Little Schoolhouse on the Hill

So, recently school has been, how do you say it... Challenging? Yes. He is doing very well. He can read two vowel words now. His penmanship is much neater, and he is now coloring inside the lines.

What is challenging is his hardheadedness. If he isn't "in the mood" then he is perfectly content sitting there talking to his pencils and erasers. I can't motivate him to finish. And he purposefully answers incorrectly if he doesn't want to do it.

I have found that we have been struggling most with math. He has a hard time for some reason remembering the names of the coins we have gone over, Penny, Dime, and Nickle and their worth. So we have started our school time with his favorite Social Studies {no surprise really} and then writing and phonics, finishing with Math.

That way we start on a positive note, and I have noticed that has helped tremendously.

Some of where we are:

Progress Continues on the Homeschool Front

We are about 60 days into our lessons so far. We were going to continue through Christmas, but as good as our intentions were, we had too much going on to be consistent, so we ended up with a break.

It is starting to get pretty exciting! Wyatt is now learning to read! I wish I could relay the feeling of satisfaction that I have to you better because there is nothing else like it! To be the one to teach him how to read is just awesome!

We still have days that aren't as productive. Days when his heart isn't into it. Those kind of days are hit and miss anymore. Not as frequent as they used to be. I think it has been getting better because he is finally seeing results. He is realizing that what we have been working on is paying off with something better.

These are his cursive Y,y's we just started working on. I decided we would still do the cursive lessons, but we're not going to spend a lot of time on it. They can be frustrating, and he is a boy, so I'm not going to push it. He does do a great job when he's into it. 

He is reading sentences like this one below. We have only worked on short vowels and have had sight words "the" and "a" so far. He loves the word "the" because in our lesson it is called a rule breaker. For a boy, that is just so cool.

I even learned something new today. K goes with i and e, c goes with the other three, a o u. Hmmm... Don't think I ever knew that! 

I can't wait to see what the end of the year brings. It is so rewarding to be a part of this process. I would do it again in a heart beat!

Making Progress!

Things have changed some since I've last posted about our homeschooling experience. We are doing much better focusing and handling frustration. And I do mean "we". I have noticed my frustration has nearly diminished. He has even started looking forward to starting school on Mondays.

Cursive is our toughest lesson so far, but I have figured out our problem: If he doesn't see near perfect results he writes it off as impossible.

I notice this when we are just coloring or painting together. If my drawing is better. He feels he inadequate. That he won't ever measure up to what I can do. Not understanding I have years experience in the coloring/painting world. Not that I am trying to create some kind of masterpiece. I know I don't have to do much to impress, but for some reason he feels he has to be perfect to compare with me. After looking at my "picture" he more or less says, "Why bother?"

Makes me sad when he feels that way. So I give an abundance of praise when he does a good job, even if it isn't perfect I want him to know that just trying his best is worth noticing. I don't want to inflate his ego, but I don't think he has enough confidence yet that too much praise will be a problem.

But look! He is learning to write words in cursive!

I can't even begin to describe the feeling of satisfaction I get watching him work and improve. It is truly rewarding. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be such an important role in his learning!

Surviving Home-School

We are now five weeks into our home-school adventure and haven't quit yet! {I really won't quit, I'm not a quitter, but you get the point.} People ask me how it's going. I say, "We have our good days and we have our bad days." And that is true. I think it is about half and half so far...

Our good days are really good. He is excited, eager to learn, it goes quickly and smoothly. He does a great job, he makes an effort, and does his best.

Our bad days, are really bad. He is frustrated {not seeing results fast enough}, he throws fits {sometimes things are thrown}, threats of quitting {by him} and usually includes a time-out or loss of his chair.

I love the good days. It is so rewarding to see him learn and to see his progress. The bad days even for me are frustrating. I feel ill equipped and a bit overwhelmed. I have tweaked the order of the lessons to make it feel less like work and more fun, but I am still struggling with how to deal with his frustration. When he starts feeling frustrated we quit that lesson. We can work on it the next day. I do love having that flexibility.

So far he has learned:

• vowels
• to write short vowels and know their sounds  
• to write consonants l, t, b, and n and know their sounds
• can blend the consonants above with a short vowel
• to recognize and count numbers 1-20
• write numbers 1-4
• write cursive vowels and consonants l, t, b, and n
• pennies/cents
• five senses
• to begin reading some short vowel words

Despite the bad days. I am surprised how easy it has been to just sit down and do "school." I thought that would be the hard part. The flexibility has been nice. Yesterday we tried out the Community Playgroup and went to the Library. We rented a science video and watched it after lunch. If daddy is home in the morning we will do school in the afternoon. {Having daddy around is a big distraction.} We spend about two hours a day doing "school." Sure beats an hour and a half bus ride each way and six and a half hours at school each day. I love being able to spend that time with him rather than away from him. 

First Day of Kindergarten!

Today marks the first day of school for all the schools around us. Since we are homeschooling we have some flexibility, but after some thought I decided it would be best if we started with the rest. Therefore, today was Wyatts first day of Kindergarten!

We started our lesson after putting Josie down for her first nap and finished just before she woke up! Our whole lesson was short, and worked out to be about an hour. The first couple lessons were basically review of what he has already learned and focused on our first letter sound. By the end of the year he will be reading, writing, adding, and subtracting! He was very excited and did really well listening. Hopefully, he will maintain his interest and focus for the remainder of the year!


Happy Back to School Day!

It Came!

Our curriculum came! Wyatt was SO excited! Looking through the material so far I am impressed. Everything is laid out simply and even tells you what to say! Can't get much easier than that! We'll wait until fall to begin, but I have to say I am looking forward to it!

I will keep everyone posted on how things are going once we get started. Hopefully, it will go smoothly!

Let the Homeschooling Begin!

It's official! We have bought our first complete set of home school material! Wyatt will be starting his first year of school {Kindergarten} this fall! We went with A Beka's complete K5 curriculum after hours of research and reading reviews. The hardest part was decided which curriculum to go with. The is an OCEAN of options. Very overwhelming. What helped was knowing two other families who used the curriculum and loved it. I am both anxious and excited about the idea of homeschooling and even a little afraid and uncertain of my own abilities. However, "I can do all things through Him {Christ} who strengthens me!" Philippians 4:13

I have flip flopped so many times with the decision to home school.  It is a big decision and one we don't take lightly. There are several reasons that we came to this decision and reflects only what we feel is best for OUR family. Certainly I would encourage everyone to consider it, because I do think it is best, but that is for everyone to decide for themselves. And if you don't home school you will get no judgement here.

At some point we will send our kids to public school. But, before we do we want to give them a solid foundation based on our values and principles. That way when they do go to public school they will not waiver on their beliefs. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

We believe it is important that they do go to public school at some point for a couple reasons. We should be salt and light. We shouldn't hide it, but affect others in a way that may bring others to Him. Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown away and trampled by men." We should show others what it is like to live for Christ. We are to be a "light of the world" Matthew 5:14. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." Public schools are nearly empty of God. We can change that. We also know they will need to learn how to live a godly life in a fallen world. They will need to learn how to handle temptations and prepare themselves for what the world will throw them.

The benefits of homeschooling are numerous:

Flexibility in schedule
Set our own pace
More family time
More time for creative play
Save money on gas from drop off and pick-ups from school
Focus more on individual needs
Get to enjoy your kids at their best times
Can work on behavior more effectively
More time to focus on eliminating bad habits 
Family's get more sleep 
Don't loose valuable time because of travel to and from school
Instill your family values and principles
Know exactly what your children are being taught because your are their teacher

I still have doubts whether or not I am equipped to teach our kids. It is a huge responsibility. I have had incredible support from family and friends which has been an enormous help, and I know God will lead us through and guide us. I have also ordered our curriculum early enough to allow myself time to go over everything and prepare myself. By the time fall gets here, we'll be all set to go. Let the homeschooling begin!