Hello all...I'm really not sure if I can say "all" quite yet as I am pretty certain only a few of you are actually reading this. Those reasons are most likely due to lack of time (I know, life is just sometimes too busy to catch up on a blog) and well, only a handful of people even know this blog exists. That's okay with me.
Well, I started a good portion of this post last week...but, am finally finding time to finish it up. ;-)
Before I begin my wordy homeschooling post...let me share some pictures with you...
 |
One of our two new family additions, hermit crabs..Rocky and Little Man picked them out.
|
 |
| Little Man: deep in thought.. |
 |
| My handsome little man |
 |
| She says she wants to be a civil engineer when she grows up...random,huh? ;-) |
 |
| Love the tongue twirl |
 |
| My precious babies |
 |
| Tire swings make them smile, which in turn makes me smile ;-) |
Anywho..moving onto breaking news. We are about to embark on a new journey. Little Man is about to start school. Yes, school. But, not the kind of school, which is confined to walls of a classroom. He is soon to begin "official-for-the-records homeschool."
First let me say that I am thrilled that I can stay at home with our kids and now be able to homeschool my oldest one. I realize that many families would like to be able to do this, but can not. I am aware of just how blessed I am and do not take this privilege for granted.
We have decided to go with an umbrella school, which is a homeschooling school you register with who will deal with the state on your behalf. Also, we will be keeping a record of grades through them. We will be using Homelife Academy. You can check out that umbrella school
HERE.
So, before we officially register Little Man, I am working on coming up with curriculum that we will use throughout this educational journey. On that note, one of the many good things about homeschooling is that we will not be tied down by a curriculum or benchmark standard. We will have the freedom to explore and go beyond what is "expected". There is so much freedom in homeschooling.
So...that is where we are at right now...swimming in the pool of homeschool curriculum.
One book that is amazing for breaking down the best-of-the best homeschooling curriculum picks is
100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy. I once checked this book out at the library in Collegedale, and am sad to find out that I can't check the book out here in Gulf Shores (someone once checked it out along time ago, and apparently lost it.) This is saddening because it is now when I am knee high in research of homeschool curriculum. Yes, we could buy the book on Amazon, but we were hoping to snag a copy free somewhere like a library...unfortunately, this doesn't look promising.
I do know that I do not want to spend a lot in curriculum for Kindergarten...I mean this
is kindergarten after all. Most of what I can use to teach him can be found in nature. Kindergarten is still supposed to be fun and enjoyable..so, making sure that I have an adequate amount of educational crafts for him might be the hardest part, well...that and sticking to a schedule. We do have our schedule for daily living, but now we will adjust that to include kindergarten. Once again...I say, that is the beauty of homeschooling.. it is not rigid, but instead flexible yet functional. ;-)
Other than keeping track of grade level and grades, not much will change..we've been teaching him since the day he was born...lots to teach with lots of love. ;-)
So, as I decide on what I will be using for curriculum I will share those with you on future posts...
Have a lovely day!
With much love,
Kelly
