Homeschool Newbie Part I

Hey friends! I miss blogging. I feel like Instagram has been so fun to micro-blog at, but I will always be a blogger at heart. The past 6 months have been eyeing opening. We can’t take anything for granted. Anything can be taken away. Anything. I mean God has been teaching me that for years, but with 2020 vision this year I have seen that super clear.

At the beginning of the year I was still babysitting a few kids, RJ was in kindergarten, and we were about to move into our forever home! Then March came, my hubby turned 40 and the world shut down. RJ was no longer at school, I was no longer watching kiddos, Matt was working from home and we were starting over in a new home. I thank God we were already moved into our new home and were able to unpack and make our house a home well we we’re in “quarantine”.

So now here we are about to head in to August and we are trying our best to thrive in this season instead of survive. This year we have decided to homeschool RJ. I can stay home with her and I have experience as a teacher in an elementary classroom, so it was an easy choice to make. To be honest I have always wanted to homeschool her, but I wanted her to be part of a larger community. We loved her kindergarten teacher and she did have a great experience at her public school. I just knew this year needed to be different.

I think with so many uncertainties going on right now it’s one thing we can be certain about. Since saying YES to homeschooling, God has provided a beautiful community of other mamas that we will be joining with to become a small neighborhood school. We will meet three times a week for 3-4 hours and help each other guide the little learners and take turns helping with the littles who are not in school yet.

I am not a seasoned homeschool mama by any means, but I do think God has been preparing me for this in ways I didn’t even know. I am not nervous at all about this upcoming year, but instead I am THRILLED! I know that this isn’t the case for everyone and I know that we are privileged to be able to do this. I also know that some mamas can’t stay home and wish that their littles could just go back to school in the fall. I am not taking this opportunity for granted, one bit.

I have had some friends ask what curriculum we are choosing to use for this upcoming year so I thought I would share here. The great thing about homeschool is that you can choose from all kinds of curriculum for the type A personality this can be overwhelming, but for me I love the FREEDOM to mix it up! I am still really interested in the Classical Conversations methods, but this year we are going to try Master Books and The Good and the Beautiful. I have heard raving reviews of both and for this newbie they seem right up my alley.

CIRRICULUM 

We will be using the Good and the Beautiful for Language Arts, Handwriting and Nature. I love how the lessons are laid out so easily and beautifully. I love how this curriculum isn’t super pricey as they make it affordable/free for everyone.

We will be using Master Books for History, Science and Math. I love that they weave God into the History and Science lessons. I love how easy it is to follow. I also love that it is reasonably priced.

For reading I went to the good will and got all kinds of books that are at RJ’s level and we will check out books from the Library as well. I also purchased The Ordinary Parent to Teaching Reading, I needed guided lessons to guide RJ to reading more confidently.

I also purchased the Big Life Journal for RJ to go through. I love how they focus on growth mindset and encourage learners to do hard things! To embrace challenges and to process their feelings.

We will also be doing Duolingo, Art, Music and lots PE of course!

ORGINIZATION

We will all be getting together soon to map out the year. We will also be breaking it down into sessions so  we don’t get super overwhelmed. I purchased this awesome planner to help me stay organized.

We will be doing “school” outside with the neighborhood school three days a week  so I purchased this cute little lap desk to take with us to the park. It will be perfect to store her supplies in as well. At home I don’t believe in sitting in the same spot to get work done, so she will have options to do her school work at. She can do it in her room at her desk, outside, the dining room table, the kitchen counter or the play room. Leaving her room to choose what works best for her.

SCHOOL SUPPLY STORAGE

I have had this cart from IKEA for while and didn’t really have any real use for it until now! This makes the perfect homeschool storage. The top shelf has her morning basket (that will be a whole other post) as well as books that she can read. The second shelf are materials and supplies for math and art. As well as lots of flash cards for phonics, math and time. The bottom shelf is all of her curriculum books.

PREP BEFORE SCHOOL

This is the last week of summer for us! Next week we add in some new homeschool rhythms. I am using Summer Bridge Activities Learning Workbook for RJ to review her kinder year before we start first grade. We are also going start Dulingo and the Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.

I think 6 is such a fun year to be guiding her education and I can’t wait to see what the year has in store for us! This week we’re setting intentions, creating a mission for our home, daily + character goals, and our educational philosophy. I promise to share with you all as well!

What are your plans for this school year?