Kinder - What I Would Do Different

I'm wrapping up my first year of homeschool. WOW! I honestly wasn't sure I could make it through! I'm not there yet, but I'm fairly confident I can get through 6 more units. We've got it down at this point! I've been running through some things I would change.

- Trust your curriculum. Give it a chance to work. Those tedious, super simple things really add up. Don't discredit them and don't stop doing them too early. Until something has been mastered it is beneficial to continue reviewing (and I'm sure even after mastered). My Father's World Kinder has been criticized as being slow or weak. Their method for teaching letters isn't going to win the most pins on Pinterest, but it is so effective. I've seen this over and over again.

- Give it more effort in the fall. I spent too much time outside of the home in the fall. I had cut way back from previous years, but I wasn't home enough to consistently school. I wish I had been. I would be much closer to finishing now. When January hit we cut WAY back. We don't leave the house near as much as we used to. This is probably the happiest I have been as a mom. The more I cut back the happier I get.

- Get started earlier. We didn't get started until September, mainly due to funds for buying the curriculum. I have spent a lot of time trying to "catch up" and always feeling behind. Doing so I breezed over some of the fun stuff.

- Set a time. This is another thing I didn't do in the fall. Once I decided to get school out of the way in the mornings I became a whole lot more productive. It's too easy to let school fall when it isn't the priority for the day. We still have flexibility, but it is the priority. I am educating my children, it has to be. My husband challenged me to do this and I wanted to listen to his leading so I did, I've been very blessed by it.

- Don't skip the fun stuff. I mean, there are going to be things you'll skip or substitute for other things. But, in the end of it, kinder should be fun! Learning in general should be fun. Much of what we were trying to accomplish this year was developing a love for learning. It's really easy to skip the fun activities in order to finish all the worksheets but I'm not convinced it's more productive. At this point, I've accepted that we are still several weeks from finishing and I'm not going to skimp on the fun stuff just to finish earlier. We'll finish when we finish. Now I sound like a true homeschooler!

- Be a better model. No, I'm talking about flattening out my stomach, but that would be ok too. When we first started reading on the blend ladder I helped out a little. But, then I really wanted to see how much he could do without my prompting. I realize now that he hadn't done this before and he needed me to model how you sound things out and blend things together. (Once again, trust your curriculum, they do tell you how to do it).

- Don't discredit building confidence. Early on we had a major battle. He needed to draw some fish but he wouldn't try. I wouldn't help him because he wouldn't try. We fought. It was ugly. I recently decided to pick up a Draw Write Now book. We still have some frustrations when we work through it. I have realized though, he needs me to help him get it right now. Even if I draw it for him and he traces it that will build his confidence and eventually he will feel like he can do it on his own. After the fish incident I realized if I would have just drawn a fish for him to copy we could have avoided the whole fight.

- Stop for attitude or other issues. One of my great homeschool mama friends is often saying this. Some days, we have to address the heart before we can do our schoolwork. This is the beauty of homeschool! Having a bad day? Let's stop and pray about it and take a minute before we move on. It works! Nobody else can do that for my kid.

- Plan a little more for Sister. I'm planning on adding a few things for her next year that are academic. Rod and Staff preschool is looking really good. It's cheap, it's simple, it's recommended. The main thing I think I'm going to do though is develop several quiet time boxes as recommended on the 1+1+1=1 blog. See her link about preschool boxes here.

Some things I would do again:
- I used a highlighter to highlight some things in the curriculum that I didn't get to. I want to use summer time to go back and do some of that stuff. Book activities I thought sounded fun, etc.


-Probably half way through the year it occurred to me to add tabs for quick reference in the book.

- We went to the library. A lot. We are checking out at least 100 books a month I'm sure. We love the library. Beemer and I have decided to set a regular date for us to go to the library alone on Friday afternoons.

- Take time for nice weather. One of my best friends is a great fellow homeschool mama. She likes to do school in the summer when it's miserably hot and take it easier when it's nice outside. This is one of many plays I'm taking out of her book.

- Have a good support group. The MFW Kinder facebook page has been extremely helpful as have been great friends who also homeschool. I've learned so much from watching other mamas.

- Learn as you go. Who says you have to practice letter sounds at the kitchen table? You can do that on your trip to the grocery store!

- Last, but not least, don't sell yourself short. God will make up for your weaknesses, just ask for His help! You can read more about that in my post here if you need some encouragement!

It has been a great year. I have loved it so much. I am somewhat intimidated by first grade. But truly, I can't wrap my mind around public school at this point. My first grader will be learning Bible history and using his Bible reader to learn how to read, I just can't let go of that benefit! I'm not opposed to public, we may end up there eventually. But for now, I think we're settled in!

We celebrated big for our 100th day, read that post here!

Cupcakes and Other Things

Sometimes I write for others and sometimes I write for myself. Yesterday was one of those days I just wanted to write down.

We have been un-potty-training Sister for a couple of weeks now. Yup, you read that right, un-training. She has had so much "training" that she became completely resistant to the process. So, it's now on her. We are no longer telling, training, taking, asking or reminding. It is her responsibility. Anyway, I digress. She earned her 25 stickers so we went to get cupcakes.

In we walk to the lovely cupcake store with DELICIOUS sugary goodness waiting inside. We all pick the cupcake we want and the nice ladies start icing them. Sister, wants hers to look like the white one in the case with flowers on top. But, there are no flowers. The baker makes her a very cute little cupcake that I ooh and awe at. Glittery powder, butterflies, perfect icing...

Cupcake lady: Do you like your cupcake?

Sister (with lips about to quiver): I don't like it.

We all stood there laughing and the baker quicker found a flower for her cupcake! At least she doesn't mind voicing her opinion! She decided she liked it after all.

The questionable cupcake.

Beemer liked his.

This was our first trip to the cupcake place a few months ago,
clearly she liked her cupcake that day.

As I mentioned before we've been un-potty-training. I have finally found the MAGIC ingredient. TV. TV is now the reward for keeping dry underwear. But there's a catch. TV is only for kids who keep their underwear dry. So, there is no TV unless there is success! It took my child about a day to catch on. As soon as her 15 minutes are up, guess who's back in the bathroom squeezing out every last drop of anything in her body? I'm having to modify my plan. She's too smart for me!


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Speaking of being too smart for me, she picked up a book in the library a couple of weeks ago about Boys and Girls. I took one look at it and knew it wasn't going to happen.

Me: See, it's for kids ages 4 and up. We're not going to get it.
Sister: Is it because it has a boy peepee in it?

Nothing gets past this kid!


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Late in the afternoon we spent some time outside while The Officer got to work on dinner. We were given a Big Green Egg a few weeks ago and we have been really enjoying it! Last night he made fajita meat. The night before were ribs. They were pretty good, but we'll be looking for some better meat next time. I should have known better than to buy meat for smoking at Target!

Target ribs (salt and pepper only was super tastey),
roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and tomatoes, smoked corn

Sister came running up to me with a small bunch of leaves on a little stem talking about Nana's baby bat. My mom sent pictures a week or so ago of herself holding some precious little baby owls at her school.

Sister: I want to give this to Nana so she can feed it to her baby bats.
Me: Her baby bats?? You mean her baby owls?
Sister: Yeah, her baby owls. I want to save it for Nana so she can feed her baby bats.
Me: You mean her baby owls?
Sister: Yeah, her baby owls.

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They sure keep me entertained and sometimes tug at my heartstrings. Sister got woken up last night when Beemer went in to go to bed. She became very upset so I went in and started singing to her, I have decided to follow Jesus. Within a minute she was trying to sing with me. Another minute later Beemer walked in and started singing with me. Yet another minute and I was not only singing, but sobbing! He ended up singing me quite a long song, which I'm sure he made up, about Jesus and being happy and the like. It was super sweet. He's not usually the one I see as my musical child so it really took me by surprise!

Some days I write to remember. This is just one of those days.

Finally... Bluebonnets

I've lived in Texas almost my entire life and I can't remember a single bluebonnet picture of myself. Nor have I ever taken pictures of my kids in the bluebonnets! A few people recommended this field to me so we headed over after dinner right as the sun was starting to hide.

 

 

I actually really love these silly pictures.
Who says everything has to be smile-and-look-at-the-camera? 

 The kids really just wanted to run in the open field which I deeply cherished
in between moments of panic. I don't know why, it's hard for me to have my
kids be too far away and running in two separate directions. I mean what if somebody
jumps out of the woods and grabs them?! Yes, I know this makes me slightly crazy.

 

Their running and giggling is precious. I did manage to snap a few decent pics in between.

Totally posed. "Hey, how about giving that flower to your sister?"
Didn't work out exactly how I planned.

One thing you can always count on with running toddlers, falling down!

 

And curiosity. 

This dress is perfect for pictures in a field. I am not above hand-me-downs!(And how did I not realize until today that changing my child's clothes in a public restroom is WAY easier in a dress).

Finally they both fell down. After trying, again, to get them to smile for the camera
I finally said "Just look at me." And somehow, they sat still long enough to capture the moment.
We just sat there talking for a minute while I snapped away.

I saw this sneeze coming...

Alas, we must be real Texans now. We have bluebonnet pictures. 

My kids run in a field. I take pictures. This is how I play.

With the Sun Behind

Just getting a little practice with my camera. Oh yeah, and Beemer got glasses. Seriously adorable. There's something about it that makes him look more innocent and sweet to me! 

I was just thinking earlier, he's really a delightful kid to be around. He has a really sweet spirit.
Last night he stopped eating his ice cream half way through to save it for daddy.
He's always saving things for daddy lately. He's very thoughtful of others and takes
initiative to take care of things he sees that need to be done. When we grocery shop he picks up misplaced items and puts them back on the shelf in their exact locations. I just love this little man!

Anyway, this is how I play...

You Can Do It!

Let's just be honest, I did not set out to homeschool. In fact, I was quite the opposite. I didn't think very highly of homeschool. I didn't want those weird, socially awkward kids. But, when we hit this time last year, Beemer's teacher did not recommend we send him on to Kinder. I wasn't expecting this. At all. It hadn't even crossed my mind. (Read: I didn't have it in the budget for one more year of preschool).

So, I started asking around. I talked to teachers from elementary up to high school who told me that the young boys are almost always at a disadvantage in their class. I talked to friends who homeschool. I did my research. The more I learned, the more I liked. Then, my former teaching friend, told me she was going to homeschool because of her husband's schedule (he's a pilot). This really sealed the deal for me and I decided to give it a shot.

Alas we had a plan. Homeschool a year of kinder and send him to kinder in public the next year, can't mess that up right? A plan that seems to have changed as quickly as my plan to not homeschool. As soon as I started at home I loved it. I love that it works for our crazy ever-changing schedule at the police department. I love that I get to stop and pray with my 5 year old when he needs some help with his attitude. I love that I have taught my child the beginning steps of reading and he learned it the right way instead of rushing through it. I love that we can focus all that extra time into things he's interested in. I just love it and until God really leads me differently I'm going to keep pursuing it.

But, here is what I really want you to read...
You can do it too if you want to.

I can't tell you how often people say these kinds of things to me: "Oh, I admire you for doing that, there's no way I ever could." It takes different forms, but the message is the same: "I can't do that." I cringe every time I hear it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that one route of school is right for every child. Not public. Not private. Not homeschool. It makes me cringe because these sweet mamas don't believe in themselves. More importantly, they're not believing in God. (And by the way, let's just hold off on admiring this mama until I have at least finished one whole year of this!)

I wasn't the perfect candidate for homeschool, and I doubt you are either.
- I'm highly dysfunctional when it comes to putting myself on a schedule. Seriously, I suck at it.
- I work part time, and mostly from home.
- I'm not the most patient person in the world.
- I don't have unlimited funds for curriculum, extra activities, etc.
- I have had a serious overcommitment issue.
- I have a very small house, with four people, two dogs and no school room.

But, here's the cool part. Where I am weak, He is strong. 

Maybe you don't think you're patient enough to homeschool, but wouldn't you like to grow in that patience only God can give you? Maybe you suck at schedules and you're over committed. Maybe you don't have money or time. None of that is too big for God.

The past 8 months have changed me. I no longer have a calendar that is bursting at the seams. I'm home long enough to take care of school, work and cook almost every night. I am happier than I have ever been as a mom. I have grown in patience. I have successfully taught my child and have seen him learn with leaps and bounds. I have purchased curriculum and have a free hand-me-down 1st grade promised to me next year. I have put myself, successfully, on a decent schedule.

Maybe it's not homeschool, but whatever God is calling you to or whatever it is you're wanting to change in your life don't sell yourself God short.

Go Make a Mess!

Milk bubbles spilling out onto the table = Cleanup time for mama

The truth is, the messiest play makes for the most fun and they learn in the process. Sometimes it's hard for us mamas to let them make a mess. Often the mess we're so afraid of takes only minutes to clean up. Minutes compared to an hour of play is a success in my book! Especially when I get smiles like this in the process. So let go of your inner control freak today and go make a mess!

 

 

When the bubbles quit blowing he had to diagnose the problem. This turned into quite the little experiment that he pretty much led himself!  He tried out water and milk in multiple sized cups.

 

Can't leave Sister out completely!

 

I found these Super Sipperz Straws on nomorerack.com for $2.50 a box around Christmas.
I've read mostly awful reviews about their website, though I didn't have any problems.
I'm quite impressed with these straws They came with a little baggy that
I can throw in the dishwasher for easy cleanup and they are great for learning.

Our 100 Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated 100 in school! We started homeschooling kindergarten this year using My Father's World curriculum. Technically, we have not completed
100 days of school, but we've filled up our charts so we are celebrating anyway! (100 days of homeschool can take a while to add up depending on your schedule.)

We filled our 100 chart by adding 1 straw to a jar every day (or a couple to speed the process). We bunched them up in 10s as we went. For every straw added we updated our chart. This is a great way to teach numbers. It's so fun to see where your child ends up. Anyway, on to our day!

I prepped several white bags the night before. Each bag has an activity or a treat. We just covered time in our curriculum so the little clocks were perfect for our special day. I got the idea here. Since Sister isn't reading time, I made her bags with the analog time so they could find both bags at each hour. The bags have the same thing in them. I also tried to alternate longer activities with shorter activities so I could squeeze in some curriculum or work in between.

9:00 Build Something with 100 Legos

 

Beemer was pretty excited to open the legos.

Sister was hoping for pink legos. I filled her bag with the more simple blocks.
She has just started playing with Lego Duplo blocks (which I think is really cool).
I wasn't sure how she would do with little legos, but she got right to work!

 

I don't always sit down and play with the kids like I
should so today I tried to focus more on that.

Here they are with their finished products! 

 

  After Legos I put a movie on for them, A Bug's Life.
We are starting Insect this week in school so it seemed fitting. See our ant farm pictures here! 

 10:00 Eat 100 Nerds

Needless to say, there was a lot of excitement on this one.

 

Wonder what's next?

 10:00 Read 100 Pages

I made the mistake on this one of giving them an empty bag.
If I did it again I would put a little book inside the bag with the slip of paper.
Sister was really bummed her bag was empty and Beemer did not want to read books.
I thought they would be really excited about this one!

He did get into it once I introduced Captain Awesome. If you have a superhero
kid this is a nice alternative to the usual books. The superheroes are
elementary school kids. It's a chapter book with drawings on most of the pages.

Truckery Rhymes would be a great boy baby gift, it's old school nursery rhymes written about trucks. We've enjoyed all of the Jon Scieszka books we've read. He was recommended to us by Aunt M, retired kindergarten teacher. You can find the list of her faves that I posted here.

Clifford was for Sister, of course.

1:00 Glue 100 pieces of paper

I got the inspiration from here. They definitely did not glue all 100 pieces,
I should have gone with something more like the link.

Did I mention this was a chance to play some more with my new lens?

 

2:00 Count 100 Pennies

100 Pennies!!

I ran out of pennies at 93 cents. Don't tell Beemer, the other 7 came out of his piggy bank.
Sister got dimes, she wasn't sad there weren't 100 of them.

Put them in your piggy bank!

  

3:00 Make a 100 Cookie!

First, read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and retellthe story to mommy.
Enjoy your cookie with dinner. I got the idea for the cookie here.

 

 

 

We enjoyed it after dinner, couldn't let daddy miss out!

We took some selfies before our last baggy.
I really don't get in the picture with my kids often enough.

4:00 Measure 100"

After we measured 100, the kids wanted to see how tall they were.
Sister is 38" and Beemer is 45"!

My kids love to measure. They were really excited about this. In fact, I didn't have to read
the paper to Beemer, he guessed what we were going to do based on the measuring tape!

This was a special day. I don't do things like this often. I always want to,
but I never pull it together. I've been home a lot more lately and it has
given me more time to make things a little extra special. More on that later!