Homeschool Recap Week Two: Learning to BE Ourselves

Learning to BE Ourselves…

We had another full week of learning TOGETHER. This week our theme (yes, I LOVE a theme #sorrybutnotsorry) was

“Being Yourself.”

We are following the FirstieLiteracy units this year!

So we read one of my favorites, Chrysanthemum and then talked all about how important is is to be ourselves. Of course the lessons are simple to rearrange based on what we are ready for/needing at the time, so this fit perfect!

We start each morning out together at the carpet for calendar and bible. Then we move to the table for morning work.

After our morning work we head back to the carpet for our close read. I introduce the theme and we build our schema.

I am loving this time tracker that I purchased from Amazon. It keeps us moving and the girls love helping to set the timer. Also, there is a green, yellow, red warning. We LOVE it.

We easily spread the love of our theme throughout each subject of the day. There were many great writing opportunities for Lolah -and Vaida always entertains the chance to use scissors and glue!

Here is Vaida adding some “prized-possessions” to the pockets of her dress, just like the character Chrysanthemum.

One of the perks I’m enjoying of teaching at home, is my “FREE” choice in and of curriculum. Now, this can be a bit overwhelming in the beginning. It really was. There is SO much out there to pick and choose from. In the end however, I think I have a good mix for the girls this year!

{For (close)reading we are using the FirstieLiteracy and I of course modify whatever I need to differentiate for Vaida to follow along with Lolah. For phonics we are using Saxon primarily for Lolah and as for Vaida it is a mix of Saxon and the KinderPhonics.

Vaida will be 4 in October so our phonics lessons are still very organic in that I want her to learn as she is ready. I encourage a LOT of hands on as well as visual and oral learning at this point!

For Math this year, Lolah is using the First Grade Math in Focus curriculum. I chose Saxon Math for Vaida because again the pace is that so we can move as we are ready.

We are also incorporating History, science, and Health.

{For those subjects I am using Abeka.}

We also still do our version of Guided Reading. This has always been an important part of my day as a teacher. Each of the girls will come to the table separately and practice phonemic awareness, fluency, reading skills, and a bit of writing response.

This time looks a bit different for each of them because they are at completely different stages in the learning to read process.

Lolah was EXCITED to read a trade book “The Pig in a Wig” by Alan MacDonald. This book paired well with Chrysanthemum and we were able to do a character compare reading response activity!

Here is Vaida working on building her name. She is a master at mixing and fixing her letters!

We also started this name sort this week. I had printed the letters of her name in a variety of print so we could work on building and identifying, even those fancy letters!

We really enjoy working our hands and our bodies! Give any child a bingo dotter and they will go to work! Vaida was practcing the letter “O” this week so we used TT’s printable alphabet search and circle pages along with many other fun ABC practice pages found in the endless Alphabet Mega bundle!

Well that is a wrap on week two! We have already completed 10 days of school TOGETHER and it feels amazing! We are learning that it is more than ok to do letter work in our swimsuits….