First of all, there is just a LOT of stuff out there for homeschooling: tons of curriculum, tons of blogs, tons of resources. The world is your oyster when it comes to schooling your children at home. The problem for me is that I tend to have to have everything perfect to get started. If a homeschooling mom has a blog that I like, I tend to want to imitate her EXACTLY and have every single thing she has and have it set up exactly like she has. So, I would go out and spend way more money than I should on getting our "classroom" set up perfectly and then be so overwhelmed with that process that I would just give up. I feel like this happens so much in my life and I typically really don't like this part of myself.
Last night as I was browsing one of my favorite homeschool blogs that I've followed for quite a while (and one Kate recommended), http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/, I decided that I was just going to JUMP in with Chloe and quit worrying about everything being perfect. I have done preschool with Chloe on and off for over a year and she always really enjoys it, but again, I typically get so overwhelmed with things not being in perfect order that I give up. Ugh.
So, anyway, this morning she asked me if we were going to do school and instead of putting it off because I dont have the perfect schoolroom with the perfect supplies and the perfect teacher outfit, I told her yes! I went to the blog, printed off one of the Tot Books and we dug right in. Chloe LOVED doing it and felt so accomplished when she got things right. It was a great way for me to see where she's at and where she might be struggling.
Like I said, I've done preschool with her lots before but it's always been extremely structured and I have always felt so overwhelmed. This morning we set up shop on the kitchen table and just went for it, no pressure, and it was *such* a precious time together.
Here are some pictures. We used the Cars Preschool Pack from here.
First she traced her M's with a pencil and then wanted to trace them with her finger.
Next we worked on tracing our numbers and matching the correct number to number of cars. I was really impressed to see that even for numbers 4 and 5 she didn't have to count each car specifically, but could just look at them and know there were 4 (or 5) cars on that row.
I gave her the word McQueen and she put the letters in order to spell the word. There were a couple of times she would have letters mixed up and say, "Wait a minute! That's not right" and then go back and correct. It's so fun to see her little mind working!
This was probably her favorite activity. She had to match the shape but then also find the matching word to go under the shape. Before we started, I asked her to name each shape. The funny thing was, she knew hexagon but didn't know rectangle.
She liked to point to each letter of the word, say them out loud, and then find the correct word to put on her sheet.
Lastly we worked on patterns, which is also a favorite of hers.
I will be laminating these activities so we can continue to use them, as she loved the Cars theme. Working together on all the activities this morning got me so excited to continue teaching her at home!
P.S. This weather ROCKS!!!
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