Enjoying New Curriculum.

Last year, we used Abeka K5.  I think maybe it was too many books for our first year.  I needed something all-in-one.  Thankfully, I found it (on Craigslist too!).

This year we've been using My Father's World First Grade for our curriculum.  It is broken down by day with daily Reading/Writing, a Number of the Day, weekly Science lessons and Bible lessons, and a weekly memory verse from the book of Proverbs.  You can buy additional books for Art and Music lesson. 

So far I have really liked the lessons, but we go through them so quickly, I have also been supplementing with extra practice sheets and reading.  I can really appreciate the Bible lessons because not only do the kids learn verses (and discuss them for understanding, but they are also learning about Bible history, being introduced to Hebrew and Greek, and learning to use maps.

Here is one of my favorite projects, one that we did while learning Proverbs 12:18:  swords for reckless words, and band aids for healing words.

Mix It Up

For the first few weeks of school, Rachel was up, ready and eager to learn. Last week was the first time she just didn't want to do school "work". I try to add fun things to our day - our stretch and wiggle song and some sort of craft, but she just wasn't feelin' it. So, onto plan B. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous fall day outside, so we ditched the books; well, all but one. "Why Do Leaves Change Color?" by Betsy Maestro is an awesome book that explains the change in the leaves through all seasons and even has some pictures for identifying different types of tree leaves. So out we went, Mom, Big & Little, on our search for different types of leaves.


I was able to even throw in a little math. We counted leaves, added & subtracted leaves, and did leaf patterns. Here's to mixing things up!

School in our Jammies

Today was officially our first day of school at home. Here's a peak at what we did:

8:30 am - Bible time using this Boz book. Today's lesson was "Jesus Knows Me". We also had prayer time.

9:15 - Breakfast. The girls both chose Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal :)

9:45 - Handwriting & Reading. Rachel practiced writing her A's, did a workbook page, and then both girls played on Starfall, doing the short a sections.

10:30 - Stretch & Wiggle time! We did the "Stretch It Out Simon" song. They loved it.

10:40 - Made a book all about Rachel to tie in with "Jesus Knows Me"

11:00 - Numbers. Rachel practiced her 1's and 2's and we did a workbook activity.

11:30 - "God's World" and "Health, Safety and Manners" - both A Beka books

12:00 - playtime

12:30 - LUNCHTIME! Pasta salad and chocolate covered frozen bananas for dessert

On Becoming My Mother...

I grew up in a house with a strict, Christian mother and a father who was a little more lenient but usually just went along with my mother to keep the peace. We had all sorts of rules growing up that I never thought I would impress upon my own children. But now, it's happening. Now that my oldest is beginning to pick up song lyrics that I'd rather her not know and attitudes that I could definitely do without, I'm beginning to impose the guidelines from my own childhood into our household.
The day when I heard my 4-year old daughter singing Britney's "Womanizer" is when I really knew it had to start. No more listening to my own top-40 in the car; we have since then switched to the Christian radio station. Which is probably what I should have been listening to anyway - using my time to praise my Savior instead of Lady Gaga. This also goes for tv and movies. No more watching "big people" shows with the kiddos around. Who knows what they would pick up and say to me in public!
This year has brought us to a bigger decision to make: public school, private school or homeschool? I'll admit that for the first 27 or so years of my life, I would not even consider homeschooling. Mostly because all of the homeschooled kids I knew growing up were "sheltered" or not socialized or just generally dorky. And also because my mother has been trying to persuade me to do it (maybe out of guilt since she didn't homeschool us). Since having children of my own, I had hoped that we would be able to just sent them to a Christian school, but alas, we cannot afford it. So here I am, getting ready to start homeschooling. Partly because she's such a smart cookie and she already knows so much, so why not continue filling that little sponge and letting her be ahead of the gang? And since she's a sponge, I want to fill her with all the wisdom and grace and knowledge of God's love in hopes that she will be salt and light in the world. After all, she is just like her daddy - already a chatty, "people" person. :) And an obvious perk is that we get to spend more precious time together; I'll get to watch her learn new things and see her eyes light up as she figures something out. The decision I have to make now is what support group to join, what extra classes and activities she'll be taking, and how many extra cups of coffee I'll be needing to get me through the end of the day.
So even though I thought my mom's rules were sometimes ridiculous, I know (and deep down knew then) that she was just trying to do what was right for us. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do now.