Sunday, August 21, 2011

Homeschool Begins!

Well, we had our first wek of homeschool this past week. We started off with a light load for week one, just to get me into the swing of things. Oh, did I say me? I mean the kids! The kids! No, really, we all needed a good “practice week” before we hit it longer and tougher for the rest of the year. Here’s a little summary of how it went.

We all sat down to the table with our baskets containing this week’s work… Kindergarten for little Iron Man, preschool papers for little Hulk, and teacher guides for me. We calmly and quietly opened to the first page and began with a prayer, a Bible story, a song, and then the activity in the book. Everyone followed directions and no one complained or disobeyed.
And then I woke up.

It was Monday morning and time to start the real day! Monday was nothing like my dream day, nor was any other day of the whole week. But we had a blast learning together. I love working with the kids both together and separately as we try to all educate each other. I’ve been pretty honest from the beginning with many people, admitting that homeschool isn’t something I ever really desired but would attempt out of necessity (since private school is in the multiple thousands here). I feel God had definitely changed my heart about that as that monumental “First Day of Kindergarten” approached. I began to get eager not only to teach but to prepare, to organize, and to predict their little reactions to every lesson. And this week was no different. As the week went on, I stayed motivated and I think we all learned a lot from each other. Here are a few pictures from some of our favorite parts of the week!

Preschool Curriculum revolves around letter of the week, and we chose the letter based on the handwriting curriculum, so our first letter is L.


I told him to make an "L" out of play-doh. He quickly did this (note the knife stabbed into the dough) and then just played for a while. Hard to argue... it DOES look like an L, just not what I was expecting. Of course this kid never does what I'm expecting!


We played "Simon Says" during math time because we were studying about right and left.
Here they both have their left arms up correctly...


And here one of them is clearly wrong, but it's just so cute! Right? We had so much fun! They took turns calling it, too, but the first words to me were always "Simon Says put down your camera."


More things that start with L and some arts and crafts projects using the very limited supplies I've been able to find here in Cambodia. We're getting by...





Cutting practice.



And he said this was his favorite thing we did all week. It's a lesson out of his math book. When I asked why it was his favorite he said "just because it is." We'll have to work on communication at school, I guess.


All in all it was a good week. Here are some silly faces with our L crafts.


It was a fun week. It was a long week and we all got a little sick, too, but we had a great time.

Short summary of the week: It was great, and we can't wait until next week.

I can't believe I ever doubted whether this was right or not. AGAIN... God knew what was best for my family. Why do I have to keep getting reminders of that?!?!

We are thinking of all our friends who are starting now at their own schools (public, private, and home) all over the USA. We miss you. And dear Moms who are crying as they walk away to their first day of school, know this... it's going to be okay for you, too. God knows what is best for your family just like ours! He knows.


5 comments:

  1. LOVE IT! So excited for ya'll! We're starting our practice week THIS coming week! Except I scheduled TWO practice weeks b/c I'm want to practice with the boys so they know how to work alone at times while I work with Lily. Should be interesting! :) You are a WONDERFUL Momma!! Not because you're homeschooling, but because you love God enough to trust Him and follow him! Still praying for y'all! :)

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  2. Hey sis! I am so proud of you for taking this on! However, i dont think you give yourself enough credit! You have been teaching me all my life, and you have already taught those kids soooo much! You are going to do great! Parker and Jack are so smart already and love to learn! Keep up the great work!! Love you lots!!

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  3. I'm so glad your first week went so well! We've used that same math for 2 of ours so far :-) . I will be praying as you continue forward. It is rewarding beyond belief to teach your children and watch then learn and grow! It also has its challenges. If you ever have questions I would love to help out if I'm able. We've been homeschooling since James was in preschool and he is now in the second grade! It's been a wild ride at times but I wouldn't change it for the world!

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  4. You inspire me, Kim! I love you and am proud of you. Just today I, too, was praying for the moms out there, sending kids to school. Ukraine schools all start on September 1, no matter what day of the week it is. Today classes and lessons formally started. Yesterday was more like a big party. I pray most of all for your perseverance. Love, Kristy

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