Kindergarten Homeschool

We have been doing kindergarten at home for a month now and we are really liking it! There are a variety of reasons why we chose to homeschool Elanor this year, which I have mentioned before, but the two biggest reasons are that only full day kindergarten is available, and I want Elanor and Alice to be close (even if they are four years apart) and going to school all day would make that more difficult. I do not think we will homeschool for every year, but it will always be an option if Elanor would like to do it.

So, I wanted to explain our curriculum/schedule as it could possibly be helpful to others. 

Here is our schedule:

Monday: Journal, Reading/Writing, Art

Tuesday: Journal, Math, Music

Wednesday: Journal, Geography/History

Thursday: Journal, Science

Friday: Journal, open for field trips/play/hikes or a day do a subject we missed during the week.

Most everything also has to do with the country we are studying that month. For example, we learned about Nigeria in September and Elanor used pastels and scissors to make a really cool mask based on Nigerian masks. We also read and talked about one of Chinua Achebe's poems for reading/writing, listened to traditional Nigerian music, learned about the animals and landscapes of that country and learned basics such as the capital and flag. 

We chose the countries by trying to get a country on each continent, or close to and also learn about the US and our neighbors. Here is what we chose:

September: Nigeria

October: Canada

November: United States

December: Norway/Sweden

January: India

February: Peru

March: Great Britain

April: China

May: Mexico

June: Greece

We also chose a natural disaster to learn about each quarter (Earth quakes, Hurricanes, tornados, volcanos) and weather for the corresponding season. 

For the journal, Elanor writes the date, her name, our theme for the school year (Seek Learning), and one to three sentences about anything she would like to write and then draws a picture to go with her writing. Reading/writing we do things like read/memorize poetry, have spelling tests, and learn about how to write a story (story arch/mountain). Elanor can already read really well, so also reads during quiet time (I highly recommend "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"). For math I use the Miquon Orange math book with Cusinaire rods. Elanor loves it and it is actually a really fun math book. For geography/history, we learn about the country we are currently studying and also work on memorizing the continents. For science, so far we have learned about the water cycle and about why leaves fall from the trees--also hikes. I also use the "What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know" book for some guidance and they have some fun games and projects in there as well.

Elanor is also playing on soccer team and is in Sandy High School's play, "Annie", as the orphan, Molly. I am also doing the choreography for the play. So even with homeschool, we are pretty busy and Elanor is getting plenty of socialization. It has been really great to be able to have the freedom to go on adventures, which will really be missed if Elanor does go to school next year or something.

I also believe in kids getting a lot of playtime and time outside and homeschool allows for this. So for us, it has been really great so far! However, I also think it is good for kids to learn from other people and be around a variety of children, so Elanor will go to public school at some point.

And Elanor really is a great sister and she and Alice are developing a wonderful relationship. Also, as great as homeschool has been, it has been hard too. Kids are hard, but I have created a schedule with enough flexibility, so that when something comes up, or we have a hard day, we still have time to recover and get some school done each day. Hopefully, for those that homeschool or are considering it, this has been helpful!

The Weekly Photo

The Weekly Photo (s)

Yeah, I'm a bit late again and I hardly post actual posts. This blog is starting to be pretty pathetic. Oh, well. I will keep trying.

This should have been posted on September 19th:

We picked a ton of apples at my parents house and turned them into applesauce, apple crisps, apple pies, etc.

This should have been posted on September 26th:

We went camping with Tyler's family (including his parents, brother and girlfriend, and aunt, uncle and cousins). It was a lot of fun and we soaked up that last bit of summer.

Should have been posted yesterday, the 3rd:

 School in the morning--and this might be one of my favorite pictures ever.

The Weekly Photo

Hooray! I am actually posting this on a Monday!

This was taken for the 1st day of school last week. I was taking pictures of Elanor and Alice sat down and wanted to be in it. It was just too cute.

We are doing homeschool for kindergarten and I will write more on that in another post!

The Weekly Photo(s)

I have so many fairly valid excuses for not blogging (the play, Utah trip, two weddings-one being my brothers, the play again, guests staying at our house), but still I have been fairly pathetic. 

Here is over a months worth of Weekly Photos:

Should have been posted July 25th:

Swimming with Mema

Should have been posted August 1st:

Elanor lost her 1st tooth!

Harry Potter party!! Rowena Ravenclaw, Prof. Quirrell, Hedwig and Hermione.

Should have been posted August 8th:

We went hiking with friends and family the morning before the last show of As You Like It. Also, that play was super fun to do, and was just really good.

Should have been posted on August 15th:

We went on a trip to Utah to visit friends and family. It was soon much fun. I have missed so many of my friends!

Should have been posted August 22nd:

We finished the library summer reading program!

Should have been posted August 29th:

My brother, Ian, married the lovely Kendal!

Should have been posted this past Monday, the 5th:

Hiking in the Gorge.

The Weekly Photo

I'm in a play! I am really excited about this one. The past few plays I have been in with my mom (Black Swan Youth Theatre) have been small parts and most of the cast has been high school or younger. However, for this play, since it is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare, she opened up auditions to anyone she has previously worked with. Most of the cast members are out of high school and several of them are from my group of actors growing up. It is so great to act with them again and it has been so fun!

If you are in Portland and would like to see the show, buy tickets here:

https://blackswanyouththeatre.wordpress.com/tickets/

You really should come, it is in a park, the play is "As You Like It" (so funny and pretty much everything you could want in a play), and I and some truly great people and actors are in it!

The San Juan Islands and Cedric

I do not feel like I have posted much about little trips or things we have been doing lately, so let's delve into this San Juans trip!

I love the San Juan Islands and had been itching to go for awhile, so my sister and I decided to go there and make a trip of it for Cedric's birthday. It was fun to camp with all of our family (minus our brothers)!

We took a late ferry over to Orcas Island (9pm), but it was the most beautiful ferry ride I have ever been on, so it was worth it. It was sunset and the sky was all mauve and pink. There were also some double rainbows. It was one of those moments where one feels like all is right in the world because it was so incredibly beautiful. These pictures do not do it justice at all, and I forgot my camera, so these are just from my phone.

We spent time on Orcas Island hiking, early morning swimming, roasting marshmallows and playing on the beach. It was pretty lovely! I don't have many pictures as my phone died and we did not have cell service anyways.

 Elanor loves her Aunt Jessie.

There was this great tower at the top of Mount Constitution and Elanor had a Rapunzel moment.

Babies on the ferry ride back to the mainland.

With Nan.

We had Cedric's party at Jess and Ricky's house in Bellingham. Jess made this lovely Hummingbird cake by Jamie Oliver.

 Ced loved his cake!

I was so excited about this present! Cedric has these pajamas that have timelord type pocket watches on them and I call him a baby timelord every time he wears them. Ced often repeats words, though they are not in his everyday vocabulary. So, one of those times he repeated timelord and it was the cutest thing. So when I was trying to think of a gift for him, I had pinned a doll on my pinterest a year or more ago and went to the etsy shop where the doll was from. The doll maker will do custom dolls and they are not too expensive either, especially compared to other doll makers on etsy. So, she made this 11th Doctor doll and he turned out so adorable. I went with the 11th Doctor as his clothes would be the cutest on a doll. He also has red suspenders under his jacket. The doll shop is called Roving Ovine, if you're curious and I will probably buy from her again as these dolls are so cute and so well made!

It was a fun little trip and I am so glad we were able to go and celebrate Cedric (and Ricky, as he had a birthday too!).

Weekly Photos

Oh, you know, late again. I am having the hardest time staying on top of this blog with trips, holidays, family, play practice (that is right, I'm in a play!), and more horrible national news. Whew. But, people keep telling me they love reading this little blog, so I will try and keep at it. 

Here are some Weekly Photos:

Should have been posted June 20th:

Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day to my favorite Tyler!

Should have been posted June 27th:

 We went up to the San Juan Islands and Bellingham to celebrate little Cedric's (my nephew) 1st birthday!

Should have been posted July 4th:

 We had a quick visit with my grandpa, aunt, cousin and her kids. These kids are 3rd cousins or maybe 4th. Their mom is my mom's 1st cousin. The point is that they are cousins.

And for today!:

4th of July fun!

We spent the day swimming in Mema and Papa's pool,  the early evening at a good friend's party, and s'mores and sparklers with my parents to finish off a fun day.

And hopefully you will hear from me soon!