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Kindergarten Year has Begun!
It feels strange to write that Headline – “Kindergarten Year has Begun.” If I have to choose a grade to categorize our current homeschool level, I suppose that’d be it… but one of the joys of Homeschooling is that you aren’t locked into a level. When someone is ready to move ahead to more challenging things, you have that freedom. The same applies if someone needs to hang back a little. Regardless, the purpose of this post is to share how I prepared for this year of schooling. I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant and my baby brain is in full swing. Because of this, I had to get SUPER organized…
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Chore Charts : Bring on the Helping!
We started using a pocket chart for scheduling our school “days” this year, and the kids responded really positively to it. My husband suggested that I use it to put up tasks that are expected from the kids, so that they could turn them around when the tasks are completed – like we do with our school tasks. When I began using rows of my scheduler for chores, I had to significantly simplify the school list and the kids were a little annoyed. I decided to give making our own mini charts a shot. Mind you, they aren’t flawless, but they were quick and easy and in the big scheme…
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Artist Study: Matisse
One of the most enjoyable parts of homeschooling, at least in my home, is that I am not limited to the constraints of a prepared curriculum. Sometimes, this is overwhelming, as I find myself desiging a custom curriculum for Reading AND Math AND Science AND Art… Most of the time, I enjoy it, immensely. Among the fun things we learned, we were most inspired by Matisse’s determination to continue with his art, even after he was limited to his bed. Did you know that he wore sunglasses, because the colors he was using were too bright for his aging eyes? Fascinating! Art Projects, Inspired by Matisse I was so excited to…
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Artist Study : Monet
One of the most enjoyable parts of homeschooling, at least in my home, is that I am not limited to the constraints of a prepared curriculum. Sometimes, this is overwhelming, as I find myself desiging a custom curriculum for Reading AND Math AND Science AND Art… Most of the time, I enjoy it, immensely. I decided to start studying artists with the kids, and the first Artist that we studied was Monet. Among the fun things we learned, Monet found himself under the waves on at least one occassion, as the tide came in while he was painting. We learned that his mood could change like the weather and that…
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Library Bags : Encouraging a Love of Literature!
I took the kids to a Pajama Storytime, earlier this week. They enjoyed it very much and wanted to bring some books home. How does a Momma say no to that? I got a library card for my son, who is almost 5, and let the kids choose some books. The lesson I learned was that having preschoolers carry a stack of books can be, well, challenging. On Wednesday, I asked the little monkeys if they would enjoy having a bag to carry their library books in. The answer was an enthusiastic “Yes!” I promptly searched pinterest for “library bags” and found the Kids Totes by Running with Scissors. I had the…
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What Comes After “Z”?
Last year, we started our homeschooling journey with a simple challenge… “If you could teach him to read before Kindergarten…” It was ON! Little did we know, we – my husband and I – would begin researching risks and benefits, techniques, statistics and more. What we definitely didn’t expect was to both agree that homeschooling might be our best option. The obvious starting point, in a journey to reading, seemed to be letter recognition. I planned daily lessons, in advance, which included youTube videos, learning games, crafts and books. Day by day, we knew what to expect, and planning was as simple as addressing the next week of letters. Then……
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Learning about Frogs!
We have two African Dwarf Frogs in our new fish tank and we’ve all been enjoying watching their antics. Being able to watch them swim to the surface for air, crawl around, float and eat has been very entertaining for all of us. It has also given us many opportunities to discuss life cycles and learn about frogs, as well as the other inhabitants of our tank. Below are a few resources I used to help continue the learning. Frog Metamorphosis Song by Singing Zoologist – My kids actually SANG along with this one. In fact, we’ve been singing it all over the house. Catchy, and a great way to introduce the word…
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Preschool Homeschool : The Letter Z
We opted to homeschool instead of enrolling our son in standard Pre-K. I am sharing with you some of activities to learn about the letter Z. Whether you homeschool or not, these are short and sweet ways to reinforce letter learning. We ended up skipping this lesson, as my munchkins had it mastered by the time we got to it. Walphabet’s ABCs Song I pour Pickling Salt into a cookie sheet and shake it a bit to make it flat. Then, I draw an example and the kids practice “writing.” Fun sensory play! Sesame Street Letter Z Highlight-a-Letter by Babbling Abby. I use these for my oldest (4), while my youngest (2), colors…
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Letter Review
We have been focusing on letter recognition, lately, as the first major undertaking in our Homeschool Journey. Each day, I planned “school time,” which consisted of various letter-specific youtube videos and printables. We also did a letter-specific craft and a tactile activity (drawing letters in salt or making them with blocks) each day. My daughter adores learning time and loves to make people happy, so she was more focused on opportunities to learn, than she was with what HAD been learned or HADN’T. My son, on the other hand, likes knowing exactly how much progress has been made and what is left. He often asks how long it will take,…
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Preschool Homeschool : The Letter U
We opted to homeschool instead of enrolling our son in standard Pre-K. I am sharing with you some of the activities we did to learn about the letter U. Whether you homeschool or not, these are short and sweet ways to reinforce letter learning. Walphabet’s ABCs Song : We always start with an ABC song. It is something that they can get excited about, since they generally know the tune, and that everyone can enjoy. Walphabets Letter U We used Lego Duplo Alphabet Mats from 123Homeschool4Me.com. Both kids love it! My son is a VERY tactile learner, and these activities just ROCK! Sesame Street’s My Friend’s Ukelele Highlight-a-Letter by Babbling Abby. I use these for my oldest…
