i remember when rebekah was 2 years old and "the other moms" started asking me what preschool i was going to send her to. and how early i was going to camp out to make sure i got a spot. i couldn't believe it! sending her off somewhere was the LAST thing i wanted to think about! she was still a BABY!
from that point on, i just knew i wasn't going to "do" preschool unless it was OBVIOUS that i should.
in order for my kids to enter kindergarten, they need to know their letters, the letter sounds, and be able to write their name. i KNEW i could do that! some of them even knew how to read if we got that far. but that was bonus.
i also always knew that i wouldn't homeschool past preschool. i would LOVE to. i know i COULD. i have the UTMOST respect for those that DO homeschool. i just KNOW it's not what we're supposed to do! and this decision has been confirmed over and over. this is all just ME..just US. i have NO judgement/etc about anyone else - this is what WE feel confident in for OUR family.
now. what do i do for preschool?? with rebekah it was much more "fancy"...and there was hardly an internet then to get ideas :-) i've become much simpler as the years and kids have added up. today i put a plain sheet of computer paper in front of lincoln and sawyer. i drew a circle with a pencil. then they drew a circle with a pencil. we did it over and over. repeat with "square". that was it.
i will get to teaching them the letters...and then the sounds. i'll get "into it" more some days than others. the REALLY fun {and most effective} part is when is continues throughout the day...when we see a letter on a sign that we learned that morning...when they draw a circle using chalk on the sidewalk later that afternoon. THAT is learning. and it gets me SO excited!!
i did look at a few "homeschool blogs" a couple weeks ago, knowing i wanted to be "serious" about getting lincoln ready for kindergarten. and i was COMPLETELY overwhelmed and stressed out in about 10 minutes. i am going to TRY my best to do things as simple as possible. i want to TEACH them. but also ENJOY the time. not spend my time striving to be all "amazing" and go overboard.
feel free to ask me ANY questions! i'm not sure i'll have the answers...but i'd be glad to try!
now...onto this afternoon!
i had SO much fun getting the table ready for the kids this afternoon.
the younger 3 were still "resting" so i got to REALLY hear about their days. i LOVED that!
all 3 kids have GREAT teachers this year! they had a wonderful day...were full of smiles and stories.
5 comments:
Yay for a good day!
I am sorry to hear that the home schooling sites were overwhelming for preschool - that is too bad. There are several out there not like that. We home school and have 7 children - we keep preschool very simple, but they learn. I think they can learn a lot too just being with you as well plus doing a few things to teach letters, shapes and so on. The Heaveningly homemaker blog just wrote something for preschool but I am not sure if it is fancy or stressful. Just saw it a few weeks ago. She home schools her kiddos full time. Really home schooling is not as stressful as some can make it look. It can be A LOT of fun teaching the regular studies as well as about Jesus throughout the day plus you get to be w your blessings all day working along side them. If you use the right non stressful curriculum it can be fun. So again sorry to hear those sites were too much- some make it that way where others make it fun and easy - as do I and then as they get older we add in a pure great curriculum to make sure they get all needed subjects each day. We use My Fathers world and it is so well laid out, non stress and the kids get an amazing well rounded education as learn a lot more in depth about Jesus. They are very strong in that for the first subject of the day, but it is also tied in other areas like science. They learn about creation instead of evolution and so on. You could look at their preschool materials that come w card activities w the learning things. It is very easy and do able. I use it with my children plus do a bit of what you are. Yes, God will lead you in what He wants you to do for your children.
Jessica
I forgot to add in my last comment that the little plates and treat you had waiting for them when they got home so was neat. You are very creative!
I loved your table decor stuff!! What a great idea!! I'm going to steal the pencil part and use that!!! So cute! So glad they all had a great day and you love their teachers!!!
so cute. love the "cake" Owen's face looked just like Joshua's :)
Post a Comment