Reflections on the School Year

May generally marks the end of the school year for us. In the past, we have been on a schedule where we begin our school year in July and end in May, taking off the months of December and June. 

Things got off track for us last year, so we ended up beginning in September instead of July, which means we are finding ourselves not finished in May this year. 

I think this is working for us though.

I shared with you a few days ago that we’ll be doing two J-terms this summer, followed by an end-of-year trip to Washington DC in August. I think this is a schedule change I can live with. So, our new schedule will be to school from September to July, taking off the months of December and August. Of course we’ll take a week off here and there as well (like in May and June). Scheduling 10 months out of the year gives us that flexibility. 

While I’m talking about things that seem to be working for us this year, I have to bring up the two math programs that are working really well for Ben this year — Life of Fred and Math Essentials. 

Life of Fred is the first math program Ben actually enjoys doing. Its living book approach, silly characters, and fun way math is integrated with other subjects (especially science) has inspired Ben.  Seeing how math is used in other subjects makes it more relevant for him, plus the story line is just plain fun. Who knew that a math book could become our favorite read aloud or the book Ben takes to bed for nighttime reading? 

And then there is Math Essentials. It’s the kind of math program I had been searching for but could never find. I am so grateful we were afforded the opportunity to review it this year. Its single-page, 20-minutes-a-day, with DVD lessons when needed, approach has made math doable for Ben. He’s not overwhelmed by it, and the methods used make sense to him. 

These two programs have been the perfect math combo — finally, there are few math wars at our house. We will be continuing both for the next school year. 

Because I feel the need to balance the good with the bad, I’ll share one thing that has not worked well for us this year — the lack of field trips. My health has not allowed for nearly as many outings as we prefer. I’m going to try to make up for that during our J-terms, and then work very hard next year to take Ben on at least two field trips per month. I’ll soon share a list of ideas I’m forming for that. 

One more thing that hasn’t worked well for us — the lack of sticking to a daily schedule. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not much of a planner. I’m ok with that, really. But I do find that Ben operates best when we stick to a daily schedule he can follow. Even if it’s just loosely blocked time for chores, school, meals, and free time, it seems that we are both more productive when we have some idea of what we’re doing hour by hour. I want to get back to our daily schedule sooner rather than later. 

Overall, things are going well for us this year. How about you? Have you discovered what worked and what didn’t? I would love for you to share about it in the comments!