Nature Fun

With cooler weather, we are playing outdoors more.  We are camping and taking nature walks.  To enhance our learning in these recreational activities I purchased these nifty laminated brochures at our local bookstore.  I'm sure these will last many, many years. When my son gets older, I hope we can journal all the things we identify.

You know, this is one of my favorite things about homeschooling.  Our education is not limited to a classroom and copy work.  Learning is fun and we do it all day long, everywhere where we go!  How awesome is that?   Is it really school when we have this much fun?  I am so grateful and blessed to be able to stay home with my son to teach him and watch his discoveries.

What is your favorite part about homeschooling?  How often do your take your classroom outdoors? Share your journey with me and join the fun.

  

Our New Curriculum

Back to school time is so exciting! I love shopping for school supplies.  Ah the feel of new pens, new folders, and the smell of crayons.  Heaven.  Yeah- I'm nerdy like that.  This year we are doing a Preschool Review through the end of the year.  We will start Kindergarten in January.  My son just turned four.  I figured rather than have two years of one and one year of the other, I could do a year and a half of each.  This way we can go slowly.  You know - let it sink in.  We have short days and take frequent breaks.  We took some time off this summer.  I doubt I will do that again because he just "lost" too much.

For finishing the year, we will continue to use a combination of Letter of the Week and Joyful Heart. These two programs have provided a great learning experience- for both of us!  I've posted before on how much I like both of them. He's having a great time.  I'm not to thrilled with all the prep, though.

Sure I know its a part of the job- I just wished I would have invested in printer ink stocks.  Man are we going through the cartridges!  In the last year alone, I've spent over  $400 in just ink and paper.  That just stinks, People.  Stinks!

Well, that got me thinking (and crying).  If I'm going to spend that much I may as well invest in a more "turn key" curriculum for Kindergarten.  After much research I decided on Little Hearts For His Glory by Heart of Dakota Publishing.

I was amazed at how many books came with the package.  It was VERY reasonably priced too!  I just squealed opening the box when it came in.  This curriculum is awesome!  Very little prep work involved.  Thanks to the teacher's guide I don't even have to write out lesson plans.  How cool is that?!

I'm confident that this will be a great Kindergarten experience.  I will enjoy being able to "school" during the day and spend my evenings relaxing with my family more.
 Less work + more fun = happy mom!

Have fun visiting more Hip Homeschools at the

  

Video Resources

I have (finally) boarded the YouTube train.  I know, I know... a little late.  Really, I thought it was all about bootleg music videos and weirdo exhibitionists. You know, the DARK side (play sinister music here). Yes, all that's out there and more- but now I have found it to be a wonderful resource for preschool videos, books, music, and mini-lessons.  The subscription button is now my friend (that's my tool for weeding out the yucky stuff).  I'm passing along some of my favorites.  Enjoy!

And one more just for fun!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful to be able to home school my little boy.  I'm so blessed to live in a country that allows me the freedom to educate my son at home.  While it is hard work, it is the very BEST job I've ever had!  It is so exciting to watch him learn.  I enjoy spending time with him.  We read, craft, play, and truly enjoy our lessons. I am eternally grateful to my pastor's wife for providing such an awesome example and to my husband for supporting & encouraging the idea. I'm also thankful for the women I've met along the way and all I've learned from them. While this is the first year (preschool), I can see that we are laying the foundation for a lifetime of joyful learning.  

Twice As Nice

We have added a new curriculum to our preschool: Joyful Heart Bible And Rhyme for 3 year olds. I love this free, Bible-based program.  It includes lesson plans and craft/activity suggestions.  I am still using the Letter of The Week.  I think between the two, we are building a solid Biblical and academic foundation.

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility to use more than one resource for teaching.  Nothing is set in stone.  I can keep what I like and disregard what's not for us. I have learned so much this year about what works for us and what doesn't.  I'm so glad that I started with preschool.  I don't feel that trial and error (and there have been tons of error) at this point is detrimental to his overall education- I mean, really... he's just three!

Now that we are using more than one curriculum, I am picking and choosing lessons between the two.  To help keep me focused, I designed my own lesson plan/worksheet. AND...I'm offering this freebie to you (go ahead, squeal if you want)!  There are so many great planners out there.  I just needed something a little more basic.  I like looking at the whole week, too. Click here for Scribd download. (The lines looks a little off in the preview window but "reappear" in the download.)

I've included some photos of other things we've added to our class room goodies.  

Happy Homeschooling!

Sensory Bins Are Magic!

I've read a lot about sensory bins and how little ones learn so much through sensory exploration.  SO I made a sensory bin for my preschooler. He LOVES it!  I did it for the educational aspect.  If I had only known...it kept my 3yo occupied for an hour.  That's right, I said a whole HOUR.  It's the closet thing to real magic that I've ever heard of.

I filled a plastic bin with dry rice, plastic measuring cups, utensils, and some tiny wooden blocks.  I spent less than $5.00 at the dollar store on the contents and a vinyl tablecloth to contain any mess.  It was great watching him explore: sifting, pouring, and inspecting each item. We talked about how the rice felt, concepts like bigger & smaller, inside & outside, and full & empty.  It seems so simple but it's really a great learning opportunity.  It went over so well, I plan to do another and fill it with seasonal items.

Report Card Time!

Oh how I used to hold my breath at report card time.  Not that I had anything to worry about.  I was a solid A-B student, but there was this awful feeling. You know, I thought it would be good but you just never know.  Things happen.  Funny, the things I used to worry about.  Now that I am homeschooling my son, I wonder if we'll do report cards.  Right now, we are pre-schooling.  Report cards at this stage just seem unnecessary.  Then again I do have to monitor his progress- ah, who knows?  Right now, posting our work on the wall seems to be enough reward.

We are half-way through the school year.  During our holiday break, I've reflected on what has worked and what hasn't so far. Our Letter Of The Week Curriculum by Confessions of a Homeschooler has been terrific. Not that we get through all the activities, but it holds my son's interest and it's super easy to implement.  It's so rewarding to watch him learn.  Homeschooling has been great for our relationship too.  At the end of the day, I feel like I have spent directed, intentional time with him-  not just in the same house together time.  The flexibility of homeschooling has been great.  We've had an extended holiday due to some family emergencies that arose right before Christmas.  We've done some of the lessons in bed- how great is that?!

I need to get more disciplined about sticking to our daily routine. Some aspects of this year have been about "working out the kinks."  We belong to a Christian Homeschooling group and a MOPS group to squelch socialization concerns. All in all, I am so glad that I decided to pre-school at home.  I've learned so much and enjoyed visiting with the other HS Moms from the Hip Homeschool Hop. Cheers for a great semester: A+!

HomeSchool Preschool ROCKS!

Six weeks ago I officially joined the many who have decided (at least for now) to educate my son at home. Let me just say: IT IS AWESOME!  I admit, I didn't feel that way at first.  I was excited and then (while doing endless internet research) it hit me.  Hit me hard.  I mean, this is one of the biggest decisions that will affect my little boy FOR LIFE.  I started to panic. Have you seen the ka-zillion choices out there? There are so many different education styles and ten times that in curriculum choices. I became overwhelmed.  Nauseated even. And then...

I found some lovely blogs that helped bring me back to "OK, I can do this" state.  More on them later (plus links). While I am in no way an expert, I did figure out a few things over the summer.  Here is a summary of my Crash Course for Home School Newbies:

• Start with the legalities. Find out what the laws are in your state.  This will help guide you through your curriculum choices. You may not even want or need a curriculum. My state is one that has few requirements and gives parents great freedom.
• Consider your own skills and limitations as well as your family's.  Do you follow a tight schedule, a flexible routine, or do you fly by the seat of your pants?  Are you creative?  Do you need the guidance of a curriculum? How much guidance?  What is your budget? I chose mine based on flexibility and budget.
• What support will you have? Is your spouse on board?  Will he be able to help - to what degree?  Is there a homeschooling group in your area? I joined a local Christian HS group to get ideas & guidance from veteran parents and for the field trip opportunities. 
• Have a firm idea of why you want to pursue this. You will want it in neon flashing lights.  I'm not kidding- it starts with the curriculum choices, the HOURS of prep work, and ends with a lot of negative questions and comments from others. It's fun, it's rewarding, but it is HARD WORK.
• Relax and keep it all in perspective.  Nothing is set it stone. You will explore and change styles, methods, and curriculum many times as you grow and your school days go by.  You'll learn as you go. You may even change your mind all together about home education. Homeschooling is ALL ABOUT FLEXIBILITY and doing what is best for each stage of your family's life.  

Don't stress.  Trust God to guide you.  Trust yourself.  Have fun.

I want to give blog hugs to Sue, thehomeschoolchick and to Erica at confessionsofahomeschooler. These ladies gave me confidence, a place to start, and shared a sense of humor in the process. They have great links to other helpful sites. If you are homeschooling you probably already know them.  If you are still in the consideration stage, go check out their sites- you'll be glad you did. Also, to find out your state's laws visit http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp.  HAPPY HOMESCHOOLING!



For more great links check out the Hip Homeschool Blog Hop: