Week 6 of Homeschooling…and I’m Loving It

Week 6: September 21-25

I’m loving homeschooling so far! The mornings can be challenging and frustrating, but at the end of the day, I think to myself, I love this. I’m not thinking, What have I gotten myself into? I’m not cut out for this. Truthfully, I actually had those thoughts regularly, shortly (or maybe 6 months?!) after welcoming Molly into the world. Maybe that’s why I have felt at peace with homeschooling. As a parent, I don’t currently have doubts about whether or not I should have had children. And while I sometimes struggle with my ability to live a life worthy of my calling as a mother, I know being “cut out for it” has nothing to do with it. That’s why the hindrances–the impatience, unmet expectations, anger, exhaustion, the unknown, disappointment in curriculum–none of it has left me second-guessing the decision to educate my children at home. Like I’ve said in several previous posts, others who have gone before me made me very aware of the bumpy road ahead. It’s no secret that a typical homeschool day doesn’t look like the pictures on Pinterest.

Logic of English: Foundations, Level A cursive

I love being a part of Molly’s learning, of guiding and teaching her in these beginning stages of reading and writing and math skills. And I love learning alongside Molly–the Spanish, art appreciation, poetry, nature study, classical music and great composers, the things of which I know very little, the things I must learn too. I love witnessing the “aha” moments, when what was such a struggle one day clicks the next, and she shouts, “I did it! I can do it! I’m getting to be a big kid!” with a profound look of satisfaction on her face.

Mac doesn’t miss a single Spanish lesson. We used Calico Spanish this week, and it’s another thing we’re loving! The short repetitive videos of songs, dialogue, and stories, along with the flash cards, have been engaging and simple.

I love when Mac tries to recite poems with us. He really does! And I love wondering if his sudden use of complete sentences has anything to do with his sudden exposure, which is unlike anything he experienced before, to the expressive language we’ve found in poetry, read-alouds, and music. I love that he hums along to the classical music we’ve been listening to, and I love that he sometimes walks into the room and says, “Hola.”

Yes, I’m loving homeschooling.

Art: We talked about different types of lines . . .
. . . after reading Lines That Wiggle, which we found at the library and was a PERFECT introduction to the lesson. Then Molly practiced lines on a chalkboard . . .
. . . and added them to white paper with oil pastels.
After discussing the colors of the rainbow, Molly filled in the spaces with the appropriate watercolors.
Playing a “beginning sounds” game from the Florida Center for Reading Research website
Our first attempt at nature journaling
Molly drew the leaves we collected for our chlorophyll lesson
We removed the chlorophyll from these leaves by boiling them and soaking them in alcohol. We had read that this process would also turn the leaves their true color. However, it just left them bleached. They were almost completely white a couple hours later. But the water was green and that was pretty neat.
This social studies lesson was on responsibility (also our virtue this month) and the roles in the family. We made use of last week’s family portrait.
After reading about the roles and responsibilities of the family members in Richard Scarry’s What People Do All Day, Molly drew pictures of a responsibility of each person in her immediate family.
(Dave is currently working on finishing our basement; hence, Daddy gets wood.)
The Ingalls family (the peg dolls my dear friend painted for Molly) now speaks Spanish when we practice greetings.

Our Week in Review

Morning Basket Activities:

Reading: Logic of English—Foundations Level A, Lessons 11-13
  • Phonemic awareness: initial sounds, initial consonant blends, segmenting, vowel sounds
  • Handwriting: cursive qu
  • Phonics: reading qu /kw/
Math: Dimensions Math (by Singapore Math) Level KA, Lessons 3-7 to 3-11
  • Writing numerals 6 to 10
  • Ordinal positions
  • One more than
Spanish: Calico Spanish–Level A, Unit 2
Read-Aloud: Old Mother West Wind
Science: Exploring Nature with Children, The Autumnal Equinox
Art:
  • Read Lines That Wiggle
  • Line watercolor painting
Social Studies:
  • What People Do All Day
  • Family roles illustrations

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