We haven't been doing much at all with homeschooling this week. Since this was supposed to be our Ee week, we did a bit of handwriting (writing the letter Ee on our white board/unlined paper). We also talked about how the letter E makes the 'eh' sound.
Other than that we did A LOT of nature study. We talked about the northern mockingbird and the White Crowned Pigeon. Both of which are local birds, and we see almost on a daily basis! However, any picture we tried to get of them did not turn out well. So, i had to get these ones online!
White Crowned Pigeon
Northern Mockingbird
We will continue with these birds next week, when we get a calmer start to the week!
Here is the first lesson i will be working on with Lei. It's the /k/ sound, which he has been pronouncing /d/.
We will go over one row for about 15-30 minutes a day until he can say it. I'm not worried about how quick he will catch onto it, and i'm trying to make it fun for him.
These past days have been so busy. Between Drs, Dentists, and house break-ins, it feels like i haven't even been home!
On Sunday i spent 6 hours waiting in the ER. And didn't even get to see the dr! The kids were getting tired and bored, so we left. The following day, Monday, we took him to our family dr. My sweet boy has Otitis externa, an outer ear infection. Not only that, but the dr also noticed his speech issues. Lei has a lot of difficulty pronouncing certain letter sounds. For example: Four is Bore, car is dar, he completely removes the s from the beginning of words,etc. Dr says to keep working on it with him, and to keep an eye (ear?) on it. The worst it could be is Auditory Processing Disorder, which i'm pretty confident it isn't. He has a follow up Wednesday, for the ear infection.
Last night L's grandmother's house was broken into, and we found it today. She is in the US now and nobody is living there thank God. Lei, of course, had his Policeman costume with him. The one that's for Halloween, but he has worn it everyday since we bought it last Saturday! So, he had to wear it since he was a Police Officer. You can imagine his excitement when the real Police came!
Hopefully we will get back to normal soon!
I've been deep in thought for the last few days. The main question on my mind: The right method of homeschooling for my family.
As most of the readers of my blog know, my favorite methods of homeschooling are:
Unschooling
Charlotte Mason
Montessori
Starting as soon as possible immediately, there will be a change in our homeschooling method. I will be focusing more on the Charlotte Mason method, as this method has been nagging at me from the beginning! It just feels right for me, and I believe God has been pushing me into that direction for my family.
Ms. Mason taught that formal studies were not to begin until the age of 6 or 7. Before then, a child's learning is play.
I have written up an idea of curriculum we will follow:
Bible:
Read Bible stories
Verse Memorization
Habit training:
Chores (putting toys in toy box, putting his shoes away)
Family Rules (which i have not gotten around to making yet!)
This book: Child's Book of Character Building: Growing Up in God's World
Read Aloud Literature:
Classics
These websites: Here, Here, Here, and Here
Then, when we begin reading lessons i will pick up:
Little Bear series
Frog and Toad series
Little Jewel series
Billy and Blaze series
Math:
Calendar (laminate blank calendar, and fill in the month and days)
Days of the week
Counting to 30
Using counters to teach basic addition and subtraction
Language Arts:
Review one letter and introduce its sounds weekly. Vowels say their own name and also have a short sound.
Copywork – One letter of the alphabet on unlined paper per week. Draw in sand, then on paper. Large is okay. Memory verse of the week.
Letter recognition
Make homemade books together by copying simple books read and just changing them a little.
Journal-Lei will dictates to me important events, places visited, etc... in heis life on Fridays. I'll write it down on our dry erase board first, then i'll write it in his journal, leaving a word or two blank for him to fill in.
(Do not focus on much writing at this age.)
History/Geography:
Holidays, Traditions, Various countries and cultures
Nature Study:
Local birds, flowers/plants, insects
I have been giving Lei a bit of copywork *mainly bible verses & poem lines*, and we have been working on math with manipulative. We do a lot of nature walks. During our nature walks there is not much talking unless Lei has a question. I allow him to take it all in, and enjoy God's creation. Later on we discuss and look up things he inquired about.
We don't focus on Music Study yet, but we do listen to classical music & church hymns.
Ok, Who is Charlotte Mason, you may ask?
Ms. Mason taught that formal studies were not to begin until the age of 6 or 7. Before then, a child's learning is play.
I have written up an idea of curriculum we will follow:
Bible:
Read Bible stories
Verse Memorization
Habit training:
Chores (putting toys in toy box, putting his shoes away)
Family Rules (which i have not gotten around to making yet!)
This book: Child's Book of Character Building: Growing Up in God's World
Read Aloud Literature:
Classics
These websites: Here, Here, Here, and Here
Then, when we begin reading lessons i will pick up:
Little Bear series
Frog and Toad series
Little Jewel series
Billy and Blaze series
Math:
Calendar (laminate blank calendar, and fill in the month and days)
Days of the week
Counting to 30
Using counters to teach basic addition and subtraction
Language Arts:
Review one letter and introduce its sounds weekly. Vowels say their own name and also have a short sound.
Copywork – One letter of the alphabet on unlined paper per week. Draw in sand, then on paper. Large is okay. Memory verse of the week.
Letter recognition
Make homemade books together by copying simple books read and just changing them a little.
Journal-Lei will dictates to me important events, places visited, etc... in heis life on Fridays. I'll write it down on our dry erase board first, then i'll write it in his journal, leaving a word or two blank for him to fill in.
(Do not focus on much writing at this age.)
History/Geography:
Holidays, Traditions, Various countries and cultures
Nature Study:
Local birds, flowers/plants, insects
I have been giving Lei a bit of copywork *mainly bible verses & poem lines*, and we have been working on math with manipulative. We do a lot of nature walks. During our nature walks there is not much talking unless Lei has a question. I allow him to take it all in, and enjoy God's creation. Later on we discuss and look up things he inquired about.
We don't focus on Music Study yet, but we do listen to classical music & church hymns.
Ok, Who is Charlotte Mason, you may ask?
You can read all about her, and her teachings here!
