It is February and you might wonder how things are
going for us. I have one word for you, FANTASTIC! C&C are learning at an
impressive pace. For the first time in a long time, Cassie not only enjoys
learning, but she is actually excited about it. I let her make choices where I
can and there is a lot of freedom to do so. I feel like we use a pretty laid
back approach while managing to hit all the important skills. We do Bible,
Reading, AR, Math, Science, Art, Spelling, Writing, History and Music. This
week, I added vocabulary. Here is the best part. We don't do each one every
single day and no, a school day does NOT last all day, even with our breaks. I
am generous with breaks especially on days when she seems to have trouble
concentrating.
There are core daily assignments and then we have activities
that are done twice a week, three times a week, and some that are weekly. This
has a LOT to do with making school work for my children and a little do with
the fact that I work as a full-time night shift nurse three nights a week! Yes, you can homeschool and work full-time!
Truly, Mondays are considered off days. Sometimes, after nap, we do something
like Magic School bus, or family reading, but that’s about it. Tuesdays are
laid back days. I almost always do EP on those days because, even at 6, she can
follow the directions and ask me for help when necessary. Truly, teaching your
children happens in every moment of every day! Go to the store and teach them
to count money and budget. Go to the park to learn about physical science
through a nature walk. Cook with them to
teach them properties about water and to follow a recipe. But, outside of that,
we all desire to teach them more. Here is how we do more at our house:
First, after breakfast, we have morning Bible study
and discussion. While her brain is ready for learning, I send Charly to
play and I let her choose what is next. We usually go for Math. I let her
choose whether she wants to do Life of Fred Math or if she wants to be on the
computer today and use Easy Peasy Homeschool (EP). The activities are a
blast!
Next, is Reading. I choose her weekly spelling list
from her Language Arts book. We have two to choose from; one on the computer
with EP and the other is an older textbook by McGraw-Hill which was gifted to
us, I believe it was found at a Goodwill. I scored the matching
McGraw-Hill workbook on Amazon for $3, but it hasn't arrived yet.
BREAK TIME! If it's before 10am, and it usually is,
then she gets an hour of free time.
When we come back we jump into AR. I let her choose
which AR book she wants to read and test on.
I found a website call Book Adventure that lets you
search for quizzes! Many of her books have a quiz available. You can create a
profile that keeps up with your child's book list and quiz scores! She
disappears and finds a comfortable spot and reads! Then, she comes back when
she is finished and takes her quiz. She loves this! I sometimes have her take
another to test comprehension after some time has passed. We are working on choosing a chapter book for
her to read during the week and testing at the end of the week.
If we haven't already, we go over her Spelling and
Vocabulary words for the day. I try to place this after Reading, since the list
is complied from her reading, but it doesn't always work well there. Her
test is weekly.
I may insert music here.
It's usually lunch time by now. They have lunch and
then they both do their copy work. I use a website called Worksheet Works to
make their copy work sheets. I pick a verse from her Bible reading and she
copies it 3-4 times. Not only does it help improve her handwriting, but it
creates an awareness to grammar and punctuation while she recalls that
morning's Bible reading. Charly practices his letters or numbers on a copy work
sheet or in the handwriting workbook.
Or I may do music here. Music happens pretty much
daily at some point in our day.
History and Science are done 2-3 times a week
depending on whether or not we use EP. This is because EP's curriculum will
take you straight into a history or science lesson. Otherwise, we had
taken virtual museum tours, visited science centers, or completed home science
projects! History is a little less organized than this, a little here and a
little there. I found some American History booklets at the Dollar Tree, but I
let Cassie carry them and when we got home, we didn’t have them. So, I’ll try
again. Feel free to offer your suggestions for History.
We have a membership at the Hands on Science Center
(HOSC) and it offers great activities as well as a homeschool science program.
They LOVE it! We also purchase fun science kits; Build your own weather
station, Snap Circuits, Tin Can Robot, I won a Magformers Robot set online, and
we have homemade lava lamp bottles and gak! (Nickelodeon reference)
I have a strict no stress policy and if I feel like
one of us is becoming stressed, we take a break. Our day is fun and
spaced out, yet full of learning. Cassie loves learning again and Charly is
trucking along right behind her. I have purchased a few preschool books for him
and, as he takes interest, I have him do his work just like Cassie.
Charly loves to do handwriting and reading. I got the Life of Fred early
reader set for him. He loves it. There is a website called Educents where
I purchased the workbook for his reader set for $1 to print out. (This is
also where I scored the Life of Fred books for nearly free thanks to the
Edubucks!)
It's really a great, fun easy time. There's plenty
of learning, fun, and silliness. Today, she did Math through EP. She giggled
and wailed in laughter at the math game and begged to do it again. Gone are the
days when she would tell me she hated school. I thank God multiple times
a day for leading us down this path! He is good. Even though it sometimes
requires a leap of faith to follow him, I have found it to be worth it.
Reading
Bible Study
The eye
Math activity on Easy Peasy.
Music. Learning guitar.
Charly's writing practice.
Life of Fred Math
Cassie's copywork, or writing practice.
