Well, we made it. We completed our very first semester of homeschooling! And holy crap–there were a few times when I didn’t think that we would survive. Somehow, we were able to muster on and finish up the semester. We aren’t anywhere close to where I had planned to be, but I should have listened to everyone who told me to throw the plans out… especially for our first year. I have a bad habit of overplanning, and that’s exactly what I did back in August.
When I think about what Kindergarten is for kids who go to school, I think about how it’s basically just them learning to go to school–getting into the routine and all that. Well, that’s what I’ve been focusing on for Logan– learning how to adjust to more structured homeschool activities. I’ve also had to work on my expectations and perfectionism a bit and learn how to balance my classroom brain with my hippy dippy side. This homeschool adventure has been just as much about my learning as it has been about Logan’s. And for that, I am grateful. I’m already feeling more calm, more confident in my choices, and sometimes I feel like I have a little bit of a handle on this crazy life of mine.
This semester we focused on strengthening his pre-reading skills and we have just recently started hitting his reading curriculum pretty hard. When I first introduced the curriculum back in August, he just wasn’t ready. After many tears (from the both of us) and many failed attempts, I shelved my beloved (expensive) curriculum and went back to what I do best– throwing together Pinterest type, hands on activities. We focused on strengthening pre-reading skills with these activities and used some technology, since Logan loves video games so much–seriously, check out Teach Your Monster to Read if you haven’t already! Right after Thanksgiving I tried our curriculum again and it finally clicked. We were able to get through an entire lesson in one sitting! Hooray! I’m hoping that the momentum that we had going before Winter Break will pick back up when we resume schooling in January. Since our Pinterest inspired activities worked so well in building momentum, my plan for January is to use the curriculum as a framework for what to study and then add in additional hands on activities that are more tailored to Logan’s learning style. See, this is why I love homeschooling! Being able to adjust our learning based on learning styles and interests is the best thing ever.
A few photos from our reading adventures… getting these kids outside is pretty much my goal for most activities. Well, when the weather cooperates.
For Atticus, he participates when he chooses to. Most of them time when we are doing something hands on and fun, he will join in. Here he is identifying letter sounds by jumping on them when I call them out…
And here’s a video I took of our last reading lesson before the holidays.
For Math, we have been chugging along in our curriculum. We focused really hard this semester on learning how to write numbers and developing really good number sense using my giant hoard of math manipulatives. I have a serious issue with hoarding school stuff, haha. Logan can now successfully write his numbers (though that 8 sure is tricky) and count to 100 with a little prompting. We also worked hard on counting out objects to 20, matching number to quantity, and a little bit of measuring through our cooking activities. He seems to really enjoy math so far, so I’m excited to see where we end up by the end of the next semester.
When we weren’t doing Math or Reading, we were doing an assortment of projects. We started the semester hitting geography and social studies pretty hard. We learned all about the continent of North America through reading books, watching documentaries, cooking recipes from different cultures, and creating– like our Grey Wolf diorama, and the papel picado we made while we were studying Mexico. All of the kids really enjoy project based learning and I’m hoping to include more of it as we continue through our studies. We ended the semester with a short study of space and a field trip to the Perot to view their newest exhibit about the International Space Station. That was so much fun!
A few photos… we got to see a partial eclipse! 
We read the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series so we baked bread the way Laura did. They boys loved it!
We combined our literature study (Little House on the Prairie) with our science lessons about grey wolves of North America. The boys worked together and created a diorama of the Little House in the Big Woods and included some grey wolves that they made out of clay and painted!
We’ve also been super involved in our homeschool group. We go to Park Day, Little Adventurer’s Class, participate in Nature Club, attend a reading group (where Logan has to give a presentation on a book we read), and occasionally Hiking Club and Lego Club if our schedule permits. We also attended Fall Co-Op, several field trips, and participated in a couple of community service projects We have been BUSY!
Some shots from our Little Adventurer’s class…
Hiking club friends…
Field trip to a dairy farm!
Co-op fun!
I am on the community service committee for our homeschool group and for our winter project, we chose to have the kids create holiday ornaments and door hangers for the residents of a local nursing home. Right before Christmas, we had the kiddos deliver the ornaments and sing a couple of Christmas carols. It was a great experience for the kids!
And last but not least, a little video of one of Logan’s presentations at Ready Readers. We read a book about owls and dissected owl pellets. He talked to the kids about the book he read and took some bones to show them. He did such a great job!
I have lots of great ideas about this upcoming semester swirling around in my head. I’ll update when I get some solid plans! 🙂