One of the hardest things that I have witnessed and experienced (I was homeschooled through jr. high and high school) about homeschooling is getting in the groove of a schooling routine. Once you are off...it's hard to get back on. My goal for kindergarten has been to get everyone used to doing something for school every day (or close to everyday anyway!) I want the boys to know that this is something we do everyday just like fix breakfast and brush our teeth. I am hoping that if I start NOW...we can keep the groove. This year has been a little crazy with not having our own house but I am doing the best I can. I tried a few things and finally found something that is working for
us. It's a
Christian Homeschool Bible Unit Study. Each week is a letter, a bible verse, and activities. I supplement also from
Homeschool Share. We are filling a notebook with our weekly activities. It's been fun and really easy to put together. The boys and I are having a great time. I haven't been uptight about the amount of activities we accomplish. If we only do one activity and read one book for the week, oh well...we move on to the next letter. It keeps me from getting hung up on feeling like we need to complete ALL the activities and learn all there is to learn on the subject. The goal is to cultivate the love of learning...not filling their heads with information. I am not a workbook, worksheet kind of mama. My idea of learning is outside, in the kitchen, crafts, etc, but I do realize that at some point we are going to have to sit down and work on handwriting and math and I want the boys to already be familiar with this concept. I don't think that kindergardeners need to sit for hours on end every day. We usually work for about 20-40 minutes or as long as their attention spans will last. I want this to be a fun and pleasant experience for all of us! So far, so good! Any thoughts..tips...ideas from your school room?
Shooting from the hip. I have read a little further in 'Mommy Teach Me!' book about using Math manipulatives. I have not done some of these things with my six year old and before I dive off and buy a math curric. like Math U See, I am going to dive into those simple, inexpensive exercises with him to see where he is on the spectrum I guess. I have also realized that before reading lessons (which is what I tell my 6 yo they are anyway) we are still learning to recognize the abstract letters and their sounds. That is where we are right now.
ReplyDeleteFor a routine. I have a schedule a la' 'Managers of Their Homes' posted inside one of my kitchen cabinets now. It has time blocked for exercise, literature, poetry, reading lessons, math lessons, art appreciation/music appreciation, nature study (early science), handicrafts for me and for them both... etc. and I sometimes fill in at these times (within about 30 mins. of the schedule) and then sometimes we do not do something scheduled because of a behavior issue or if we need to serve someone else which is important. I think you are doing similiarly.
I love my routine but love to have it and then deviate, then come back to it and adapt as we go on and the kids change, circumstances change. I am learning on the job which is tough. There is a time for discipline and a time to step away from an activity and that is a mom's toughest job.
You probably have more of a routine than you think... Just my thoughts.
Homeschool share has books for introducing math concepts too. Goto Indexes, Subject & Lesson Indexes, Applied Math. Some are more helpful than others and you have to check out the books to find the ones helpful. -tm
oh- that sounds good! i have been using a little book i picked up at higgin's branch that has a letter for the day (we use it for the whole week), a scripture and a story. i have loved using this. we are using the scripture as a memory verse- this has been really good for me too!
ReplyDeletei totally agree with you that finding a groove is the key. once that's off, look out!