Getting back to school and routine after the holiday chaos
This was our first full week back.
Monday
Tuesday
We did a pond study
Thursday – we studied spiderwebs
Friday
There was also gymnastics, a trip to the library, letter recognition, a little math and so much more thrown in.
The week went much smoother than I thought it would. We did have normal young kid tantrums and issues like that but the school part went great!
Thursday September 7th
I woke up at 6:30am, the baby was just staying to stir in her crib. I got Ella up at 6:50 and made coffee.
Put Roberts and Ella’s entamology pen pal clubhouse letters in the mail. (We just started this from an Instagram account called Mornings together, we get a new little packet each week emailed to us, I print it out and the kids color it then we mail it to a family member. As they get older it has a few questions and some facts along with the coloring).
Robert woke up at about 7:15, I fed ella and snuggled with the kids for a bit. We had breakfast burritos just after 8:00. While we are I read the kids ‘How to Make Apple Pie and See the World’.
Then I unloaded the dishwasher while they played and colored. After that we worked on Robert’s good and beautiful math lesson number six. After that we went outside around 10:20am Robert fed chickens while I started laundry. We swung on our swing set and at popsicles. I watered the yard while they swung.
At 11 we walked to the corner market to get chips for lunch. The kids had tomato soup with grilled cheese and chips, I had a ham sandwich, soup and chips.
After lunch they played with daddy while he was on lunch, then we got ready for a nap run. I ran 3 miles while they napped.
When we got back I set them in front of the TV with some ice cream so I could take a quick shower. Daddy came out and sat with them for a couple minutes.
After I showered we did our tea time where I read to them and we have snacks. We read a few passages from what your preschooler needs to know and the book ‘H is for honey’. Then we completed all about reading pre-reading for the letter f. Then Robert did some practice with scissors while cutting papers and then they both did some dexterity work by threading animals.
After we finished our school work, my husband told us Starbucks having a deal on their foul drinks. So I loaded the kids in the car and we drove through Starbucks and then since we were out and it was close to dinner we drove through Taco Bell haha.
We ate dinner as a family. Then the kids took a bath then played with their daddy while we watched sea shanties and other songs on YouTube. My son is currently obsessed with the shanties.
My daughter was asleep by 7:25pm, and my son was asleep by 9. We have been having some big bedtime battles with our toddler. But I think it’s slowly going back to normal knock on wood.
Then my daughter was up from 10:30pm- 12am. I couldn’t get her back to sleep in her crib so she came into our room and took another 2+ hours to fall asleep…..it was horrible.
And that was our day.
Our first year of homeschooling is coming to an end. I loved almost every minute of it lol. Overall, my toddler did amazing with the curriculum. With a year under my belt now I kind of know how he learns and how he does things. So I will review the curriculum that we used for preschool and in a couple weeks I’ll post what we’re going to do for Pre-K.
Language Arts
These were fantastic much more like playing games and doing fun little projects then worksheets
We started this about 2/3rds of the way through the year and will be continuing it through pre-K. These are much more lesson like so we tend to break them up into smaller sections but I have become a big fan of the Good and the Beautiful.
Math
I didn’t like this at all and neither did my toddler. We found it to be very dry and boring. I wasn’t going to make either of us suffer through it after I decided we didn’t like it. We got about halfway through it then I chucked it in the recycling bin.
My son loved this in the beginning and even asked for it regularly to play it. However once his new little sister was big enough to start taking pieces it started turning into a battle so we set this aside as well. But, it did lay a great foundation for us.
This was fantastic. Timberdoodle actually added this in their 2023-2024 preschool curriculum kit so I only ordered it about 2 months ago but we are almost done with it. If you do it weekly it is not a full year’s worth of curriculum but it has added a little bit of math back into our study.
Thinking skills
My toddler loved this!!!!!
These were fantastic just like the alphabet books by the same company. They were fun and engaging and quick.
Another one that my toddler and I thought was really boring and dry. Just like the math we got about halfway through the book and I chucked it.
History and social studies
Nature and science
Art
Skills
Overall, it was a great year. I loved watching my son grow in leaps and bounds. Which is exactly how it came. He would not get something and suddenly it would click. He was really did go in leaps and bounds and stops and starts.
The great thing about homeschooling his preschool is I was really able to follow his rhythm and our rhythm as a family. There were weeks where we didn’t do anything. We kind of fell out of our rhythm and then we’d pick it back up and have a couple of great weeks, couple great months and then kind of fall off again which worked out great for us. We’re still finishing on time and I just love the entire experience.
We started a little before he returned 2 years old. So it was by no means always easy sunshine but it was rewarding and wonderful. Occasionally I did resort to a little bit of bribery or coercion sort of to get him to come over and start. Once he started. He usually loved everything. But it would occasionally be oh. Can you help Mommy do this? Or do you want to come eat a chip with me while we look at this picture and talk about it? Lol.
This book was so fantastic. It gave so many options and ideas to add creativity to your homeschooling. Take away some of the pressure and add confidence in yourself.
It talks about a lot of different versions of homeschooling, a lot of different options. It gives lots of encouragement and really just is an amazing resource. I checked this out of the library but I fully intend to buy it. Actually. I asked my best friend to give it to me for Christmas lol.
But it’s not just for homeschooling parents. In my opinion. I think it’s really just any family or parents who want to enhance their child’s learning and life. This book will really give you ideas and ways to embrace the spontaneous love of learning kids have.
I put on some Nat Geo in the morning while we all relaxed and woke up
I read them a book from the construction unit we are doing from playing preschool
We talked about the date, weather, season, the months of the year and the days of the week
We did some stickers in our math sticker book
Then we played outside until daddy got off work
Overall I’d call it a pretty good day.
Wednesday –
AM – 3 worksheets done and 1 book read
Then gymnastics and the library
Thursday – AM
Two worksheets and 1 spread in ‘things to spot’ as he ran around the house hahaha
Then into the stroller the kids went for a 2 mile run. Then some time to run around the backyard.
Back inside we ‘worked’ on a puzzle, which means I put the pieces in place and he stomped them down hahaha. But I do try and get him to point out 1 or 2 things to me each time and I name the continents and oceans.
We also played with the bunny boo game. It works on spacial awareness and directionality
PM – I read to them for 15 min
Friday AM – 3 worksheets
Saturday – OFF
Sunday – OFF some Sundays we will do a little bit but today we went to visit the grandparents
Monday AM
After this he had a lovely toddler meltdown compete with ear splitting screaming.
After he calmed down I loaded the kids in the stroller and went for a 3 mile run then we did some exploring and gardening in the backyard.
Tuesday – AM
And that is a wrap! That is a week of homeschooling with us. Some weeks we get more done and some less. This month we are really busy with swim lessons so each week we have 1 gymnastics class and 2 swim lessons. Since we are so busy I am pushing school a little less.
Because it is preschool level and he is only 2.5 I try and keep it light and not make him do things he isn’t feeling that day or time, I want to foster a love for learning not destroy it.
Thanks for joining us!!!
Trailing the blonde 