Reflecting on the Week

I thought I would post an update about how our week has gone. It's been an enjoyable week learning about creation and the letter "A" at our house. The girls are both doing really well. Brina of course understands the concepts more than her sister. Brina already knows her letters though. Siriana says that the letter name is "B" but she knows without a doubt that it says "A-A-Adam!" Lol! The cute little finger play for the first week is adorable. It goes through different animals that God created and tells that he created people. My girls both love it.

Another thing that both girls really enjoy is the music that goes along with the program. I hesitated to buy it at first, but they were dancing and singing away. I'm so glad I bought the CD set. It was definitely $13 well spent.

To learn about the letter "A" this week, we have made a big letter A on the floor with masking tape. The girls walked their stuffed animals/dolls along the letter.We have talked about words that begin with the letter A: apple, astronaut, ant...Since my girls love to paint, we also dot painted an apple picture yesterday. Pictures will be at the end of the post. To end off our evening last night, we blew bubbles, played with sidewalk chalk, and read about six bedtime stories. I love spending this quality time with my girls and thankful for the direction I have with Heart of Dakota's program.

This is Brina's apple.

This is Siri's apple.

 Overall, we've had a great week. I wish I would have gotten some outdoor pictures. I will try to do that today though. Thanks to everyone that takes a look!

Our Misadventures Have Begun

For those of you that don't know, I completed my bachelor's degree in elementary education just this past December. Throughout my experiences serving time in the school district, I have found that my own educational views are not the same as those of the public school system. This holds particularly more true in the early years. After talking it over with my husband, we have decided to give homeschooling a try. We are not yet at the reporting age, so right now I'm just trying to get a feel for how this is going to work. I have two daughters. My oldest daughter, Brina (pronounced Brenna), is four years old. She is a bright, bubbly little girl who love to learn about things through active play. She currently is opposed to holding a pencil or coloring. My youngest daughter, Siriana Jade, is 2 1/2 years old. She is a very bright child who often observes things to find out how they work. I can already tell her mind is geared much like my husband's. In order to help develop these little young minds, I wanted a little bit of direction.
I have decided to use the all-inclusive pre-k curriculum from Heart of Dakota: Little Hands to Heaven. There is an accompanying children's story Bible, an ABC devotional, and a CD called The Singing Bible.

I chose this curriculum because of the very relaxed, hands-on approach it takes to teaching the letters and sounds. We are also a Christian family and I want to teach these values to my children. I will not love them any less if they choose not to believe, but I do want to teach them our beliefs.

My oldest daughter is very excited to start her real "schoolwork" this week. She has been asking me if I am going to be her teacher. As soon as I get off this computer, we will be starting our first lesson. Here's to hoping that all goes well and the girls love it. I'll update with pictures sometime this week. Thanks so much for reading!