Our First Week of School

Last Wednesday, Philip, Braewyn and I began our first year of homeschool. This will be Philip's 4-year-old preschool year with Braewyn just tagging along for the fun. So far, so good. I'm still trying to feel it out. Not try to replicate what I remember public school to be like. Trying to keep it on a play-level, but accomplishing each day's set objectives. I do love the layout of the curriculum I chose, Hands On Homeschooling, because there are four "units" for each day which give us enough to work with (around an hour and a half each day) but not too much to feel overwhelmed. I'm still feeling a little like it's Vacation Bible School as with that I would read the entire week's lesson ahead of time and then each individual day's lesson the night before, making sure I had all of my supplies gathered together. With VBS, you know it's over in a week and so I'm trying to pace myself as this is a year long which I can't think about too much. I know God led me to think about the idea of homeschooling and to teach Philip this year so I just need to focus on the fact that if He called me to do this, He will give me the strength and endurance to carry it through to completion (Phil. 1;6, Eph. 2:10).

Here are a few photo recaps.


We begin each morning with a prayer and then Calendar time (review the day, date, and weather). My good friend Regina put this trifold together for her son last year and graciously passed it on to me. I just added the calendar poster which Philip and Braewyn love adding the numbers to.


Philip has gotten very good at coloring over the last six months. Handwriting however will probably be our biggest challenge this year. Thankfully my friend Carlotta suggested I just let him do lots of letter tracing before we begin to actually write letters. Great idea! I forgot how hard writing is if you're just starting out.


They both enjoyed taping coins to cardboard (insides of cereal boxes) to create money bags. It was the craft which accompanied our first Bible story, Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5. Wow, what a way to start the year. Philip learned in this passage that the couple lied to God and He stuck them dead.


The curriculum's arithmetic portion starts out way below Philip's current ability level. On Friday we were "learning" about matching patterns. I look forward to November when I'll teach Philip to count to 40 using beans!


Each week there is a "cooking" unit. This first week we focused on the letter "A" and were to make applesauce but my blender is in storage (coming out soon!). I looked ahead in the book and chose to make week three's food, shipshape snacks (we'll learn about sea travel then; this first month in social studies, we're learning about transportation).


Today (it's Labor Day anyway... rest from work, right?) and tomorrow we're having a mini-vacation from school as Philip and Braewyn's cousins Hannah and Madeline are visiting with their mom Aunt Lori and dad Uncle Jonathan. Here are the four cousins in the front yard of our new house. It was great walking them through the house and makes me even MORE excited to move in three weeks!!!!