I was posting so many updates about homeschooling for awhile, often because I was sitting at the table with Jeb while he worked in case he needed me and I had the time. But now he's working so much more independently and I should really be switching the laundry and unloading the dishwasher instead of playing on the computer all day :)
Jeb started the 1st grade curriculum in April. It began with very simple reading (Pat is a rat. Pat is fat. Pat is a fat rat.) and very simple math (trace the numbers 0-9, circle the third fish, write the four numbers in order).
We are year round homeschoolers-if we are at home, we do school work. If we have a play date or something else going on during the day, we'll skip school work. There's no start or end date, no deadlines to meet, no playing catch up if we take a few days off. It works perfectly for us as a family because it allows us to follow our own schedule (or non-schedule) without worrying about keeping up. It also works best for Jeb because he thrives on routine and does best when he's regularly reviewing the material.
Now he's reading easy reader books like Green Eggs and Ham all by himself and the girls will ask him to read to them. In math he's doing double digit addition, beginning fractions, telling time, and counting coins. We read chapter books to just him every night before bed (Eric reads books to all 3 kids, then we pray together and put the girls to bed, and then read a chapter book to just Jeb in his room) He has heard a lot of classics already, both from the curriculum and from my collection of favorites-Stuart Little, The Boxcar Children, Winnie The Pooh, The Mouse and the Motorcycle...and later on in this curriculum he'll get to hear so many more great books-Little House in the Big Woods, Dr. Dolittle-one of the most exciting parts about getting a new curriculum is reading over the list of books he'll get to read and hear.
Besides practicing reading, he's also been working on spelling and writing. Every week he has a 10 word spelling test, and we've started doing some creative writing exercises to help him practice spelling, writing, and creativity. We also study science, bible, and cultures, and starting this fall I'm hoping to add Spanish and piano to the mix as well.
During quiet rest time, he decided to write his own chapter book about our camping trip this weekend and has been working on it for almost 2 hours already :)
Jeb started the 1st grade curriculum in April. It began with very simple reading (Pat is a rat. Pat is fat. Pat is a fat rat.) and very simple math (trace the numbers 0-9, circle the third fish, write the four numbers in order).
We are year round homeschoolers-if we are at home, we do school work. If we have a play date or something else going on during the day, we'll skip school work. There's no start or end date, no deadlines to meet, no playing catch up if we take a few days off. It works perfectly for us as a family because it allows us to follow our own schedule (or non-schedule) without worrying about keeping up. It also works best for Jeb because he thrives on routine and does best when he's regularly reviewing the material.
Now he's reading easy reader books like Green Eggs and Ham all by himself and the girls will ask him to read to them. In math he's doing double digit addition, beginning fractions, telling time, and counting coins. We read chapter books to just him every night before bed (Eric reads books to all 3 kids, then we pray together and put the girls to bed, and then read a chapter book to just Jeb in his room) He has heard a lot of classics already, both from the curriculum and from my collection of favorites-Stuart Little, The Boxcar Children, Winnie The Pooh, The Mouse and the Motorcycle...and later on in this curriculum he'll get to hear so many more great books-Little House in the Big Woods, Dr. Dolittle-one of the most exciting parts about getting a new curriculum is reading over the list of books he'll get to read and hear.
Besides practicing reading, he's also been working on spelling and writing. Every week he has a 10 word spelling test, and we've started doing some creative writing exercises to help him practice spelling, writing, and creativity. We also study science, bible, and cultures, and starting this fall I'm hoping to add Spanish and piano to the mix as well.
During quiet rest time, he decided to write his own chapter book about our camping trip this weekend and has been working on it for almost 2 hours already :)
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