Tag: school

Pre-school homeschooling curriculum

by Ariana Peters, posted in homeschooling, kids, life, school/studying

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

Part of timberdoodle curriculum

These were fantastic much more like playing games and doing fun little projects then worksheets

The Good and the Beautiful language arts curriculum

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

Mathematical reasoning

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.

Farm land math from Timberdoodle

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.

Also from Timberdoodle

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

Super sticker

My toddler loved this!!!!!

Bought the trio off Timberdoodle

These were fantastic just like the alphabet books by the same company. They were fun and engaging and quick.

Thinking skills

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

Love this puzzle, it is super adorable. For a long time my toddler had little to no interest in doing anything except jumping on the pieces to get them together when I set them in the correct place. But in the last 6 weeks that has started to change, with me helping him identify which pieces go where he is assembling it entirely himself.
I thought this book was super cool and interesting, my toddler generally just tolerated it lol. We did not finish it. I might throw it in here and there in our pre-K unit and see if he likes it better.

Nature and science

Love, love, love this. This curriculum is meant to be used year after year after year layering in more information and learning each year. Right now we keep it very basic but I look forward to using it for years to come with the kids.
This is really great for kids that aren’t ready for a full curriculum. We started with this entire program which is made of units. Now we use it mainly for it’s great book lists as well as a science project here and there.

Art

Eh, super cute idea but my toddler was just kind of meh about it. Maybe he’ll become more artistic in the future (though I’m not sooooo….I wish I was but was not blessed in that area)

Skills

This was great in the beginning of the year to get my son interested in learning to use scissors but we didn’t finish it because once he semi knew what he was doing he wanted to do his own cutting lol.

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.

August 2023 homeschooling reflective

by Ariana Peters, posted in homeschooling, kids, life, school/studying

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

And of course we couldn’t leave my 15 month old out of it lol.
They played a little in the sink
Daddy came out for lunch to play
Then he had a meltdown and rage colored lol
I actually did my hair (don’t look at the post partum flyaways lol) and put some mascara on
We hit the library and I got way too many books for me hahaha
Nap walk. This is how I get them both to take a nap currently
Did some worksheet pages
Attempted our first teatime……..ummmmm id call it a half success. He had a huge tantrum (he had a hard toddler day) but we did get 3 short sections and 1 longer section read in the preschooler book
Got a Good and the Beautiful lesson done.

Then we played outside until daddy got off work

Overall I’d call it a pretty good day.

A week of homeschooling

by Ariana Peters, posted in homeschooling, kids, life, school/studying

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

4 worksheets and 1 spread in our ocean math workbook

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

Got 2 worksheets done, and even that was like pulling teeth lol.

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!!!

Homeschooling

by Ariana Peters, posted in kids, life, school/studying

Homeschooling a 2.5 yr old can be challenging, very trying on my patience, frustrating and so very rewarding. Watching him progress and take leaps and bounds forward is wonderful.

Butterfly grow kit
This was a good introduction to life cycles

The nice thing about homeschooling is that I can tailor our days to the kids. On days he is having a hard time we can do no schooling or just 1 or 2 things. On days he is doing well we can bust the work out.

This morning was sort of a good morning. The baby woke up early (not the good part hahahaha) and my husband got up with her after I fed her. I stayed in bed but realized I wasn’t going to fall back asleep easily and figured 30 extra min of sleep would probably end up making me more tired so I got up and went for a run.

We then had a slow morning of watching some cartoons and relaxing. After breakfast we busted the work out cause he was focused.

Baby colored while we worked.

I also read aloud to them for 10min from a magic treehouse book.

Every day is different, what we do and what we get done is different.

The next day was a good morning and we busted it out again. He had some excess energy to burn so he would run a lap around the house and I’d stop him to answer a school question then he’d take another lap. We got through 4 workbook pages and a spread in our things to spot book this way and he laughed the whole time.

Homeschooling

by Ariana Peters, posted in kids, school/studying, Uncategorized

My children are not school aged so I am not doing any formal schooling yet. But I am trying to foster a love for learning and put as many learning opportunities in our lives as possible.

We love to read

I bought a nature study curriculum called exploring nature with children that I am currently dipping in and out of for inspiration. When we are playing in our yard or taking walks I mention the seasons and ask about flower colors and flower bulbs and on and on.

The other curriculum I was introduced to by my friend Stephanie is by a company called Timberdoodle. So far I love, love, love it. They have curriculum for kids from 0 years old to a senior in high school. I don’t know how long I will homschool for but the state of public education in this country is scaring me more and more.

Farmland math
Working dates, seasons and weather

I picked and chose what I liked and wanted to start with. We don’t touch on everything every week but i try and hit 1-2 things a day m-f. The weekends are just bonuses if we manage anything because our schedule is different.

Threading is great for dexterity and motor skills
He LOVES these smart workbooks
Puzzles are still a work in progress hahaha
These 2 are more advanced and not quite as ‘fun’ as the smart workbooks so he’s less into them right now.
Bunny boo. He is supposed to recreate the example on the card. Eventually he gets it but currently needs a lot of prompting.
We also count chicken eggs and fruits and vegetables when they are growing. My 2 yr old helps me in the kitchen sometimes. I’m basically just trying for a wellrounded introduction to life and education hahaha.

I just love when they understand something, when they learn something new, and when he tells me something I taught him 5 min ago, 5 hours ago or 5 days ago. I love when she actually communicates something to me bub pointing or bringing something to me.

Come on this crazy journey with me!

Relaxing

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

Fall 2018 quarter is over!!!!!! As I type this I am sitting on the couch with a chicken roasting in the oven watching old episodes of criminal minds and drinking my 2nd glass of wine. I didn’t have to work today and spent the day doing very little. I have read (non-school book) a little, watched TV, done a little laundry and taken the pup for a nice walk.

This quarter was phenomenal, I loved my Anatomy and Physiology class! I am very excited for my next quarter but I am also very excited for the next 4 weeks off. This quarter made me so excited for nursing school. We got to use stethoscopes, EKG machines, we started taking pulses and it was my introduction to the cadaver lab. This was one of my favorite school quarters to date and I think they are just going to get better and better! I won’t lie though it was soooo hard to get back into school and study mode after the wedding and honeymoon. For that whole week I didn’t think about school or anything. Coming back and having to study instead of just spend time with my husband was very difficult.

At this point I know i finished my psychology class with an A but I won’t know my A&P grade for a few days. I am also currently wait listed on both the classes I need for winter quarter so fingers crossed some peoples plans change. As long as I get into the classes that I need I will be applying to nursing schools in February. I will keep you posted.

Tonight I am making roast chicken with potatoes, onions, bacon and green beans. It is a recipe from Mastering the Art of French cooking. The interesting thing about Mastering the Art of French cooking, though this is only my 3rd recipe, is how simple they are. The recipes usually have a lot of steps and take a long time to make but the ingredients are so simple its amazing and so far the first two recipes were delicious and this one certainly smells wonderful.

I took the last 5 days off working out to focus on studying for my final but tomorrow I am back at it!! I am contemplating my first sprint triathlon for my 31st birthday this coming year…………..

What should I do?

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

Hi everyone!! So I have somewhat of a dilemma, I love doing this blog and connecting with you guys and sharing my journey with you but I have hit the space limit on this blog. I currently pay $100/year for this blog, which i don’t mind since I love doing it. But since I have now hit the GB limit and it doesn’t increase each year when I pay I can either stop uploading pictures and videos (which yea right, we all love the visual stuff), i can go delete old pictures from some of the first posts i did but i will have to slowly keep deleting old things to make room for new things ( I don’t really like this idea either) or I can move to a different platform. I have been slowly moving some of my videos to YouTube and copying the link on here already. Would you guys be interested in subscribing to my YouTube instead and I go to all videos? To keep going as I am now on here, it would cost me $300 a year which I can’t really justify since I am just doing this for fun and not making any money off of it.

What do you think?

Bridal shower! 2 weeks until the wedding and sickness!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, House/dating/life, school/studying

Taco salads have made an appearance over here again. So easy for lunch and last minute/running late mornings. It is just lettuce, salsa chicken (throw chicken and salsa in a crockpot and let it cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 until you can shred it and voila), cheese and hot mild sauce.

Mom was in town this weekend!!! We all went out to breakfast!

Word of Mouth Cafe in Salem is AMAZING!!!!!

I got biscuits and gravy with bacon and eggs.

He got creme brulee french toast with corned beef hash, eggs and bacon

mom got the creme brulee french toast with bacon and eggs

someone got me sick!!!! Fighting off a narly cold over here!

My Bridal shower!!!

The guys showed up at the end and football got turned on hahahhhhaah!!

Dress and Necklace from Stitchfix!

My bridal shower was perfect! My wonderful soon to be in-laws put it on for me, it was fun but low key which is perfect for me. There was delicious food and drink and I got some amazing gifts!!! Moments like this are so surreal!!!! I’m really getting married in just 2ish short weeks!!! So crazy!!!!! Makes me have heart palpitations hahahahahahahaha!!!

more soup eating while i have been sick

This shirt also came in my fix, i LOVE it!! it is a beautiful plum color. How sexy is that neck!!!!???

Here is a closeup of the detail on the leggings. so cute and so comfy!!!

and here is a close up of the necklace.

I also got a jacket but it was a little big so sent it back to exchange it for a smaller size, i will show you when i get it back.

Use this link to try stitchfix and get $25 towards your first fix!

Another great fix from stichfix!!!! now to lose another 14lbs so i can treat myself to another box!!! I am currently at 164. when i hit 150 I’ll order another box!!! talk about motivation!!!!

Now my alarm is going off and i have to get ready for my first practicum!!!! Stay tuned for details about that on Friday!!