The First Day of School

First, here are Ella and Troy's first day of school interviews.

Ella:

1. What do you want to be when you grow up? Christian and a doctor, an eye doctor or a regular doctor that checks you
2. What was your favorite thing you did during the summer? Go to Paraguay, meet new friends, and learn Spanish in Paraguay. You can just say: "Have fun in Paraguay!"
3. What is your favorite thing to learn about in school? Putting name puzzles together
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. What is your favorite thing to play? Barbies and my princess dolls, and my Minnies and my baby dolls

Troy:

1. What do you want to be when you grow up? Pirate
2. What was your favorite thing you did during the summer? Work with my tools
3. What is your favorite thing to learn about in school? Reading lesson
4. What is your favorite color? Orange
5. What is your favorite thing to play? Everything in the house

And, I had to include this photo because Luke insisted on posing next to the sign just like Troy. :)

Ella's first day of first grade was very different from her first day of kindergarten. Although I homeschooled Ella last year, we decided to send her to public school for first grade.

We didn't choose to move Ella to public school because we were unhappy with how things were going as we homeschooled her; rather, we chose to move Ella to public school, for the most part, for her to have the experience as a student as well as for us to have the experience as parents. We've said all along that we are open to many different schooling options, and while the reasons we chose to homeschool Ella last year are still reasons we may homeschool her again in the future, it doesn't mean that homeschooling is the only way or that there aren't valid reasons to consider a different schooling option.

I will admit that I have very mixed emotions about Ella's schooling this year. Even though we are only one day into the school year, there are already things that I miss about homeschooling her like choosing her curriculum and knowing exactly what she'll be learning; seeing her excitement when she learns something new; and not having to be out the door at 7:30 in the morning. :) However, there are things that I know I will get to enjoy about her experiences in public school like when she came home yesterday chatting about the new friends she made, or that how her favorite things were exercising and doing name puzzles, or how the fifth graders helped her out during lunch.

I'll be teaching Troy pre-K at home, and we are going to start by focusing on learning to read. I'm excited and thankful for the time that I will have to focus on Troy's learning. I'm also excited for the opportunity for Troy to learn more responsibility without having Ella to rely on. He's never been the oldest child around the house, and this will give him an opportunity for growth (and an opportunity for me to challenge him more as well).

Although it isn't specifically related to my children, I'd like to end with a note of encouragement to all parents, particularly Christian parents, concerning others' choices when it comes to schooling. I'm in several homeschooling groups on Facebook, and those groups have, for the most part, been valuable resources for advice on educating children at home. However, over the past few days there have been numerous discouraging posts regarding those who would choose to educate their children outside the home. And, sadly, I've also heard many discouraging things from those who educate their children outside the home toward those who homeschool. I'm deeply saddened by the pressure and guilt that each side seems to place on the other. I think we all need to be very careful about judging each family's motives and remember that each schooling situation will present unique opportunities and situations (both good and bad) for our families. As Christian parents we ought to be looking at how we can use those opportunities to teach our children more about God and His Word and sharing the good news with others.

Ella's Kinder Curriculum

As I started thinking about writing a reflection post about how homeschooling has gone so far, I realized I probably should start with a post about what curriculum/materials I decided to use with Ella for kindergarten. I meant to write this post back in September, but since I didn't I can actually comment on what I like/don't like so far.

I'm not using an "official" pre-made curriculum for everything, and honestly, particularly for kindergarten I'm not sure that official curriculum is necessary. But there really is some great material out there, and so far I'm glad that I've chosen to use at least some pre-made curriculum with Ella.

1. Reading. I taught Ella to read using Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons prior to starting kindergarten with her. So, right now our main focus has been to have her read at least one book at day and then for her to draw a picture about one of the books she read. I plan to start using Book Adventure with her as well. She also did some work with the Reading Eggs App (which teaches sight words), but she had already completed most of that prior to us starting kindergarten stuff.
2. Spelling. I will freely admit I was not at all excited about teaching Ella spelling. In fact, after we had a kinda rough (yet perfect in its own way!) start to the first week of school, I put off starting spelling with her while things got settled. I chose to use All About Spelling, and this curriculum has changed my mind about spelling. I initially chose to use this curriculum because I had been advised that this method flowed really well out of Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons, but I didn't know a whole lot about it otherwise (turns out it really does flow well as a next step after that book). I really, really love this curriculum. I like how it teaches the rules about something rather than focusing on memorizing how things are spelled. We can go over a new rule about spelling and Ella can then usually spell all the words in the spelling list for that section without ever having spelled them before. I also enjoy how the review is built into the method. And, although she was reading prior to starting this, she could not spell (these are separate, yet related skills). There is also a curriculum for reading called All About Reading. I have not used it, but am curious about it because I like All About Spelling so much.
3. Math. I struggled a lot when it came to choosing a curriculum for math (more than for anything else). I really wanted to do Singapore math when I first started investigating, but ultimately decided against it as my main material (I think in the long run I might incorporate some of it as supplemental material). I ended up choosing Math-U-See, and I've liked it so far. I started Ella with the Primer because I wanted to make sure that she had all the basic things down before moving to Alpha. However, I found that ultimately Ella probably didn't need the Primer. She is partway through Alpha now and she's covering several of the same topics again that were covered in the Primer (which ends up being boring to her). I like how there are several worksheets for each lesson to give extra practice if needed. So far, I also like how the concepts are taught, and Ella enjoys watching the short lessons on the DVD.
4. Handwriting. For handwriting we've been using Handwriting Without Tears (which was recommended to me by just about everyone except those who didn't actually use a curriculum for handwriting). I also really like this curriculum. It was really cheap too, which is a plus! Ella really likes that she gets to color pictures with each lesson as well. This is one curriculum that I felt that I didn't really need to use the teacher's manual for (I have it, but haven't used it since the beginning). We also used the Wet-Dry-Try app that goes with Handwriting Without Tears. I made Ella complete all the letters on the app prior to starting actually using the workbook. I think some may choose to use the app for a particular prior to the lesson on that letter though. I really like this app as well. Prior to using this app, I'd downloaded several handwriting apps and this one blows them out of the water!
5. Science. I have not been using anything official with science. We've been reading through the AP Advanced Readers, which Ella has really enjoyed. We've also explored different animals (through some books from the library), as well as tracking leaf colors as we moved into fall and winter.
6. Bible. We have a devotional (including Troy and sometimes Luke) just about every day. During that time we sing, pray, maybe read a Bible story, and/or ask some Bible questions. We also use the Charlotte Mason Scripture System, which has been great! Ella and Troy have both learned several verses, and really enjoy doing it. I've also been teaching Ella how to look up scriptures in her Bible, as well as having her read aloud some from her Bible.
7. Spanish. One of the reasons that factored into choosing to homeschool was that I wanted to include teaching Ella Spanish as part of her homeschool. Ella has been using Rosetta Stone, which I would say is ultimately probably a bit above her level. She's able to do it so far (though she isn't that far into it), but she needs my guidance quite a bit of the time. I was hoping that she'd be able to be more independent with it, but that will come with time. She's definitely been picking up on some things though, which is good. 

This isn't a comprehensive post about everything we've done so far, but describes the main curriculum/subjects we use for kindergarten.

The Perfect First Day of School

As I'm sure many moms do, I had great visions of how Ella's first day of kindergarten would go. I'd been prepping for a while, and had lots of great plans for our first day together.

And, all those plans and visions went out the window when I came down with the stomach bug the night before our first day of school.

We didn't get everything done that I had planned in her workboxes (for that matter, I didn't even get everything in the boxes because I got sick before I finished prepping). I didn't have the "enthusiasm" or energy I wanted to have. I couldn't do what I wanted to do with her.

But it was still a great first day of school.  We made it through the day. Ella LOVED it. She read books, and worked on her math. We marked the day off on the calendar and talked about the months of the year. We sang songs, and worked on a memory verse. She even got to start Spanish. It was a great day.

Our decision to homeschool

Homeschooling Ella

We’ve been thinking about our children’s education since before any of our children ever existed; and, once Ella was born, the countdown was on to make the important decision: public school, homeschool, private school, or something else? Education is a hotly debated topic within our country, and even among members of the church. People have frequently questioned us about what our plans are for our children’s education; I think sometimes out of genuine interest, and sometimes to try to sway us one way or another.

This decision isn’t one we took lightly and it has not been an easy decision to make. Part of the reason that the decision about Ella’s education was not an easy one to make is because there are lots of pros and cons to all types of schooling. I think it would be foolish to advocate that there is only one path or way that is right for all students and families. And though we have chosen to homeschool Ella, I know that she could receive a quality education in a different schooling environment. We have been and continue to be open to exploring the many options that exist when it comes to our children’s education.

So, why did we ultimately choose to homeschool Ella for kindergarten? Here are a few of the reasons:

Desire. I want to homeschool her. I like teaching, and I’m excited about the opportunity and challenge to formally teach my own child. I know that this may not be at the top of many homeschoolers’ lists, but it is one of the top reasons that we decided to homeschool Ella.

Time. Time that Ella would be spending away from the family. Time that I would miss as she learned something that was really interesting to her, scraped her knee, or picked her favorite crayon out of the box. Time that someone else got to spend with our precious girl. And, although I don’t think that time apart from the family is a bad thing, I wasn’t ready to give it up with her yet. 

Flexibility. My husband’s job isn’t the typical Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 job. His schedule varies a lot, particularly at different times of the year, and we adjust our lives accordingly. Putting Ella into a public or private school would greatly limit the flexibility in our schedule, and right now we’d like to keep that flexibility.

Curriculum/content. There are many specific things I could mention under this topic, but ultimately it gets down to this idea: we can choose what we teach Ella (here’s what is required in the state of Texas) and how we teach her. Whether it be the Bible, Spanish, cooking, or writing a note of encouragement to someone, I can incorporate those things into her education.

Although Ella continues to show me every day how much she's grown up in her five short years, it is hard to believe that kindergarten is actually here. I’m excited about the prospect of being her kindergarten teacher, alongside her dad at times, and even her little brothers as they teach her things about life.

Teaching Ella to Read

I should have written this post several months ago, but life got busy (doesn't it always?), and I never wrote it. So, here it is now . . .only a few months late.

When Ella was around 4 1/2 years old, I ventured into the task of teaching her to read. Though I'd never taught anyone to read, I really thought she was showing lots of signs of readiness, so I decided that we would begin the journey. I entered into the task with caution: if, for some reason, she wasn't ready I wasn't going to push it. She was still young when I began the process, and I didn't want to deter her from reading or learning in any way by pushing her if she wasn't ready.

I chose to use the book Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons as our curriculum (I've included a brief review at the end of this post). I made Ella a sticker chart to show her progress and help motivate her along the way. The first few lessons went well with Ella. Then, slowly, things started to get really frustrating. We were struggling through the lessons, and I was getting more and more frustrated. I really thought she could do the lessons (which only frustrated me more!), but just wasn't putting forth the right kind of effort to complete the lessons. So, around lesson 20 or so, we stopped. I decided to take a step back and reevaluate in a few months.

I'm SO glad we took a step back, and started again a few months later. Our lessons were like night and day compared to a few months earlier. She breezed through most lessons, and continued to be eager to learn more. That's not to say that there weren't times when we had tough lessons, but overall, our lesson time was much, much better. 

What was the difference in the few months time? Was Ella not really ready? When I reflect back to the first time that we tried to work on the lessons, I think the struggles with the lessons had a lot more to do with me than with Ella. It was my first time attempting anything like this, and I'm not sure that I had the right approach and attitude with Ella. I think she easily picked up on my frustration and that manifested in how she completed the lessons. When we started the second time, I started with a fresh attitude and more determined patience. I think my demeanor with her made a huge difference in the lessons.

And now, Ella can read! She finished the 100th lesson not long after she turned five years old. I was very pleased with how well she was reading when she completed all 100 lessons, and her reading has continued to progress even though the official lessons have stopped. I think the curriculum did a good job giving her the tools she needs to continue to grow in her reading ability.  

Here are my general thoughts about the curriculum Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. I should note that I haven't looked at any other curriculums or programs for teaching reading, so I do not have anything to compare the program to. 

Pros:

• The book is inexpensive, and does not require any additional materials except some paper to do the sound writing portion.
• The book was very easy for me to use to teach her. Everything was laid out - even down to the words I should say during each lesson.
• The lessons were short. The book states that each lesson should only take about 15-20 minutes. There were many times Ella finished a lesson in about 10 minutes, but there were also some lessons that took her longer than 20 minutes. On average, most lessons did take about 15 minutes.
• The lessons are also short enough that you can do more than one lesson a day, depending on your child. With Ella there were times she was especially eager to keep on, and it was nice to be able to move on to the next lesson.
• It was also nice to know that if Ella was struggling with something, the lesson was short, and we didn't have to labor on for a long period of time.
• The book incorporated pictures, questions for checking for comprehension, as well as writing as part of learning to read.
• We frequently skipped the writing portion of the lessons. I think the writing portion is beneficial, but for Ella is wasn't always necessary.
• I wasn't sure how to classify this, but I really liked the way the book teaches the student to sound the words out.

Cons:

• The lessons, particularly the first 25 or so, can be tedious until your child "gets" the method.
• The names of the letters of the alphabet are not introduced until the very end of the book (letters are simply referred to using the sound they make). There is reasoning behind not using the letter names (and I understand that), but Ella already knew her letters prior to starting the curriculum, so we skipped parts of lessons at the end.

Overall, I really liked this curriculum, and plan to use it for Troy. I do think it will be interesting to see how Troy takes to the approach compared to Ella, because I think Ella's personality fit the curriculum well and Troy and Ella are quite different. : ) 

Tot School Organization

We haven't gotten back into the swing of things with Tot School quite yet after our break for the holidays; however, I do plan to start our activities again this week. I thought I would share a new organization system I'm putting into place to help me with Ella's Tot School activities.

I'm incredibly busy. More busy than I care to be, but that is life sometimes, I guess. In order to really to the things I want to do with Ella for Tot School, I've come to the realization that I need to be better organized going into the week or I will get overwhelmed during the week. My friend was showing me an organization system for homeschooling she heard about from the Confessions of a Homeschooler Blog, called the Sue Patrick Workbox System (You can read the COAH post about it here). Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not implementing any kind of full time homeschool program for Ella. Rather, I'm using this general idea of a workbox solution to help keep me organized for her Tot School activities. Down the road, if we decide to homeschool, I'm sure I'll investigate using this organization system for homeschooling, but that's another subject for another time!

We're using this storage tower from Office Depot for our workbox organization system. The very general, basic idea is that you put one activity in each drawer (aka workbox) and you work through the activities for the day. My plan is to fill each box with different activities the night (or week) before so that we are ready to go when the time comes during the week.

You could put all sorts of things in the different boxes from puzzles to coloring sheets to games to books, etc. I like this particular storage unit because it has some larger boxes at the bottom for larger activities. I plan to share what I'm putting in the boxes in my weekly Tot School posts.