How did a group of mom's turn Monday into one of the best days of the week? It's our "Method" day, where we meet to discuss a pre-planned topic on teaching methods.
It started when a mom in our homeschool group purchased a new writing curriculum for her children. She loved the program so much that she wanted to share it with all the moms. Along with the student's writing program, she had purchased an instructional teaching DVD, and generously agreed to watch it with all of us. We would need to meet for a series of several weeks and watch the program over time, as it was too lengthy for one sitting.
Each week, we looked forward to the evening when we met. We were excited to learn something new and share it with others. It was "grown-up" time where we could grow in our teaching and connect with other parents. Turns out, we all loved the writing program and decided to purchase it and begin using it with our own children, but that's not all that came out of our weekly meetings. We realized that connecting with other moms strengthened our bond as a group and deepened our insights on different teaching methods.
We grew to enjoy our weekly meetings so much that after completing the writing series, we decided to choose another topic to share. When Monday rolls around we are all excited about the evenings "Method" workshop. We've completed two workshop topics, are starting the third and planning the fourth.
Homeschooling is a vast opportunity to incorporate a plethora of topics into our children's development and the uniqueness of each child is a search for fostering his/her talents. As a parent and teacher, I multiply my skills in the sharing of ideas and information with others. The weekly "method" workshops has increased my circle of friends and expanded my perspective on new curriculum ideas.
Do you have a curriculum that you'd like to share?
