Here is a look at how I have organized myself to do Kindergarten with V this year. I have based a good deal on the advice of other homeschooling moms at the forums of Ambleside Online and I encourage anyone struggling to take the time to read that information. I am totally new at homeschooling, but so far this method is working for us.
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| Last weeks schedule. |
I've been a bullet journal user for a while. It's been the easiest way for me to keep track of all my scribbled papers and to look back and remember what I am always forgetting. So integrating my homeschool schedule with my bullet journal was important to me. Pictured above is our week at a glance. At the top (mostly out of the picture) is our weekly appointment list. On the left is the day of the week and date followed by appointments that we have that day.
Then is our daily work list. My goal is to do these lessons 5 days a week, so I simply check off items as we complete them in our day. To the right are things I wish to do weekly. Followed by a list of all the books we are currently reading. My goal is to read a chapter in each book weekly to keep them somewhat fresh in our minds. At the bottom are the things that are newly added. We read Chanticleer and the Fox at the Library so I wrote it and checked it immediately. Later when I am updating her list of books read I can add it there.
As far as when I get things done, in V's list of to do's in the morning when she does things such as brush teeth and get dressed we read the Bible and a poem. This way regardless of how the day goes the most important item, and a frequently overlooked item are completed. While J is at school we try to spend time on either an outdoor or physical activity. This could be our Nature walk, playing at the park, or swimming at the Y. After we get J and have lunch, during nap time, we do copywork, math and our readings. Our copywork is one word a day usually, and the words we copy this week are the words she tries to visualize and spell next week. Then V does art, handiworks, or piano independently. The music we play during meals, or playtime. We sing together when we go for walks as the current folk and hymn are ones I happen to already know. Her memorization verses are written in her notebook which she carries in her backpack, so anytime in the morning when we have down time she pulls it out to practice. Sometimes, we don't have time to do it all, and honestly I don't worry about it. My priorities right now are building good habits, and spending time outside. If anything I think she spends too much time on schoolwork. But when she is after me all day to "do school" I have plenty of things to choose from.
Meanwhile, J loves school still. She loves getting her own snack (no surprise there) and she has a lot of fun playing outside. Her teachers and peers have been after her about her finger sucking, so hopefully we see a reduction in that soon. Otherwise she hasn't had any bad days yet! I worried about her one day when there was a thunder storm, and the teachers confirmed that she was upset at the first boom, but after seeing that her friends didn't react she was calm for the rest of the storm. So perhaps that fear will resolve itself. While she still comes home quite tired, when she wakes she is excited to play all her new games with Sis.
If you have questions, or if you have suggestions on things I haven't considered please comment below.
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| A "story" she wrote during free time. |
