I had to take a minute to say a huge thank you to Homeschool Creations for her great article on Pinterest. I had never heard of this before and just had to check it out.
What a modern day digital marvel. It is the equivalent of having a giant pin-board on your wall divided into sections that you can go through magazines and pin-up pictures of things that interest or inspire you so that you will always have that information at your fingertips. Well, now the internet is our magazine and we can pin pictures from it to our appropriately titled board, and it links back to the web page that the image came from.
This idea is so much better for someone like me who is very visual. I can glance through the photos for the idea or inspiration I am looking for, and then either put my own twist on how I would like to do the project, or go to the link and see exactly how they did it. And even better is that it is free!
So go check it out for yourself - it is sooo much better than your standard bookmarks!
Monday 26 September 2011
Friday 23 September 2011
Kindergarten Curriculum
It has not been easy trying to decide what to teach and what method to use to teach it. There are so many wonderful free resources out there it is mind boggling at times. I have a real problem with looking at what others are doing and thinking I can do all that, as well as everything from the other dozen blogs that I have been looking at.
I have spent the first few weeks this year seeing how this would work and trying a few different school methods to see how my daughter will best learn. I have learned that she is a lot like me and an eclectic approach is definitely going to work the best with her.
I have realized that with the plethora of information out there, soo much of which is soo good, that it is not going to be possible for me to do all the planning and pulling together of resources for Monkeys Kindergarten year since I also work 30 to 40 hours each week. So after much thought and research, and very limited funds, I have chosen the following for our educational framework:
Language Arts - Time 4 Learning
Math - Time 4 Learning (level K and Gr 1)
Science - Time 4 Learning and Mr Q science program. Right now I only have the free book of elementary life science which I will use before deciding to purchase the rest of the program but so far it looks like a pretty good match for us.
Spanish - Online Free Spanish. In Canada our official languages are English and French, but Monkey is determined to learn Spanish - Thanks Diego.
Sight Words - The You Can Read program that is at 1+1+1=1 is amazing, and it is even more amazing that she is willing to offer this program to everyone for free...Thank you!
Geography - We aren't following a particular curriculum, but our goals are to learn the continents, oceans, and all the provinces and territories with their capitals, and as much other information about Canada as we can get in.
We are also working on her printing skills through journaling.
Even though the Time 4 Learning program is a subscription site, it looks like a really great fit for my DD; and since I am paying monthly rather than a yearly fee, if it doesn't work out I can cancel at any time. Also with the Time 4 Learning program we can also access the Grade 1 work where needed. This will be great since I have already had a local teacher tell me that Monkey would need to be in Grade 1 if she were to attend public school. It seems that she is already advanced for our local education system.
I only hope that I haven't gotten overly ambitious, after all, this is kindergarten, not graduating year. I will be continually evaluating our routine and methods. While I want to ensure she has a good foundation in reading, writing and arithmetic to set her up properly for all her future learning goals, above all I want her to have lots of time to have fun, play games, and be creative!
I have spent the first few weeks this year seeing how this would work and trying a few different school methods to see how my daughter will best learn. I have learned that she is a lot like me and an eclectic approach is definitely going to work the best with her.
I have realized that with the plethora of information out there, soo much of which is soo good, that it is not going to be possible for me to do all the planning and pulling together of resources for Monkeys Kindergarten year since I also work 30 to 40 hours each week. So after much thought and research, and very limited funds, I have chosen the following for our educational framework:
Language Arts - Time 4 Learning
Math - Time 4 Learning (level K and Gr 1)
Science - Time 4 Learning and Mr Q science program. Right now I only have the free book of elementary life science which I will use before deciding to purchase the rest of the program but so far it looks like a pretty good match for us.
Spanish - Online Free Spanish. In Canada our official languages are English and French, but Monkey is determined to learn Spanish - Thanks Diego.
Sight Words - The You Can Read program that is at 1+1+1=1 is amazing, and it is even more amazing that she is willing to offer this program to everyone for free...Thank you!
Geography - We aren't following a particular curriculum, but our goals are to learn the continents, oceans, and all the provinces and territories with their capitals, and as much other information about Canada as we can get in.
We are also working on her printing skills through journaling.
Even though the Time 4 Learning program is a subscription site, it looks like a really great fit for my DD; and since I am paying monthly rather than a yearly fee, if it doesn't work out I can cancel at any time. Also with the Time 4 Learning program we can also access the Grade 1 work where needed. This will be great since I have already had a local teacher tell me that Monkey would need to be in Grade 1 if she were to attend public school. It seems that she is already advanced for our local education system.
I only hope that I haven't gotten overly ambitious, after all, this is kindergarten, not graduating year. I will be continually evaluating our routine and methods. While I want to ensure she has a good foundation in reading, writing and arithmetic to set her up properly for all her future learning goals, above all I want her to have lots of time to have fun, play games, and be creative!
Thursday 22 September 2011
Extra-Curricular Activities
It is not always easy to choose activities to do; there seems to be a lot to choose from. When I grew up the only extra activities were those offered by the school you attended. Being from a very tiny school out in the country, that meant the only activity was basketball.
Now there are lots of activities to choose from for any age group you could imagine. At least so long as I don't mind driving in to town for them. The only problem now though is the cost for these activities. We decided that we would only choose one activity per season at this point for a few reasons. 1. Monkey does not like to run the roads too much, and 2. it gets very expensive for fees and equipment depending on the activity, not to mention the cost of gas for all the driving.
With home educating my DD, I feel it is that much more important though that she be involved in activities outside of the home. With a lot of discussion, we had narrowed it down to two activities; figure skating or ballet dancing. For this term we have chosen the dancing class and so far it is a big hit.
This is also the time of year when one of the free activities she attends get started up again as well. Since the age of 2 she has been attending the "Pop-Up" program put on by "Maggie's Place" that takes place Tuesday mornings from 9-11am at the Elementary School where Monkey would have gone to school. It is a great program for ages 0-5 which allows for free play time, craft time, circle time, story time and snack time.
Now most of the children she did do this program with the last few years have all started public school this year so there is only one child close to her age. I am not even sure if we will attend this year on a regular basis as she may find it way too boring.
Another wonderful activity that we were able to attend quite regularly last winter was the free tot skate at our local stadium in town. It took place once per week and her friend from pop-up would go with us as well. Hopefully she will be able to attend the skating this year as well since she does not attend public school until next fall.
We are now just hoping that the price of gas doesn't go too high this winter. These activities are free to attend, but the fuel to get to them certainly isn't.
Now there are lots of activities to choose from for any age group you could imagine. At least so long as I don't mind driving in to town for them. The only problem now though is the cost for these activities. We decided that we would only choose one activity per season at this point for a few reasons. 1. Monkey does not like to run the roads too much, and 2. it gets very expensive for fees and equipment depending on the activity, not to mention the cost of gas for all the driving.
With home educating my DD, I feel it is that much more important though that she be involved in activities outside of the home. With a lot of discussion, we had narrowed it down to two activities; figure skating or ballet dancing. For this term we have chosen the dancing class and so far it is a big hit.
This is also the time of year when one of the free activities she attends get started up again as well. Since the age of 2 she has been attending the "Pop-Up" program put on by "Maggie's Place" that takes place Tuesday mornings from 9-11am at the Elementary School where Monkey would have gone to school. It is a great program for ages 0-5 which allows for free play time, craft time, circle time, story time and snack time.
Now most of the children she did do this program with the last few years have all started public school this year so there is only one child close to her age. I am not even sure if we will attend this year on a regular basis as she may find it way too boring.
Another wonderful activity that we were able to attend quite regularly last winter was the free tot skate at our local stadium in town. It took place once per week and her friend from pop-up would go with us as well. Hopefully she will be able to attend the skating this year as well since she does not attend public school until next fall.
We are now just hoping that the price of gas doesn't go too high this winter. These activities are free to attend, but the fuel to get to them certainly isn't.
Monday 19 September 2011
Last Weeks Work
Well, now that we have been at this for a couple of weeks, we are starting to get the hang of things and fall into a pretty easy going routine. Last week we had a blast doing a camping theme. We found some amazing printables at 1+1+1=1 and also from 2teachingmommies. It is so wonderful that so many home-schoolers are willing to share their amazing work with all of us for free. I have actually been looking at the 1+1+1=1 website for quite some time and have been thoroughly enjoying it.
We decided on a camping theme since summer is pretty much over here so we decided to try to hold on to it a little bit longer. The graphing activity from 2teaching mommies camping theme was definately the highlight of the theme.
She is also quite enjoying the READ, BUILD, WRITE idea that I found from Homeschool Creations; another blog that I am in love with. The letter tiles she was using are from her Alphabet Scoop Scrabble game that we picked up at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago.
We had planned on having a bonfire in our back yard fire pit to make s'mores as we had done numerous times throughout the summer, but our weather just wouldn't cooperate so we ended up making s'mores in the oven instead. At least they are still yummy and gooey too eat!
We really had a great time with our theme unit last week. I only wish I had taken more pictures. I really need to remember that in the future. It will be great looking back on these at the end of the school year to see how things went.
We decided on a camping theme since summer is pretty much over here so we decided to try to hold on to it a little bit longer. The graphing activity from 2teaching mommies camping theme was definately the highlight of the theme.
She is also quite enjoying the READ, BUILD, WRITE idea that I found from Homeschool Creations; another blog that I am in love with. The letter tiles she was using are from her Alphabet Scoop Scrabble game that we picked up at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago.
We had planned on having a bonfire in our back yard fire pit to make s'mores as we had done numerous times throughout the summer, but our weather just wouldn't cooperate so we ended up making s'mores in the oven instead. At least they are still yummy and gooey too eat!
We really had a great time with our theme unit last week. I only wish I had taken more pictures. I really need to remember that in the future. It will be great looking back on these at the end of the school year to see how things went.
Thursday 8 September 2011
Surprise Phone Call
So, yesterday I am sitting at my computer working on Monkeys lessons to print for her next unit study when the phone rings. To my surprise it is the lady who taught the preschool class that my DD attended last year. Apparently the school contacted her after finding out we were homeschooling. She told the school that it did not surprise her in the least and then congratulated me on our decision.
I have to admit I was VERY surprised considering she is a teacher in our school system. She then told me the only concern the school had about our decision was that it was lowering their numbers meaning they would not get as much funding as their funding is based on enrollment. At no time were they concerned with whether or not I would be able to successfully educate her at home. I was sooo glad to know that someone was on my side, and she offered to help me in any way she could. Anything I am looking for she will try to get for me, and will even get the book orders to me.
After talking with her yesterday, I really had a renewed confidence that I could actually do this. She even told me that from her experience with Monkey last year in preschool, if I were to put her in school this year for primary she would be bored and would really need to be in grade one. She figured that if I was able to teach her that much at home without even trying that I should have no trouble providing an adequate education at home with a bit of planning and goal setting.
At least I had a renewed confidence - until this morning. I am still working part time outside the home and currently doing three night shifts in a row so the regular night girl can have some vacation time. Since I am human and do require sleep I made arrangements for DD to have a sleepover at Nana's house tonight. I am thinking that is going to be a big mistake. You see, the last time Nana (my mother) looked after her for an afternoon a couple of weeks ago she kept telling Monkey how she should not be home schooled and that she should be in "big school" as we call public school in our home. So this morning when I was making sure she was around before taking her down, I mentioned the call from her preschool teacher. BIG MISTAKE! She instantly started on how this was a mistake and she should be in public school so she can be socialized. I said that there are other was to accomplish that and she says she needs the routine of school. Being very tired from working all night I decided that now was not the time to get into a debate.
It is unfortunate that my own mother cannot understand why we have chosen this for our DD, and I hope that she will soon open her mind enough to try to understand and at least listen to our reasons. She doesn't have to agree, but she could at least be willing to hear me out and let me answer any concerns that she has. Anyway, just needed to do some rambling and get some issues off my chest.
Not looking forward to what my DD will be saying tomorrow about what Nana will be putting in her head. May be her last visit for a while. It is too bad that Monkey will be put in the middle when it really doesn't have to be that way.
Beth
I have to admit I was VERY surprised considering she is a teacher in our school system. She then told me the only concern the school had about our decision was that it was lowering their numbers meaning they would not get as much funding as their funding is based on enrollment. At no time were they concerned with whether or not I would be able to successfully educate her at home. I was sooo glad to know that someone was on my side, and she offered to help me in any way she could. Anything I am looking for she will try to get for me, and will even get the book orders to me.
After talking with her yesterday, I really had a renewed confidence that I could actually do this. She even told me that from her experience with Monkey last year in preschool, if I were to put her in school this year for primary she would be bored and would really need to be in grade one. She figured that if I was able to teach her that much at home without even trying that I should have no trouble providing an adequate education at home with a bit of planning and goal setting.
At least I had a renewed confidence - until this morning. I am still working part time outside the home and currently doing three night shifts in a row so the regular night girl can have some vacation time. Since I am human and do require sleep I made arrangements for DD to have a sleepover at Nana's house tonight. I am thinking that is going to be a big mistake. You see, the last time Nana (my mother) looked after her for an afternoon a couple of weeks ago she kept telling Monkey how she should not be home schooled and that she should be in "big school" as we call public school in our home. So this morning when I was making sure she was around before taking her down, I mentioned the call from her preschool teacher. BIG MISTAKE! She instantly started on how this was a mistake and she should be in public school so she can be socialized. I said that there are other was to accomplish that and she says she needs the routine of school. Being very tired from working all night I decided that now was not the time to get into a debate.
It is unfortunate that my own mother cannot understand why we have chosen this for our DD, and I hope that she will soon open her mind enough to try to understand and at least listen to our reasons. She doesn't have to agree, but she could at least be willing to hear me out and let me answer any concerns that she has. Anyway, just needed to do some rambling and get some issues off my chest.
Not looking forward to what my DD will be saying tomorrow about what Nana will be putting in her head. May be her last visit for a while. It is too bad that Monkey will be put in the middle when it really doesn't have to be that way.
Beth
Tuesday 6 September 2011
First Day of Public School
Hard to believe that today was the first day of school for those going to public school. Yesterday our neighbor was over with her little girl to see if Monkey was going to be going to school on the bus today or if I would be driving her. The poor little girl looked so disappointed to find out Monkey wouldn't be going to school at all as she was being homeschooled. They would have both been going to school for the first time today on the bus together if Monkey had gone to public school.
I wish all the best to all the little ones out there who are starting school today for the very first time. Good Luck
I wish all the best to all the little ones out there who are starting school today for the very first time. Good Luck
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