In our homeschool we have music that is part of our daily routine. I’m not talking about doing a composer study or learning about music. I’m talking about the ways music and audio are facilitating your learning environment, the soundtrack in our home. In our house we use audio to gather us to start our school day, to teach some of our subjects and to help us focus while we work. As teacher/mom I also listen to podcasts to grow as teacher and parent.
One of the bonus parts of homeschooling is that our back to school shopping is much less involved than heading back to a traditional classroom. We do our shopping on an as-needed basis, and keep a small supply of notebooks on hand for various projects that come up.
Our space evolved as the kids transitioned to elementary school. When we bought our current house 2 years ago, a dedicated school space was a priority, and I knew that our school room had to accommodate my four school space non-negotiables: I wanted a reading couch, computer desks and both independent and community work spaces.
Going as a couple to the convention allowed us to experience the speakers together. We reminded ourselves of our commitment together to educate our children. While I do the majority of the day to day teaching, I wouldn’t be successful without my husband’s support and occasional “substitute teaching”. We were able to discover philosophies together and programs that we both liked that would work for our family.
Somehow each year the first day meltdowns always surprise me. And at the end of day one Mama needed her quiet space and felt discouraged before we barely started our year. I forget to have the right expectations for our first day.
