As we get towards the end of July it feels like the right time to end our academic year. I think it’s been a broadly successful year and we have managed to get through a lot of learning. There has been lots that I have learnt along the way, and with it some changes as we move into the new Academic year.
What I’ve enjoyed
One of the things I’ve really enjoyed this academic year is the get-togethers that I was hosting. It gave a really good focus to some of the things we were learning, and I have so many ideas of other group activities I’d like to run. The COVID-19 situation has meant we have had to suspend those meets, and I’m not sure when they’ll restart. Not for some time I expect.
The children enjoyed learning alongside their friends and, whilst it’s an awful lot of work to arrange and run, it always feels very rewarding. It’s probably the thing I have missed most since March.
I also really enjoyed the History group we were attending, and all three children were getting a lot from this, in different ways. It ignited a real interest in history for Daniel, and it’s something that has been a real interest this academic year.
What I have learnt
I’ve learnt a lot during this academic year, but the main thing I think has to be that persevering with a curriculum choice is key. I have written a number of times about Maths no Problem and how we use it in our home education. There was a time when I did think we might drop it and move to something else. However, now we are a few years in I can see the real benefits of having pushed on with it. Both D and E are much more secure in their maths knowledge now, and H is keen to start too! He knows which book will be his when we start to look at it in the coming weeks.
I have also learnt that having a structure to the things we are working on is key for us to function efficiently. It doesn’t work for everyone, but I find when having a plan in place, we all function better. I’ve found both Science and English curriculums that we are going to use this coming year and I’m excited to see how this will work for us. The beauty of some of the stuff I have planned for the older two is that it’s leading them into ever more independent learning so that I can spend the 1-1 time with H that he needs at the moment.
Did we Achieve all I Planned?
I always have some loose plans on what I’d like to achieve across the year, these are usually very broad brush strokes and you can read my plan that I published in August last year. I set out to achieve a few things. These are the ones I feel like I managed to complete.
- Encourage creative writing
- Emma to be a competent reader
- Continue Maths No Problem Curriculum
- Participate in the quarterly project fairs
- Try History classes
- Projects on volcanos and earthquakes
The top one still needs a bit of work, but we definitely did the rest. We did a lot of project fairs, and we have missed these a lot during lockdown.
Thins we didn’t achieve
- Complete Sassafras Human Biology
- Earth Sciences curriculum
Science seems to be the biggest gap in our curriculum right now. We had been joining with friends to learn about the body, and this was great fun. But that’s on the back burner right now too. I have some ideas for science in the next year so I hope to address that gap.
Other Bits and Pieces
Other things that children did was to continue their Spanish classes, swimming lessons and PE and football. We began to formally address H’s speech issues and of course, our regular speaking and listening groups continued to be a success.
Lockdown meant a significant change to our days and we did a lot of short, focussed projects initially (and we will likely continue to do so). We have had lots of days out with friends and enjoyed hosting friends at home to learn about lots of different things such as artists, Hanukkah and the such.
I’ll share my 2020-2021 plans soon, but this time around I am going to focus on termly plans. So much seems to be up in the air and I can’t plan for a whole year at the moment.
You can read my monthly review here:
How has your home education been in this academic year?
