I am 100% ready for Christmas. I just don't have a single present wrapped nor any food preparation done. But, in my mind I am so ready, lol. "Iiii am gonna wrap presents all Niiiight and baby sit all of the day." (to the tune of that rock n roll all night song).
We've been reading the Christmas story (the real one about Jesus, not Santa) out of the kids' story Bible. The first part was the Angel coming to Mary. I used Little People to demonstrate. Unfortanetly I couldn't find Mary so I had to use a teacher instead. We've also been reading Christmas books, well, Santa, winter, the Arctic, etc. You catch my drift. If you ask the girls where Penguins live, they will tell you Antarctica. If you ask them whether Antarctica is north or south, they will tell you south. It's amazing how well kids retain information when it's presented through literary sources as well as with hands-on activities.
Christmas certainly makes curriculum aids simple, just google "Christmas activities" or "Christmas worksheets" and BAM a million different things to choose from. Today we are foregoing Kelly's Abeka worksheets and doing Christmas ones. She's been really excited about doing them. Zoey's been begging for Christmas worksheets too. If I'd let her, she would do worksheets all day every day. Seems slightly odd for a super active 4 year-old. Also on the agenda are Christmas BINGO and "A Secret Message" encrypting paper (think that's what it's called).
Well, gotta get some things done before lunch. Blog U later!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Almost Christmas!
Wow! It's already the end of December. Homeschooling has been going great. Kelly is reading, writing and overall doing very well. So far homeschooling has been a fun and definitely education for myself as well as for the girls. I know that this is what was right for us right now. Kelly is VERY compassionate. She says things like "When I grow up, I want to give my clothes to people who don't have anything." She always thinks to pray for people when we mention they are sick. I am thankful that she is around positive infuences and has a small teacher- child ratio. I know that lots of kids are in public and do great, and that's great, but this is what we feel the Lord has for our children's lives.
The first concern friends and family had when we first started talking about homeschooling was... socialization. Which totally makes sense, because it's like if a kid is at home every day all day how will they learn social skills? I googled and asked others and listened to podcasts to gain some confidence in this area and now I also have my own answers. Socialization is so much more than having classmates in a school. My kids are with other kids Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Of course that's just counting time at church. We also have at least one extra kid at our house 2-5 days a week. Plus, thankfully we have joined a large local homeschool group. A couple weeks ago we went to the Omni and saw "The Polar Express". Last week was the Christmas party of which there were about 30 kids there of all ages. The kids make friends with almost everyone they meet right away. I really don't think they are missing out on any socialization. lol.
We have gone to the zoo, the Omni, granparent's houses, the vet, etc. The cool thing about homeschooling is that it doesn't actually have to be done at home. Now, we do have reading, writing and math curriculum that I purchased from Abeka that we use at home, but nevertheless, learning takes place everywhere. Not just in a classroom or a home. The store is a great place to learn about math and nutrition. Kelly likes to tell me how much things cost (in whole dollars) and sometimes give descriptions of things. She knows a lot about what things are healthy and what things are not.
In addition to using the Abeka worksheets, we play educational games like number match ups, opposite games, do puzzles, etc. Play-Doh is sometimes used. Last week we were learning about penguins and the Arctic. Kelly made an ice burg and I can't remember what else out of play-doh. When we use moon-doh, Kelly still likes to crumble it up and say "I made particles!"
Anyhow, I think I've rambled on long enough, lol. I just wanted to possibly express the success so far in our homeschooling journey. Partially to ward off concerns of friends and family, but also to encourage others who homeschool or are debating starting to.
Snack time! Gotta run, I'll post again soon.
The first concern friends and family had when we first started talking about homeschooling was... socialization. Which totally makes sense, because it's like if a kid is at home every day all day how will they learn social skills? I googled and asked others and listened to podcasts to gain some confidence in this area and now I also have my own answers. Socialization is so much more than having classmates in a school. My kids are with other kids Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Of course that's just counting time at church. We also have at least one extra kid at our house 2-5 days a week. Plus, thankfully we have joined a large local homeschool group. A couple weeks ago we went to the Omni and saw "The Polar Express". Last week was the Christmas party of which there were about 30 kids there of all ages. The kids make friends with almost everyone they meet right away. I really don't think they are missing out on any socialization. lol.
We have gone to the zoo, the Omni, granparent's houses, the vet, etc. The cool thing about homeschooling is that it doesn't actually have to be done at home. Now, we do have reading, writing and math curriculum that I purchased from Abeka that we use at home, but nevertheless, learning takes place everywhere. Not just in a classroom or a home. The store is a great place to learn about math and nutrition. Kelly likes to tell me how much things cost (in whole dollars) and sometimes give descriptions of things. She knows a lot about what things are healthy and what things are not.
In addition to using the Abeka worksheets, we play educational games like number match ups, opposite games, do puzzles, etc. Play-Doh is sometimes used. Last week we were learning about penguins and the Arctic. Kelly made an ice burg and I can't remember what else out of play-doh. When we use moon-doh, Kelly still likes to crumble it up and say "I made particles!"
Anyhow, I think I've rambled on long enough, lol. I just wanted to possibly express the success so far in our homeschooling journey. Partially to ward off concerns of friends and family, but also to encourage others who homeschool or are debating starting to.
Snack time! Gotta run, I'll post again soon.
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