I am asked quite often how exactly do I
homeschool my kids? I think this is a fair question as they are both
blind and so am I. The assumption that it would look a bit different
is quite fair. However, when I am asked this question, I have found
that what people usually mean by it is what program or curriculum do
I use? After all, most homeschooling families either seem to have
the one curriculum they swear by or will use one curriculum for
certain subjects and another for others. I don't, as of yet, utilize
any set curriculum, so this can make this a more difficult question
to answer succinctly.
I suppose the best way I can summarize
my current approach (that's one of the awesome things about
homeschooling, I can be so flexible) is that I take each subject in
turn and try and map out what aspects of that subject my kids, at
their age and development level, need to know. This isn't set in
stone, it can be changed if one or both seem to be struggling in a
certain area of a subject. I then will buy, if need be, tactile
tools to teach those aspects or utilize things I already have around
the house. So in essence, I am not relying on an already prepared
curriculum (although there is nothing wrong with those) but I am
putting together one on my own and finding the right tools that will
work well with my kids. Let me give a couple examples that I hope
will make this a bit clearer.
Let's start with phonics. It was
fairly easy for me to teach letter recognition and corresponding
sounds. I bought tiles that have embossed print letters on them that
can be felt. I also have various magnet letter variations, which
help them in recognizing letters in slightly different forms.
Once they had the basic recognition and
sound/s of each letter fairly well known, the next natural step
seemed to be to then move to blends or combinations of letter sounds,
such as cl or ch or st. Once this foundation was set, I could then
move on to spelling, utilizing the knowledge we had worked on from
the previous lessons. I teach these concepts very informally, often
in game form and so far it is working quite well. Jon in particular,
is a good speller. This progression from phonics to spelling then
naturally moves on to reading, first simple words, then simple
sentences. I do utilize resources on the internet, particularly for
sentence samples or word lists, but I don't rely on them. I am
putting it together from my own mental faculties and just what would
be common sense for them to learn at their age.
I'll give one more example, geography.
Now this may seem an odd thing for me to consider with my 5 year old,
but I see no reason why she shouldn't start to have a grasp of the
world. So I started with her a year and a half ago, just by
memorizing states and capitals. We started with states that she had a
connection to, such as where relatives lived or where we had
previously visited. She would learn those and then ask me for more.
After a few months, I could tell she
was getting bored with straight memorization, so out of curiosity to
see if she could grasp this, I bought her a US puzzle map. I thought
perhaps seeing the states in physical relation to each other would
make this subject more interesting for her. I was, in this case,
correct and she now knows well over half the map.
Neither of these examples are are the
exact way I approach a subject each day. . I am finding it so far to
be a very fluid approach and a lot of trail and error. I gage how
well they are grasping a concept of a subject and I can either back
off to a simpler/basic concept or move forward in that subject if
need be. I imagine, as they get older, that I will eventually use an
already prepared, written curriculum, but for now, I see no need. I
enjoy the freedom of this method and while at times it is challenging
to come up with the lessons on my own, it is stretching and growing
me. I am finding I can teach on my own, putting together my own
lesson plans. I am seeing progress, Lexy is starting to grasp
braille. I have been working with her for almost a year and it has
been so nice to not feel rushed or pressured by a set book and its
pace. I don’t have to rush her to be at a certain point, that is
very freeing for both of us.
