J graduated from preschool last week. He's spent the last 2 years at a local church preschool attending a few days a week. He has loved it and it's been fun to watch him develop friendships.
And for as much as I've waited for this day...I'm scared out of my mind today! This is one of those "what was I thinking?" moments, for sure.
I have certainly selected WAY TO MUCH to do for kindergarten, I'm afraid. We are working on the basics, handwriting, math, and phonics instruction daily. I recently had a friend loan me FIAR and I've spent some time this afternoon looking it over. I like it! Especially considering the tag-along who will be 3 in the fall. It will probably be over his head, but I think he will like the stories. So...I think I'm going to do FIAR, possibly 2 days a week, then our Intro to Science the other 2 days a week.
Overloaded much? :). I am sure that I will settle down, relax, and just enjoy it!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Thick skin
Just as I've grown a thicker skin and become used to comments related to our family (adoption/race), I expect to hear lots of homeschooling comments also.
It's that time of year when preschool wraps up and kindergarten looms ahead. DS1 has been in a church based preschool for 2 years, so at pick up time, talk naturally turns toward kindergarten for the moms. I stay quiet unless specifically asked, and yesterday I was asked how roundup went for DS1. After I said that we didn't do roundup and were homeschooling, I got the "oh". It was an "oh" of disapproval.
And I didn't care one bit. (which is PROGRESS for me!)
Recently, a tball mom friend and I were talking. We each have boys that are the same age. Kindergarten came up, and I shared our hosed school plans...and she seemed envious! She said that she didn't want her son gone at school all day and wished she could homeschool too...I'm sure I will hear a lot of that too!
It's that time of year when preschool wraps up and kindergarten looms ahead. DS1 has been in a church based preschool for 2 years, so at pick up time, talk naturally turns toward kindergarten for the moms. I stay quiet unless specifically asked, and yesterday I was asked how roundup went for DS1. After I said that we didn't do roundup and were homeschooling, I got the "oh". It was an "oh" of disapproval.
And I didn't care one bit. (which is PROGRESS for me!)
Recently, a tball mom friend and I were talking. We each have boys that are the same age. Kindergarten came up, and I shared our hosed school plans...and she seemed envious! She said that she didn't want her son gone at school all day and wished she could homeschool too...I'm sure I will hear a lot of that too!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The great curriculum decision
Oh, Sonlight, how you draw me in like a moth to a flame. (except for your price!) And as much as I love the way it looks, studying IG's and samples out the wazoo have shown me that it is not for us.
MFW...lovely MFW. While I wanted to love you for kindergarten...I don't. I can't. It's not what a kid who has 2 years of preschool under his belt needs. But for first grade, however...hmmm. Strongly considering it.
We are lightly schooling throughout the summer, both for my benefit as a newbie, and to get DS1 into the routine of seatwork. Preschool officially is over next week for him, and we usually don't do more than reading books on preschool days. Days without preschool, however, we have school.
For now, and my plan for the summer, is this: we start with our Jesus Storybook Bible and a devotional from His Mighty Warrior: A Treasure Map From Your King. After that, we tackle the hardest first, so it's phonics. We are taking a break from OPGTR right now and using Progressive Phonics instead. DS1 enjoys the little stories and it's easier for him, which is the confidence booster he needs. I'm not that much of a fan of them yet, but they are simple and he can participate in reading a story. He's not a natural reader and it takes a lot of work for him to sound out CVC words. (He's also a young 5, so no biggie) He LOVES to do handwriting, and is actually better at it than I thought. We are using ARFH-K and each time we learn a new letter, there is an animal picture to color, then gets hung on the wall. Math is Singapore Essential Math (although will probably change to CLE math next year), and that seems to be going pretty decent. I thought he was more math-oriented that he is, so I've had to adjust my expectations of math. And hey, it's kindergarten. It's fine. (And part of the reason we are homeschooling - for him to learn at his pace.)
I am one of the ones that believe that anything other than the 3 R's in K is icing on the cake; however, I want him exposed to more. So starting in the fall we are working on Elemental Science: Intro 2 days/week and working on basic geography and a beginner National Geographic Atlas 2 days/week. The other day of the week will be library/play/field trip/watch a movie/whatever day.
I also have FIAR to throw into the mix if I get bored. And booklists. By fall, DS2 will be 3 (he's a fall birthday) and he is VERY busy and learning also. I need to start coming up how to keep him from leveling the house and starting on basic pre-k work.
MFW...lovely MFW. While I wanted to love you for kindergarten...I don't. I can't. It's not what a kid who has 2 years of preschool under his belt needs. But for first grade, however...hmmm. Strongly considering it.
We are lightly schooling throughout the summer, both for my benefit as a newbie, and to get DS1 into the routine of seatwork. Preschool officially is over next week for him, and we usually don't do more than reading books on preschool days. Days without preschool, however, we have school.
For now, and my plan for the summer, is this: we start with our Jesus Storybook Bible and a devotional from His Mighty Warrior: A Treasure Map From Your King. After that, we tackle the hardest first, so it's phonics. We are taking a break from OPGTR right now and using Progressive Phonics instead. DS1 enjoys the little stories and it's easier for him, which is the confidence booster he needs. I'm not that much of a fan of them yet, but they are simple and he can participate in reading a story. He's not a natural reader and it takes a lot of work for him to sound out CVC words. (He's also a young 5, so no biggie) He LOVES to do handwriting, and is actually better at it than I thought. We are using ARFH-K and each time we learn a new letter, there is an animal picture to color, then gets hung on the wall. Math is Singapore Essential Math (although will probably change to CLE math next year), and that seems to be going pretty decent. I thought he was more math-oriented that he is, so I've had to adjust my expectations of math. And hey, it's kindergarten. It's fine. (And part of the reason we are homeschooling - for him to learn at his pace.)
I am one of the ones that believe that anything other than the 3 R's in K is icing on the cake; however, I want him exposed to more. So starting in the fall we are working on Elemental Science: Intro 2 days/week and working on basic geography and a beginner National Geographic Atlas 2 days/week. The other day of the week will be library/play/field trip/watch a movie/whatever day.
I also have FIAR to throw into the mix if I get bored. And booklists. By fall, DS2 will be 3 (he's a fall birthday) and he is VERY busy and learning also. I need to start coming up how to keep him from leveling the house and starting on basic pre-k work.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Welcome to Providence
Providence: (noun) Divine guidance or care, God as the guide of mankind.
Since deciding to homeschool and feeling that it is where God wants me right now, I've wanted to come up with a name for our little school. An official name isn't required by our state, but it was just something I wanted to do. I've thought and thought about scripture verses, incorporating our street name or last name, etc. All the usual stuff. finally, it came to me.
Providence.
Ad oh, how it fits our family perfectly. It was through God's providence that our kids were born into their first families. Providence that cared for them, protected them. Providence that led us to them. Providence that had me working a full time job for a decade to be able to stay home and homeschool now.
Providence.
Since deciding to homeschool and feeling that it is where God wants me right now, I've wanted to come up with a name for our little school. An official name isn't required by our state, but it was just something I wanted to do. I've thought and thought about scripture verses, incorporating our street name or last name, etc. All the usual stuff. finally, it came to me.
Providence.
Ad oh, how it fits our family perfectly. It was through God's providence that our kids were born into their first families. Providence that cared for them, protected them. Providence that led us to them. Providence that had me working a full time job for a decade to be able to stay home and homeschool now.
Providence.
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