We're Baa-aack!!

Have you missed us?!?

Well, folks...it's been a crazy summer to say the least! We had 2 offers fall through on our house in Houston...still managed to buy a house in Arizona...packed up and moved over 1ooo miles with only one broken bookshelf casualty...been through swim training (lots of kid tears!), potty training (lots of mommy tears!)...and now we're adjusting to our new life in a giant house that belongs in an 80's montage!

But instead of taking a deep breath (and possibly a Sleeping Beauty sized nap), we've decided to jump right back into preschool. So here's the plan for the big 4 year old:

1. As you'll see below, we are spending most of the first semester reviewing what we did last year. These are the most crucial letters/sounds and if they are not thoroughly mastered it's pointless to continue on to anything else.

2. We will be starting Saxon Math K for all our math activities this year. I bought mine off Ebay for 14 bucks so it's a really manageable option. I also plan to use The Dangerous Book for Boys as a resource for my science and some history activities.

3. We will be doing Preschool for 2 hours on Tues./Thurs. (most likely still during Taryn's naps). As of now, the plan is to do math and phonics both days and alternate reading/writing and history/science...however I reserve the right to change my mind!

4. If you have purchased the Recipe for Reading (Bloom and Traub) book, here is the breakdown of what we'll be covering this year (don't ask me to remember why it's broken down this way, but someone, somewhere did some study and this is what s/he came up with):

1st semester/ 2nd semester

week

1: c,o,a,d / ck

2: g,h,l / ph

3: k,m / magic e

4: t,i,p / magic e

5: j,u / er, ir, ur

6: ch, sh, th, th / ar

7: f,e,s,w / or

8:r,n,b / ea, ee

9:y / ai, ay

10:v / oe, oa

11:x / oo

12:z / ge, dge

13:qu / tch

14: initial consonent blends / ng

15: initial/final consonent blends / nk

16: final consonent blends / review

(sorry this is so confusing...blogger won't publish it in columns)

I am planning to reorganize the blog to have all the 3 yr. old plans in one file and the 4 yr. old plans in another. I should also be posting Week 1 lesson plans in the next few weeks...we plan to start Aug. 16th!

April Can Count As Summer, Right?

So, I'm officially calling it Summer Break! I've decided we're ending on V - for Victory!! (How often are you gonna use x, z, and qu as a 4 year old anyway?) We close on our house in three weeks, pack up and move in five. If we have any free time in the midst of that, it will be spent on tickling, kisses, and soaking up all the grass and trees we can get!

I hope...if nothing else...that our journey through "preschool" will encourage any doubters out there that the proper education of a child makes wisdom its end, not the amount of information that can be regurgitated. To quote the most Biblical scholar I know:

"Information becomes knowledge when you apply it; knowledge becomes wisdom when it becomes part of your soul." - Walter Henrichsen

For those who want more ideas on teaching kids how to apply information through the grid of God's Word, we will be back for round 2 of Preschool for Dummies in August.

Don't Ask

I've had a house showing every single day for the past week! Lesson plans and preschool just ain't happening right now! Hopefully all these showings will end in an offer so we can get back to enjoying life!

Math

Brody does a great job reading 3 letter words and a decent job writing his letters, but what he REALLY excells at is math! I was amazed how quickly he blew threw "Yoke Addition" with 1,2, and 3 ox. This video shows that it takes adding 5 and 3 ox to slow him down...and even then...not for long! Not bad for an almost-4-year-old!

(PS....he did NOT get the math gene from his mother!!)

"Y" not!

Just under the gun, but here it is...Week 25: Letter Y. I had a hard time finding good books at my branch of the library so I had to make a few hold requests to have some better options sent my way. Hopefully y'all will have better luck!

Also, I've FINALLY video-taped us running through a 3 part-drill (during our circle time) and as soon as I have a second I will try to upload it.