(this start out as a PM to waterdreamer but soon became rather long so i’m posting it instead)
here is the schedule we use with my daughter ( three and a half)
she is starting first grade
i try to keep pretty detailed records of what i do with muse everyday
i find it helps to keep me from getting discouraged with what we’re doing as i can clearly see the progress we’ve made
i use two simple forms i’ve made
one is a weekly schedule by topics of what we will be doing
and the other is a daily checklist
this is what most of our days look like
every morning i cook breakfast while muse looks after the baby
this doesn’t always work out so well but i’m hoping it’s teaching her responsibility
after we clean up we water the plants and do yard work this takes about a hour
i play a disc of music (hour and a half long) by one composer (which we will continue to listen to for a week)
while listening she will ether paint or play outside by herself
after that we have the days first lesson
this includes doman’s EK program and math
i modified the EK program a lot
we only do one session a day sometimes two
i show her five categories with three bits in each
right now we are doing birds, art by picasso, musical instruments
as well as POI’s for organs of the body and planets
for math we use a couple different programs all with a strong use of manipulatives
Math in Focus (singapore math) this program uses varies manipulatives and it takes about fifteen minutes for two lessons
i love Singapore’s math system for too many reasons to list here but in short:
it’s strong emphasis on problem solving,
the teaching of mathematical concepts from concrete to pictorial to abstract
the high and fun use of story problems at all levels
use of bar-models in teaching problem solving (a form of pre-algebra)
mental math
Miquon Math which uses Cuisenaire rods for all of the work
mathematical insight grows out of observation, investigation, and the discovery of patterns
it leads children through an exploration of mathematical relationships
it’s a great program for kids that can’t sit still for very long and need to touch things to learn
even though there is relatively little bookwork it moves along quickly and introduces all four arithmetic operations and work with fractions in the first year
we also use the Three Bear Family counters a lot
it’s a set of small bears in three sizes and three weights
the set comes with six colors of bears great for counting, sorting, matching, learning colors etc
i also use the TBF scale and pattern cards with the bears
muse loves the bears and they have really helped her understanding of patterns
BrainQuest Workbooks
if we have time we use the brain quest workbooks some of the topics are really fun for muse
i love the brainquest card decks both fun and challenging
the work books are not as challenging and require to much writing for a small child
but we still use them every few days
after the lesson i play the Suzuki Violin cd which she listens to everyday
during this time she plays on her own (about 35 minutes)
next we do geography
in her EK program we study maps of the world as well as the states of the USA and mexico
one of the best things i ever bought were map cards by A Beka
i use them everyday in EK and then again when we look at the big world maps together
one a muse’s favorites is for me a name a country and she tries to find it on the map and then we switch
she loves her big cloth map of the world
(i bought it in the fabric section at wal mart for $5 a yard so about $6 altogether)
sometimes we do a puzzle of mexico or the US
if you can find a puzzle map of your country it’s really useful
we may also use Usborne’s Children’s Picture Atlas
next we usually walk to the market to shop
muse helps me with picking out fruits and veggies
i give her a small bag for each and ask her to pick out a certain number of each
sometimes i have her count out the money and let her pay
on our walks i let muse give me directions (go left or right, which street to cross etc)
i also have her use the street signs
when we get home we play brain quest
i read her stories (i’ll post some recommendations later)
then she naps for two hours
when she wakes up she gets ready for dance class
(she dresses herself and is in charge of keeping her things neat)
she dance five days a week: three days of movement and two days of classical ballet
(on the weekend she walks or does yoga)
we walk to class and back
after class we sweep the courtyard and play outside
some days she plays baseball
or rides her tricycle or scooter
then i cook while she pushes the baby in the carriage
after we eat we do another lesson
Sing, Spell, Read and Write for for 20 minutes or so
and then she choses a art project to do
sometimes we do puzzles
or she works on her own with cutting and pasting
while we do this we listen to ether Teach Your Baby French or Teach Your Baby Spanish
we repeat each word together with the cd
later on she does brillkids with her sister
and then plays starfall on her own
we tidy up the house
and she helps me take out the trash
in the evening we have her reading lesson she reads her peter and jane readers to me
after that we read poetry together
i think the very best book of poetry for children is A Child’s Book of Poems
it’s has stunningly lovely pictures and real poems
there is over two hundred poems by some of the greatest poets
yet it also includes childhood favorites
sometimes we try to learn a poem but most of the time we just enjoy the music of the words
review her verses (we use the Feed My Lambs program it’s great 5 stars)
read some bible stories or Alice in Bibleland
then we read stories
after that she ether plays quietly on her own or goes to sleep
weekly activities
we bird watch a few times a week
she has her own pair of binoculars
and we look for birds together in our backyard
she studies birds in her EK program everyday
and a few times a week she uses her Bird Songs books
those are great big books with huge beautiful pictures of birds along with a common call
it also includes basic facts about the birds highly recommended
the books are expensive $50 so check on ebay or even BN bookstore (i found them for about $15)
once or twice a week we do science experiments
i really wish we did more of this i need to get organised
we use Janice VanCleave’s Science for Every Kid series
what is really fabulous about these books is how they throughly teach kids how to use the scientific method
each book has a hundred experiments on one topic, earth science etc
as you work though the book your child starts to gain a really understanding of the subject
not just some facts to memorize out of a textbook
after each experiment the author also tells you why it happened for you learn the facts as well
we are starting Suzuki Violin classes twice a week for twenty minutes
we will begin to practices at home as well
arts
muse does art almost everyday
all her art supplies are on a low shelf so she can have access to them at all times
any given day she uses: pastels, oil pastels, oil paint, water colors, color pencils, markers, collages, stamping or clays
some days we do an art project from one of MaryAnn Kohl’s art books for children lots of great ideas
i love her philosophy on children’s early art experience
when in the US we visit the art museum at least once a week
and we study the great masters ether with EK (we have studied the works of at lest 40 artists) or with books
for young kids i recommend the series of board books by Julie Merberg
for slightly older kids A Child’s Book of Art and The Art Book for Children are both wonderful
there are of course many more but those are sitting right next to me
we will be starting Latin as soon as the program gets here
Song School Latin is what we will start with
it has weekly lessons peppered with songs, illustrations, hand-writing practice, stories and activities for easy mastery and memorization
after this we hope at start something more advanced
our plan is to delay English grammar and spelling until she has a firm foundation in Latin
games and puzzles
if not every day i try to do some learning games and puzzles a few times a week
she also uses some on her own
i’ve been collecting for many years on so we have a lot of these
but i just wanted to mention a few i consider essential
wooden beads for stringing
lacing cards (we use a set of wooden animal cards that muse likes a lot)
a life size skeleton foam puzzle
tangram puzzles are fabulous resource for developing geometry understandings and spatial skills
(plus they are just so fun for kids)
a memory or matching game
Physical Education
last year we followed Glenn Doman’s book faithfully, as we had since muse was seven months old
sadly a lot of our education programs took a hit when we had another baby
but as the baby starts to crawl i’ve been trying to have muse crawl with her
this is all very informal right now but as the baby grows i hope the program will as well
for now she mostly dances and does some informal balance work
as well as hanging and swinging on the ladder
nature studies
i have muse outside in much as i can
try to go on nature walks often
learn about trees, plants,garden and life cycles
this is a work in progress as there are no parks to speak of here and no zoos
but we do the best we can and get creative press flowers etc
and enjoy our time in the united states
food
no msg
no trans fats
no white flour or rice
little or no sugar
little or no salt
i know this is about education yet i feel strongly that diet has a lot to do with mental development
so i keep her food as healthy as i can
i’ve been involved in or around home education my whole life
yet everyday feels like i have just begun
many many times i’ve had to throw out a perfectly great program or curricula because it just didn’t work for my daughter
remaining flexible and having patience are two of the most important lessons i have had to learn the hard way
a very wise mother once told me,“you don’t make your children into something, you simple discovery what God created and nurture it as best you can”
the more i work with children the more i find that to be true
some days i feel like giving up, that nothing is working
so instead of trying to “home school” my daughter i like to think of sharing one truly great idea with her everyday
