Trying New Things | Wandering Soup

I've written a few blogs regarding our homeschooling and the highs and lows, mainly lows. Or maybe I intended to write a few blogs and only produced one that didn't make me cringe with failure.

Well here's one I'm sorta happy to write. It's about trying something new. Simple right?

It wasn't. The kid and I have hit a well when it comes to our days of writing, applying critical thinking and simply learning. We had in the past relied on online coursework only, then moved to a combination of workbooks and online schooling to a few weeks of workbooks. The last was a combination of thinking that seeing it on paper in black and white may work better along with cutting down on screen time.

It was an abysmal failure. Even with breaks, even with reading out loud and over explaining.

This week I decided to do multiple things while keeping in mind that his attention span is no bigger than a gnat and just as bothersome.

We started out with him reading out loud from a graphic novel his mom got for him, one that he wanted. Yea. We did 5 pages and we discussed each page, each character turn along with defining words based on how it was being used in a sentence.

Then we took a break. Yep a 10 minute break.

Next up we logged online and did ONE part of a three part course. We talked thru most steps and I asked him to sum up what he head read/learned/ingested, correcting along the way.

Then we took a break. Another one.

For the third part of the day, he listened to a podcast that was geared toward kids. Yep a podcast. I've found that most kid podcasts are really just verbal learning in an energetic way. He had to share three points from the podcast with me and do a verbal summary for his mom.

Then we called the day done. Over with.

Two solid hours of learning versus the four we had previously been doing BUT I think we both felt as if we accomplished something. So much so that at dinner time he actually said that today was a great school day and he enjoyed it.

The next day he sat down with enthusiasm to start and we did a repeat. I did explain to him that we would be building as we go and some days maybe longer and he was "okay" with that.

As for me, I've moved more into a keep it quick, do it in a way that's easily digestible and contains things that he likes. The podcasts are depositing knowledge in a way that he's not realizing, reading the book helps with his language skills, and doing the work online continues the requirements for school.

Will there be days that this won't work. Yep. And I'm okay with that. But right now, we are going to enjoy this moment!

Kat

#WanderingSoup #Homeschooling #HomeschoolingduringCorona #podcastsforkids