Reminder: I'm switching blogging sites and this is an oldie but a goodie... enjoy!
As a mother to a child that is in school, especially elementary school I have had my mind on my son's education for months. I usually stay abreast of the current news, but somehow I missed the launch of Common Core. I first heard of this new federally mandated curriculum through a friend. It didn't bother me much that they would be learning a different way than I learned, because kids are very adaptive. But that was my first initial uneducated opinion. My friend had done her homework and had decided that it was best for her family that she home school her children. At that point I thought about it and thought I didn't have the patience for home school, and that Aiden would continue as he had in public school.
Common Core and Aiden's education continued to fill my mind with questions. What exactly is Common Core? Why in the crap can't Aiden use his fingers to count? That's how I did when I was his age and I did just fine. I help Aiden with his homework everyday, and if I don't have the days work to use as a guide I don't have a clue how to do the math work. The wording is so confusing. Sometimes Aiden remembers how to do the work. Sometimes he doesn't. The curriculum is more concerned about the process of the problem solving and not the result. We all know that showing your work in math shows your understanding of the concept. But to put more emphasis on the process and not the result is ridiculous. In math the answer matters! 3 - 2 = 1 ALWAYS!!! Math can already be confusing enough.
I had overheard another parent mention that they wanted to teach sex education to first graders. Yes first graders! That is Aiden's age. His mind hasn't even wondered in that direction yet. Why would they want to put that kind of information into their little brains? When I spoke to his teacher about it, she mentioned that they wouldn't be doing it this year, but maybe in second or third grade. That is still too young. I asked if I could get some of the paperwork that they would use for teaching the little ones, so I could reinforce the correct information. I wanted to see what they would be teaching him! If you have kids you all too well know that they have a superfluous ability of selective remembering. HIs teacher told me that she couldn't give me such paperwork. At that moment I knew that I needed to make some changes about his education.
God willing we would like to have one or two more kids. Since I am going to be staying at home already, home school was the most logical choice. I want Aiden to have an innocent childhood. I want Aiden to enjoy learning. Just think about kids. What is the first characteristic that comes to mind? Talkative? Hyper? Joyful? We all know the first two do not mix well with classrooms. I realize that it is important for children to know boundaries, and know the difference of playtime and learning time. However, I believe if we work with them and those characteristics they will enjoy learning and learn better.
I have not started homeschooling just yet. I am going to let Aiden finish first grade. I am still researching home school curriculum. I will let y'a'll know which ones I go with and why soon! I think we will have a little break after school lets out and then start homeschooling some time in June.
With love,
D and hot pink socks ;P
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