Today I'm getting ready to sit down with Dominic's homeschool curriculum, and plan/order next year's supplies. We use the Sonlight curriculum - not because we shopped around and found it to be the best fit for us, not because I talked to several other families who recommended the curriculum, but because when we first started homeschooling, on April 6, 2020, it was the curriculum our neighbors were using, and they generously agreed to loan me some books and worksheets. We didn't think that more than 3 years later, we'd still be doing this homeschooling thing!
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| Flashback: Dominic's first day of homeschool, a few weeks after Covid lockdown took effect in Kenya |
Sonlight uses a "check box" type of curriculum - it tells you what to do when, and when you've done it, you check the box. That works really well for us as Dominic has a minimum of two teachers (Mom and Dad) plus whoever else we can get to help out on a given day or week. We just divide up the check boxes among the available number of teachers. It's also (I'm told) very literature based, which we like. Since he was very small, Dominic has loved listening to stories. We're so happy that in the past year he's started reading more independently!
Our schedule must inevitably be flexible, based on the nature of our lives in Kapsowar. Here's the goal:
6:45 - 8am: Dominic and Kim work on reading, spelling words, writing and grammar, as well as breakfast and getting ready for the day
8-9am: Psalms and Prayers with our community (except on Wednesdays)
9-10:30am: Dominic and Kris work on history, reading, Bible memory, and handwriting before Kris leaves for work
10:30-1pm: I'm not really sure what happens during this time! Sometimes Dominic goes to the theology school with Kris where he works on worksheets or sits in on classes. Other times I assume he plays with his friends or works on math at home.
2-3pm: Kim tries to come home to teach math and science
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| A recent science experiment demonstrating the effect of acid rain and salination of ground water caused by rising sea levels |
3-5pm: While Kris does Swahili school online, Dominic finishes up whatever schoolwork is remaining, plus some math "games" on his iPad.
There are some obvious differences between homeschooling here in Kenya, and the type of education Dominic would likely be receiving in N America. Being one-on-one with his teachers means that he hasn't been exposed to things like classroom etiquette (raising his hand, working quietly, working with time restrictions). Because of the nature of where we live, he doesn't have an opportunity for organized extra-curricular activities or other "enriched" activities like art, music, computer skills, or gym class. And before you suggest it - we know, there's a lot of that stuff that we could probably find access to online. But Kris and I both work full time, and we don't have time to supervise any more than what we're already doing. A 7-11 hour time difference from N America (depending on the time of year and time zone) means that working with a N American tutor or school would be REALLY tricky, and would require Dominic to do school at the exact time when most of his friends (Kenyan and ex-pat) are out playing.
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| Maybe we can count this as shop class - staining our new picnic table with Dad |
But despite all of the challenges, this year I can honestly say that our experience has been much better than the previous years. I think that a major difference has been Dominic's improved reading, which gives him more independence from Kris and me. We've also decided to focus more on science this year, which he enjoys. And we know our rhythms - Mondays are always tough as we get back into groove. Wednesdays we get an extra hour of school in the morning, which means Dominic gets more playtime in the afternoon. On weeks when there is a math test, we do extra math every day so that we don't have hours of math worksheets to complete on Friday. And when the day DOESN'T go well, we talk about it and come up with a plan to make the next day (or week) better.
And finally, we schedule and ENJOY our weeks off! Last week Kris and Dominic went for a visit to Eldoret as they were both off school for the week, and I was busy with some extra work at the hospital. We're looking forward to "summer break" in less than two month!
