I really want a curriculum that she will be excited about, and for Bethie, that's going to be a lot of hands-on, out of our seats work. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them, otherwise, stay tuned!
Beautiful Girl
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Getting Ready for Kindergarten!
Bethie is such an amazing little girl; it is truly a privilege to be her mother. We haven't done a whole lot of real "preschool" at home, but it looks like the things we have done and the things she has picked up on her own have her more than ready for Kindergarten. I plan to start in the fall, which is a year ahead of when she'd start if we put her into public school. I was originally going to go with the Sonlight program, but that is a very reading-intensive program, and Bethie is not one to sit and listen to stories often. She is a very hands-on, active, and energetic little girl, so I am going to take a deep breath and dive into curriculum creation. After spending a great deal of time online researching what she'll need to know by the end of Kindergarten, I feel like I have a good handle on this. I've ordered Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School to help me, and I plan to spend the summer getting ready.
I really want a curriculum that she will be excited about, and for Bethie, that's going to be a lot of hands-on, out of our seats work. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them, otherwise, stay tuned!
I really want a curriculum that she will be excited about, and for Bethie, that's going to be a lot of hands-on, out of our seats work. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them, otherwise, stay tuned!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
I May Have Whiplash
. . . from flip-flopping on this issue. As soon as I posted the last entry, I started to get really depressed. I just knew in my heart that homeschooling was where I wanted to be. After a lot of prayer, deliberation, and discussions with my long-suffering husband, I am right back to where I was - a homeschooling parent. This is what I want, it's what Jeff wants, and what we both feel will be the best thing for Bethie. I still have the issues I mentioned last time, but I've realized how incredibly anal I am about things - it's all or nothing with me. One of the beautiful things about homeschooling is that it is not - nor should it be - just a mini classroom. I am laughing a little bit at myself now for the schedules and grading sheet I made up a year ago. Not only is that just a little silly to me now, it was also putting a huge amount of stress on my shoulders. This is what I have come to realize:
- I am not in this alone. Jeff and I can homeschool together. If I can't take her on field trips during the week, we have all weekend for that. Jeff and I love museums and outings and things of that nature, so I should have thought of this before.
- It doesn't have to be a 5-day a week schedule. We can do an hour here and there, or plan out two days a week to homeschool and the rest of the time we can see how my body feels.
- I need to have a weekly goal sheet for myself so that I know what we should be doing, but it is silly to plan out two hours a day for Bethie. At this age, she is learning so much just by playing and exploring. I need to throw out my classroom rigidity and just enjoy learning with her.
Thank you for listening to me rant, for offering your opinions even when they differed from mine (I always love a good debate!), and for supporting me. I am so utterly blessed!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Not Keeping Up
I've not been doing well in keeping up with this blog! In my defense, it has been a crazy few months, especially the last one. Long story short, I have been sick and/or injured for the last several weeks and it has really gotten me to start taking stock of things.
We ended up hiring a girl to come in and help for the last two weeks so that I could recover. She helped me cook and clean, and she played with Bethie so I could just rest. It was a Godsend, but it also forced me to be honest about everything. As hard as it is, I have to accept the fact that I am never going to have the mobility I had before I had Bethie. I will not be able to work outside the home anymore, and injuries and illnesses are going to hit me hard, every time.
First of all, this makes me really question whether homeschooling is our best option. In my opinion, what makes a successful homeschooling program is bringing real life into the lessons - field trips, learning vacations, etc. I am no longer sure I'll be able to do this. I also do not want Bethie's exposure to the world to be limited to me and our house. I want her to see that Mommy needs a wheelchair and that's okay, but other people run marathons and climb trees, and that's okay, too. The main reason we hired our girl to come in was because Bethie wanted to sit next to me all day instead of going off and playing. I do fear that if I homeschool and then cannot get her out into the world, she will become less than she could because she wants to be with me.
Second, I have to redefine my life. All my life I wanted to be a teacher and a mother. I can no longer teach in a live classroom, and pretty soon my little girl will be ready for school. Since I am really leaning towards a charter school for her now, that means that in less than 18 months, I will have a huge chunk of time on my hands every day. I will still be a mother, of course, but the minute-to-minute, hands-on aspect of that is nearly done. I have raised a smart, creative, kind, funny, and independent little girl who will soon be part of the larger world. Without a class of my own or a little girl who needs me all the time, I will be floundering a little. I've already been dealing with feelings of uselessness and depression, and those things will only get worse if I don't redefine my normal.
Looking at it in a positive light, I have done an incredible job. My child is amazing. Seriously. I can be very proud of what she and I have accomplished together. I have given over half my life to the workforce, so I do not need to feel guilty that I can no longer contribute in that manner. That leaves me with something many people envy: free time to do something I enjoy. My goal for the next year and a half is to figure out where my passion lies and to start doing things for myself that I enjoy. When my daughter goes off to school, I don't want her to see a mother who is fighting back tears and who will sit in a slump all day til she gets home. What kid needs that pressure? I want her to see a proud, beaming mama that will be enriching her own life so that when we come back together at the end of the day, we can do so with joy in each other's achievements.
Those are my rambling thoughts for the day! If you have any ideas for my passion, please share!
We ended up hiring a girl to come in and help for the last two weeks so that I could recover. She helped me cook and clean, and she played with Bethie so I could just rest. It was a Godsend, but it also forced me to be honest about everything. As hard as it is, I have to accept the fact that I am never going to have the mobility I had before I had Bethie. I will not be able to work outside the home anymore, and injuries and illnesses are going to hit me hard, every time.
First of all, this makes me really question whether homeschooling is our best option. In my opinion, what makes a successful homeschooling program is bringing real life into the lessons - field trips, learning vacations, etc. I am no longer sure I'll be able to do this. I also do not want Bethie's exposure to the world to be limited to me and our house. I want her to see that Mommy needs a wheelchair and that's okay, but other people run marathons and climb trees, and that's okay, too. The main reason we hired our girl to come in was because Bethie wanted to sit next to me all day instead of going off and playing. I do fear that if I homeschool and then cannot get her out into the world, she will become less than she could because she wants to be with me.
Second, I have to redefine my life. All my life I wanted to be a teacher and a mother. I can no longer teach in a live classroom, and pretty soon my little girl will be ready for school. Since I am really leaning towards a charter school for her now, that means that in less than 18 months, I will have a huge chunk of time on my hands every day. I will still be a mother, of course, but the minute-to-minute, hands-on aspect of that is nearly done. I have raised a smart, creative, kind, funny, and independent little girl who will soon be part of the larger world. Without a class of my own or a little girl who needs me all the time, I will be floundering a little. I've already been dealing with feelings of uselessness and depression, and those things will only get worse if I don't redefine my normal.
Looking at it in a positive light, I have done an incredible job. My child is amazing. Seriously. I can be very proud of what she and I have accomplished together. I have given over half my life to the workforce, so I do not need to feel guilty that I can no longer contribute in that manner. That leaves me with something many people envy: free time to do something I enjoy. My goal for the next year and a half is to figure out where my passion lies and to start doing things for myself that I enjoy. When my daughter goes off to school, I don't want her to see a mother who is fighting back tears and who will sit in a slump all day til she gets home. What kid needs that pressure? I want her to see a proud, beaming mama that will be enriching her own life so that when we come back together at the end of the day, we can do so with joy in each other's achievements.
Those are my rambling thoughts for the day! If you have any ideas for my passion, please share!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Homeschooling
Now that we have a few weeks of homeschooling under our belt, it's time to make some changes. I expected to make changes, of course, but I was thinking I might be expecting too much of Bethie. As it turns out, she is horribly bored already, and we need to speed things up.
We started out with a "Letter of the Week" concept, and I had created school days that very closely mimicked a regular preschool - lots of songs, hands-on activities, stories, etc. What Bethie needs, apparently, is a lot less of what I consider to be those filler activities and more hardcore learning. If we sit down and try to learn a song she just rolls her eyes and sighs at me (seriously. We call her a "threenager), but if we sing a song as we're doing laundry or cleaning her room, for example, she's all over it. Same thing with the art projects and hands-on activities. Within the parameters of the school day, she wants nothing to do with them, but if I ask her if she wants to do a project at any other point, she thinks it's great fun. So, forget the songs and dances and crafts in school. Those are things we do around here anyway, so from now on, school is about reading stories and working on our letters and numbers.
Bethie will sit and write her letters and numbers over and over and love it. She plays with her BambinoLuk (http://www.thinktonight.com/bambinoLUK_Starter_Pack_p/lukb4804.htm), which is this incredibly cool math activity, and right up her smart little alley. She is also sounding out words. Yep, my three-and-a-half year old is starting to read and spell. We've been keeping it to simple three- and four-letter words (cat, dog, farm, etc.), but she is getting quite good at sounding them out. She also loves to be given a word and then to figure out how to spell it by listening to the sounds. I am amazed by her.
We also read stories all throughout the day, and she has excellent comprehension skills and an incredible memory. I used to worry that I was expecting too much of her with school, and now I worry that I won't be able to challenge her enough, which is not a bad problem to have!
We started out with a "Letter of the Week" concept, and I had created school days that very closely mimicked a regular preschool - lots of songs, hands-on activities, stories, etc. What Bethie needs, apparently, is a lot less of what I consider to be those filler activities and more hardcore learning. If we sit down and try to learn a song she just rolls her eyes and sighs at me (seriously. We call her a "threenager), but if we sing a song as we're doing laundry or cleaning her room, for example, she's all over it. Same thing with the art projects and hands-on activities. Within the parameters of the school day, she wants nothing to do with them, but if I ask her if she wants to do a project at any other point, she thinks it's great fun. So, forget the songs and dances and crafts in school. Those are things we do around here anyway, so from now on, school is about reading stories and working on our letters and numbers.
Bethie will sit and write her letters and numbers over and over and love it. She plays with her BambinoLuk (http://www.thinktonight.com/bambinoLUK_Starter_Pack_p/lukb4804.htm), which is this incredibly cool math activity, and right up her smart little alley. She is also sounding out words. Yep, my three-and-a-half year old is starting to read and spell. We've been keeping it to simple three- and four-letter words (cat, dog, farm, etc.), but she is getting quite good at sounding them out. She also loves to be given a word and then to figure out how to spell it by listening to the sounds. I am amazed by her.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Summer Is Wrapping Up . . .
. . . and we could not be happier! Summers in Texas are just not happy times for me. I am allergic to nearly everything outside, and temperatures in the 100's and well over are just, for lack of a more descriptive word, icky. The temperatures are now more in the 80's than not, and it makes it much nicer to be outside.
In looking back at my last entry, I had to laugh. We did start our homeschooling curriculum, but were quickly sidelined by illnesses, minor injuries, and a general summer- and heat-induced laziness. Bethie was potty trained, until she decided she was afraid of the toilet, and now we're back in the struggle.
She still uses a soothie to sleep at night, which doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as it bothers the rest of the world. I am aware that she is 3.5, but I am also aware that when she does not have that little piece of rubber, she sleeps maybe 5 hours a night as opposed to her normal 10 - 12. Naps fall away entirely, and my happy little imp turns into a whiny little mess. People have insisted that I need to "wait it out" and "show her who's boss". At one point this summer, we waited it out for nearly a month. I showed her that Mommy and Daddy are in charge. No one was happy. This is not the way to show Bethie that this is a safe, secure place where she is loved unconditionally. When she has her soothie, she is asleep within minutes. It falls out of her mouth within minutes of that, and she sleeps happily all night long. I am not worried about her teeth, and I am not worried that she will take her soothie to college. She is a bright, beautiful, happy, funny, joyous little girl, and that is what matters to me.
I am not as happy with the pull ups. The potty training is purely a motivation thing. So far, she just does not want to go, and there is no force on earth that can force a person to evacuate their bowels or bladder, at least not without causing bodily or psychological harm. We have tried sticker charts, immediate treats, explaining to her what a big girl she is, and every other suggestion we have heard. We have NOT gone the negative-enforcement route (i.e., punishing her when she goes in her pull up), and we will not start. What I did tell her was that she has to be a big girl and wear her big girl panties before she starts school. She is so excited to start school and to be a big girl, and since we are homeschooling, I can start later if need be. Right now I have 27 weeks of curriculum - with us having school 4 days a week - to get through in a 37-week year, so we have plenty of leeway. I am just hoping that this is the motivation she needs. She loves stories and arts and crafts, and I've been talking up school in a big way.
Since home schools in Texas are considered private schools, I have taken that to heart. I named our school after my most-beloved nana, and I have decided to go with a structured preschool kind of day. I tend to let things slide if I am not organized, so I am going to run a very organized school. I am also going to be giving Bethie regular grades like she would be getting in school - U, S, N in the lower grades and A - F in the later grades - as that will just make it that much easier when she goes to college. I am going to put my college degree to use! I am attaching some pictures of my little Bethie Boo here, along with our school day agenda and my grading rubric just because I am so pleased with them!
Bethie and I are heading to Fargo and to Bemidji between September 29 and October 13, and we are really excited to see everyone. I made Bethie a chain to help her count down the days til we go, along with pictures of the immediate family so she starts recognizing everyone. Jeff can't come with us because he has to work, but since I'm tutoring, my summer vacation goes from August - November. We're also figuring out when Jeff and Bethie can head to Chicago, but it will likely be after I've started tutoring again, so I will not be able to go. Hopefully soon we'll be able to start coordinating vacation days so we can all go to Fargo and to Chicago. I miss Chicago in the worst way. Go, White Sox!
Oh! Bethie had her first dance class yesterday! She did really well considering it was her first-ever class and the first place where she was not the star of the show, and she looked really cute in her outfit. She liked the tap more than the ballet, but I think we made the right choice. She's attending the 3/4 year old tap and ballet combo class at Miss Jane's Academy for Dance Excellence. We've decided to hold off on gymnastics for now, and let her just enjoy dance classes. If she really enjoys it, we can decide to let her go more than once a week, or even take up jazz dancing or some other type as well.
Now that I've talked your ear off, here are some pictures. Hope your summer was magnificent!
Betty Lou
Locke Catholic
School
Betty Lou
Locke Catholic
School
S = Satisfactory
In looking back at my last entry, I had to laugh. We did start our homeschooling curriculum, but were quickly sidelined by illnesses, minor injuries, and a general summer- and heat-induced laziness. Bethie was potty trained, until she decided she was afraid of the toilet, and now we're back in the struggle.
She still uses a soothie to sleep at night, which doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as it bothers the rest of the world. I am aware that she is 3.5, but I am also aware that when she does not have that little piece of rubber, she sleeps maybe 5 hours a night as opposed to her normal 10 - 12. Naps fall away entirely, and my happy little imp turns into a whiny little mess. People have insisted that I need to "wait it out" and "show her who's boss". At one point this summer, we waited it out for nearly a month. I showed her that Mommy and Daddy are in charge. No one was happy. This is not the way to show Bethie that this is a safe, secure place where she is loved unconditionally. When she has her soothie, she is asleep within minutes. It falls out of her mouth within minutes of that, and she sleeps happily all night long. I am not worried about her teeth, and I am not worried that she will take her soothie to college. She is a bright, beautiful, happy, funny, joyous little girl, and that is what matters to me.
I am not as happy with the pull ups. The potty training is purely a motivation thing. So far, she just does not want to go, and there is no force on earth that can force a person to evacuate their bowels or bladder, at least not without causing bodily or psychological harm. We have tried sticker charts, immediate treats, explaining to her what a big girl she is, and every other suggestion we have heard. We have NOT gone the negative-enforcement route (i.e., punishing her when she goes in her pull up), and we will not start. What I did tell her was that she has to be a big girl and wear her big girl panties before she starts school. She is so excited to start school and to be a big girl, and since we are homeschooling, I can start later if need be. Right now I have 27 weeks of curriculum - with us having school 4 days a week - to get through in a 37-week year, so we have plenty of leeway. I am just hoping that this is the motivation she needs. She loves stories and arts and crafts, and I've been talking up school in a big way.
Since home schools in Texas are considered private schools, I have taken that to heart. I named our school after my most-beloved nana, and I have decided to go with a structured preschool kind of day. I tend to let things slide if I am not organized, so I am going to run a very organized school. I am also going to be giving Bethie regular grades like she would be getting in school - U, S, N in the lower grades and A - F in the later grades - as that will just make it that much easier when she goes to college. I am going to put my college degree to use! I am attaching some pictures of my little Bethie Boo here, along with our school day agenda and my grading rubric just because I am so pleased with them!
Bethie and I are heading to Fargo and to Bemidji between September 29 and October 13, and we are really excited to see everyone. I made Bethie a chain to help her count down the days til we go, along with pictures of the immediate family so she starts recognizing everyone. Jeff can't come with us because he has to work, but since I'm tutoring, my summer vacation goes from August - November. We're also figuring out when Jeff and Bethie can head to Chicago, but it will likely be after I've started tutoring again, so I will not be able to go. Hopefully soon we'll be able to start coordinating vacation days so we can all go to Fargo and to Chicago. I miss Chicago in the worst way. Go, White Sox!
Oh! Bethie had her first dance class yesterday! She did really well considering it was her first-ever class and the first place where she was not the star of the show, and she looked really cute in her outfit. She liked the tap more than the ballet, but I think we made the right choice. She's attending the 3/4 year old tap and ballet combo class at Miss Jane's Academy for Dance Excellence. We've decided to hold off on gymnastics for now, and let her just enjoy dance classes. If she really enjoys it, we can decide to let her go more than once a week, or even take up jazz dancing or some other type as well.
Now that I've talked your ear off, here are some pictures. Hope your summer was magnificent!
Preschool Daily Lesson Plan: Tuesday,
September 4, 2012
(the school day will be about 1.5 hours)
Good Morning!
|
Morning Prayer
|
 “Jesus
Loves Me” |
Story: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
|
Letter of the Week: A
|
Saint of the Week: Saint Anne
|
ABC Song
|
Grab Bag
|
Math
|
Bible Story: God Makes a
Beautiful World
|
Bible Verse of the
Week: Matthew
7:7
|
Story: From Head to Toe
|
 Handwriting |
Craft: Angel Handprint
|
 Song of
the Week: Mairzy
Doats |
Sensory Activity: “A” Treasure
Hunt (rice)
|
 Snack
Time |
Story: Goodnight Moon
|
 “This
Little Light of Mine” |
Ending Prayer – Rosary
|
Elizabeth Grob Grade: Preschool School
Year: 2012 – 2013
Attendance Progress Key
Days in School Year
|
N
= Needs Improvement
U
= Unsatisfactory
PERSONAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
|
1st Trimester
|
2nd Trimester
|
3rd Trimester
|
Yearly Average
|
Demonstrates self-confidence
|
||||
Demonstrates self-control
|
||||
Contributes to class activities
|
||||
Follows school and class rules
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
LEARNING SKILLS
|
1st Trimester
|
2nd Trimester
|
3rd Trimester
|
Yearly Average
|
Understands and follows directions
|
||||
Completes activities in appropriate time
|
||||
Works independently when appropriate
|
||||
Demonstrates adequate attention span for activities
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
MATH SKILLS
|
1st Trimester
|
2nd Trimester
|
3rd Trimester
|
Yearly Average
|
Recognizes basic shapes
|
||||
Creates and extends patterns
|
||||
Demonstrates skill in ordering and classifying
|
||||
Understands concepts of more, less, equal
|
||||
Demonstrates ability to count to and identify
numbers to 20
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
1st Trimester
|
2nd Trimester
|
3rd Trimester
|
Yearly Average
|
|
Demonstrates ability to recognize all letters of
alphabet and their sounds
|
||||
Demonstrates ability to sound out words
|
||||
Demonstrates ability to draw basic shapes
|
||||
Demonstrates ability to write letters
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
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