First Day of School

It is another Embrace the Camera  day. We are linking up with Emily at The Anderson Crew .

 

 

 

Yesterday brought on so many emotions with Eli. I had a lot of fear the night before. Where we doing the right thing? Were we starting too early? Eli is only 3. I was so nervous I would be able to get him to listen and learn. Would I know how to teach him something if he was not grasping it? I was filled with questions. 

 

Eli was excited though. He was so ready to begin. He was excited about his calender that hung on the wall. He also could not wait to read stories and "learn his letters and numbers."

 

 

Going into this I knew I was going to have to find things to challeng him. He knows how to write his name and was only shown by Anthony once or twice. He can name all his letters. Needless to say the first day was a huge success.

 

 

 

We began by praying and saying the Pledge of Allegience. My emotions where high at this point. Seeing him say the Pledge so eagerly and so intently was amazing. I teared up while we finished it.

 

 

 

I have seen the past couple of weeks Mother's lament at sending their children off to school. I can't imagine. I know now the decision we made long ago to homeschool was the perfect one for our family. I know at this point he is going to do just fine. I also know I am very capable of this and will do just fine.

 

 

 

 

I am excited for his excitement to learn.

 

 

We will be working on one letter each week. This week of course was the letter A. My wonderful sister made a ring of flashcards with Bible verses on them for each of the kids. They even have their initial so there is no fighting. They love to flip through them. It has become a teaching aid though. Each week we learn the verse that goes with the letter.  

 

 

We repeated the verse 3 times and Eli knew it. He absorbs everything. It was a proud moment for me.

The real test will be if he can repeat it on Friday.

 

He did so well writing also.
 

 

 

Although I think his favorite thing to do was the string beads and cutting for our art project. We worked on patterns for Math yesterday. He loved the string beads and figured out exactly what I wanted no problem. Lilliana also enjoyed doing that with us.

 

 

 

Eli loves using the Cricut and the glue. He helped me make this. He also got to use the scissors and cut a bunch of paper which he loved. All in all it was a very successful day! I am so proud of my wonderful little boy. I am so happy we have made the choice to homeschool too. I can't imagine not having these memories with my kids. Many thanks to my wonderful Husband for believing in me that I could do this. The best part in all of this, Eli is excited for school tomorrow!

 

 

First Day of School Pictures

Eli's first day of school was today. I took his pictures before we started. Needless to say it was a great day and he did so well. I will post more about our day tomorrow. Until then here are his photos we took quickly this morning. My little goofball.

Oh and yes since Anthony thought I was a nut for writing it. He will be doing 2 years of preschool at this point. He is only 3. This year is a trial year for homeschooling to see how he and I do. I want to try it first before he gets too far behind and then if it does not work he can go right into school at the appropriate age. From what happened today I don't think we are going to have any problems whatsoever. I think this will be very succesful. So that is the story behind the "1st year of Preschool."

  



Preparing for School

It is hard to believe we are already discussing this for Eli. I can't believe he is at the age to even consider it. He is still young but so smart for his age. Yes, I know every parent says that but truly I know he is too smart for his own good hence the day to day stuggles I have keeping him occupied. All that to say I began doing homeschooling research last spring. At this point in time we will be homeschooling. This is a decision we made long before we had kids. It may not work out and that is fine. We have an amazing homeschool network here and for that I know I will be grateful. I also have a former teacher/friend who has helped with a lot of questions and is an inspiration. I know I can do this! It is going to take time, patience, and effort but is so doable.

Eli could go to preschool this year. Personally I don't feel that is necessary for kids this early. I think they still need that time at home to learn manners, obedience, and just life skills. We are compromising this year and doing a small amount of school with our main focus being basic preschool concepts.

I was introduced to the Simple Charlotte Mason  website back in the spring. It has been a good place to begin. We will be practicing a lot from that for the early years suggestion.

I bought  Eli the Delightful Reading Kit . This will work on basic site words, phonics, hands on activities, memorizing scripture and even some hymns. We will also in conjuction be using a white board to work on writing.

I also got him a poetry book that can be found here.

 As far as Math goes we will continue to work on rote counting. I also bought him notebooks so he can work on writing his numbers. I have a bin of beads to work on stringing patterns and counting. He counts farely well already, but we will work on patterns.

Bible will be memorizing scripture. I will continue to read Bible stories each week. At this age I think that is what is important.

A lot of what we will be doing will be everyday things with a little more structure and learning added. It will be nothing too in depth. I know at this point the plan is to do school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9-11:30. It will be nap time for Ari and Lilliana will learn that can be quiet time. I am sure she will also learn many of these activities too as we will be playing some games, singing, memorizing scripture, and learning through it all. It will be good for both. I am excited in our venture. I know through all of this my kids will be learning about Jesus and what the Bible has to talk about life. They will also learn many great life skills and what they need. If at any time we are finding it is not working then we will go from there. Our prayer is that this is all successful and through it all we will have Godly, productive citizens in the end.

I am excited for this new chapter in our life. I am not ready for it to begin yet. We will start after Labor Day like all the other schools here in Michigan start so we still have a month or so. Hopefully with plenty of warm weather and enjoyment.