This Homeschooling Life #11

I really don’t know how it is July already! But it is, and that means it’s summer! June was a good but busy month. I had a lot of work stuff going on, and we had a couple of family visits too. We’re about to break for a few weeks over the summer- at least for the ‘formal’ work that we do. The kids always end up doing so many other things through the summer that learning never stops, but we usually take a break from any Maths, English, projects stuff.

The past couple of weeks we’ve been busy tying up some loose ends of various projects/courses that the girls have been doing/. Lola came o the end of one level of Maths last week, so she’s been busy finishing up some history & geography course books that she has been working through. If she were at school, she would be going into Year 9 this September, so we’ve started to try and think about what she wants to do in regards to her GCSE’s. She doesn’t have to take them when she would in school, or even take them at all, but I think she would like to. There are a couple of colleges nearby that let home educated kids in from 14 so we’re going to investigate those, as well as look at the possibilities of her going into school for them as this is something she’s said that she might like to do. She’s leaning towards something history based in the future, and at the minute she wants to go to Uni when she’s old enough. School or college would be a big change, not just for her but for all of us. But we’ve always said all along that if ever any of them want to try then we’d totally support them. Ultimately – this is about what is best for each of them and not just for us as a family.

Kiki and Baya have both been working away on various lapbooks again this month. hey are really enjoying them, I think they love that it’s hands on learning – it gives them the starting points then they get to go off and find out all the information that they need. Again, I’ve been finishing off some history work that we were doing together – looking at Stone Age Britain, so we’re at a good point to pause for the summer. those two are constantly making and creating things – Kiki made a working vending machine the other day from a cardboard box and an empty water bottle!

I’ve always found by the beginning of July we are really ready for a few weeks of just ‘being’ Of forgetting about the books, and the projects, of not thinking about what we’re learning or studying. Some time to just get out in nature, to read and craft and play all day long. To slow down our routines and make the most of the long, warm days.

I try and keep the summer a bit less ‘technology’ based – as the girls have gotten older, I’ve found that they spend more time online. This is not necessarily a bad thing – Lola writes stories online, and chats to her friends, researches history and things that interest her. Kiki spends a lot of time watching YouTube tutorials for crafts and special effect make-up ideas. Still, I think it’s good for them to spend big chunks of time disconnected. I’ve a couple of fun summer projects planned for them {more on these soon}… lots of nature ideas to keep them busy… some extra arts and crafts time… and of course, lots of days out and some holidays!

I actually just set up a second Instagram account to document our homeschooling journey and the day-to-day… you can follow me HERE if you’d like to see more peeps into our homeschooling day.

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