Now, I'm not out here to bash the public school system AT ALL!!!! I had a fine education in the public school system and I know so so so many talented, wonderful teachers that I would love my children learning from. So please, don't get the idea that we have chosen homeschool because we think teachers in the public school system are terrible, horrible people. As with anything, there are positive and negative aspects of both public school and homeschool and we just had to weigh the pros and cons of each and decide what fit OUR PERSONAL family the best. I am absolutely not saying this is the right fit for every family, because it isn't! It may not be financially possible for one parent to stay home to educate the kids, or it may just be too overwhelming, and that is perfectly fine! We have made the best decision we could to fit the needs of our family at this point in our lives. Could it change in the future? Sure! We are just going to take it one year at a time and evaluate where we are at at that point in our lives and what option will best fit the needs of our family in that season of life.
This being said, I thought it would be fun to keep everyone updated on what we are learning in school and maybe break down some of the stigma that surrounds homeschooling families. No, we aren't antisocial! Our kids are involved in many activities in our church and community where they are surrounded by kids of all ages. Yes, they ARE learning, and I love seeing them learn. Are they always learning in the exact same style as their peers in the public school system? Maybe not, but they are learning in a way that fits their individual personalities. Gavin loves doing hands on projects and he is so so so good at memorizing things. I want to be able to tune into those things that he responds well to and encourage him to learn using the tools that suit him best. I also hope that I am able to learn a lot, as well, as we go through this homeschool journey. I have heard many parents lately saying that they aren't even able to help their children with their homework because they have no idea how to even begin. I am hoping that going through the learning process with my kids will help me be able to help them learn better because we are learning together and not on two totally different wave lengths when it comes to their school work. My goals are to foster a love of learning in them, and not just learning things of this world, but a love for God's word as well. I want to see my children succeed and I take the job of educating them very seriously. Am I a licensed teacher? No, I am not. I haven't been versed in the fundamentals of teaching math, history, english, or science. I'm a mom who loves my kids more than pretty much anything on this earth and wants to see them succeed and I WILL do everything in my power to see that they do. I'm not going to say that I will always do everything perfectly but I will absolutely do everything in my power to give my children the tools they need to be successful. My biggest concern, though, isn't that they learn to read just to read or learn to write just for the sake of writing, or learn ANYTHING just for the sake of learning it, but that they learn to do so, so that they can further the message of Christ. If they grow up to be a doctor, great! If they grow up to be a garbage man, great! As long as they are living their lives according to God's will, I will be one proud mama!
We began our preschool program this past week and are using the "God's Little Explorers: Adventures in God's Word and World," as a guideline for our curriculum. I say "guideline," because I add things to it as I think necessary. If I find something fun on Pinterest that relates to our topic, we do it. If I think the boys will enjoy a different way of learning something than what the plan has written, I do that instead. That's the beauty in homeschooling. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. You can really tailor it to fit your child's specific needs.
The first week's topic was, "God's Word is a Treasure." We learned all about treasure (earthly treasure and God's treasure for us) and the letter X (x marks the spot for treasure). We also focused on the shape rectangle and learned some good life skills like picking out appropriate clothes for certain weather. We have had a weekly trip to the library for quite some time now and so we picked up some books that related to our topic of "treasure" to read throughout the week. The boys seemed to really have fun and enjoyed it! I thought I would share some photos from our first week of homeschool!
Cutest little preschooler I know!
The garbage truck was a little loud
He is PUMPED to start school
My two precious students
Going on a treasure hunt for new school supplies and a new Bible
Making some binoculars to use on our treasure hunt
Making homemade play dough to use in our lessons
Making X's
We did a fun little treasure science project. We froze coins in a water and baking soda paste and let them sit overnight. We then squirted vinegar on them to free the coins. Gav LOVED this project!
Hunting for letters and matching them on paper
I am in love with these wipe clean books from Usborne Books. Mom got several for Gav to use in school and they are really fun! I love that they can be used over and over.
Owen practicing his "writing"
Making some more X's out of play dough
X is for xylophone!
We had lots of fun last week and are continuing on this week learning about The Creation Story. Our theme is "G is for Garden" and we are studying all about seeds, plants, and things in the garden. I was hoping to share some photos from this coming week but as I was typing this, Owen got ahold of my camera and broke the focus button off the lens and now it won't focus. Thus, I will have to get a new lens. I'm not sure when that will happen but I'm guessing it will be a little bit. So, unfortunately we won't be sharing any photos from our upcoming weeks, unless it's by Iphone! This is life with small children.......lol!!
