Teaching Homeschool

I have recently been thinking a lot about how different classroom teaching is from homeschooling. When we started homeschooling this year, I tried to set up our routine as I would a double class routine, going back and forth between each boy, teaching and interacting with them in turns. When they were done with the stuff I needed to teach them, they would have independent work time and I could do my chores or other work. It was a perfect idea, but never worked. 

Instead, each day became a battle. One liked morning meeting, the other despised it. They both wanted my attention at the same time and felt like I was leaving them during independent work time. They also wanted to do things in their own order, not in the order that I recommended or taught. Finally, they didn't like me teaching them...anything. They liked to ask questions and talk to me about the answers, but the did not like me preemptively explaining things.

Since Christmas, I have been actively not teaching, but being continuously present. It is miserable some times, especially days when I feel that I have lots to do. Since I make up lesson plans/assignments for them, I can work into those assignments things that they can't figure out without talking me, or write, "ask mom about...", or use words that I have not explained to them yet. Then they can come to me when they encounter something they don't understand. I also write down on my binder things to check-in with them, just to make sure they did their work or understood the assignment.

However, follow up and corrections is a weakness in this system. I keep discovering work they didn't understand or felt they couldn't do without me, so they just skipped it. At the moment, I check their work every other week, which makes for big make-up/correction days, if they are not understanding a concept. 

For the next three days, we are homeschooling at a school, while I am subbing for a study hall teacher. I am not sure how it will work, exactly, but the nice thing about homeschooling is that we are learning to be incredibly flexible. I am most concerned about kids "playing the system" and I won't be able to catch them because I don't know the system well enough, but it is only one week, any the person I am filling in for said not to worry, it will all work out.

That means for the next few days, they boys are sharing a table with me and I will see all the habits that they have developed while I have not been checking so closely in. I foresee much pain and travail and frustration in the near future - things from holding their pencils correctly, to skipping around on the page, doing sloppy work - all these things I will have to be careful to choose what things are most important, so we don't end up in the pre-Christmas frustration.