SOME SCHOOLING THOUGHTS FROM ADAIR MIDDLETON

Homeschool thoughts

I had the amazing opportunity to homeschool our 4 children over the last 15 years. I did it for lots of different reasons and had a variety of different kids home with me during different years. Most years I only had 1-2 at a time. I tried to focus on the needs and mostly the desires of each different child. As I’ve reflected these past few days about what “picking homeschool back up” will look like, I’ve gone back to the basics of when I first started my oldest son in first grade. He is now a college senior about to graduate from the University of Florida.

Here are my 4 most important thoughts:

1. Read: No matter what, they should spend some portion of the day reading. Depending on their age, they can tell you what the book is about, or write a story summarizing the plot in a writing journal. If they are older, they can compare and contrast characters in the book or from another book they read. There are lots of resources on-line, in your local bookstore and of course on Amazon, if you want a workbook to correlate with the book they are reading. This definitely makes it easier for the mom or dad at home. But, if all that sounds like too much, just send them to their favorite nook or cranny to read, read, read!
2. Math: I have only picked two school subjects. Reading is the obvious choice and math is a close second. Math, unlike most other school subjects in K-8, really builds on itself so keeping up is especially important for when the kids do return to school. We usually did math first thing after breakfast. It is mentally taxing for many kids, and mine always wanted to get it over with first.

3. Write your daily schedule up on the fridge. Having expectations is great! Ours will look something like this:

   8:00 Breakfast
   8:15 Math
   9:00 free time
   9:30 read for an hour
   10:30 play instrument/craft/color/shoot baskets/jump on trampoline etc!
   11:30 Walk around the block
   noon Lunch

   Afternoon will depend on the age and stage of your kiddos, but I would make an afternoon schedule similar to the morning one. Routine always helped. They can also help with all the household chores. They can clean the kitchen after meals, vacuum, walk the dog, etc.

4. Have fun! Make a list of fun evening activities to do together as a family. Pick one to do each night so everyone (including mom) has something to look forward to. Make their favorite pizza together or play a competitive game of Monopoly!

   We hope keeping it simple helps you and your precious family during this time!