The other day I ordered our first-grade curriculum. I cannot believe it’s that time already!! We are not quite done with our kindergarten year yet, but I wanted to get started with preparing as we plan to homeschool through most of the summer so that we can take a longer break when our new little one comes in the fall (pregnancy post here). Although, we didn’t plan to have another little one now (New Foster Placement Post), so that may switch things up again for us.
This kindergarten year has been such a sweet and special year for us (kindergarten curriculum review coming soon). We learned so much about God and his creation while laying a great foundation for reading and Math. We painted and used clay, we did science experiments and cooked new foods, we were exposed to famous classical music pieces, we read wonderful books and went on field trips. This was Isa’s first year doing ballet (and this summer she is trying out soccer), she participated in our Wednesday night program at church, and on Fridays we were a part of a co-op. I taught a pre-k class and helped sub as an assistant, and Isa had a literature class, gym class, science and made new friends! I am continually so thankful that we have been able to homeschool and make learning an ongoing rhythm in our lives.
This homeschool year, did not come without its challenges. I think the biggest challenge for me was finding a rhythm with our day to day, house responsibilities, official schoolwork, my own work, and the fun field trips and activities that I wanted to fit it in. Phil and I realized that we needed to establish clearer routines because it was so easy for school or something else important to get pushed off when I felt behind in another area. The last few months, other than when we had new placements, have gone more smoothly and we were able to get a consistent routine going while also doing more field trips and fun family activities.
Even though we homeschooled for preschool and pre-k, this year felt a lot more official. Isa absolutely loved ‘doing’ school and would often ask to keep going after we completed our work for the day, and she was so excited to do more activities and learn. I definitely felt more pressure than before “to not mess up” and give her the best education possible. Even though I am really good at encouraging other homeschool families, I realized I often needed to preach those same things to myself and listen to the encouragement of other homeschool moms who have seen results of the hard work and process.
We’ve been starting to learn Isa’s learning style and her strengths and weaknesses. I am so glad that we have a curriculum that is so hands-on. While she really enjoys reading and worksheets, it’s the interactive activities that really have helped her to keep going when she has faced challenges. Specifically with letter sounds and blending, she has hit patches where she feels that something should click right away, and if it didn’t, she would get frustrated and give up. It would make me feel frustrated too if I couldn’t figure out how to teach her in a way that she understood.
At the encouragement of my mother-in-law, we ended up taking the whole month of December off and we just read lots of books, played games, and did a lot of Christmas activities. I tried to not stress about not staying consistent and it was hard. But it completely paid off. When we eased back in, we both were more patient, and it seemed that she had made developmental leaps and bounds just during that month break. There were moments that I had doubts, but as other moms that use our curriculum had said from the beginning, ‘you need to trust the process’- and they were so right.
I watched as all the individual activities we were working on came together and Isa started to read and grow even more excited about learning! We are still in the beginning stages, but seeing her read simple books and pointing out words on signs has been so much fun for me. I am so thankful to have had a front row seat to her learning; I can’t imagine not being a part of that. Recently, one of our favorite field trips was going to a cavern while learning about rocks. We also have gone to the science museum, zoo, the farm, farm shows, other children’s museums, and nature centers. Right now we are preparing for our chrysalis’s to hatch into butterflies and have a trip planned to the butterfly garden!
This year I have loved watching our daughter learn and grow-but I’ve also been learning and growing. I’ve learned cool things that I didn’t know before, I’ve learned to trust the process and be more patient with myself, and I’ve been growing in areas of rhythm, organization, and flexibility. I HIGHLY recommend giving homeschooling a chance if your family is thinking about it and I can’t wait to share more about our curriculum and our next year of learning together!
You are doing such an amazing job as a momma and as a teacher! You didn’t see home-schooling modeled growing up but researched and studied and questioned and prayed and made a decision to go for it and I am so impressed! Isa is such a beautiful girl inside and out and you are encouraging her creativity and inquisitiveness and love for learning…through relationships and many activities that she would not otherwise be using for learning as you are using them. I know that some days it takes more energy than you feel you have…but I am so proud of you! 😊❤️ 📕 👩🍳 🩰 ⚽️ 🎶