When I saw the challenge to write a post on “A Day in the Life”, I hesitated. Only because it is hard to choose which day, as they all look different.
Here are some past links:
We do outside formal classes three days a week for math for T. my 16 year old and L. 18 year old, does twice a week.
We also on Tuesdays have enrichment classes, which I decided to show that day, even though it is the most hectic, simply because I have photos.
This Tuesday, my older student was ill, so he stayed home to watch class online. We have a strict policy about sickness, which leads some students to participate online. Since Tuesdays are our hands on day, it doesn’t work well if they do not notify me ahead of time.
We left the house at about 9 am.
Geography Class is first: We were were studying Nepal. We had a variety of videos, but this first one brought up one of the most famous things in Nepal.
Mt Everest Video
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-mount-everest-so-tall-michele-koppes
We then moved on to other topics, and Maggie Doyne was a large part of our study today.
I challenged our high school students, all of whom were not much younger than Maggie when she decided to change the life of one child, to think of what they could do, large or small, to change someone’s life.
We are using Guest Hollow Geography, which is full of hands on activities, videos, books and much more to pull from.
We move on to Biology the next hour. We are also using Guest Hollow Biology, but since we have a mixture of secular and religious students in our class, it is easy to teach to both using this since it has the option of both. The textbooks are free, but you do have to purchase the schedule, but you can figure it out without, if you want.
We attempt to distance in our classroom, wipe down things between classes, and wear masks if the students are the ones that wear them. It has been difficult this year, but we have managed to hold classes once a week, with a few online classes, but mostly in person this year.
In this case, we were working on a lapbook about plant classification. The instructions were vague, which led to us all doing some creative planning right there in class.
I have anywhere from 10-14 students in a class, which leads to a challenge to keep everyone’s attention. The parents are responsible for their homework, weekly assignments, so this weekly class offers something to enrich the class and hands on projects.
Sometimes it seems that for high school, the hands on projects for biology seem a little childish, but they seem to enjoy them.
Next we go into Writing for Publication class. This one is a small class, with writing assignments for teens interested in future publication. We have worked on contests, NaNoWriMo, and other writing challenges. It is fun to see the creative stories our teens have come up with.
We on a previous week had brainstormed a story from a photo here and so this week we talked about some of the stories we had come up with. They were very creative.
I have a full time job in my everyday life as a property manager and own my own company. Since this Tuesday fell on the second of the month, I was writing checks, collecting rent, as well as just rented a home to someone the previous day, and had a move out scheduled for this day as well. It often means that at times there are texts or phone calls that cannot wait, but I work hard to make sure Tuesdays are devoted to these enrichment classes.
After classes, I led a homeschool support group meeting, which generally leaves me a bit flustered and voiceless. I don’t mind offering support to others, but sometimes I wonder if I am doing any good. I have been homeschooling for over 18 years, without counting my homeschooling my siblings before that. I have my third graduate this year, and one more to go. I am tired out.
After support group, I ran my 16 year old to his job of coaching at the Gymnastics academy, and thought I could stop at the bank before the teachers meeting. Alas, I ended up late as the line was long and I could not get out of it.
I finished the other inspection over the phone with my cleaner going in person, but it fell right during the teacher meeting. It is leading me to think I may not be able to offer classes next year.
The day finished with me arriving home after 6 pm, worn out and realizing I had forgotten to eat more than tea and a handful of nuts during the day. I finished off some soup that a wonderful parent trades me (meals for teaching her son classes on Tuesday), and headed out for an evening walk to get my daily exercise.
I have found that as a homeschool teacher, I need to take care of my own health, which I often fail at. But since August, have been walking daily 2-7 miles, to keep up my strength, mental clarity and health.
Our homeschool days are not traditional anymore. We just finished basketball season, which took up evenings for the last 12 years, and I just finished the final season. It was worth it though.
Next year, we will likely be doing dual enrollment for T. and L. will likely be part time or full time in the community college. We have some learning struggles where it doesn’t make life simple, so looking forward to figuring out the next part.
It is is scary for many to think about homeschooling high school, but I would say, don’t be afraid. It is not as hard as you think!