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!
Best of luck as you begin your homeschooling journey!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I'm so excited to have the privilege of watching the light pop on in my children's eyes!
ReplyDeleteSounds good! I wonder if Brina would like to do some lacing with beads activities, or maybe use some child's tweezers to help her pincer grip strength?
ReplyDeleteMy son is 3 and my daughter is 1, and so we're not 'reporting age' yet either. I'm still gathering ideas and I'm starting a homeschool blog as well, though it's not quite ready for the world :). I don't have it linked to my profile yet, but it's at playhomeschool dot com if you're interested.
Thank you! I'm planning to purchase some lacing beads shortly. I've gone so crazy with books that I just have to wait a bit. Lol! We read all the time here. I'm also going to get some lacing cards. I think both my girls would love them. Sidewalk chalk has become a staple here too. :) I was looking up preschool games on Amazon and found some really good ones that included tweezer activities in them. One was the sneaky, snacky squirrel. It is on my wish list and I hope to get it this next month. :)Thanks for your comment!
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