Time to Review the School Year-Just Ask Your Kids

We have three official days of school left before the teacher hat goes on the rack for a while and the mom hat leads the way into summer.  Of course I’m thinking about the successes and not-so-successes of the year and making notes for our next year, because that’s just how a homeschool mom-brain works.  In the midst of my mental review, I came across Jimmie’s post with a list of great questions with which to ply the kids and found exactly what they thought about our learning this year, and what they’re most eager to take on next fall(eager is a strong word, they are eager to go swimming, but they are interested in a few studies after their summer break).

So what did I learn from their questionnaires? (I decided to give the questions in a written format, I knew they would like the feel of their opinions as “official” in print.)

A few things were confirmed:

The 10 year old doesn’t like math or cursive.  The eight year old loves both.

That’s been the pattern for years now.  It’s not a surprise that they wrote it down in black and white.

History and Art have been a favorite for the whole family this year.

My feelings about history have undergone a radical transformation.  I’m sure it’s partially that and the fact that we filled our home with great stories with the help of Truthquest that led both girls to include history under “What should we spend more time studying?”.

Nature has become a new interest(the study of, not just the act of being in it) for all of us.  Both girls asked for more nature study.

I’ve already been writing down ideas for nature study units next year, after our wonderful time studying birds this spring, and it’s so encouraging to read their answers and know that I won’t be pulling them into nature study, they’ll be running right along with me.

Both girls really enjoy doing projects and field trips.

After five years of homeschooling(I guess that’s six if I include preschool for my oldest), we’ve run the gamut of hands-on everything, pre-packaged curriculum, unit studies, and trying out Apologia textbooks.  I’ve realized that even though I learn best through hands-on activities(and therefore have used hands on as our main learning technique until this year), our history has thrived predominately through reading great books.  I might have been tempted to take that new freedom(of not doing a lot projects) into next year and miss the fact that the girls still enjoy games and field trips and “doing it” as the 8 year-old so rightly put it.  I need to carry a balance of both into our studies next year.

What surprised me?

Under “What like skills would you like to learn?”, both girls mentioned “using money wisely”.  And the 8 year old mentioned grammar(in her defense I did not explain the term life skills before she started answering.)  But I didn’t know anyone in the family was actually ASKING to learn grammar or learn money skills.  Which has brought me around to thinking about life skills this summer and next school year.  Cooking, which I have backed off on letting them help in the last year or two in order to bring peace in that 5pm hour.  Sewing, can I bring my mom up for a week during the school year for “sewing school”?Money-ooh, I need to work on MY money skills.  I think a lot about character and spiritual learning, and I’m glad when our academic learning can take a step forward, but thank to Jimmie’s question, I’ll be making a list of life skills as well.

What’s not going to change despite this window into their thoughts?

When asked, “What do you think we should spend less time studying?”, the 10 year old replied, “Math and cursive.”

We have a teriffic math program, math is just a tough subject for her and made even tougher by learning with a younger sister that’s quicker with numbers.  We’ll march on.  Cursive is a lovely skill even if miniature keyboards are taking over the world. Both will stay.

So go ask your children some questions.  You might be surprised, encouraged, and get in a nudge in the right direction for your post swimming pool studies.