Homeschool Crunch Time: aka Apathy and Distraction

Tis the week of Thanksgiving, and I have much to be thankful for, such as: a loving husband, three healthy sons, a house to snuggle in on cold days, more food than I need, and the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom. I look forward to spending Thanksgiving Day with extended family, sharing memories, laughing, playing a few board games, and watching the Ravens vs. the 49ers with my Raven's fan of a mother-in-law. (There will be much shouting at the tv.)

Meanwhile, we keep plugging along in our homeschooling. I say plugging, because I'm feeling like we're just not making any headway. We spend one day at home immersed in our main lesson, then two days in the car traipsing around town. The weather has been warm and mild, so we've taken advantage of all opportunities to get together with friends.  We've had a few art classes, two festival get togethers (Halloween and Martinmas) plus the preparation that go into those, home school group at the library, and a few social outings/field trips. As well as just plain ol' social time. Husband never questions our homeschool routine; he is confident that we are covering all we need to. But even he  was curious as to why we're out of the house so much lately. 

Besides all of the distractions, I admit that some apathy has started to seep in. After a gung-ho first block, my energy level has petered out a bit. I am not too interested in the subject matter (geography) so I am struggling to make it interesting for the boy. His analytical mind soaks up facts, and he enjoys reading books about each state (we're doing the New England states right now) and discovering things like the state song, bird, gem, capitol, etc. I would rather be baking blueberry pies, listening to folk tales and songs, and making clam chowder. I struggle with creating balance and presenting ideas in a way that will interest the boy, but will keep me on track, too.

I had hoped to make December a "light" month. Spend some time on math, work on Christmas gifts together, keep it light on academics and heavier on the arts. But it's looking like we'll be carrying geography on through Christmas. Sigh. 

I'm kind of looking forward to old man winter storming in. When it's cold and the world is blanketed with snow or frosted with ice, we tend to hunker down by the glowing wood stove and get into our work. I guess we should enjoy these nice days out of doors while we can for it will not be long til  I'll be writing about cabin fever!

Fifth Grade....Geography

We are now fully immersed in our second block, Geography. I had a difficult time planning this block; there are so many approaches, even in the Waldorf circles. I knew I didn't want to do the states/capitals thing, at least not as a focus. I am  also aware that the Boy still has difficulty differentiating continents from countries, especially North America vs. The United States. 

After reading through Marsha Johnson's files and through the Waldorf Journey curriculum, I mapped out the approach I thought was best for the Boy. That is one of the reasons we homeschool, right? To meet the needs of our children.

Here is my plan:

• We started with a review of last year's geography unit. We read through his main lesson book from last year, reviewed the terms, and talked about the four directions.
• We then looked at a globe and an atlas and talked about and named the continents.
• We discussed the geographic features on the map, and how those features made natural boundaries between continents and countries.  And how those features may have influenced the culture of that particular area.
• I gave him a blank map to label the continents
• We did gesture style drawings of each continent. With gesture drawing, you're quickly sketching the object, to get the basic feel

Going forward we will:

• Draw our own map of the world
• Observe divisions of countries and boundaries more closely
• Get an understanding for various regions. For example, what is the Middle East? What does 'Europe' encompass? This is not to memorize, just familiarize
• Focus on North America: The US and her neighbors
• Identify regions of North America and its major geographic features: the Rockies, Mississippi, etc.
• Discuss climate across the continent
• Paint a map depicting climate: cool blues, hot reds, etc.
• Begin studying each region of North America and more specifically the US