Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I actually think that Spring is becoming my new favorite season. I love it when the dreary, greyness of Winter fades and the vibrant colors of Spring start to grow. I am looking forward to early morning walks outside, crouching down to watch the insects come alive after the long winter, and even the wait to see if our praying mantis egg case will produce offspring. Homeschooling this Spring is going to be so much fun!
Since Everett hit 8 months, schooling with two has been much more enjoyable. I finally feel like I have my feet on the ground and things are going much more smooth with homekeeping, learning and balancing life.
Ethan has been doing great. He started reading this winter and we are just finishing up the first level of Hooked on Phonics. I picked up the whole set on craigslist last summer for $10 and we are really enjoying it. Ethan loves doing is 'reading' each day and enjoys putting stickers on the chart to track his progress. He even took his short reading books to Cedar Rapids to share with Grandma, Grandpa and Great Aunt Kathie. Then, at his 4year check up with Dr. Timboe, he read him a short book. He loves reading, and we are so proud of him!
The picture above is of his dictation work the other day. I have been dabbling in a little of the Charlotte Mason homeschool style to check out the feel of things, and he really enjoyed this.
I wrote a sentence or two on a piece of paper and he 'studied' it for a few minutes. I had him circle the words he didn't know and we went over them. I also had him pay attention to punctuation and spelling, and if he felt there was a word he couldn't spell, we went over that as well. (The word "like" was one of his sight words this week, so this was a new word to practice.) After he was finished looking over the sentences, I took the paper away and he listened to me read it. He wrote it as best as he could without my help, and then we reviewed it together when he was finished. The only guide he had during this 'lesson' was a letter guide to remind him how to write his letters... everything else he did on his own.)
I finally organized my homeschool area, and have started cataloging our book collection (a HUGE work in progress), so things are becoming more usable in that area. Ethan enjoys worksheets and some seat work, so we have started using 'workboxes' for our daily school lessons. I still do Montessori for some things, but the workboxes really help keep me organized and on task.
Right now they are unlabeled and have no specific order, but on a regular basis we do Bible, Reading, Math and copywork as well as play games, do crafts and read books. I made notecards with labels of the different games and learning materials we have in the closet and those get tossed into the workboxes each week too. We don't always get to everything, but it is always nice to have it there if we don't have anything to do.
With spring around the corner I am feeling that our schedule will shift a bit and we are going to spend more time outdoors. I am going to introduce a Nature Journal to Ethan this year and I hope to spend a lot of time walking, talking, observing and learning about nature and life around us. I can direct him in what I know about our world, and at the same time, he will help me look at the world through his eyes. It will be a learning experience for both of us!
I feel so blessed to be a mom, teacher and playmate. God is good.
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