Two nights ago, Baxter and I made a decision that seems last minute; but was actually simmering long ago. We decided not to go ahead and send Ford back to preschool this year. Taking inspiration from Jen, Beth and others and adopting a "what's one more" approach, I realized that it was really the best thing. So, as we began our first official day as a homeschooling family, I had two at the dining room table.
What once seemed daunting and terrifying turned out to be absolutely wonderful. We were very successful today. We had already completed reviewing the phonics and math skills she acquired before this year. Today we set out to learn something new. We began with a devotional which was really more of a lesson on imagery than anything. Using a book I found called Images of God, I taught them about God as a light image (light of the world etc...) and then they made pictures of something they loved that they never wanted to be in darkness. Then we discussed the calendar and sang songs about the days of the week and months of the year and I had her copy the date from my dry erase board. Abby watched two videos on NatGeo online to introduce her to people of Ancient Civilizations. Next, we headed off to the library for storytime.
We had a nice time there. They are both very comfortable at the library and really enjoyed themselves. I picked up some books that we needed for the rest of the week and I allowed them each to pick out two books each. As soon as I got home to make lunch, Abby went straight to the bag and pulled out her new basic reader she picked out. She sat down on the sofa and started reading it. I know she couldn't read it all on her own but she was enjoying the book independently and without my suggestion ----SUCCESS!!!
Later, we read through a book about the Ancient Greeks to get ready for tomorrow and finished off her day with a letter to her pen-pal, Alex. Ford participated in most of the activities in his own way and enjoyed it too. When he couldn't do what she was doing, he played on their vtech notebook or with Mr. Potato Head. It was so much fun that I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow!
I love my kids!!!
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