Homeschooling Fantasy

I've always harboured fantasies of running my own home school, nurturing my children through personal curriculum catering to their interests, strengths and weaknesses.  Coming to Guadeloupe has given me the opportunity to do just that. We started mid August, and have been working every day (minus a few travel days); a combination of old school table work and independent studies inspired by the world around us.

With daily negotiations Xavier diligently completes math, and language arts tasks from the grade 4 curriculum.  Current events and the island itself, are the source for many of his independent studies.  He has come to love reading books, and right now adores the Animorphs series.

Quincy has a voracious appetite for workbooks, and has fired through all the books I brought with us including the grade 1 language arts curriculum and Xavier's grade 3 math review.  He also loves to draw pictures of our surroundings, and write about them in his journal.

Odin completes our daily weather calendar, which always starts out sunny and hot in the morning.  Lately he comes back in the afternoon to change to rain.  He's also working on writing numbers and letters at the table, but he generally keeps busy learning through play.

Milo? Well, he sits at the table in a high chair putting baby toys in his mouth, and then rolls around on the tile floor grabbing more toys and putting them in his mouth until its time for his nap.

Now, how am I keeping 3 active boys reading, writing, drawing, typing in the hot Caribbean sun? With my positive teaching style and dynamic personality? For the love of learning? Sadly, no.

I have resorted to bribery. "Finish this and then we get to go swimming in the pool."  "Finish that and then we can go to the beach."  And the most important bribe of all: "When you reach the day's goal, it's free time"- translated into boyspeak - video game time!

Not exactly the way I pictured the fantasy, however, spending time learning with my children in this new environment is a challenge I'm grateful to experience.