This year all of Soren and Carl's friends went to public preschool and kindergarten. So although education is still not legally mandated for my boys yet, I feel like this is the year we are officially homeschooling. After all these years of dreaming and planning, I realize that this is it! We are homeschooling!
This is the first of my (hopefully) monthly homeschooling records.
In Kindergarten
Since this is my first time writing about it, I should explain our Kindergarten routine. First, we have a Circle Time. This includes (but is not limited to):
* a welcoming song - Usually "Here we are Together" or "Come to the Circle"
* nursery rhymes - Everyone gets a turn to share one.
* a story - I tell the same one from memory every day for two weeks.
* a hymn - I choose a new one each week that seems thematically related.
After Circle Time, we take our quilt, the snack basket, and the baby for a walk around the block. At the halfway point, there is a beautiful patch of green grass where we stop to eat and play outdoor games. When we get back to the house, we do an open-ended art project (or sometimes cooking or another handcraft).
The Little Red Hen - Our first "unit" of the year centered around the story of the Little Red Hen. To complement that story, I shared the nursery rhymes Chick, Chick, Chicken and Higgledy Piggledy. We also learned to sing "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel" and "Let Us All Press On". Outside, I taught the kids to play The Farmer in the Dell and (for no other reason than because it is a favorite) London Bridge. On the last day of the unit, we made bread! Since everyone helped, we all got to eat it together.
This is the first of my (hopefully) monthly homeschooling records.
In Kindergarten
Since this is my first time writing about it, I should explain our Kindergarten routine. First, we have a Circle Time. This includes (but is not limited to):
* a welcoming song - Usually "Here we are Together" or "Come to the Circle"
* nursery rhymes - Everyone gets a turn to share one.
* a story - I tell the same one from memory every day for two weeks.
* a hymn - I choose a new one each week that seems thematically related.
After Circle Time, we take our quilt, the snack basket, and the baby for a walk around the block. At the halfway point, there is a beautiful patch of green grass where we stop to eat and play outdoor games. When we get back to the house, we do an open-ended art project (or sometimes cooking or another handcraft).
St. Michael and the Star Children - This is a story that I told the boys last year for Michaelmas. I remember how good it made me feel so see the story sink deep into their hearts and then come out in the play. Wanting to recapture that feeling, I shared the story again this year. For nursery rhymes, I chose Twinkle, Twinkle and The Leaves are Green. We sang "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "We Are All Enlisted". I used some "shooting stars" we made last year to teach the kids to throw and catch. They never did catch on to the catching. We also did a circle I found last year on the internet that uses rhymes and actions to tell the story of Michael fighting the dragon. Carl enjoyed it so much he memorized the whole thing and then re-enacted it with gusto many times. On the last day of the unit, we made dragon bread and I told a fun story go along with the mixing of ingredients.
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