Almost 12 year old getting some much needed sensory input!
If you’ve ever been to my house during school, you probably wondered what the heck we do, or how we get anything done. Our days are broken up into chunks, mostly punctuated by “You’re only on the 3rd one? It’s been almost an hour!” and “The rabbit cage doesn’t need to be cleaned. You did it yesterday,” or “Why is your brother outside again?!”
Rinse and repeat. In five minutes.
I don’t know what to name our method. I guess if you want to get homeschooly (homeschoolish? Is that a word?) you would call us eclectic. Or electronic. Or crazy. One of those might fit. But I think we need a method name for special needs homeschoolers who try to use Charlotte Mason’s methods and end up using the computer a lot. Special Electronic CMers? Or how about Digital CMSN? Sounds like an online news agency. 
What we do is whatever happens to fit the current situation. Sometimes I read aloud, and sometimes I have them take turns doing it. Sometimes I enforce the writing down of answers, and sometimes I beat my head against the wall beg and plead with them let them do it orally.
So here they are, 10 Reasons for the Madness Behind My Methods:
1. The boy. Cannot. Sit. Down.
2. Writing the answer to one question takes 5x more time than it does for them to read the entire lesson.
3. The computer holds his attention.
4. You would too, if your kid had been (accurately) described by a teacher “like a fart in a frying pan“.
5. The Bible doesn’t say anything about thou shalt do copywork.
6. I just need to wash the dishes. Really.
7. Headphones help them focus and tune out background noises.
8. The dogs need boys to chase them around the yard at least every 20 minutes.
9. Wait, you mean Cribbage isn’t school work?
10. There just isn’t enough Calgon, and showers don’t cut it.
So tell me, what method do you use to homeschool, and why?
This post is part of the 10-in-10 series over at iHomeschool Network.com!
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Love it — yes, Cribbage is school, and so is Backgammon!
Oh! Yes I love Backgammon! My 10 year old prides himself on whipping me when ever he gets the chance!
Love this list. So very true and very fun to read!
Stephanie @ Harringt recently posted..Oatmeal Blueberry Flax Muffins
LOVE your list! It's good to know there are other families out there who have their priorities straight!
Shelly @homeschoolin recently posted..Top 10 Tuesday 6/19/12
We are very eclectic, too. We use different methods for different subjects…we are almost unschoolery for writing, but classical for history; science is more unit study oriented…we are all over the map!
Theresa recently posted.."Aren’t you afraid your kids will be wierd?"
Theresa, you sound a lot like us in that respect. We follow history chronologically, go interest led for science (my 11yo is a big time science brain and reads science encyclopedias and books for fun). My kids are all over the map anyway, but add in the special needs and we're like a crazy trip around the world!
We can make up new words, like unschoolery and homeschoolish– we're homeschool moms! lol
Unschoolery?
ROTFL-love how totally real your homeschool is. Sounds like you have made a visit to our house. Thanks so much for bringing a smile to my face today and making me feel 'normal'.
GInny recently posted..Ten Reasons Why We Homeschool Eclectically
Ginny: What IS normal anyway? I don't even know what that looks like! We do whatever we have to and normal is pretty weird sometimes, or it probably looks weird to other people! lol So YES, feel NORMAL! We do! LOL!
Funny! Thanks for sharing…
Jennifer recently posted..10 Ways the Gospel Shapes How We Homeschool
1, 3 and 7 apply to my boy, too! I take a totally different approach with him than I did for either of the girls. But you gotta do what you gotta do!
And yes! Good board games totally count! =)
Amber @ Classic Hous recently posted..You Might Be a Pick & Choose Homeschooler IF..
Love your list – especially # 5 – I get so frustrated with the requirement in school to "write the answer in a complete sentence." While that is excellent for some children, it's incredibly frustrating to others!
Kaye Swain recently posted..Power-full Encouragement for the Sandwich Generation Granny Nanny
Yes! I understand that schools don't have the luxury of tailoring education, but you'd think they would at least start to break down and work more with kids' varied learning styles once in a while.