Here is Matthew on his first day of Kindergarten!
Here is our homeschooling area of the dining room:
This was this past Friday, the first day of Fall:
What Curriculum Are We Using?
After lots of research, I chose Sonlight curriculum for this year. I have heard so many wonderful things about Sonlight, especially from my sister who uses it with her four kids. It is a literature-based curriculum that includes all subjects in one package. I have supplemented some subjects; you will notice the links below.
A Typical Day
A typical school day for us...is not exactly a day. One of the benefits of a one-to-one teacher to student ratio! We open in prayer, going over today's weather and place in the week (see above photo), then doing Phonics, Handwriting, Reading and Math for an hour each morning (usually from 10-11am). One of those subjects might not get done in that hour, but then we just make it up later in the day. Later in the day (after lunch and after Claire has laid down for her nap) we finish up anything we need to, then do the read-alouds that are assigned in Sonlight. These read-alouds cover the subjects of History, Geography, Science and more. Sometimes science will include an experiment.
On Monday evenings, Dan leads us in a Bible lesson. We are going through a book called "Get Wisdom!" which teaches godly character traits, typically from the book of Proverbs. Then, throughout the week, I reinforce the character trait with Matthew during our school-day.
Why Are We Homeschooling?
In a nutshell - we weren't keen on the public school in our area and we couldn't quite pull off tuition for private school. Plus, there are so many added benefits to homeschooling that we are just beginning to discover! A homeschooling mama's site that I am beginning to really appreciate said it so well, and so in-line with our own reasons, that I couldn't have said it better myself. So I will just give you the link to take a look for yourself!
Why I Homeschool
Here are a few peaks into what we have done over the last few weeks. Doing a handwriting lesson (He's not a huge fan of handwriting so far.)
We went outside to blow bubbles, after Matthew drew his first circles in handwriting:
Matthew's current favorite subject in school is Math. So far, they are mainly having him play with his pattern blocks:
Dan happened to be home for lunch one day and spontaneously did a science experiment with Matthew that we had just watched on a DVD. (Getting a coin to 'jump' on the top of a bottle.)
What does Claire do during school, you ask? I am blessed in that both my mom and Dan's mom have each offered to take her for our hour of morning school one day a week. So that leaves me with a few days of having her with us. (We are doing a four-day school week.) I got her some special toys that we pull out only for school time. So far, the reaction to the activities has been mediocre, but I'm sure it will improve with time.
Sometimes we might find her just doing THIS!
I have wanted to be an elementary school teacher since I was a small girl. My sister and I loved playing school when we were little. My Aunt Carol was a third-grade teacher for over 30 years, so I'm sure that had something to do with it! I ended up majoring in something else in college (Biblical Studies), but got to be a piano teacher for many years. Now I am getting to fulfill my dream in a way I didn't really imagine! I know it will be an adventure with plenty of highs and lows, but Dan and I are so blessed and excited to be able to be on this journey of homeschooling. Speaking of Dan, I should mention that he has been on board 100% since we first started talking about homeschooling. He is incredibly encouraging and supportive, for which I am VERY thankful. I will keep you posted throughout the year with some of our homeschooling adventures!
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