Some thoughts on this homeschooling year so far:
What a difference a summer can make! Although we read much in the news about summer loss in regards to academic gain, I haven't found that to be true at all with my little Waldorfites. Waldorf pedagogy espouses the idea of introducing new material, working with it deeply for a while and then "putting it to sleep" until you come back to it again. So, for example, we work with math quite deeply for a month, and then set it aside for a bit. I have found time and again that when we come back to it, Jack is quite ahead of where he was when we last left it. It is as if his brain has had the freedom to percolate the new knowledge and make bridges to a deeper understanding.
This has held very true as we come back to formal learning from our summer break. Several things that were challenging for him are coming much more easily this year. Most noticeably his ability to sit at the table and work for much longer periods of time. Without tears or much prodding, he can fly through his daily math practice and copy work. In fact, he has decided he is a math wiz after spending last year convinced that he hated math. He is still having a tough time with writing independent compositions, but I'm feeling better about it after reading this great post at Handmade Homeschool. He can orally create wonderful compositions and reads at a level much more advanced than his writing, so I know the writing will come.
Handwork is much less frustrating for him this year as well. He has completed an embroidery he started at the museum a few weeks ago and will knit for half an hour without complaint. In a related observation, he also has much trickier jump roping skills than he did last year! He can add spins in the middle and has learned to jump in and out.
I see that "nine year change" happening with him, however I feel as if we have some good routines with each other in place to carry us through it with out too much drama.
Lucy comes into this school year having already done or observed much of first and second grade and I'm realizing I'm going to have to make some adjustments to that. Add into it her already high achieving nature and you have a girl quite disappointed that "school is too easy". So, back to the plan for the year to add a few tweaks and a little more challenge. The trap I don't want to fall into is that of essentially having two third graders this year. She needs first and second grade first! So I will mainly stick to giving her the typical Waldorf first grade, but find ways to make it more challenging.
I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought that it would be harder schooling Lucy compared to Jack. Jack most of the time thinks that I am smart and right about things. Lucy, not so much. I was concerned that this would make it harder to teach her. But I am finding that she is very school inclined and also very glad to finally have it be her turn for "real" school.
What changes have you seen in your children this year? What adjustments have you already had to make to your school plan?
