New Homeschooling Year

I am going to try to blog again and blog once a week about our homeschooling experiences.   We started our new homeschool year last week.   Samuel is kindergarten age, but since we worked on kindergarten material last year, we are doing first grade this year.    The first week was an adjustment for us.  Samuel is learning more and so our day revolves around the kitchen table more than last year.  

Here is this year's schedule:
8:30 a.m.  Phonics/Reading
9:30 a.m.  Math
10:00 a.m.  Break
10:30 a.m.  Handwriting
11:00 a.m.  Spelling
11:30 a.m.  Break, then lunch
1:00 p.m.    Social Studies (M, W) or Science (T, Th)
1:30 p.m.    Bible

What I like about homeschooling is that if Samuel finishes his work in one subject early, we move on to the next.  There were several days last week when he finished Phonics/Reading and Math before 9:30 a.m.!   We also went on our first field trip last week as well.   The Ozark Empire Fair was going on, so we went on Saturday.  Josh had received two adult tickets from a fellow librarian and the kids were still free, so we didn't have to pay anything to attend.  We spent most of our time touring the livestock barns and talking about the animals we saw.  Pretty easy for a field trip!

My biggest stress for the year was going to be recording hours.  In the state of Missouri, you have to have 1,000 hours of instruction.  600 of those hours are in the "core" subjects (math, reading, grammar, science, social studies), with 400 of the 600 taught in the home.  I, technically do not have to start recording hours until Samuel is 7 years old.  But I wanted this year to be a trial run, so I would know how to do it next year.   Let me tell you, it was stressful last week trying to record exactly how many minutes each subject took and adding them up and recording them.  I wanted to pull my hair out!!   But after talking to a fellow homeschooling Mom and reading the statutes online and and explanation of them, I learned a new way.  The hours that are required are not clock hours they are more like credit hours.  One lesson is considered one "hour".  Talk about a relief!  This will make it so much easier to record hours, since I don't have to worry about exact minutes.  It will also help me not feel so stressed out and I can relax and have more fun teaching.

I am going to try to blog at least once a week this year.  I know I haven't been that great at it, but I really am going to try.  Hopefully I will be able to attach some pictures throughout the year as well.