New, and Random, Content Forthcoming!

So I just don't take and process enough pictures to devote an entire blog to my (verrryy slllooowwwllly) developing photography career!  So I'm am going to blog about whatever I feel like in between shoots.


And today I feel like talking about school!  We are homeschooling our kiddos and this year I have both of them doing school.  Last year I worked just with Mikaia on preschool while Caleb was napping and I was a tinge worried about beginning this year with both of them.  But it has been really great and so much easier than I anticipated! 

Mikaia is essentially doing her kindergarten year this year, although according to public school she'd really be pre-K.  She is working through Sonlight's P4/5 curriculum (their version of pre-K).  This encompasses read aloud books, social studies, science, and Bible.  It is not what I expected for a pre-K student in that (most of-but not all) the books are more challenging than I would have expected for a 4 year old.  For example, we are reading through an Uncle Wiggily book that has very few pictures and the language is a little old-fashioned (it refers to him as the bunny gentleman and his home is referred to as his bungalow, ect.).  However, she actually likes the stories.  I've really been pleased thus far with this curriculum.  She also does Horizons Math Kindergarten.  We began this over the summer.  I was worried that this might be too much for her and pretty well intended to work through it until it just got to be too over her head.  But we are now working on simple addition and understanding place value for the tens and ones and she still gets it.  So we will just keep plugging away.   Now I do incorporate lots of review and extra activities to reinforce what she is working on and we go pretty slow through the workbook.  We do about 1/2 a lesson a day and that seems to be just right for her.  We also work on reading and printing skills everyday.  I had to go through 3 phonics programs before I found one that really suited her.  I knew she was ready to learn to read, but for some reason the first two programs I tried just bombed with her!  She was either bored or just not willing to try.  But when I found the one we are going through now-it just clicked!  It has been really wonderful and she is catching on SOOO much better than she was earlier!  Her printing comes very easy to her.  One thing that has been interesting to me is that the better she gets with her printing, the better she has been getting with her art and artistic creativity.  She is very artsy and it seems that practicing writing skills really unlocked the door to her art endeavors.  

I had to create my own curriculum with Caleb.  I want him to recognize his letters and the corresponding phonics, recognize numbers 1-20, and also recognize various shapes and colors.  My goal in putting together an actual curriculum was to help me know where I was going with him and not leave anything out.  (For instance, I really wish I had worked with Mikaia on recognizing/memorizing her numbers through 20.  I stopped at 10 with her and it would have helped her in math now if she just automatically knew her numbers all the way to 20.)  So I pulled from 4-5 different websites and various curriculum I already had and laid out a weekly agenda for Caleb.  I only completed up through M because it was A LOT of work and I wanted to test drive it before finishing.  We are in week 3 and it seems to be really good!  It is not too hard nor too easy for him and seems to have a good balance of songs, books, crafts, and physical activities.   So I am really, really proud of it!  And hope to finish the rest before Noah comes along!  :)!

We do school right after breakfast Monday through Friday.  I usually begin with Caleb's school (although Mikaia always wants to do school with him) and then we do the first part of Mikaia's school.  Caleb is very good at playing on his own and usually plays happily while I am working with Mikaia for about an hour.  Then, Mikaia and I finish her school while Caleb is napping (about 30-45 more minutes of work).  Both kids really seem to love it.  Mikaia has often commented about how much she likes school and how she wishes we could do more of it (ie she wants to do school on the weekends and she doesn't like taking time off for holidays).  When I announce it's time for school in the mornings, both kids go running to the school room to start!  That has been fun to see!  (And I am just waiting for that to end!  ;)!) 

Sorry about the picture-less post this time.  I intend on taking pics of them working on school soon!