. It seems like such a logical way for children to learn. I am 95% sure that we are “officially” homeschooling next year. I was hoping to get together with a couple other homeschooling moms to share ideas and create something of a kindergarten curriculum around the idea of unit studies. We just moved here last summer and while we’ve discovered some great field trip locations (mostly thanks to OBE), I’ve heard that the valley is just loaded with hands-on experiences for children. Let me know if this interests anyone.
Thanks again Robin- Keep the info. coming!!
We’re trying to make this decision right now too. Montessori, Waldorf or homeschooling (NIDES or Self-Design). It’s a tough one. Looking forward to connecting with some of you should we go forward with homeschooling.
Thanks for your public support which helps normalize homeschooling Robin.