Not the best way to start with homeschooling

Here's what I found when I tried to put some books on hold just now:

Getting Started

Well, here we are: the last hot breaths of summer and in the next week or so all of my original mom friends have their oldest starting kindergarten. I keep flashing to this vision of all of us in track suits, arms high in the air celebrating our victory as we cross the finish line...We made it! And even though we're homeschooling I still have a little of that feeling, the feeling of crossing the threshold into a whole different phase. And I'm excited! I feel this awesome sense of relief knowing that I don't have to send Beck away and I love gathering up all my supplies and ideas and preparing our space downstairs as our workshop. I just can't help it. It's the teacher in me that likes all this stuff.

And I'm not sure how much we'll use it or how structured we'll end up being, but I have purchased some curriculum. Both boys expressed an interest in a math "workbook" so after reading a lot of reviews and comparing options I bought the beginning level of Math Mammoth. We also have a lot of manipulatives and I'm trying to gather together lots of different games where we can play with numbers.

I ordered the beginning package of Handwriting Without Tears. And I'm looking into some options for reading. Of course we read all the time and talk about words and letters, but Beck wants to R.E.A.D. so I'm going to do what I can to help him along the way.

Does this sound too much like "school at home"? I met some other homeschooling moms the other day who said they started out with a lot more structure than they ended up having. All I can say is that we're learning as we go.

A Space for Children

I checked out this book, Designs for Living and Learning and spent a few weeks looking at it this summer. First of all, it's a beautiful book to look at - full of glossy photos with explanations and interesting ideas for setting up a spaces where children spend time. It was actually written for people working in childcare or preschool environments, but since we're homeschooling I'm always interested in getting new ideas for our space here at home.

And I especially liked a "preschool assessment" list included in the back of the book. It's a list of things to look for in a preschool environment, but it's a nice reminder of what to consider including in the space where your own children are at home. (I'm only including the items that make sense for a home environment!)

1. I can see who I am and what I like to do here.

2. The natural world can be found here (such as objects from nature, animals, living specimens).

3. There is something sparkly, shadowy, or wondrous and magical here.

4. My [parents] leave a special object out here every day so I can keep trying to figure out more about its properties and how it works.

5. There are materials here that I can use to make representations from what I understand or imagine.

6. I can feel powerful and be physically active here.

7. I can learn to see things from different perspectives here, literally and through assuming roles in dramatic play.

8. I see my name written, or I get to regularly write my name here.

Easel Painting

Here are the boys with the new double-sided easel that Chris built. Right now they're just playing and experimenting with the paints and brushes, but in a few weeks I plan to start working through the exercises in Children and Painting which is the best book I've ever seen on the subject. I used it when I taught in the classroom and my students loved the projects and learned a lot about the basics of painting and of art.

I guess the boys figure that easel painting requires special attire because they both grabbed their "Dr. Nailbender" caps - a freebie from Dunn Lumber - and popped them on their heads before they started!

An Evening at the Zoo

A few weeks ago we packed a dinner picnic and headed to the zoo for the evening. When you live in a crowded urban area, you start to learn the best times to visit places and for us, evening is the best time at the zoo. Parking is a cinch, there are no lines to get in, and once we're there we almost have the place to ourselves. Plus we've learned that the zoo stays open for an hour after they stop letting anyone else in. And they feed the animals in the early evening so you often get a good show.

During this particular evening, we had an incredible time watching the elephants out in their yard. They were very active and doing all kinds of interesting things like drinking water, playing with balls, and breaking large sticks with their trunks. And we saw all of this with nobody else around!



Ember, who's usually so confident, was scared of the elephants. She completely freaked out.