As the debate continues over whether or not to homeschool, we have decided to collect more data (my engineer husband's way of looking at it). We have signed her up for preschool as a trial run in August. We just have questions that need to be answered before we can decide what to do for kindergarten. Some of them are...
*Will she like it?
*Is her need to be with other kids on a regular basis being met?
*Will my relationship with her improve if we get regular breaks from each other?
*Will she just get sick all the time from being around all the kids?
*Will she prefer to be at home instead of school?
*Are Jim and I comfortable with it?
*Is she learning bad behaviors from the other kids?
*Is she participating?--something Gracie does not always willingly do
*Is she even learning anything?
*Can we afford to keep sending her?
No matter what we decide, I will still continue to homeschool her. It is just in me, a part of who I am. In fact, I just found some really neat old-fashioned readers that I am going to order to start teaching her to read! I am super excited!
Thoughts, quotes, and poems on raising and homeschooling 3 little women. Ephesians 2: 8-10--For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." ~William Butler Yeats
Saturday, June 26, 2010
*the girls' Potato Head creations
*reading alphabet books on the "bankie" with Madelyn
*seeing how good Gracie is in gymnastics
*reading Charlotte's Web to Gracie and seeing how much she is liking it
*hearing how often Madelyn says "thank you" and how cute she is when she says it
*watching the girls fingerpaint for a long time
*Madelyn: "Where's the moon?"
Me: "I don't know. It's not out yet."
Madelyn: "It's seepin." (sleeping)
*making homemade biscuits and picking out our own cookie cutters to make shapes
*reading alphabet books on the "bankie" with Madelyn
*seeing how good Gracie is in gymnastics
*reading Charlotte's Web to Gracie and seeing how much she is liking it
*hearing how often Madelyn says "thank you" and how cute she is when she says it
*watching the girls fingerpaint for a long time
*Madelyn: "Where's the moon?"
Me: "I don't know. It's not out yet."
Madelyn: "It's seepin." (sleeping)
*making homemade biscuits and picking out our own cookie cutters to make shapes
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Homeschooling
Jim and I have been talking A LOT about homeschooling v. preschool/public schools. Having worked in public schools and seeing first-hand what the learning environment is really like and researching homeschooling thoroughly, I absolutely want to homeschool for many reasons. We still have not made the final decision, but here is a list of reasons why I want to continue being my children's teacher.
*My educational philosophy is and has always been, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." ~William Butler Yeats
*continue instilling in my children that learning is life and let them explore their world around them with a curiosity that cannot be fulfilled in the classroom
*"To form in his child right habits of thinking and behaving is a parent's chief duty...To nourish a child daily with loving, right, and noble ideas we believe to be the parent's next duty." ~Charlotte Mason
*to point to God in everything we do and everything we learn, all day long
*to create a tight family unit that learns together, plays together, enjoys life together
*to utilize Jim's knowledge as an engineer to do projects with the girls and help them with their math
*to let my girls play outside all day long as much as possible in the early years
*to develop their character and help them to learn to think for themselves
*the opportunity to watch the girls interact with each other and become close friends
*to avoid the way the federal government is trying to take over the education of our children and turn them into robots whose only goal in life is to compete in a global market...that should not be our only goal in life.
*My ultimate goal for them in life is to know Jesus as their Savior and be a blessing to others
I am following and would continue to follow the teachings of Charlotte Mason, an educator from England in the late 1800s. Go to simplycharlottemason.com to learn more about her.
*to snuggle on the couch with my girls and read as many great books as possible and use them as the springboard for learning art, history, geography, science, math concepts...the possibilities are endless!
We would read living books and do literature studies, nature studies, math as it relates to life, copywork, narration, dictation, Bible stories and memory verses...I absolutely love learning alongside my children!
As far as socialization, they go to...
*playgroup
*Sunday school
*Mom's group, which is set up just like preschool time
*small group
*tumbling
*the pool
*the park
*storytime at the library
*a homeschool group
*playing with the neighborhood kids
They come across many different kids and adults in these settings and, in my opinion, don't need a forced classroom situation to learn to be social.
Is this the easy option? No. I have struggled during these preschool years. But when I think about how quickly my girls are growing up, I don't want to miss out on learning alongside them.
*My educational philosophy is and has always been, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." ~William Butler Yeats
*continue instilling in my children that learning is life and let them explore their world around them with a curiosity that cannot be fulfilled in the classroom
*"To form in his child right habits of thinking and behaving is a parent's chief duty...To nourish a child daily with loving, right, and noble ideas we believe to be the parent's next duty." ~Charlotte Mason
*to point to God in everything we do and everything we learn, all day long
*to create a tight family unit that learns together, plays together, enjoys life together
*to utilize Jim's knowledge as an engineer to do projects with the girls and help them with their math
*to let my girls play outside all day long as much as possible in the early years
*to develop their character and help them to learn to think for themselves
*the opportunity to watch the girls interact with each other and become close friends
*to avoid the way the federal government is trying to take over the education of our children and turn them into robots whose only goal in life is to compete in a global market...that should not be our only goal in life.
*My ultimate goal for them in life is to know Jesus as their Savior and be a blessing to others
I am following and would continue to follow the teachings of Charlotte Mason, an educator from England in the late 1800s. Go to simplycharlottemason.com to learn more about her.
*to snuggle on the couch with my girls and read as many great books as possible and use them as the springboard for learning art, history, geography, science, math concepts...the possibilities are endless!
We would read living books and do literature studies, nature studies, math as it relates to life, copywork, narration, dictation, Bible stories and memory verses...I absolutely love learning alongside my children!
As far as socialization, they go to...
*playgroup
*Sunday school
*Mom's group, which is set up just like preschool time
*small group
*tumbling
*the pool
*the park
*storytime at the library
*a homeschool group
*playing with the neighborhood kids
They come across many different kids and adults in these settings and, in my opinion, don't need a forced classroom situation to learn to be social.
Is this the easy option? No. I have struggled during these preschool years. But when I think about how quickly my girls are growing up, I don't want to miss out on learning alongside them.
*going to the pool and seeing both girls try to swim
*meeting with some friends and getting some good insight into why we should keep homeschooling...because I'm still not convinced that preschool and public schools is what we should do.
*the girls getting to play with baby chickens
*walking to the lake
*meeting with some friends and getting some good insight into why we should keep homeschooling...because I'm still not convinced that preschool and public schools is what we should do.
*the girls getting to play with baby chickens
*walking to the lake
Thursday, June 10, 2010
*the girls laughing together in the pool and trampoline
*playing a flower match game with Gracie
*hearing Gracie patiently teach Madelyn her colors
*the girls' delight of pouring water on my legs in the wading pool
*hearing Gracie narrate what she was doing in the third person
*seeing my cute little girls in dress-up clothes
*the girls' laughter as they put dress-up clothes on Jim's head
*playing a flower match game with Gracie
*hearing Gracie patiently teach Madelyn her colors
*the girls' delight of pouring water on my legs in the wading pool
*hearing Gracie narrate what she was doing in the third person
*seeing my cute little girls in dress-up clothes
*the girls' laughter as they put dress-up clothes on Jim's head
Thursday, June 3, 2010
*the girls making homemade ice cream with Daddy on Memorial Day
*Jim showing the girls his car video games
*supper cooking, music on, and the girls actually entertaining themselves nicely...two afternoons in a row!
*Gracie telling me that she wants to be a photographer like me when she grows up because I'm a good photography girl. I'm honored that she thinks I'm "a good photography girl."
*Gracie giving me a kiss on the forehead--that NEVER happens!
*hearing Madelyn laugh as soon as I walked into her room after her nap and realizing that she had taken off her pants and underwear and thrown them on the floor
*Jim showing the girls his car video games
*supper cooking, music on, and the girls actually entertaining themselves nicely...two afternoons in a row!
*Gracie telling me that she wants to be a photographer like me when she grows up because I'm a good photography girl. I'm honored that she thinks I'm "a good photography girl."
*Gracie giving me a kiss on the forehead--that NEVER happens!
*hearing Madelyn laugh as soon as I walked into her room after her nap and realizing that she had taken off her pants and underwear and thrown them on the floor
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