Homeschooling Progress

This year started out ambitiously, then I settled into a routine, and that has now devolved into barely getting anything done. 

The last group of books that I was deliberate about noting.

By this point in the year, we should be on letter L.  The last letter I remember doing both a book and a song for was H, and the last letter I read a book about with Miss F was J.  So I spent Sunday going back into the H-I-J-K group of letters, then we start again fresh with L this week.

Part of the problem was that I have to request the books we use from the library and I hadn't gotten them for one reason or another.  The other problem was that once Miss F saw one or two videos, she didn't want to get off of the computer.  That led to ugly terrible two style tantrums, which I had neither the energy nor inclination to deal with after taking care of Miss C.  But we've brought home our art supplies that had been camping out at my dad's in preparation of an "impending move" that is appearing to be less and less likely.  I plan on making a good art project with the letters we're working on now.

The Letter C

This week we learned about the letter C.  We read It's C! by Oona Gaarder-Juntti a couple of times.  We talked about words that started with the letter C (like Miss F's little sister's name!).  We watched The Letter C Song and C is for Cookie from Sesame Street. Everything's been really lax, but today I decided to do something more special and purposeful:  chocolate chip cookies in the shape of the letter C!  What could be more c-tastic than that?

We made the cookies together - I'd scoop ingredients and Miss F would dump them in the KitchenAid.  We even had a learning moment for both of us when I was at the cabinet getting more ingredients and she turned the mixer on all the way up to 10!  I haven't moved like that in a while - I was hurdling toys left and right in the 20 feet to the mixer.

 

We made three C's and an A because Miss F requested it.  I'm posting a before picture because the after picture was (unsurprisingly) four large blobs of cookie not at all resembling the letters we made.  They were tasty though, even if I might be regretting pumping her full of sugar an hour before naptime... :o)

 

Cheese!

The Letter B

Our letter of the week "lessons" have settled into a flow where every day has at least a reference of the letter, and it's very laid back. On Monday, we read Ben, Billy, and the Birdhouse by Cecilia Mendin and Joanne Meier.  We've actually read it probably 30 times already since getting it from the library last week, but it was our official activity yesterday.  On her own, Miss F sang the "buh" sound to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  I think I'm going to count it, even though - or especially since - I didn't come up with the idea.

  

Miss F has been asking for pancakes lately, so today, for the letter B, I made blueberry pancakes.

 

For good measure, I also made a lowercase b out of batter.

 

Apparently, I took too long, because Miss F filled up on pears while I was making pancakes and wouldn't touch them when they were ready. But we still talked about B making the "buh" sound, blueberries, and other things that started with B. I think I'll freeze the letter I made and break it out for the letter d :o)

Day Two Success

Today was a good day for the letter A!

 

Grammy came over to spend some time with the girls, and she reread It's A! with Miss F. When she left, Miss F and I took some homemade play-doh outside and made letters. I was pleasantly surprised when Miss F identified A without any prompting! Of course, I prompted her a couple more times just to make sure she could do it :o)

I made her an apple out of the play-doh, and we talked about things that started with the letter A.  Then, I gave her free play time with the play-doh while I made some lunch.

 

 

I'm not going to post every homeschooling activity we do, but I was rather pleased with the goings-on today.

Our First Day!

Our first day of homeschooling started out with a whimper on a casual note.  Our letter of the week is A (obviously).  A lady for whom I tutor gave us some animal crackers for Miss F yesterday, so I took advantage of the opportunity.  Miss F found the baggie today, and we counted out crackers for her snack.  We talked about "A is for animal crackers" and tried to identify the animals as she ate them.  As a kid, I remember the animals being much more distinct, but we gave them all names anyway.

We got several books from the library, and read the first one:  It's A! by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann.  It's a nice little book about the sounds A makes and the words that start with and include those sounds.

While at the library, I also picked up Let them Play by Jeff A. Johnson and Denita Dinger.  It's funny, since I'm trying to institute a somewhat vaguely structured learning experience, and at the same time, I am interested in and am actively pursuing learning through play.  I can't wait until we move, because poor Miss F has been stifled in the play arena due to the nature of our yard.  Since almost everything in our yard is edible, she tries to rip up and eat everything she can find.  That means that I have to watch her constantly - not because I'm afraid that she'll hurt herself, but because I'm afraid we will have no plants left when she's done.  Everything that's not gardened is on a steep slope.  So she can either play on the hill, or on the very splintery deck.  Poor kiddo.

Tomorrow is Mr. B's first day back to work since Miss C's birth, so I'll get my first full day experiencing life as a SAHM of two.

A New Chapter

Miss F turned two in June, and we welcomed her new baby sister, Miss C, two weeks ago. We've quickly learned that I need to be very conscious about the quantity and quality of one-on-one time I give Miss F. One night just before bed, she collapsed in my lap for a prolonged snuggle - she missed her mama. We also realized that she didn't mature overnight just because she became a big sister.  Mr. B and I found ourselves getting frustrated with her for being a two year old. She was playing with the baby's car seat when we told her not to, dumping puzzle pieces all over, and even tossed her glass of milk on the living room floor. Since the baby was born, Miss F has learned to climb into Miss C's crib and to open doors.  I had hoped to have at least a few months before either of those particular milestones.  Miss C's arrival has been an adjustment for all of us, but one we're happy to make.

At the same time, we're trying to sell our house. We found the perfect house for us - an old four bedroom farmhouse on 2/3 of an acre with mature fruit trees that costs less than our house now -  but we can't find anyone to buy our townhouse. It's frustrating, but we're carrying on here as if nothing's different. We're still canning and gardening as if we're not leaving. At worst (or at best, I'm not sure), someone else will harvest our crops.

Mr. B is still looking for a job in his field. He has been looking since graduating college in 2009, but he earned his masters in December, so we're hoping for more luck now in his search. Just in the last week, he's gotten some interviews, but the pay is *significantly* lower than his current pay. As it is, we're barely making ends meet.  I had been working five - yes, five - part time jobs simultaneously in the last year, but I quit them all (except a couple hours of private tutoring sessions) in July.  We were miserable when I worked at night, and we ended up spending extra money on transportation and food to allow me to work jobs I didn't love.  I read Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin this week, and we're starting to follow the program so that we can afford to live on a smaller income.

Since Miss F is now two, I'm starting to plan activities with homeschooling in mind.  I really liked how Mrs. Mordecai of Be It Ever So Humble approached letters with her son, so I'm doing letters of the week with Miss F starting the day after Labor Day.  It's in no way a formal thing, but if we happen to make the letter A during play-doh time or sing a song about A or read a book about A, well that's a little more exposure each time.  I'm looking forward to posting about our letter activities (and other things) as the weeks go on.

 

Miss F loves her little sister.

 

Miss F is showing her daddy and little sister the apple we foraged on the way to the park.