Weekly Recap (09/20-09/24)

I am going to make it a point to post to this blog every Sunday.  I am confident I can keep up with this resolution.

So this week past was the second week that we have been consistently doing work, officially doing kindergarten.  I am still learning and sometimes it gets frustrating.  But I'm determined to really pay attention and learn what works best for us.

I had the wonderful opportunity to watch a vlog on YouTube about one family's homeschooling approach.  I encourage you to watch.  This mama's blog (Well-Trained Homeschool) is also listed on the sidebar and I really enjoy reading it.  Many of her ideas about homeschool mirror mine.  I'm learning, however, that based on my children's personality, I may have to modify things as we go along.  

So currently, we are doing an hour of sit-down work daily.  I start with the calendar.  Z1 crosses off the date and then we recite/go over the day of the week, the month, the date and the year.  I write it on triple-lined paper and he copies it.  We've also been practicing writing his first and last name.  We also do one letter from the Handwriting without Tears program (wet-dry-try and then writing in the workbook/coloring).  

We then move on to reading.  I've been using some resources from this site.  I also found an old-school reader at the thrift store for $0.19 that I will give a try.  Most of the time, we just read one of the books we've borrowed from the library for 10 minutes or so and then I ask questions.  But I don't necessarily trust myself to ask effective questions so I've been looking around to find some kind of program that I could use.  I did find Headsprout but I would not like to spend $100 on it right now.  Plus, I found it kind of boring (although Z1 liked it).

After reading, we move on to math.  Like I said, I purchased the RightStart Math curriculum and so far, so good.  I started at the very beginning of the program and it's basic for Z1:  he already knows most of it but it's a great review and a good way for him to familiarize himself with the tools the program uses such as tally marks and the abacus.   Also, started at such a basic level increases his confidence.  He thinks he rocks (and he does)!

So this is basically what we do daily.  For social studies, I am keeping it very informal.  Learning about how our neighborhood works and all that.  For science, I really don't know what to do so I think I'll just stick with the typical course of study for kindergarten and go through topic by topic, planning to cover everything by the end of the school year.  I'm keeping my eyes open for an amazing curriculum or something to come along.  I just place More Mudpies to Magnets on hold at the library.  I'm excited to see what it offers.  

My biggest challenge right now is getting Z1 to come to the table and do work.  Like most everything else I ask him to do, he complains and grumbles.  When we finally get into it, he enjoys it but it is like pulling teeth to get started.  I feel like I am forcing him and I don't want to do that.  The other day, I was being laid back about it and told him we needed to do some work that day and that he should let me know when he was ready.  It seemed like he would never be ready.  Eventually, I just had to bring him to the table by telling him that he couldn't play his Leapster all day and not do work.  So I'm just not sure what to do about that.  Generally, if we're going to do work, I'd prefer to do it in the morning while I have the most energy and patience.  I can get some housework done after and then we can head out of doors in the afternoon.  So I'm really meditating and trying to figure out where to go from here.

As for Z2, he sits at the table with us most of the time.  We work on letters, numbers, colors.  I let him play with clay or color or cut up stuff.  Sometimes he works at Starfall.  I try to make him feel included and to involve him as much as possible.  This way he doesn't get bored or interfere with Z1's learning.

So that's it for this week.