A {new} day in the {new} life

Transitioning to homeschooling has been a bit of a transition. ;) Not in a bad way. Just in a this-requires-change-kind-of-way.

For the most part, both kiddos have transitioned quite well. I have been exceptionally surprised by Landon. To be quite honest, I thought he was going to be the "deciding factor" in whether or not this was going to work. But, Landon has done great! He either joins us, or he doesn't. It's his choice, and he has been happy with whatever he chooses. (Really hoping it stays this way!:))

As for Ella Beth, her transition has been a challenge for both her and me. Obviously, my teaching style is different than what she had grown accustomed to at Montessori school. I have said it over and over again, I really do like the Montessori approach. I am trying to incorporate as much into our homeschooling as possible...but, it's harder than I thought it would be. And that's fine. We are adapting to our style - me to Ella Beth and her to me. I think the biggest challenge is Ella Beth's behavior. Now, my kiddos are good kids...but, they have their moments! And, unfortunately, Ella Beth's moments seem to make their appearance during school time. I am trying to find the best method of Correction during school - do I separate Mommy from Teacher? do I combine them since I really am just the same person? do we set different rules for school? (I don't really think this last option is an option...just trying to think through them all.)

But, here is a typical homeschool day:

We start every day with our Devotional Time - usually around 9:30 or 10 a.m. This children's Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible, is the MOST AMAZING BIBLE FOR KIDS ever! Ella Beth and Landon love reading it, and I enjoy it just as much. The stories are written so beautifully, and it reads like a book. The sub-title is "Every Story Whispers His [Jesus'] Name," and it does. It's such a great book. I can't recommended it more highly!!!

Scott made us a school table; I chose the color. :) The school chairs that we use are from my mom's table from when she was a little girl. Special addition to our homeschool.

We have a To-Do List of our daily activities. I totally recommend starting with Kindergarten; I mean, really, what a great (i.e. simple!) list!

Ella Beth loves changing our calendar each day. Love that smile. :)

I am a huge proponent of "re-purposing" items.

I received a pair of slippers in this box for Christmas, and the box was just so nice I couldn't throw it away. It is now our Math Manipulatives box. Covered, of course, in cute scrapbook paper. ;)

Even though Ella Beth says that she likes Phonics better than Math...she is doing exceptionally well in Math. She had started doing Math lessons at her Montessori school, and Montessori is heavy in using manipulatives. That was one method that was easy to implement at home...and we just love using them! I am seriously thinking of switching over to Math-U-See next year as our Math curriculum. It is very hands on, and Ella Beth really enjoys anything she can touch and move around.

One of Landon's favorite things do to during school (if he chooses to join us right now) is puzzles! He will spend about 30 solid minutes doing puzzles...when he's in the mood, of course. :)

We also have this book for tracing lines, squiggles, swirls, etc. He really likes doing work in this book because he feels like he's doing school like Ella Beth!

We have also started introducing basic math/number concepts. Here's a great use for an egg carton. (I don't know exactly what it says about me that I re-purpose everything I can!?!)

And there's handwriting. Ella Beth used to hate handwriting. There would be tears every day. That was two months ago. Now, since she has found that she's very good at writing her letters (for a 4 year old!), she actually looks forward to doing handwriting each day. Lots of praise from Mama made that happen. ;)

And we typically end each day with Phonics and reading. Ella Beth is reading very well. One of the biggest rewards of homeschooling has been teaching Ella Beth to read. WoW!!! Seeing how proud she is to read, and knowing that I had a part in it, makes all of the challenging/tough/rough days worth it!

So...that's a {new} typical day around here - well, at least 2 hours of it. Four years ago when Ella Beth was just a wee little thing, homeschooling was not even on my radar. In fact, I was one of those people who thought homeschooling was a bit weird. That's before I understood what it's really about, and before I understood parents' reasoning behind it. For us, at least for now, we are on board. I am praying that finances will be able to sustain themselves to where I am able to stay at home full time - because there is no place I'd rather be.