3rd Year has Begun

We started school today. Aliya wasn't looking forward to starting school. That told me that I needed to put more effort into making learning fun. I think last year I treated her more like a 3rd or 4th grader. This year I want to incorporate more learning activities that tie into her lessons. Last year I sort of tied Aliya and Niah together in several subjects, and this year I am going to tie Aliya and Kiahna together. I have decided to continue doing History and Science ALL TOGETHER like we did last year, but then really enhancing the lessons with children's reference books, crafts, etc. I did some of this last year for Aliya, but this year I want to do more.

Aliya may not have wanted to start school today, but in the end, she was happy that we did! We started off by making the hand and foot prints for our "Watch Me Grow" charts. I was not able to get hand prints from Isaiah, because he kept wanting to grab the paint and the paper. The mobile represents their individual height, starting from the top of the plate and ending with the button on the bottom. On our last day of school, we will compare their growth. I am sure that they will be surprised to see how "big" they are getting--I know I will be!

The girls also created their own "book" that showed what type of things they would like to learn about. After they were done, we went to the library to see if we could find some books on those subjects. Aliya did not find any "feet" or "cherry" books like she had wanted, but she walked away with several books about big cats, seals, walruses, and polar bears. Niah did find some books on frogs and clouds, but couldn't find any about forest fires, so she grabbed some books about whales and dolphins. Kiahna wanted a book about thunder...and she found it! She also found a Sesame Street Cookbook that she decided to check out.

When we got home, we made cupcakes to celebrate our first day of school--Kiahna used her cookbook to help "make" the cupcakes! While they were baking, we finished our growth charts and then they each drew covers for their notebooks. After a quick dinner, they each decorated 3 of the cupcakes. They were so proud of their sweet treats, and I was so proud of them!

I believe it is important to identify the focus for each year and then work toward that goal (or goals!) throughout the year. Our goal the first year was to discover who we were (as far as homeschoolers--learning style, techniques, schedules, etc.). I also wanted to build relationships with each other, and to learn how to ENJOY learning. Last year's focus was mainly on academics. Since the previous year was a little more laid back, I wanted to kick it up a notch last year. This is where I think I over did it with Aliya. I wanted her to learn HOW to sit for concentrated studies, but I think I did it a little too much too soon.

This year, our goal is to develop our character and strengthen our family unit. We are also expanding our subjects to include various life skills such as cooking, sewing, shopping, cleaning, etc. The approach will be very hands-on, where the responsibility will be in their hands to accomplish the tasks. They will also be participating in a tumbling class on Tuesdays and a VERY active PE class on Fridays. We will have a very full year, but we want to have a FUN year, too!