Today was a busy day.Here's the castle wall my husband and I have been working on in the girl's room.We're transforming from a surf/beach room to a "princess/garden" room.I've been painting on the bricks when I find some spare time.If you look closely,you'll notice by the background that this wall used to "sport" an ocean wave instead.And you also may notice the "Spongebob" sky I airbrushed on there too(that's gonna change too).
I now have a school schedule for my oldest and it's working out well.This was made a neccessity because our younger daughter(who is almost 3 in 3 months),has been making it hard for us to get any school done.Wanting to play with us or generally making noise(of course when my oldest is trying to study quietly or we're trying to read),pretty much being a little stinker when we're trying to do school!So,I "Googled" the phrase,"teaching more than one child," for tips,and got a lot of good ones from ladies who have 5-10 children that they teach at home.Yikes,that's a lot of kids! More power to ya though if you are financially able and you want that many!Two is plenty for us(too much sometimes,kidding I love 'em!).So I got all kinds of ideas for my 2.5 yr old to do while I'm helping my oldest.For one thing,I discovered she likes computer games.Here's a good one if your child knows all the ABC's,since they can type them themselves on the keyboard: http://www.fisher-price.com/us/fun/games/abczoo/default.asp
Before we had kids we talked about homeschooling any future ones,so you'd think since I started homeschooling our oldest since she was born I'd have this school thing wired by now.Well,I don't and I'm still learning!By the way,my oldest is 8 :) 3rd grade,ahh,multiplication & division....don't you love it?Well,my daughter doesn't and has a hard time with it.Every other subject she does pretty well at.Currently,we're reading about Joan of Arc.Did you know that "Arc" is her last name?Shows my ignorance,I thought "Arc" was where she was from.Let me tell tell ya,I went to private Catholic school & then on to public high school and I still know nothing & remember almost nothing about history...so what does that tell you?I got straight A's too,so pretty much shows that grades are not indicators of intelligence!
On that note,I want to tell you about Charlotte Mason.I finally sat down & read about her & her methods and thought they made a lot of sense.Short lessons all scheduled before noon.Getting out in nature,observing and sketching wildlife,all sounded good.I like the Bible being taught too.She even throws in a foreign language to learn & start while they are young.Hers was French,but we're studying Spanish.Much more practical language to learn in California!
Here's a list of (the less obvious) things for your toddler to do while you're trying to teach:
waterplay with buckets,cups,boats(great if you have an enclosed patio & nice weather),kitchen chair tunnel,cookie cutters/rolling pin,stack cups & containers,chalk on dark construction paper,nuts & bolts(or a jar of any little things:ours is a big jar of candy machine toys),headphones & read along books(my daughter loves these!),beanbags & a bucket,a large box,draw roads& house on a large piece of paper & they can play with trucks or dolls on it,a tack with cardboard to poke(loved this too),scissors & paper.
There are lots of other ideas out there so google them yourself & quit letting me do all the work ;)
Our schedule goes like this most days:
9-9:30 Bible
9:30-10:00 Math
10:00-10:30 Music,art & crafts
10:30-11:00 Spanish
11:00-11:30 History/S.S./Geography
11:30-12:00 Science/Nature Walk or P.E.
Toddler's nap(time varies) Spelling/Composition
When 8 yr old gets up from her nap(yes she still naps or rests!) Reading:Poetry and/or Literature
Late afternoon oldest does her own thing.Usually ballet(which she is great at!Even did a "recital"for her dad & I last night).Or she sometimes will just be a couch potato.Her favorite show is Andy Griffith(we have very static tv reception out here,so just buy dvd shows).
Before we had kids we talked about homeschooling any future ones,so you'd think since I started homeschooling our oldest since she was born I'd have this school thing wired by now.Well,I don't and I'm still learning!By the way,my oldest is 8 :) 3rd grade,ahh,multiplication & division....don't you love it?Well,my daughter doesn't and has a hard time with it.Every other subject she does pretty well at.Currently,we're reading about Joan of Arc.Did you know that "Arc" is her last name?Shows my ignorance,I thought "Arc" was where she was from.Let me tell tell ya,I went to private Catholic school & then on to public high school and I still know nothing & remember almost nothing about history...so what does that tell you?I got straight A's too,so pretty much shows that grades are not indicators of intelligence!
On that note,I want to tell you about Charlotte Mason.I finally sat down & read about her & her methods and thought they made a lot of sense.Short lessons all scheduled before noon.Getting out in nature,observing and sketching wildlife,all sounded good.I like the Bible being taught too.She even throws in a foreign language to learn & start while they are young.Hers was French,but we're studying Spanish.Much more practical language to learn in California!
Here's a list of (the less obvious) things for your toddler to do while you're trying to teach:
waterplay with buckets,cups,boats(great if you have an enclosed patio & nice weather),kitchen chair tunnel,cookie cutters/rolling pin,stack cups & containers,chalk on dark construction paper,nuts & bolts(or a jar of any little things:ours is a big jar of candy machine toys),headphones & read along books(my daughter loves these!),beanbags & a bucket,a large box,draw roads& house on a large piece of paper & they can play with trucks or dolls on it,a tack with cardboard to poke(loved this too),scissors & paper.
There are lots of other ideas out there so google them yourself & quit letting me do all the work ;)
Our schedule goes like this most days:
9-9:30 Bible
9:30-10:00 Math
10:00-10:30 Music,art & crafts
10:30-11:00 Spanish
11:00-11:30 History/S.S./Geography
11:30-12:00 Science/Nature Walk or P.E.
Toddler's nap(time varies) Spelling/Composition
When 8 yr old gets up from her nap(yes she still naps or rests!) Reading:Poetry and/or Literature
Late afternoon oldest does her own thing.Usually ballet(which she is great at!Even did a "recital"for her dad & I last night).Or she sometimes will just be a couch potato.Her favorite show is Andy Griffith(we have very static tv reception out here,so just buy dvd shows).
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