progress reports

We're coming to a close of our "school year" in London....

We're doing well - this week JD is in a basketball camp at the American School.  He is such a happy guy when he can play sports - he is having a lot of fun with it and meeting some kids who will be in his grade next year!  I am so happy for him.  He has grown so much even since we came here, he is really maturing. He" been reading, with intense interest, a book about the year that his Grandpa spent in VietNam (written by Grandpa)!  He really is mesmerized by it!

 

Little miss AL, she also is doing well.  She is IN LOVE with her girls school.  She wants to continue there next year but we just can't make that work with the different schedules.  I think she will accept it but I can tell it makes her sad.  Also she has hurt both her legs this past week.  She over-extends them, both of her legs, she hurt them individually while jumping (one on a trampoline and the other doing long jump at track practice).  She is hobbling around and I feel bad for her.  However she is her sweet old self.  She has been reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" every day to JP (even JD listens but pretends not to) and she is teaching him to play the piano (we got a keyboard but I haven't found a teacher yet). 

 

JD, now SEVEN years old! is making some progress finally with his writing.  Since JD and AL are gone this week each day, I have been working with him on writing and reading.  He's has become pretty good with reading, he still has to sound words out but he can make it through the most simple/easy books now and that is fun.  I highly recommend "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" - what a practical, no-nonsense way to help your child learn to read.   You can't force it though, and so if you think you'll get your three-year-old to read without his desire to do so, good luck!  The child must want to read and then this is the tool to help him reach that goal.  We started it probably over 2 years ago and have just continued to pick it up as needed.  He's doing Singapore Math Level 1A.  He's actually doing quite well, and can add double digit numbers (like 12 + 5).  I have to keep working with him through the summer.  I will try to continue to do some "school" with all the kids even when we're home because we've had so many breaks and such disruptions these past few months! 

 

I do feel like we're getting into a routine though.  It is nice but I'm also lonely, I really hate being far away from family & friends.  It is hard.  Everything else is good but being apart from everyone is hard.

We've developed the habit of reading together as a family each evening.  This is a favorite past time from when the children were younger.  Unfortunately the crazy schedules in high-pressure American suburbs do not allow for this sweet, simple tradition once children are older and running from one thing to another.  We've enjoyed re-integrating family reading time and I know the kids love it just as much. 

Nature Study in Central London

Our science curriculum was a flop, but I've been sharing the one success we had:  the Nature Journal.  Living in an urban setting, it's not as easy to find nature, but perhaps that makes the activity more necessary - to find the small touches of nature that might be under our noses.

I love this last one...

He chose the subject of the Nature Study from our back patio and researched to discover the name of the tree/flower         Magnolia grandiflora

just when I thought I was getting a handle on things...

For the first two months of this transition in our life, things went something like this:
1.  upheaval - move from US
2.  crankiness - adjustment to time zone and major lifestyle change (going from suburban Minnesota safe neighborhood with large yards and kids running everywhere.... to apartment living, none of our familiar belongings, new foods, new job for Dad, no yard, no friends, no toys!).
3.  stress of finding a permanent "home" in London - searching, thinking, researching, wondering where the best spot for us would be out of limited choices and a limited budget.
4.  emerging from the fog of #1-3 above to actually beginning to establish a routine, beginning to accomplish maybe a couple of hours of school per day.
5.  actually enjoying our place, our location, our life, being able to work well with school schedule each day

THEN we have to move into our "permanent" rental place
1.   Stressful couple of weeks as our lease agreement gets renegotiated because of a couple of problems
2.  upheaval - move to our little house, receipt of our surface shipment!
3.  crankiness - anyone who has moved recently knows it's HARD on a household, and there's so much to do
4.  stress of trying to get connected in the area - looking at schools again, getting the kids into sports/activities, finding a babysitter, learning where to get groceries, etc.
5.  figuring out how to get around - walking and subway had been our only options - until we all got bicycles which was a big job in itself
6.  emerging from the fog of #1-5 to actually beginning to establish a routine, beginning to accomplish a few hours of school per day
7.  learning that our daughter would be able to attend a school just around the corner - for the remainder of the British school year, and realizing that I only truly had a couple of weeks left of "homeschooling all of my children" when I feel like I hardly even got to get my feet on the ground to do a good job at it....  accepting that it was the perfect situation for our family, for this time, for this adjustment.
8.  relief to move on to the next phase of this adjustment to life here

Who ever thought that homeschooling and ex-pat family would go hand in hand?  I've heard of a few other families here in London who have had this experience and turned to homeschooling because of the same underlying problem = there are no schools available.  So I know I'm not alone.  I wonder how others who uproot their families mid-school year and move to the world's most populated cities deal with this issue?

Photos of our home school in London (APRIL)

Here are some of the best things we did for school in London the first month:

Let's start with the kids' favorites:  spending time in the wonderful parks of London!

The Princess of Wales Memorial Playground, a short walk from our temporary accommodations the first month, became the perfect spot for daily "recess".  The kids especially loved the boats here, like the massive pirate ship here, for climbing upon!

 A visit to some friends from Minnesota who live near the Kew Botanical Gardens

One of the few exhibitions we paid to visit so far has been the Tower Bridge Exhibition.  Interesting perspective on engineering and the layout of the Thames through London

What a treat, we had Belgian friends visit the 3rd week we were here.  They took us to many of the markets of London and we were immersed in that beautiful French melody

Nature Study in Kensington Gardens

NATURE STUDY:  I love this, and the kids enjoy it as well... 

My inspiration for these activities has come from Pocketful of Pinecones: Nature Study With the Gentle Art of Learning : A Story for Mother Culture by Karen Andreola

It is read as a fictional story, where the homeschool mom goes on nature walks with her children each Wednesday afternoon. Together they observe God's marvelous creation and record their findings into their Nature Notebooks.

Here, the kids are supposed to be "working" while I attend the walk-through at the small townhouse we will rent.  There were some problems with the walk-through and the kids really needed to sit there, do their work, and not interrupt me.  Easier said than done; they made a good attempt.  It was a stressful day.  At least the sun was shining!

the end of full time homeschooling all three kids in London?

This is where I commend all those of you who homeschool, all your children, full-time.  I am in awe of you - really!  

I began this blog to journal my experience homeschooling ONE child, for one year (maybe more - I was hoping to do 2 - 3 years during middle school, depending on how things were going).  Mid-way through this academic year, I found our family thrown across the Atlantic Ocean unexpectedly as my husband needed to take an ex-pat position in London with his company.  Schools in London are packed, jammed, bursting....parents sign their babies up when they are newborns, for schools to attend when they're 3 years old!! 

Therefore, arriving in London at the end of March, there were literally NO school options for my children.  Which meant that home education became the best option - for all of them.

I've enjoyed having the children, and to be honest, I believe it has not only brought them closer together but also has perhaps helped ease the transition to life here.  But if I am truly honest with myself, I can say that there were many days when I lost my temper, lost my patience, and lost my head!!  Trying to launch our life here AND school them was tricky.  I regret the days that I have yelled too much.  I regret not figuring out a way to enlist help earlier on (babysitters, tutors, etc.).  I regret the times I lost my patience!

We're ending this mode now.   10 year old daughter will begin a school around the corner tomorrow (sniff, sniff).  I'll have the boys to homeschool for the rest of the academic year...while their sister experiencing the British school system!

As I age, I understand that my life is built up of stages, each very different, unique experiences at a certain point in time.  Particularly as a mother this is true, because these kids, they are always changing - and it's hard to keep up!!   I appreciate this stage I had, here in London, with all three of my children, all the time, despite my shortcomings.  Looking back, I'm sure I'll have the rosy glasses on and remember the beautiful moments....