How's the Homeschooling Going?

Well, thanks for asking! It's going great!

I finally have chosen to believe all those veteran homeschooling moms: the best way to get started is to do one subject at a time, adding on as the teacher feels ready.

I started out (last year, was it?) with a full schedule for J and the girls. I planned for everything, from PE to music appreciation. Yeah, that lasted all of one or two days. So, I would start and stop, start and stop. It just felt all so...impossible.

Recently (last month?), I decided to pare "everything" down to one "thing" - phonics. I worked on doing phonics with J daily, right at the beginning of the girls' naptime. Reading, to me, is the most important and foundational skill a kid needs to learn. We go over one page in Phonics Pathways. It takes all of five minutes to complete. Once we got phonics down to daily, I added in math, but only Mon/Wed/Fri. This is where we currently are. I find that's it's so much more...possible...with this lighter, more realistic goal. If all goes to plan, I will begin handwriting after Christmas (third quarter) and geography, which is a pre-cursor to history, in the fourth quarter.

Also, V had asked me to start her on phonics last month. So, we're at the beginning of Phonics Pathways, working currently on the short vowel sounds. Already, I see that she learns differently. She needs the games, the books, the flashcards. J is so content and willing to do whatever, even if it's just reading through a list of words. But V needs interaction! My goal with her is to get phonics in daily.

H is working on colors. Right now, every color is purple. In fact, her baby doll is named Purple Baby. I got books on the colors yellow and blue from the library yesterday. I'm hoping to increase her palate :)

So, yes, homeschooling is going well.

Slow and steady wins the race, apparently!