End of 1st part of homeschool year 2014

The first part of our homeschool year is drawing to a close soon. Though I follow the school calendar here, I've extended school till Wed. The reason is simply because we can't complete the unit on time! For every school day at home, our schedule can be really crazy sometimes. Maybe it's time to do a priority list when I start planning for next year. Fewer extra worksheets? Or cut down on the number of activities?

This journey with Zech has been wonderful with many discoveries along the way. Flexibility is such a big key word in our homeschool journey. It's a major lesson for me too. I've learned to patiently wait for the 'right' time to teach Zech as sometimes, he may not be developmentally ready. When a particular method or strategy doesn't work with Zech, I've learned to slowly let go and adopt another more appropriate and effective method. There are times when I struggled with him. However, when he knows I'm upset and about to discard something, he usually tells me he wants to continue trying. For that, I'm grateful.

Lately, my younger one is starting to drop his morning nap. I'm doing this reluctantly as I have absolutely no idea what to do with him while I'm teaching Zech. The first time we had school with Nathanael around, I fed him with grapes and cheerios. I was really relieved he could play on his own after his snack time. The second time we had school with Nathanael, somehow, I managed to get through. He did whine and try climbing up onto my lap to see what we were doing. But he was manageable. Maybe it really isn't that hard after all.

For the last few units, I'm thankful the activities we did could involve Nathanael. He loves to do things with us I realise.

W for water unit. Playing with ice.

The curious observer sitting behind Zech as his big brother explores how liquids have no shape.

Float or sink experiment.

O for octopus unit. Nathanael is happy to be doing craft together with Zech.

I for insects unit. The making of the ladybug.

Snack time. The boys' fav!

Ants on the log

Ladybug apple

There are times Zech needs to work alone.

Handwriting practice. No longer just forming letters but learning to write neatly within the given lines. We use a whiteboard and not an exercise book as the latter seems too strenuous for a preschooler.

MFW worksheets. Some are simply cut and paste while writing is required in others.

This is something I like. Very crumpled here. :( My mischievous younger one took it and crushed it!

I like this worksheet personally because as I dictate the word, Zech needs to distinguish the sounds and write the letters. Really good practice!


Other extra worksheets

I'm excited to end the first part of the year and start getting busy real soon with Christmas prep. Do you hear what I hear? Sleigh bells, carols and lots of glittering baubles on the Christmas tree...I can't wait for Zech's holidays to start!