Joyfullyblessed
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Posts posted by Joyfullyblessed
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Hello,
I run and in home childcare and began homeschooling my five year old son last week. I keep an 11 month old, a 17 month old, and a 3 year old in addition to having my son. I will also be filling another spot soon, probably with an infant.
I keep all my children on a great routine each day. They are pretty much on the same schedule as far as naps, eating, playtime, etc... The two youngest go down for morning nap at 9:30 which is great. We begin school at 9am, the babies play till 9:30 and then while I have my son busy with something, I put them down for nap.
Both of them simply lie down and go to sleep in their pack n play's. They are great! I have had both of them since they were about two month's old and I have never had to hold them all the time just to keep them happy.
That has always been a rule of mine... that I can't walk around with a baby in my arms all day long. I would get nothing done! I make sure they are fed, changed, loved on, have plenty to play with and feeling well. They play wonderfully, and they know all their boundaries even at their young age.
The older three year old likes to listen in or play independently when I teach. I teach for an hour and a half in the morning and thirty minutes in the afternoon from around 3pm till 3:30.
I have just gotten everything well organized with the homeschool, and also with my business of childcare. I am truly blessed with such a good group of kids. They are each so happy and sweet! : ) It has really been wonderful and not a problem at all.
I wish you all the best with your schooling and watching the little one. : )
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Our schedule is also very much like yours. It is working well for us.
We are brand new homeschoolers, and my son just turned five a couple of weeks ago, so we are doing kindergarten. I am averaging about 2 1/2 hours of school per day for him.
We do an hour and a half in the morning, then we have a break and finish in the afternoon. School is finished by 3:15-3:30 at the latest.
We alternate days between Science (M,W) and History (T,TH). We do music on Tuesday's and Art on Thursday's. Friday's are a day of reviewing what we did during the week just to make sure my son has a good understanding of everything. Plus, we bake a dessert together on Friday's for fun! It gets in some math lessons in a fun and yummy way. :001_smile:
Again, I think your schedule looks great. I know that we couldn't work straight through with no breaks. I can tell when my son is getting tired or beginning to zone. That is the perfect time for snack and a few minutes of free play time to refresh him.
I hope you have a great school year ahead! : )))
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Well, I just have to say that the Burgess books are not for us right now at all. We began kindergarten last week and my son was bored to pieces with Reddy Fox. He loves books too, but not this particular one. We tried for a few days and finally I just decided that we needed to move to something different.
I mean, I was having a hard time enjoying the book also, and I am a big reader. : ) The wording was just a little strange for me and it really wasn't too interesting. But, that is just my personal opinion. I know many people do love them.
We switched to listening to Aesop's Fables this week and my son LOVES them! He kept asking for more stories. He also was able to tell me what the characters may have done incorrectly and what they learned.
I am putting the Burgess books aside for right now and we may bring them out again when he is older. I am looking at other options right now... Charlotte's Web, James and the Giant Peach, among many others. I think they will hold my son's interest (and mine) much better for the time being.
Try the books if you want, then make the decision based on your child's overall reaction to them. Mine was zoning during them, so that was a definite sign each day that this was not the right choice for us. :001_smile:
Good luck and have a wonderful day!
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Hello,
Rebecca: I sure am glad to see your post here. After reading most of the others, I was really beginning to worry that I may have made a bad choice in choosing HOD for my son's schooling.
We are new to this and start school next Monday (kindergarten). I want to make sure that I am teaching my son all that he needs to know. I want to make sure the curriculum is complete. I sure don't want to realize later that he is way behind all the other children his age.
I do plan on adding to HOD, but as of right now, I wouldn't even know where to begin with that, especially since this is all so new for us right now.
I know that I have had my fair share of doubts when it comes to homeschooling my son. That is a big responsibility in my opinion.. to educate your own child and do it in the best way possible.
I really researched a lot and really loved what I saw with HOD. I don't mind tweaking or adding a little here and there, but I sure hope I am not changing things up drastically as some have mentioned they have done in this thread.
I guess I will just wait and see how it works for us. I appreciate everyone's input about HOD. I want to know the good and bad so that I understand what I am getting into and what I can do to better educate my son each day.
Have a great day! : )))
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Thank you for the responses I have received. : )
I am in GA. and no, I don't have to report anything this particular upcoming year. I won't have to do that until after his 6th birthday.
However, I want to basically go ahead and do a true school year with my son. I feel it will be good preparation for me in the future years when I do have to report and keep records of everything.
I want to go ahead and create a good, working routine. It is really necessary that I do this also because I also run an in-home childcare (which includes three other younger children, soon to be four), so I am going to have to successfully figure out how to balance the two.
It is really good to know that I can incorporate other things into my son's learning and it will count towards his schooling. This particular year is going to be full of new experiences on both of our parts.
Thanks again for all the responses. I really appreciate it. Have a wonderful evening! : )))
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Hello Everyone,
I know that may sound like a strange title, but I wasn't really sure how to word what I am asking.
I will be a brand, spanking new homeschooler (as of next Monday) to my son who just turned five yesterday. We will be doing kindergarten and are very excited to begin.
I have chosen to use LHFHG by Heart of Dakota for his curriculum, so I have lots of areas covered in his learning.
However, I was wondering... what else can I consider schooling? For example, I want to teach my son life skills or possibly do some outings to museums, space centers, etc...
Would these type things be considered schooling also? Could I include things that he is learning from these experiences and areas into the 180 days I have to school?
I don't want to overwhelm my son, but I do want to use several different areas of life as learning opportunities. Does this make sense?
Thanks so much and I hope everyone has a great day! : )))
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Thank you so much for all of your replies! I have loved reading each and every one. Many of the "biggest joys" that were listed are definitely some that I am looking forward to in the years to come.
I LOVE spending time with my son and he is just a joy to me. I also want to learn again too, so I consider this a learning journey for both of us. I know I have forgotten so much of what I learned in school years ago.
Also, I agree with the challenges. I run an in-home childcare which can be very difficult at times. It is not my dream job or the area that I feel I am gifted in greatly, but I do a good job. I have questioned many times why I stay in something that is not truly my gift in life, why do I go through the "being home so much that I feel trapped at times" feeling, and a few other questions have come to mind.
I am a creative person who loves to work with her hands.... I love photography, making floral arrangements, gift baskets, things like that. I love peace and quiet and just looking at and truly appreciating the beautiful things in life. I love organization (yet, I struggle to actually be that way every day). : )
So, why in the world do I choose to keep children??? They are loud, messy, and very unpredictable. No peace and quiet there. Hee-hee! They're cute though, and they do seem to love me! : )))
However, I now really feel that God has kept me home, provided me with a job where I can help my family out little financially, and allowed me to spend more time with my son (plus my daughter & husband) just so that I could have the privilege of homeschooling him. I think it is the path God is directing me towards and that it is a wonderful gift.
I also have a sixteen year old daughter who attended public school for all her elementary years and a private Christian school since she began middle school. However, even though I think she has done excellent in her academics, she is so very distant from me and our family and I just hate it. It breaks my heart.
I feel that I have missed so much with her and now I don't know how to get her to want to be close with the family until she feels the need to do so. My husband is not her real father (her dad passed away when she was only one year old), and they have a very strained relationship also.
We pray that she will come around someday and know how much we love her and that we aren't the "evil, stupid and boring" people she thinks we are right now.
All this to say that I really hope and pray that this is something that will bring not only me and my son, but our whole family closer together on all fronts. I see tons of benefits from homeschooling. I just pray that I am seeing many of them in the years to come and look back and know that I definitely made the right choice.
Ok, I have gone on too long. Sorry, just so much on my mind. Thank you again sooooo much for all of your replies. Keep them coming! I am truly enjoying reading each and every one.
Have a wonderful evening! : )))
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Hello Everyone,
I will be starting my homeschool adventure this Fall with my son, who turns five in August. We will be doing kindergarten using Heart of Dakota's Little Hearts for His Glory. I am very excited about doing this, but there are those questions that keep coming up like... will I be a good enough teacher for him, will he have enough social avenues, is this the best decision for him? Those type questions are in my mind daily.
I also run an in-home childcare every day, M-F, so I am going to have to work my son's homeschool around that schedule as well. I think it will be fine though since I keep my kids on a very good routine.
However, I know that I have to try and see if it works for us because I just feel that it is the best path to take right now for him and his education.
I was just wondering if anyone would share their biggest joys that they have experienced while homeschooling AND some of the biggest challenges they have come across while homeschooling.
Being new to all of this, I think it will be beneficial to me, as well as other new homeschooling moms/dads just to get an idea of what lies ahead, what things may happen that maybe we just haven't thought about, any great tips or advice. Things like that! : )
I hope that many of you will share your homeschool experiences with me. I am sooo very excited to begin and yet I want to calm some of those fears that lurk also.
Thanks everyone and I hope each of you have a wonderful day! :)
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Hello,
I will begin homeschooling my son in the fall. He turns five in August, so we will be starting Kindergarten. We are both very excited about it and are eager to begin.
I am nailing down curriculum, but I really want to create a special space for my son to do his work. I have a desk for him and it will be in the office area of our home. Above it will be a large wall that I want to decorate for him with different posters, calendar, map, etc...
I want it to be fun, yet something he can look at and learn things also.
My question, where is the best place to purchase stuff like this for decorating? We have The School Box, but they are a little pricey. I was wondering if anyone knew of a great site to go to for this type stuff.
Please share with me if you do. Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!
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Hello,
I am beginning homeschool with my soon to be five year old son in the Fall. I have really been looking at math programs for him and keep coming back to Rod and Staff math.
I would love it if anyone who has used Rod and Staff math would share their experience with the program. I want to hear the good and even the bad if there is anything. What do you like about it?
I also looked at Abeka, but I don't know if that would be too much, too fast. I am not a math minded person at all, so I need to be able to teach my son well and not stumble.
I am anxious to hear opinions on Rod and Staff because I am SOOOO close to placing my orders, but I have to pin down this math thing. Thanks in advance to everyone for their help and suggestions.
Have a wonderful day! :001_smile:
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Hello,
I am new to homeschooling and will begin with my son in the Fall. My son turns five in August, so he will be a young kindergartener. I am planning on using the Heart of Dakota curriculum and I am very excited about it.
However, I am torn on the math portion. HOD uses Singapore, but I am not sure if that is the math route I want to take with my son. From my understanding, Singapore is good if you want lots of problem solving and mental math. Also, it seems you should be fairly well math minded yourself to teach it.
Well, I am not math minded at all and hate problem solving. I want to be able to be a good teacher for my son in all subjects, math included and I want him to enjoy it as much as possible.
I am really looking for something that focuses on place value, counting by 5's and 10's, integration and something that does provide review so that my son gets a clear understanding of what he is learning. Also, I need to be able to teach it without being confused myself.
Math U See seems to look pretty good, but I have also heard good things about Rod and Staff.
Please help me, I really want to go ahead and order my stuff, but this whole math thing is holding me up. All suggestions are welcome. Thank you and have a wonderful day! : )
Where do you complete most sit-down lessons?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Hello,
We are doing all our sit down lessons at the kitchen table. It is a large table and allows room to spread out. Also, it keeps my son separate from the childcare children.
My childcare space is my large living room, plus a large screened in porch right off the back of it. It is perfect! I can sit at the kitchen table, help my son with his school, and keep an eye on the children all at the same time. I have gates across the doorways that keep the young children from wandering into the kitchen.
Also, it works well because if my son is doing an art project or handwriting that takes a little more time, I can do the dishes and make sure the kitchen is straight while still being there for him.
We have a dining room, but I don't use it as a dining room. It is our office. I keep all "office" items in there, plus I have a wonderful cubbie unit that I have converted to organize all my homeschool stuff. It is working out great! Everything is labeled and easy to access. Again, it is right off the kitchen where we work, so it works perfect.
Eventually, I will put another smaller desk in the office area for my son to work at if he needs a little more quiet or focused time, but for now the kitchen table is working great!
Have a wonderful day! : )))