I feel I need to explain my lack of diligence in chronicling our latest preschool journey. It's partially the result of "second child syndrome", and particularly the overshadowing of my research to put together 1st grade curriculum for our newest adventure in homeschooling.
Yes, we are following through with our plan to homeschool! After much prayer, we have decided the current flow of society and education is not consistent with our values and beliefs of what makes up a successful student...even in the more concrete primary grades of the great-and-mighty classical movement!
I'm lucky to have found a school (classical at that!) that employs a more accurate educational philosophy and openly references their curriculum resources. Now I just have to organize it into a sequence that will work for us...hence the lack of spare time to post preschool pictures. I plan to get better at doing both, though...someday! :)
Hi Lindsay! Your mom just shared your blog with me and I'm impressed by your creativity. You have some great ideas here for preschool and kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteTim & I have three little girls - ages 6, 4, and almost 1. We're homeschooling our oldest and have been using the My Father's World curriculum for 1st grade, plus Life of Fred for math and about a million library books! ;)
I see "Story of the World" in your stack there. I think we're going to add that in for next year...
stephanie@metropolitanmama.net
Hi Stephanie!!! I ran into your brother at La Encantada a while back! So crazy! :) Anyway...I've heard a lot of great things about My Father's World! I actually found the curricular structure I'm using after researching and putting together a similar model for a school here in town. I liked it so much, I've decided to adopt it for myself! The only change I'm making is using Noeo Science instead of Real Science 4 Kids because it comes with all the experiment kits...saves me time and money! :)
DeleteI'd love any wisdom or advice about homeschooling 1st grade! My expertise is in 5th grade and special ed/curriculum development...1st grade scares me!! :)
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI really like your lesson plans for preschool. How long does it take you to get your materials together for the week ahead? Do you spend an hour each day or longer? I am trying to figure out if I can incorporate Luke into the school day in a more scheduled way next year. We started out that way first semester, and then I hit a wall at the end of the semester, so his preschool has been more informal up until now.
Taryn looks like she is enjoying her day with you. You inspire me!
Shelly
P.S. Are you creating your own weekly plan for Brody, or did the school give a sample of how they break it down daily? This has been my biggest challenge. We are still undecided about next year for Carter. I really desire to be able to school them all and to do it well.
Shelly,
DeleteI'm the one who needs advice from you!! What am I doing?!!?!?! :)
We spent about an hour twice a week doing these activities, but I think next year I'm going to start Saxon K and various handwriting and phonics worksheets to keep Taryn busy while I work with Brody. I may even do the Spell to Write and Read with both of them because they really aren't that far apart with reading/writing...Not too sure how it's gonna look or work! Maybe we can lock Taryn and Luke into a room with some books and paper and let them teach themselves? :)