Great Resources!

Great book I checked out at the library first & then bought on-line. There is no government approved curriculum, so each state, district, school just does their best in determining what to teach. This book was recommended to me by an experienced homeschool mom & is packed full of lesson ideas and info on what your child should know. ED Hirsch, Jr. has them through 6th grade.

Dollar stores typically have these great work books for preschoolers & kindergartens. I've also gotten flash cards & other fun teaching tools there.

Week 3/21 - 3/26 CALENDAR

This week we're beginning to learning about calendars. Our focus is months of the year & seasons this week & next week we'll talk about days of the week. Above is an exercise where Michael had to come up with what number each month was (ie March =3, December = 12). We didn't work on this till later in the week, but here it is anyway.

I usually begin our day with Michael writing his name & date & then writing out something to do with what we're working on or a scripture. He wrote the 12 months of the year here. This helps me identify what letters he needs help with and of course helps him get familiar with what we're going to be talking about.

I made him a calendar of his very own that he will hang in his room after it's done. We worked on 3 months each day by season (ie: Dec/Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr/May, Jun/Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct/Nov) and something special about that month.

I made the grid & wrote the month on top. Then we talked about the month & he glued some snowflakes on. I wrote the days of the week, saying them as I went for repetition, and after looking at our family calendar, he was able to figure out how many days there were in the month and which day it started & ended. Then he wrote in the dates. By the end of the week he was saying the days of the week before I wrote them.

Here's May. There are 11 core requirements for teaching homeschool: reading, writing, spelling, language, math, science, social studies, history, health, occupational education, and art & music appreciation. These skills can be taught separately or multiple in one lesson. So here, we worked on art, math, reading, and writing. We also talked about the earth rotating around the sun each year & that's why we have different seasons. Michael loves math & science so he liked learning that little tid-bit.

Week 3/14 - 3/19 SOLAR SYSTEM

After having Michael write out the names of the 9 planets, and a general study of each planet (internet pics, etc.), I made mini paper planets. One side had the name of the planet, the other a "site word" (words that all kids should know by site because they are used often & some are not phonics friendly ie: come/the). After correctly naming the site word he could flip over the planet to reveal it's name. Once all were flipped over we put the planets in order of closest to furthest from the sun.

Lizzie & Alaina who also wanted to join in the stars & planets lessons got each letter of their name on planet, moon, or star. I mixed them up & taped them to the wall & helped them piece together their names.

To review sequences & numbers 1-100, I put numbers on planets, moons & stars for Michael & he had to put them in the right order.

Once Michael was generally familiar with what each planet looked like, we drew each planet on a balloon & tacked them in order rotating around the sun (his ceiling light) in his room. Now he gets to stare up at the solar system when he goes to bed.

(View when you're laying on the floor). The day after we hung the balloons we added stars, but he had to earn them by reading all his sight words (he's working on 30 right now). As a bonus I found a paper rocket & astronaut which went up too.

Be Creative!

One of the many great perks about homeschooling is that you are teaching those you know best - your own kids! With that said, when my son Michael started whining & complaining about finishing his work, I got his transformers to put the pressure on. He laughed about that a little & it cheered him up enough to finish his assignment.

Michael's view...very scary ;)

DISCLAIMER

Before I mislead anyone - I have no real credentials, no teaching degree, or professional teaching experience. I have not written a book, done 3 year national studies, or been homeschooling for 20+ years.

I do however have an interest in my kids and the family I've helped to create. I desire for them to be educated in the world around them and wise enough to navigate through it with happiness and purpose. I would like them to be good & useful members of society, full of faith and desire to serve those around them. I have hope that they too someday will raise a family, centered in love and gratitude to our Father in Heaven & His Son, Jesus Christ.

With that in mind, please know that I'm very much the learner & my children the teachers. Like them, I'm trying to figure things out one day at a time & trying to also learn to love the journey.

New Blog

Although we started our homeschooling adventure in late February, I'm just realizing how cool a blog would be to document some of the things we're working on. To sum up what you've missed - penmanship & spelling practice, proper use of lower & upper case letters, words that end with ar/at/an, story sequences, counting/writing to 100, beginning addition & subtraction, the 7 continents, basic US history (Christopher Columbus, "Indians", May Flower Pilgrims, Independence, & George Washington - our first president), rhythm & patterns in music, lots of crafts, play groups, trips to the YMCA, church activities, & other social opportunities. Above all, reading, reading, reading! Phew.