Today we began our 2009/2010 school year. We take July and December off in our homeschool. We also take off days periodically to regroup, destress, have fun and/or get well.
We begin our day at 9:00 am. We don't have to get up early because our lives are not governed by a school system. We get to sleep in and/or get up early at our own desire. We love this and take full advantage of the free schedule we are able to keep because of our lifestyle.
Brise was still a bit sleepy, as you can tell. Vinze, Daxx and Kole were ready to go!
Our dining room serves as our Homeschool Room. Our table is "decorated" with thick plastic draped over 3 huge maps. We have a map of the World, North and South America and Space.
Daxx and Kole are 5 1/2 and beginning Kindergarten. We are using Lifepacs from Alpha Omega Publications for their Kindergarten year. We are also using various worksheets, Flash Cards, Books and other materials to supplement at will.
Vinze is 9 years old and entering 4th grade. Brise is 12 entering 7th grade. We are using novels, Free Internet sites, Paid Internet Sites, worksheets, Video Curriculum and a mix of other material to round out their path.
Kazz turned 17 in July. He entered college at the age of 14 and will graduate this December with an Associate Degree. Kazz is graduated from our homeschool so he will appear in few posts about our daily homeschooling life, though he will join us for study time and what-not.
My husband, Brian and I are big believers in the parenting motto: "We aren't raising children, we are raising adults." We let our children play hard, be children and have lots of fun, however, we also will not hold them back when they hit the teen years. (
Click here for more about our parenting philosophy)
-------We started our first day with the Lord's Prayer and a few pictures. I explained the rules of our homeschool and gave them information about the materials that sat in front of them.
Each boy gets his own tool box filled with essentials for his education. They are given their own calendar to keep. This helps them learn to use a calendar, keep a schedule, and know the coming week's agenda. It is also useful as a place-mat to keep their items in their own space.
We filled out our calendars for the month and then began our day.
Daxx and Kole worked in their Lifepac books, sang the alphabet, learned the Pre-Primer Dolch words: me, blue, come & boy, reviewed numbers 1 - 20 visually, played outside, learned what an abacus looks like and how to say abacus, reviewed the alphabet letters visually, watched 2 "Liberty's Kids" episodes: The Boston Tea Party and The Intolerable Acts, I gave them a letter sound and they thought of words beginning with that sound, practiced writing their full name.
Brise made some sort of water bottle holder contraption from fishing line during craft time.
Brise and Vinze rewrote their essays from last year (June) "What I learned this year and what I want to learn next year." They fixed their mistakes from the first drafts.
By reading their essays I learned that both Brise and Vinze want to learn to speak Italian. I also learned that Vinze wants to see the Statue of Liberty. We'll have to work on that! :o)
At Noon they all went outside to play. I made lunch and relaxed a little. Brise changed his shirt for whatever reason. After lunch we resumed our day.
They watched 2 "Liberty's Kids" episodes: The Boston Tea Party and The Intolerable Acts, took the States Quiz and did a typing lesson.
At the end of the day we all made "bird feeder" with pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. We hung them up outside.
That's all folks.
We are foster parents. We have had 2 permanent placements and 1 emergency placement in the past week. Our homeschooling life has taken a bit of a backseat while everybody gets acquainted and settled into our routine.
