I have a great deal of resources: an entire year of lessons from his teacher- including mimeo stacks (like power points), all the CO and Common Core standards to reference, quite a few fun skill practicing apps and a cool subscription to an i-magazine. So far, however, Cyrus and I have struggled to find the best learning situation on the boat...ie- when it's time to really do lessons- it's not pretty--like first year teaching not pretty. Many times Cyrus will refuse to work or avoid it- I think he even did the laundry once to avoid doing a spelling lesson with me. Unlike a first year teacher, however, I do not blame my child for this issue- I blame the teacher.
Cyrus is a true active learner. He does NOT do well with "sit and do" type lessons. So, we've almost stopped them altogether. In the last few days, Tyler and I have decided to engage Cyrus more in working on the boat- in real activities as part if his school work. So far he has helped install a light, change the position of a VHF radio, uninstall an antenna and broken hardware and wash the boat.
He still reads with me and does math and projects for science, however, trying to make homeschooling on a boat like going to school is...well...silly. Children have a brilliant way of showing you how they need to learn. I'm sure by the end of our adventure, Cyrus will be able to add and subtract fluently within 100, spell because correctly, articulate how a barnacle interacts with its environment to survive, and read and talk about a story. He may also be able to use the right tools to solve a problem and he'll have the confidence that only comes from doing real work.
If not...he's young for his grade-level- he can just do it over....
Just kidding grandpa...
No comments:
Post a Comment