Allison's Wonderland: homeschool

Three weeks have already passed since Charlie and I started school together. I had good intentions of doing a weekly update, but that just didn't happen. So I'll just do a recap of the past few weeks.

I have figured out that the best time for us to do school is around 1:00 when Wyatt is napping because honestly we wouldn't get anything done otherwise. It only takes us about 45 minutes to do each day's activities. And I can truly see a lot of growth in Charlie from the routine and structure of the day.

Let me tell you a few things that I like about this preschool curriculum before I go into the recap.
Click here to view mor Click here to view more details

It is Bible based. Each week has a different Bible story to focus on.
It is flexible. There are lesson plans for each week. But they are adaptable for the needs of your child.
It is FUN! The lessons are not boring but things that a preschooler will enjoy doing.

Now let me show you a few things that we did each week. I am sure that I will forget about something. I try to take pictures along the way but sometimes we get caught up in an activity and I forget about the picture.

X marks the Spot- Letter of the week is X

This was our introduction week. We started by making binoculars from toilet paper rolls, tape, and string.

We then went on a treasure hunt for our school supplies- which were hidden around the house marked by the x's. We talked about God's Word being a treasure.

We enjoyed a snack with x-shaped cheese on top of crackers.

Other activities this week included:

making a treasure map that will be used all year
making an alphabet notebook that is also used throughout the year
sang The B-I-B-L-E
went on a shape hunt for rectangles
glued a rectangle out of craft sticks
played tic-tac-toe with x made from craft sticks

Week Two

G is for Garden

This week was a lot of fun. We started by reading the story of God's Creation. While writing this I realized that I don't have a picture of the awesome book that we made all week long. Bummer. I might add one later.

This is the flower snack that we made one day with strawberries and bananas.

Here is our alphabet wall. We add a letter each week. This week we made thumbprints on the 'g' then added stems to make them look like flowers.

These are pumpkin seeds that we wrapped in a wet paper towel and left in a warm, dark place. This is what they looked like at then end of the week.

These are the cucumber seeds.

Other activities that week included:

Reading The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
drawing g's in the alphabet book
singing He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"
singing "The Creation Song"
counting seeds in egg carton

Week Three:

A is for Apple

This has been my favorite week so far. it was jam- packed with activities. Our Bible story for the week was Adam and Eve. We made apple prints using an apple half, and we used these all week long in various activities.

Here is the verse Romans 3:23 written on different apples. Charlie picked the apples off the tree.

Then we put the words in order. We were talking about sin a lot this week. He had a hard time understanding that he was a sinner. He could tell me what sin was and he didn't mind saying that his sister or even I was a sinner. But he didn't want to say that he sinned. But by the end of the week he understood.

This is an apple tree that we made over 3 days using his feet as the trunk, hands as branches, and fingers for apples.

We also did a taste test using various kinds of apples. He decided that a Golden Delicious is his favorite kind of apple. We made applesauce in the crockpot as well.

We picked apples from my artificial tree. I had to post this picture because while hiding the apples in the tree, I found a block in there. See the blue spot in the tree. Oh, the joys of having small children in your home!

Here we had written down names of sins using invisible ink (lemon juice). Then we heated it up over the stove and watched the words reappear. We talked about how Adam and Eve tried to hide from their sin, but we can never hide from God or from our sin.

It has been a good three weeks. I look forward to teaching Charlie each day. We do have some difficult days. I have learned that flexibility is key. And I also plan to implement the advice a friend just recently gave me about homeschooling boys...and that is take lots of breaks. Don't try to sit down and do it all at once.

Thanks for reading! Your comments and advice are always appreciated!

If you are interested in God's Little Explorers preschool curriculum Click here to view more details.
All proceeds go to fund an orphanage in India.

Next week will be an exciting week in my house. Or at least that’s the way I’m seeing things now. I will be starting an actual homeschool curriculum with my almost 4 year old on Monday. I have all my lessons plans organized in a binder. We have crayons and glue. And I can’t wait to start.

I am not a typical homeschool mom. I know I will be sending my son off to public school next year. But I know that if I have to make these years at home with me count. I will teach him and prepare him to the best of my ability. Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I love teachers, but it is my job as parent to be their first teacher.

One of the reasons I wanted to write this post was- a. to let you in on my journey and progress (there will be many updates, I’m sure!) and b. to seek advice. I would love to hear from you homeschool moms to hear how you do things and what I should-or shouldn’t expect. How do you organize your teaching time around others in the family? Right now the plan is to teach at 1 pm during the 2 yr old’s nap. While I would love to do the teaching in the morning because that is when I’m at MY best, I know that is not going to work best for the rest of us.

I look forward to sharing with you my experiences! Prayers are very much appreciated!! And if you are looking for a homeschool curriculum for your preschooler, I highly recommend this one. It is called God’s Little Explorers. It takes you through the Bible. It is very well written. It is only $14 and all proceeds go to build an orphanage in India. If you would like to purchase the digital download, you can click here.