If there is one thing I have learned in our 3 previous years of homeschooling, it’s to allow time for myself and my kids to get back into routine.
It seems to take us about 2 weeks to “remember” the rules, how to stay on task, and work independently. There is also a bit of a memory loss with some basic skills, that inevitably have to be re-taught, re-learned, and re-habited.
Knowing and expecting this makes for a much easier transition from the relaxed easy going days of summer to our more rigid routine during the school year. I plan very minimal bookwork for these first two weeks, choosing instead to focus on behavior expectations, politeness, patience, and simple but fun review of material as needed. Not only does it help the kids, it helps me work up to the increasingly longer school days and heavier work load that each year brings.
Here’s a look at our first two weeks:
We decorated and then learned how to use our new calendar journals. Poor Isaac had tears when he forgot how to do the “code date”. No worries, bud!
So far they all like it and it’s going well. Except for Elaina, who says it’s boring. I think she is bound and determined to prove to me that Kindergarten will be too boring for her, and she should just skip to 1st grade…
We reviewed the Days of the Week, Months of the Year, and practiced spelling them with these Letter Tile Cards. We also reviewed our address and phone number, and the boys practiced addressing an envelope.
We practiced skip counting, focusing on number groups to get the boys ready for multiplication. We used these fun feet after reading The Foot Book one morning during our Circle time.
We reviewed spelling numbers with these Letter Tile Cards after reading The Cat In the Hat another day.
And practiced our time telling skills with these puzzles.
The boys refreshed their skills of place value with these Place Value Rods and made 10 different equations of their choosing. There were a few tears with this review….
They practiced counting money, and wished it was all real, while making up 10 ways to make $10.00.
And played a super fun money spending game. I was so proud of Nate for sticking it out even through a lot of frustration with not remembering how to carry over while adding large numbers!
We used Appletters to create our own spelling lists. I love how Isaac knew how to spell Mississippi, but not his brothers name….
We played with a few other games we have, including this Addition Bingo one.
Elaina did lots of review too, focusing mostly on writing alphabet letters, phonetic sounds, number recognition, following directions, and lots of waiting her turn.
And showing patience while waiting her turn…
Oh the drama of being in such a “boring” Kindergarten….
(Click here for Fish Printable)
We worked on this rhyming game…
This ABC bingo….
And did a fare amount of goofing around. You know, so she wouldn’t get too bored…
We worked on a fun mini-unit together (that I will share later) for the book: A Sick Day For Amos McGee.
Even Olivia got back into the swing of “cool” and got her hands into more toys than I could keep up with. And so, the school room is now a complete disaster. Which usually means we’ve had a pretty good week (or two!)
For a fun outing with just me and the boys, we went to a local fair. Isaac proudly wore his Bronco tattoo, until a young woman at Target complimented him and he turned beet red with embarrassment. He asked if he could wash it off immediately. “I’m so nervous around girls, Mom.”
It’s going to be a good year.
That’s what I keep telling myself anyway!
