Thrive in 2017: February Goals

 

We begin each month by establishing goals and reflecting on the year so far. As I shared last month, our word for the year is Thrive. A recent homeschool goal has been to incorporate weekly chalkboards into our lessons. Within the Waldorf kindergarten/first grade, stories are introduced on the first day then drawn in more detail throughout the week until a letter is revealed. It's taken me awhile to embrace this rhythm. 

To learn the importance of latency as young children learn.

Another rhythm we're trying is block scheduling, which is new for us. Block scheduling is the concept of formally teaching a subject for a concentrated period of time, then letting it rest so the child's subconscious has a chance to work through it. It looks differently for different families. Some Waldorf homeschools adopt monthly rhythms- often three weeks of formal instruction with a festival week build in. We're beginning with a two-week rhythm- two weeks of Language Arts, two weeks of Math/Form Drawing.

Block scheduling is usually for older grades, but I'm going to approach Billy's abbreviated kindergarten work the same way. This will give us more space, I think, to incorporate games and activities too. This is our first month, so I'll let you know how it goes! 

Homeschool goals: 

• Adopt a two-week rhythm, alternating Language Arts & Math/Form drawing
• Complete our hibernation unit for science, and move onto animal tracks
• Continue to study world geography with Isia
• Memorization work: "A Sun Like Thee" by Eileen Hutchins, Psalm 100
• Recorder/ handwork

Blog goals: 

• Our weeklyish newsletter
• Blog series: Homeschool Art Lessons in Printmaking
• Waldorf chalk drawing post on our weekly boards
• Complete one sewing project

Home goals: 

• Mending: Broken kitchen shelf, hemming closet curtain downstairs, Isia's doll, curtain rods
• Knitting: Finish Isia's cardigan
• All photos off iPhone & USB onto Shutterfly
• Marie Kondo our photos 

Whew! Even if everything doesn't get done (and it likely won't), setting goals helps me to prioritize my time. At least a little bit :) 

What goals are you working on this month? Would love to hear in the comments below!

Some of my blog friends are sharing their February goals as well:

Mary Anne at Mama Smiles is working on fun learning and gratitude activities.
Christy at Hot Drinks & Conversation is nurturing the heart of excellence.
Kate at Kitchen Floor Crafts is working on balance and organization.
Cassie at 3 Dinosaurs is celebrating five years of blogging. This includes her amazing collection of free printables!