First week of school

For our first official homeschooling year, we are doing literature-based letter units every to every other week, incorporating reading, phonics, counting, large motor skills, fine motor skills, art, crafts, bible verse memorization, songs, and practical life skills.

Though we did relaxed learning time with Serene last fall when she turned three, she is officially in Pre-K this fall as she turns four in a couple of weeks. Last year, we did a modified version of The Peaceful Preschool. This year, we're doing The Peaceful Preschool for the second time around, along with additional unit-themed books and supplementary learning activities from Simply Learning Kids. I request all the books we read for each unit to be put on hold at the library at least one week in advance, and pick them up before our unit begins. For Bible verse memorization, we're using ABC Bible Verses that we memorize to Seeds Family Worship songs. These are separate from the catechism and verses we memorize during our bi-nightly family worship. We learn practical life skills by habit training, as the kids learn to do things independently: to set the table, to help make meals, to organize their clothes, to clean up messes. We're aiming for a gentle, biblical Pre-K experience.

Valor strives to do everything his sister does; although he is not quite ready for all the learning activities, he devours the books with his sister, identifies letters and numbers sporadically, and has a blast doing the crafts and food-related activities. Serene loves homeschooling so far (as we didn't have a break between last school year and this school year). She exclaims "Happy Homeschool Day!" upon waking up every morning. She flips through books repeatedly, attempting to read the words she sees, and embarks on all activities with gusto. I love being able to share my love for children's books with my own children, and to assess their skills daily. Our intentional learning time spans one to two hours a day in the morning, not including playtime, meals, and habit training. The two big kids take an afternoon nap after lunch, and we typically have evening commitments that consist of meeting with people, errands, or gatherings.

I'm so grateful there are such amazing resources out there for homeschooling mamas. When I taught public school, I created my own curriculum, so having resources to use and modify according to our family's needs are incredibly helpful, especially when attempting to balance the various aspects of our lives. I'm also thankful to have dear friends who are seasoned homeschooling mamas from whom to glean wisdom.

What I'm even more thankful for is that I get to disciple the kids holistically. This makes me totally nervous too, because I fail in patience and gentleness often. However, I'm thankful for the opportunity to teach our children about our Creator and Savior, what He says in His Word, and how it applies in everyday life. Most often this means we sin against one another, and I share how the gospel applies in our disobedience and the grace that enables our forgiveness, repentance, and obedience. Most days I'm sure I'm not cut out for this, but prayerfully, by grace, the kids and I are learning from God as we learn from one another.