Pre-K is about to begin!

Working on a Sand Experiment

I cannot believe Blue Rock is going to be in Pre-K this year.  We have prayed and prayed about his school for next year and decided that we are going to homeschool.  He loved his preschool last year but sadly or maybe thankfully, things did not work out like we had hoped.  We have considered homeschooling him since the first year of his life, something that I NEVER would have thought I would have considered before having a child. Ironically, I may not have considered homeschooling if we had not moved to Germany.  Which is quite ironic since it's illegal for Germans to homeschool.  While overseas I met a lot of wonderful Americans who homeschooled and was quite impressed with all the cool things their kids got to do and learn about, not to mention smart and respectful!  Not to say that a child who attends a public or private school is not going to have a great experience, I honestly really liked school. However, we feel that God is calling us to homeschool, so this coming year we will give it a try.

I started buying homeschool curriculum when he was 2.  I love educational games and activities.  Blue Rock is a very hands-on learner and tends to love science and experiments the most.  He is a quick learner and thankfully we work well together.

After praying and researching for several months, I have finally decided what we're going to do next year.  Our main curriculum will be from My Father's World, we will be going through their Kindergarten and literature package.  It's a very hands-on curriculum and there are many fun things to do.  I love how it centers around God and creation and I feel like it will be a great foundation for years to come.  Rather than just go through the alphabet, since he's known it since before he was 2.  We're going to be continuing to learn phonograms with Wordy Worm.  I had never heard of phonograms until I began researching phonics programs.  I love how Wordy Worm teaches all the sounds of the English language.  For example, rather than just say a certain letter is silent, like the "a" in boat, you learn that "oa" says "o."  

Because I am indecisive, we are also going to be continuing with Sonlight.  I bought the preschool package for 3/4 year olds when he was 2.  I also had bought many preschool activities from My Father's World during that time.  Many of the books are his favorites.  I have purchased most of their preschool 4/5 package to go along with My Father's World.  Ironically, I never considered myself a huge reader until I decided to major in English in college.  Of course I loved magazines and reading about current events but was never a big reader, per say.  As an adult I see the importance of being a good reader and the true value of good books.

We will add some extra science experiments this year as well.  I'm also considering starting Math U See.  However, I'm going to wait and see how much math is included in My Father's World because I don't want to push things too far ahead.  We're already starting with a kindergarten curriculum because that is more of the level he's at.  Also, if it takes us longer to get through My Father's World Kindergarten, I'm okay with that.  Since technically, he wouldn't be starting kindergarten until next year.  One nice thing about homeschooling is you can truly tailor your child's education based on their interest and educational level. 

For extra curricular activities we are going to be involved in: gymnastics, tennis, karate,basketball, t-ball, and soccer (depending on the schedule), cooking classes, art classes, and music.  We won't be doing all of this at once.  I figured 1-3 activities a week is plenty.  This may change some once the baby is born.  We'll also continue to have lots of play dates and take plenty of trips to the children's museum and zoo (once the weather cools down) as well as other fun field trips around town.  I love that we will be able to really see where his interests are.

I'm looking forward to a fun year.  I think school should be fun.  We have several friends who homeschool and one of Blue Rock's newer friends is going to be starting My Father's World Kindergarten as well.  I'm also hoping to get together with other friends of preschoolers and do monthly or bi-weekly science experiments with the kids or other fun activities.

This coming year and future years, our main objectives for Blue Rock no matter where or how we do school are: we want him to learn to trust in the Word of God; we want him to be healthy, confident, and to know he is beautifully and wonderfully made; and we want him to be confident, have good manners, to be respectful, humble in spirit, and compassionate to those around.   

A book that really influenced my decision to homeschool was Disciple Like Jesus for Parents.  I ordered this book by accident while living in Germany.  I have my fears about homeschooling, just like I would have my fears and concerns about sending him to public or private school.  We agreed to take it one year at a time.  If it ends up not working, we can always change courses and send him to a traditional school of some sort.  For now I'm really looking forward to a fun and exciting year of Pre-K with my sweet and fun-loving son!