2023/24 Recap
When my son turned two, I thought of the year ahead and made some goals. They looked something like this.
Charlotte Mason Inspired: Routines. Read aloud. Bible time. Time outside.
Routine
We already had a steady daily rhythm. Our toddler played well independently. What could do with a bit of work was table time. I wanted to put him at the table with markers, or paint, or crayons, and have him doodle 15 – 20 minutes (30 would be great!) We never did succeed at this.
Read aloud
We read board books, picture books, and even a few chapter books.
Bible time
I found a bible curriculum, and spent the year working through the Old Testament. (It’s a year later, and we are still in Genesis!) My goal was to teach him 10 bible verses throughout the year, which we reached.
Time outside
We are a 1000 hours outside family. Only I can’t claim this since I have never tracked it, because I don’t need more to do. In the summer we wake up, eat breakfast, and head out to the beach. We come home for lunch and nap, and head back out to the park after nap. In the winter if its above 30 degrees, I try get outside for at least 30min or a walk around the block.
Learning
To be able to recognize his colors, sing the ABC song, and count to 10. The ABC song and numbers came easy. Colors took a little longer, and we though they might never stick but, with time, they did. Which brings us to;
Our 2024/25 Homeschool Routine
When he turned 3, I sat down and looked at what we had achieved at 2, and thought this year we could try our hand at letters and numbers.
We are a first generation homeschooling family, and so this is all new to me. During the first week, I wondered if I was ruining his childhood, schooling him to soon, and almost packed up to try again next year. But here we are 10 weeks in, and he knows his letters A-F and we have a steady routine.
Circle Time
We don’t have traditional circle time, but then again perhaps we do. We start and end school the same way each day.
We start by singing the alphabet song, the months of the year, and the days of the week. Next, we review the letters he knows, with sounds and hand motions. (A says a-a-apple, pretend to bite apple. B says b-b-bear, growl like a bear, and on we go.)
After that we review our flashcards. I have the letters he’s working on in flashcards. I show him the card, and he tells me what letter it is and whether its uppercase or lowercase.
Before our lesson we do some handwriting practice. For a little boy who doesn’t love painting and drawing, this is his favorite part of school.
Lesson time
We are working through the Good and the Beautiful Preschool. This is not the curriculum we’ll be staying with long term. I chose it for this year because it introduces letters, sounds, numbers and counting, which is exactly wanted to focus on. Something to note before purchasing this curriculum is that there is not enough numbers and counting material. You will need to supplement heavily.
At the end of each lesson I write the letters he knows onto a whiteboard, and he matches up foam magnet letters to the letters I have written down. I find this helps him look at and recognize the letters. If I point to the uppercase H on the whiteboard, and ask him to find the uppercase H foam letter, he needs to look at the one I have written and try recognize the uppercase H in the foam letter.
Lastly, while I tidy up our school books for the day, he works on a Melissa and Doug alphabet puzzle independently. As he puts the puzzle together, he says the letters and their sounds out loud. (A says a-a-apple, B says b-b-butterfly, etc.)
And that concludes our homeschool for the day.
Of course, children are always learning.
