G is for Growth!

It's Spring, finally, and I am amazed when I think of the growth that has happened in the last 8 months!
Sophia has turned from an above average preschooler, to an inquisitive, holistic kindergartner. She has learned to read through a whole system approach using: tactiles; phonics; word recognition; and good old fashioned daily reading. She can count and recognize numerals 0 to 100, does addition brilliantly, and subtracts with some success. Soph loves all things science and has so much fun with experiments, gardening and keeping a weather journal. She loves to paint and continues to thrive in music and movement with violin and dance and open gym weekly. She also has her first job! She has been helping me with my yoga class every week and receives an allowance for her assistance. The amazing thing to me about Sophia is that she can draw conclusions, make comparisons and remember things we spoke of ages ago. She can put things together appropriately and in a wise and deliberate fashion far beyond her years.
I always knew she would be a wonderfully smart student and had no doubt she would thrive in any environment.
Although I have not made much mention of the younger two in my brood their success and growth has also been phenomenal this year! Part in thanks to Sophia and the structure of our "homeschooling" day. Liam's vocabulary has increased fourfold, he is potty trained (for the most part)and his attention span is that of a five year old. He loves to tell and read stories and is our resident jokester. His fine, and gross motor skills have gone from great to magnificent! He will just be three at the end of the month but has become quite the character.
My youngest, Margot, will be one on the 22nd. She has skipped so many of the "baby steps" trying to keep up with the other two, which is a character trait of the 3rd child I'm told. Straight from breast milk to solids, stacking blocks and crawl chasing everyone even up the stairs!! Her favorite things are kisses from Daddy and dancing with her brother and sister.
It took us all a while to get into the grove and a daily routine but now that we have a basic structure the flexibility just comes naturally. We love things the way they are right now and I wouldn't change a thing! We have learned to grow and have grown to learn, what a great year so far!

E is for Expectations

I think the Homeschooling "honeymoon" is officially over!! Time to get real! The ideal and the reality have come crashing into each other at full speed. To all of you moms out there who think you can't do it...I'm here to tell you you can if you do one important thing- let go of your expectation. Society has placed such a burden on all American women and I am here to bluntly give it the finger. Perfection comes at such a cost- one that has been created by the very institutions I am keeping my children from attending...schools, churches. Why, when I consciously know this and have made the decision to keep my children from them, can't I tear myself away from these expectations? Guilt, ancestry, "normality", fear?
I began to demand things from Sophia as they would in a "typical setting." She began rebelling- of course she did! I have raised her in this fashion and then act surprised when she acts this way- please!!!
Luckily I have a homeschooling mom connection who set me straight a few weeks ago. I explained how frustrated I was trying to get back into the grove after Thanksgiving break and she said this was very normal both in public schools and in a homeschooling setting. I took a deep breath and started to look in from the outside. She then profoundly stated, " The stress comes only from our own expectations. The kids are fine, they are learning every moment. Whether they are playing with their siblings, or coloring with crayons there is no boundary to their growth."
Ah-Ha!!! Revelation!
I am now making the effort to stop over complicating and bringing it back to basics-
I have prepared their environment so that my whole house can teach. I did this for a reason- I am not their "teacher" in the antiquated sense of the word, I am the "directress" here to expound on questions and instill the love of learning in their hearts. Enough about me!!

Success With Themes!

I have now been teaching, and learning for 5 weeks with my kids! I can't believe how fast things are happening but am so grateful I get to see how everything unfolds. I can't imagine missing all of these light bulb moments that truly make me feel blessed daily. The weekly themes have been very successful and each week the next theme reveals itself with ease. Sophia has been able to make global connections that are beyond her years in age, and often makes her momma scratch her head and research to find "the" answers. Each week I use a general theme and then we continue things from the following lessons that were of interest. I rely heavily on literature, reading each morning a story having to do with our day. Our public library has really great programs for kids which includes Story Time Kits dealing with many topics we have been covering. Usually they have three of four books, a video or DVD, and felt board activities. It really is an amazing resource and cuts down on my preparation time considerably!!

Just to give you an idea:

Week 1: Diversity and Multiculturalism- focus on Africa/ India
Week 2: Native Americans- focus on the Americas
Week 3: Autumn- Seasons changing, weather changes- focus on harvesting, and apples
Week 4: Natural Cycles- Life Cycle- focus on the life cycle of the Butterfly
Week 5: Foods- Health and Nutrition- focus on the food pyramid and exercise

I have felt such a sense of success when by Friday of each week the kids have turned the theme into some form of play. They are making a nutritious felt pizza as we speak! Sophia made vegetable garden markers last night for fun for our garden next year, and when we were discussing the Native Americans they played for hours on the front porch foraging, hunting, and "making fires" to cook their meat over. For these guys their work turned into play and I feel that they have internalized the lessons.

We have had the great fortune to have one of my husband's former English teachers coming over every Monday to read to the kids and she has started a journal with Sophia and always has a big bag overflowing with books. The kids look so forward to it!
This week we also had our first session at the local gym. I had set up a time and invited a bunch of moms, some homeschoolers and some just with young kids still at home. It ended up being quite a success we kicked balls and jumped ropes, crawled through tunnels and made new friends. We have also picked up Sophia's violin and start lessons next week. We also found out last night that one of the girls in her dance class is also a homeschool and they had hit it off before we even made the connection. I feel so blessed to be able to do this and I feel like the universe is just beginning to open up these amazing possibilities to us. My hope is it will continue always!!!

A is for Acclimation

The idea of "the first day" is both exciting and a bit dauting...we are to be completely responsible for educating these young minds! I began with large ideas and plans and have narrowed things first into months and weeks, and now into days and even hours. I am also ready for the possiblilty that my plans all go up in smoke begining the first day. I do feel prepared however, and for me that is a good thing!

I began with these concepts: Kindergarten
(some are not totally age appropriate but for Sophia they will be)

*Language- History of Writing and the Alphabet, Story Concepts (who,what,where,why), Spelling and word play, Pronunciation (phonics)

*Math- Developing # concepts, Geometric shapes, measurement (cooking, water collection, thermometer), time telling, money counting

*Science- Weather, Seasons, basic astronomy, silence and sound in nature, ecosystems and diversity (basic)

*Social Studies- Address and phone #,community exploration,state and country, geography and diversity of culture

*Health- Nutrition, basic cleanliness, basic anatomy

*Fitness- Large motor skills, yoga, gym class (at the local civic center), swimming, soccer, dance, Boxing (w/ Toby), Hiking

*Art- Art book study, arts and crafts of all kinds (daily), art in nature, color work, pattern play

*Music- violin lessons, daily listening and singing, dance class

My next step is monthly themes, weekly excercises and daily activities! I have the first week completed anyway! Our classroom is finished and our school supplies are bought we will begin this Monday the 13th! Excited and nervous, Sophia and Liam can hardly wait we have already dug into many topics listed above but I can't possibly make them wait! This may turn into a all year adventure which is really no different than the last 5 years...