What exactly does Kindergarten look like in our home?
It has actually evolved quite a bit since we started in August, but over the weeks and months we have found our rhythm and routine. No days look exactly the same. With two other little ones sea barnacled to my legs, much of our time actually feels rather unproductive. Motherhood and homeschooling does not come with a comprehensible check-list of what equals accomplishment and success. But, at least with the schooling, we work little by little each day and I know that over time we are progressing.
I have been trying to establish a regular morning routine that includes both Dominic and Gabriel (and sometimes even Nicholas!) After breakfast, chores and a little playtime (on Friday's we go to mass instead), we start our days with our Memory Work. Our memory work consists of listening to hymns, reciting poetry and singing along with some of the Catholic Schoolhouse curriculum. Mostly we have been memorizing Catechism and scripture, Latin prayers, simple geography, skip-counting and some Language Arts rules. We also memorize some French words and phrases. All of this is very casual; in fact in only takes about 20-minutes and the kids are usually pushing cars along the couch or building a lego creation while we memorize. I hope that our memorization sticks with them and helps create some pegs for real-learning as they get older.
By this midmorning time Nicholas is usually down for his morning nap, so after a snack I sit on the floor with the older boys and read-aloud to them. We read from our picture Bible, followed by our "storybook of the week" and then we branch off into two or three various other picture books that I borrow from the library. We have been reading through books based on a US History timeline this year, and also through several science topics such as animals, weather, the human body, and energy. We've studied a few saints, music composers and artists as well. It's incredible how much you can find in picture books. And of course we also enjoy many beautiful literary children books and fairy tales!
From this point I try to sprinkle in Math, Handwriting, Reading, Religion and Art whenever I can. Lessons for each topic range from about 5 to 15-minutes. On easy days they happen entirely during the baby's morning nap, while Gabriel plays independently for some time. Other times we squeeze it in in small doses during day and into the little boys' afternoon nap.
Lunch typically happens at the park along with a good-hour or so of outdoor time. We often run errands during this time too, if needed.
If we are finished with our lessons, during Gabriel and Nicholas' afternoon nap I will try to read-aloud to Dominic from chapter books, or if I need the time to work or rest, he enjoys audible audiobooks for an hour or so. He is not reading independently yet but with read alouds and audiobooks he can happily immerse himself into beautiful books and stories. For read-aloud encouragement, I highly recommend this podcast to anyone!
And that's about it right now! In the late-afternoon the kids have some extra-curricular activities or else they head to grandmaman's house two-afternoons a week while I teach ballet.
I had so many doubts about keeping Dominic home for school this year. It feels very counter-cultural. The public elementary school on our street is one of the top schools in our county, making me feel even more like a crazy-granola-type.
That being said, although homeschooling is no joke and has had its challenges, I have also been blown away by how much GOOD has come out of it. From an educational perspective it truly is excellent; for the youngest students it is hard to beat one-on-one learning. I move at Dominic's pace and only that. This means that compared to traditional schooling we are ahead in some subjects and behind in others, but ultimately it is enjoyable because it is tailored entirely to his needs. Short lessons allows for plenty of wiggle time and playtime breaks. Learning has become integrated into our entire days and weekends. It is just something we do, regardless of when "school hours" are.
Most importantly though, home education has blessed our family this year with more together-time, closer sibling relationships and a created family culture through our common learning, read-alouds and poetry recitations. It has given us the flexibility to choose very good things for all three of our children, including time spent outdoors, unstructured free play to develop other interests and creativity, and naps and early bedtimes (because these is extremely important when you have a handful of little ones in the house!)
I do not believe that this is the only way to educate, and I am not even committed to homeschooling forever! Who knows what the future will bring. We will evaluate this choice for each school year, with each child. I am just grateful for the wonderful experience we had with Kindergarten this year. It is an honor to spend time with my children and to witness them in these beginning learning stages. I hope that this little glimpse of our daily routine reminds me of what a blessed year we have had.
By this midmorning time Nicholas is usually down for his morning nap, so after a snack I sit on the floor with the older boys and read-aloud to them. We read from our picture Bible, followed by our "storybook of the week" and then we branch off into two or three various other picture books that I borrow from the library. We have been reading through books based on a US History timeline this year, and also through several science topics such as animals, weather, the human body, and energy. We've studied a few saints, music composers and artists as well. It's incredible how much you can find in picture books. And of course we also enjoy many beautiful literary children books and fairy tales!
From this point I try to sprinkle in Math, Handwriting, Reading, Religion and Art whenever I can. Lessons for each topic range from about 5 to 15-minutes. On easy days they happen entirely during the baby's morning nap, while Gabriel plays independently for some time. Other times we squeeze it in in small doses during day and into the little boys' afternoon nap.
Lunch typically happens at the park along with a good-hour or so of outdoor time. We often run errands during this time too, if needed.
If we are finished with our lessons, during Gabriel and Nicholas' afternoon nap I will try to read-aloud to Dominic from chapter books, or if I need the time to work or rest, he enjoys audible audiobooks for an hour or so. He is not reading independently yet but with read alouds and audiobooks he can happily immerse himself into beautiful books and stories. For read-aloud encouragement, I highly recommend this podcast to anyone!
And that's about it right now! In the late-afternoon the kids have some extra-curricular activities or else they head to grandmaman's house two-afternoons a week while I teach ballet.
I had so many doubts about keeping Dominic home for school this year. It feels very counter-cultural. The public elementary school on our street is one of the top schools in our county, making me feel even more like a crazy-granola-type.
That being said, although homeschooling is no joke and has had its challenges, I have also been blown away by how much GOOD has come out of it. From an educational perspective it truly is excellent; for the youngest students it is hard to beat one-on-one learning. I move at Dominic's pace and only that. This means that compared to traditional schooling we are ahead in some subjects and behind in others, but ultimately it is enjoyable because it is tailored entirely to his needs. Short lessons allows for plenty of wiggle time and playtime breaks. Learning has become integrated into our entire days and weekends. It is just something we do, regardless of when "school hours" are.
Most importantly though, home education has blessed our family this year with more together-time, closer sibling relationships and a created family culture through our common learning, read-alouds and poetry recitations. It has given us the flexibility to choose very good things for all three of our children, including time spent outdoors, unstructured free play to develop other interests and creativity, and naps and early bedtimes (because these is extremely important when you have a handful of little ones in the house!)
I do not believe that this is the only way to educate, and I am not even committed to homeschooling forever! Who knows what the future will bring. We will evaluate this choice for each school year, with each child. I am just grateful for the wonderful experience we had with Kindergarten this year. It is an honor to spend time with my children and to witness them in these beginning learning stages. I hope that this little glimpse of our daily routine reminds me of what a blessed year we have had.
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