BlueLand Farm
local, sustainable, regenerative
Well That Escalated Quickly
So we have been homeschooling my Kindergartener for about 6 months now and things are going really, really well. I want to talk about our routine really quickly. First thing in the morning, we eat breakfast while we have some morning “table time”. This is a tradition in homeschools the world over where almost anything can happen, as long as it’s done together as a family. it can range from bible devotions, to history readings, to poetry memorizations. In our house, I have so many wiggly littles, that something that planned is somewhat unachievable, so we just talk about our plans for the day. Then I take some time to cuddle and play with my littles before my Kindergartener and I break off for one on one time.
The Littles play much better if we do this. We start with Reading (20 min). Then move on to Math (20 min). Then some cursive practice (10 min) and a page in our social studies notebook (20 min). All of this takes less than an hour and a half. He and his brothers have the rest of the day to play, we go on field trips, or hikes, or just run errands. I am loving all this time with my children!! If the littles are having a hard time respecting our one on one time, I just wait for nap time, and do the things requiring more quiet concentration (read here…math).
Now for progress with our curriculum choices. He totally blew through level 1 All About Reading before August even got started!
Then in November, we finished level 2!! WOW! I can’t believe how he’s flown through it! And I was worried about reading! These levels were supposed to last the whole year! Now I’ve bought 3 in one year!! Just in case anyone out there thinks I’m some amazing reading teacher, let me just stop you right there. This is all him! This kid is motivated to read!! He’s a bookworm and wants to devour every book he encounters. The fact that he can’t read everything yet, frustrates him and motivates him to move quickly through these books.
Now he’s just a few lessons away from being through Level A of Right Start Math! We are on track to finish both before Christmas break. Math doesn’t come as easily for him, but Right Start is so gentle and cyclic that I know we can keep working through the material, even if he hasn’t completely mastered it and he will get exposure to it again soon. Or we can just pause lessons for a few days and play some of the games to cement a concept. I love it! We are about halfway through our social studies notebook, and have done 2/3 of our cursive letters.
I continue to be impressed by the potential that has already been reached by homeschooling, since he is essentially in 1st grade now at the halfway point of his Kindergarten year. For other children in homeschool, it’s the opposite story, and that is just dandy too! Kids should be allowed to go at their own pace and journey. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!
BlueLand Farm 