Kindergarten 2011-2012

 

Last week Monday we started kindergarten. It was a bitter-sweet event as most of the children we knew were headed off to school with their loaded backpacks to meet their new teachers, unpack their fresh school supplies and visit with new and old friends. Meanwhile, we were headed to the kitchen table where there were fresh supplies, fresh workbooks, and big smiles. I'm sure it will get easier when people ask my son if he started kindergarten and where he's going to school. But right now, it's hard to explain our reasoning to strangers in the grocery store during a 2 minute "conversation."

But my kindergarten son was excited and so is my three-year-old. He's participating in schoolwork right alongside his brother and mom. :) It's a blessing to be able to school them at home. I'm excited to see what God's going to do this year in our home. And we're also participating in our local homeschool enrichment program. It's through our public school system and will be a blessing to our family. Through the program we will get a supervising teacher (which you would normally have to pay for), PE classes once a week and an enrichment class once a week. During the enrichment class they will work on computer skills, calendar skills, learn some conversational French, writing/reading assistance. And the biggest blessing is that a lot of the women that work there are all born-again believers. Even though the program is funded through the public school there are many believers who make the program possible and that's exciting for us as a family. Another thing we're finding out is that not all parents homeschool because of religious reasons. We have come to find that there are more reasons parents are choosing to school at home. We are excited to know that there is a mission field for our littles as they attend HSAP activities and classes but we are still giving them a "Christian education" at home. It's really exciting for our family. :)

I decided that it would be best for our family to have school at the dining room table. I know that if it were in another more inconvenient location (the closer to the kitchen the better since I spend most of my day there) I we would have trouble getting my our work done. And I didn't want our dining room space to look too much like a kindergarten classroom so we purchased some shelving from Ikea and our workboxes are on wheels so they can easily be wheeled out of the room for important guests. Our calendar work and Letter of the Week info is on hooks and can also be easily removed for dinner guests. I'm still trying to paint window trim, sew curtains, and add some extra decor but this is where we're at with our dining/homeschool room.

Alright, as for what we're planning this year....

Kindergarten
Five in a Row - book 1 (fall); book 2 (spring)
Horizon's Math
Explode the Code Phonics (all consonants this fall and vowels this spring)
Handwriting Without Tears

We're also utilizing the workboxes again this year. It's a great way to push me into adding fun things for him to do. Otherwise it just becomes worksheets and coloring. This way I add games, puzzles, crafts, activities into our school time.

Preschool 3/4 yr
Raising Rock Stars Preschool
Letter of the Week by Confessions of a Homschooler

We're really excited to be using this program again. There are some things that are a little over his head as it was created for 4-year-olds but he's really been enjoying it. There are so many fun elements to RRSP and LOTW. I even take some of the activities and put them in the kindergarten boxes for some review work. Plus it's fun when he can accomplish something quickly after working hard on another box. I did not purchase the RRSP or LOTW downloads; I only use their free printables.

We have also been using some great games created by Homeschool Creations. They have been another great asset to our homeschool curriculum this year.


That's what we have planned so far. I'm excited to see where God will lead us this year and we'd appreciate your prayers as we begin this adventure. :)

Organizing Your Child's New Year

Like I've said before: I love calendars. I also love organization. I'm constantly reorganizing my home to make better use of space, prioritize items, declutter, and just for fun.

I've talked about bedtime routines before. Well, now with "school" starting for my oldest, I decided it was time for him to have a daily routine as well. I don't like to focus too much on the clock but put focus on the order of the day. I hang the calendar and routines on the refrigerator so they're easy for my toddler to find and reference. Below, I have pictured our routines for the New Year. Feel free to use these as a guide when making routines for your children. I used pictures and numbers so they can learn the routine before they can read.

Bedtime Routine

Weekly Calendar
(I put on the "special" things that we do each week; I don't put daily items on this calendar)

Daily Routine
(at this point all he knows are the pictures and numbers so it works pretty well)

My son loves to look at his routines and calendars. I didn't want them to get all messy or ripped and so I decided to protect the big ones with sheet protectors and the small one is "laminated" with packing tape. It's been a great way to redirect my son during the day. It's nice because he can look at his sheets and see what comes next. They're also nice when I have a babysitter. It's really easy to instruct them with the bedtime and daily routines and it helps my son to obey because he knows what's going on.

Organizing for the New Year

I love a new calendar!! Every year I enjoy putting together my new calendar and this year was no different. I get out my stickers and special calendar pens and write away. I love the potential of a new year and creating a well-organized calendar. It truly is one of my joys.

Here are some of the things I do to make my calendar more organized:

Use different color pens.
* I use green for birthdays and anniversaries. I also use them for births and weddings as they will go into the birthday/anniversary category next year.
* I use red for school events. That includes sporting events at the area middle schools and high schools (I'll talk about organizing these later) and for my husbands deadlines at seminary (this helps me keep him on track without nagging).
* I use blue for any church events. This includes middles school and high school church youth club activities, meetings that take my husband out of town, women's ministry meetings and events, church worship service changes or something we're participating in that Sunday, and anything else church/work (for husband) related.
* I use black for our family stuff. If there's something that involves cooking deadlines I usually put a box around it and if it's a doctor's appointment I circle it twice so it stands out. That's something I don't want to miss.

Use stickers.
Over the past several years I've purchased calendars that included stickers. This year my calendar didn't come with stickers, so I'm just going to use my leftover stickers from previous years.

Put phone numbers next to appointments.
I know the ped's number by memory, but not the ENT, ophthalmologist, plumber, electrician, etc. I always put their phone number on the calendar by the apt. so that if I'm running late, they're running late or I need to change the apt. I can call them easily without having to take the time to look the number up.

Daily schedule goes right on the calendar.
I am using a desk calendar this year so it's easier to do. I use the left-hand column reserved for notes to put a printout of my daily schedule. It's just a quick reminder for me. Also, I put the library hours, weekly cleaning schedule on the non-numberd days of the calendar. Another friendly reminder.

Highlight special birthdays/anniversaries/weddings...
For special days that require more than just a card, I put a little doodle around the day. This helps me to easily see if there's a gift I need to purchase or a special phone call I need to make. Otherwise I'll forget. I also put the date next to certain birthdays/anniversaries. This helps me to remember if it's a milestone that needs to be celebrated as well.

Ok, on to the organizing of sports schedules. My husband works full-time at our church with middle school students. He also helps out with the high school students, and so do I. We think it's really important to show our interest in the students outside of "church" time and it's a great way to get to know parents and the community we're serving. Our students attend different schools in the area, so we try to make it to at least one game of each school/gender/activity. We even try to go to games that our students aren't actually involved in because we know there will be students and parents there that we know. And it's fun. Our oldest son must think he's going to an NBA game when we go to a middle/high school sport. We get to have popcorn and cheer with an excited crowd. It's a fun thing to do as a family.

So, this is what I do: I print out all the schedules of the actvities: boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling for middle school and high school (this year it's mainly two schools). I then print out a blank calendar using Microsoft Publisher (I use the basic black and white calendar). I use different color pens for each event boys and girls. I write out all the home games on the days we would be able to attend (no Thursdays as that's our designated date night). This makes it easy to see the events better. Here's our game schedule for this winter:

Jan 5 - AHS 9th boys basketball
Jan 9 - AHS 10th/varsity boys basketball
Jan 12 - GHS 9th/jr varsity girls basketball
Jan 16 - GMS 7th boys basketball
Jan 26 - GHS 9th/jr varsity girls basketball
Jan 31 - AHS wrestling
Feb 2 - AHS 9th girls basketball
Feb 3 - GMS 8th boys basketball
Feb 6 - GHS varsity girls and boys basketball
Feb 9 - AHS jr varsity boys basketball
Feb 10 - AHS jr varsity/varsity girls basketball
Feb 23 - AMS 8th boys basketball

Mind you, the kids and I won't be going to all the games, but my husband will.

And here's an issue that I really struggled with this year:

Desk vs. Hanging Calendars
After a long deliberation, I'm converting back to a desk calendar. When I was a nurse at the hospital, I relied on a desk calendar because I could take it with me so I could write my work schedule down. But since I've been at home, I haven't really "needed" a desk calendar and have enjoyed having it hanging in the kitchen. But this year, I'm finding myself making appointments that require me to have a calendar along (doctor appointments, church meetings, etc). I don't want to have to bring my hanging calendar everywhere, so I decided to make the switch. I think I'm really going to like it. I will still have a birthday calendar hanging in my kitchen (my sister made me one from Snapfish). That will be a helpful reminder for sending cards on time and she put some great pictures on there.

Well, that's my calendar excitement. Like I said, I really love a new calendar. I look forward to creating ways to make it more organized so I can be more efficient and productive with my time. It's just fun for me!!

Anyone have any exciting calendar ideas?

School Starts December 15th

I'm starting a homeschooling unit for my oldest son. I'm really excited to give it a try and excited to have to get a schedule going in my life. (My youngest son slept 'till 11am yesterday...he has a cold, but seriously, 11AM!?!) I do a lot better when I have a project going. I feel more purpose-filled. It's exciting and the big nerd in me LOVED purchasing school supplies. New No.2 pencils sharpened and in a canning jar brings a smile to my face.

So, here's the curriculum that I'm using, and the books and CDs I'm incorporating into the curriculum:

The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes - Kenneth N. Taylor
(in the morning with breakfast)
Letter of the Week Preparatory Curriculum - Katrina Lybbert (free online curriculum)
ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts - Susan Hunt
Hide 'Em In Your Heart Vol. 1 CD - Steve Green
Hide 'Em In Your Heart Vol. 2 CD - Steve Green
My Good Night Storybook - Susan L. Lingo & Kathy Parks
(our bedtime reading)

I'll be posting my plan for the week every Monday morning (that might help me organize my week).

I'm also incorporating the routine from FlyLady. FlyLady helps to organize your cleaning and get you on a daily routine. I used it for a good 3 months before Phin was born and then again when he was about 4 months (and sleeping through the night). About 2 months later, I got the flu or we went on a trip (somehow I got sidetracked) and haven't gotten back into the routine. So, this is the perfect time. The FlyLady site is really overwhelming but they have FlyBabies start-up to get you going. It's really been a great resource for me. And as with most of the resources I use...I only use the things I like and can fit into my lifestyle and scrap the rest.

Here's our daily routine for Mon-Fri (the times aren't as important as the order):

6am
* Mom up
* quiet time at the table
* exercise
* shower & get dressed
* swish & swipe
* make bed (if DH isn't still occupying the bed)
* put laundry in washer (don't start it yet because children are still sleeping)
* empty dishwasher
* start baby's breakfast
* review lesson plan
* check email/blog

7:30a
* wake the boys (especially the baby; oldest is usually up by 7:30a but won't be allowed out of his room until 7:30a; thanks for the advice, Monica)
* start washer
* breakfast and read "The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes"
* baby down for nap

8a
* school: table time, reading time, music/movement
* check laundry and start dryer

9a
* snack
* free play (wake baby if needed)
* Mom prepares lesson for tomorrow
* check email/blog
* get lunch ready

11a
* lunch
* boys down for nap
* fold laundry
* Mom's to-do list: Mon- weekly home blessing; Tue - free day (nap?); Wed - menu plan, clean fridge; Thur - clean out car & pick up laundry room; Fri - desk & file
* boys wake
* snack (if boys have folded laundry to put away, do during this time)
* "free time": Mon - baking; Tue - 1:45-3p library; Wed - sewing; Thu - 1:45-3p library; Fri - errands
* free play
* zone cleaning & prepare dinner

5p
* make sure dinner is in the oven
* wash prep dishes
* check email/blog

5:30p
* oldest set table
* eat dinner
* clear table
* sweep
* bedtime routine & boys to bed

Mom's before bed list:
* look over tomorrow's lesson plan
* check calendar
* check email/blog
* pick-up kitchen
* lay out clean dish/hand towels
* start dishwasher
* pick-up living room
* lay out clothes for tomorrow
* get ready for bed

10:30p
* in bed

I know that seems really detailed, but I'm a detail kind of girl. Like I said, I posted our main times but the stuff in between can be flexible.

____________________________

Some notes on our routine:

1. I haven't done this in the past so I'm hoping this will work. I'll let you know if I have problems in certain areas and if some things aren't worth the hassle (two days to the library; putting the baby on a schedule, etc).

2. I plan on having the baby nap during oldest's school time. Our baby is a good sleeper and seems to need a lot of it, so I hope this works.

3. Check email/blog has been put into the schedule several times. This allows a lot of flexibility. I don't plan on looking at the computer everytime it's on the list, but if I run out of time to check it during one part of the day, I will have an opportunity to check it later. Once I have the routine down and make any needed adjustments, I hope to remove some of them.

4. "Free time" is actually scheduled time, but I want to have a plan each day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, free time will be more on a time-based schedule than a routine. Our library has a 20-minute storytime on Tuesdays. The remaining part of the library time will be for play and finding books for next week's lessons. On Thursday's the library has family craft time. It will be nice to have dad along for that since the baby won't enjoy the crafts as much as the oldest, so we can split up.

5. I have a women's Bible study on Thursday mornings from 9:30-11a and the oldest usually comes along with me and joins the children in the nursery while baby stays home with dad. I'm not quite sure how to do this since the oldest usually gets some "Mommy-time" when I'm finished with the study. Maybe we can just have lunch together so I can get him home in time for his nap so we can scoot to the library later in the day.

6. On days that we are out and about(Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) in the afternoon, I will take them to the park during free play, weather permitting. This will be more difficult during the winter months, but my sister-in-law does it with her little boy and I think it's worth it to get some fresh air...and not just for the kiddies.

7. We put our oldest on a bedtime routine and it has been working great. He knows what is expected of him when we tell him that it's time to get ready for bed. I also made a little print-out for him that goes on our fridge. It has the bedtime routine with pictures so he can look to see what's coming up next. (We babysat a set of twin boys for our friends, before we had kids, and their boys went to bed so well when we used their routine.) I like the idea of a routine vs. a schedule because it's not as dependent on the time.