Homeschool Monday - The schedule

So I've been doing a lot of research on homeschooling and I can successfully say that I am obsessed...ha!  I love the idea sharing, the life sharing, and the love that is felt in each and every blog that I find.  So tonight I've decided that I would try blogging about our experience just to put it out there and join in on the love:).

The first installment will be our schedule.  Now I have to give a disclaimer that this is what I have down on paper, but doesn't always happen.  So part of the reason I am sharing this is so that I can be more accountable to the plan.

9 am Calendar Time (Days of the week song, Month song while we march in a parade with our instruments, weather, colors review with color circles, counting, introduce the letter of the week)
9:30 am  Story time (Right now we read whatever the girls want, but next year we will change it up a bit and include our Before Five In a Row story.)
10/10:30 am Letter of the week worksheets from "Confessions" (Dot letters, collage sheets, lacing pictures) and letter find worksheets from this site
10:30-11 am Craft Time (I tend to be free with craft time.  There isn't a theme right now and may not ever be for the moment.  The girls pick from our supplies we have in our school room and create!)

I do have a little one that doesn't do any school yet, but I do have some Montessori inspired trays where I put toys she can easily access.  So right now she just crawls over to the shelf and plays while I do pre-school with big girls.

After this the girls free play and I do my best to keep the TV off and play music.  My girls are always moving so on the days when the TV is on more I don't sweat it at all:).

So my dilemma has been how much to school the girls.  Right now, I'm very chill about school.  We either do Monday, Thursday, or both of those days depending on what I want to do or how much the girls beg me for school (I absolutely LOVE that they LOVE learning by the way).  Next year, though, I'm leaning towards a Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Friday is our library day).  However, we will do the calendar everyday (even weekends) to keep up with the order of things.  I am also tossing around the idea that I will school everyday in some way.  For instance, I came across this idea to map out where the food and other things you buy come from as a geography lesson.  So this is something that I could do with girls while I'm in the kitchen cooking.  We would simply have a map in the kitchen, take out an item form the kitchen or tag in someone's shirt, then put a push pin on the map and talk about that area of the country.  Simple learning that I can do on the "off school" days.  LOVE it!

So there you go!  Our schedule and my thoughts on the whole deal.  Anyone got any great ideas to share on how you school your kids?

I LOVE teaching my kids!

Here are some pictures from some alone school time with DD:). She was SO pleased with herself as we went through each activity today and I was pleased as well. I love seeing the twinkle in their eyes as they learn!

Kids were here

Kids were here

So I was reading a friend's blog and I absolutely loved THIS idea and so now every Friday I am going to post one...or maybe more than one picture of images from around our house/"world." Finding little gems like this around the house as I clean (or don't clean...ha!) make me laugh, cry, or sometimes just smile and ponder on how GREAT these little ones are and how the special chaos that is having small children won't be here for very long. So enjoy and come back to visit every Friday if you want to see that "kids were here."

A song for the Holmes Family Memory Book:)

"There's a Wocket in my Pocket"

By Daddy/Dada

There's a Wocket in my pocket

And he likes to do a dance

When I close the door and lock it

He likes to wear my pants

There's a Wocket in my pocket

And he likes to yell and sing

There's a Wocket in my pocket

And he likes it when I dream

BEST. DAD. EVER!!!

T-Shirt Quilt is...DONE!!!

I added a little snuggle pillow at the end when I found one last t-shirt:)

I'm SEW excited!!! (I had to...ha!)

I'm making my first quilt out of my college dance team shirts and it really is bringing tears to my eyes. SO many wonderful memories! Oh how I love what it means to be on a team! There is a special memory behind each shirt and I'm so excited about having this in my home and as a part of my history. I can't wait to snuggle up on the couch with this quilt:).