Let me just come out and say it…where has the Summer gone?
Whether you like it or not, most of us will be doing some form of homeschooling this year. As many parents realized at the end of the school year, virtual schooling is not a hands-off approach to education from home. I, like many of you who may be reading this, was not planning on Homeschooling my Preschool and Kindergartener this year. My kids went to a wonderful, small, local Montessori school in Hollywood last year that I absolutely loved, and I also enjoyed the freedom to take on more work during their time away from home. The Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020 has had a huge impact on our lives, but I am excited and determined to make the best of this unexpected year of homeschooling, and I hope this advice helps you do the same!
Finding the right curriculum for our family:
In a sea of information on the internet, finding the right resources for your child’s education can be daunting to say the least! With some help from some seasoned homeschool mom friends, and some extensive google searching, I put together a list of items we will be using to get us started for the 2020-2021 school year for my 4 year old Preschooler and 5 year old Kindergartener. I will also incorporate Montessori Activities outlined in my previous story!
READING
SCIENCE
- Pandia Press REAL Science Odyssey, Life 1
- Most notably, this curriculum is secular: Science excludes any supernatural explanation for any event occurring in nature, including the origin of life.
- Courses are written specifically for home and small group use. Packed full of serious science and loads of fun, RSO is an incremental program that gently builds on itself and incorporates mathematics, scientific method, and science terminology. Created with the science novice in mind, you don’t need any science background to teach.
- RSO Life (level one) is divided into three sections: the human body, the animal kingdom, and the plant kingdom. Students study the major body systems through making models and doing tests on their own bodies. Classification and the five kingdoms of living things are studied as students make an animal kingdom book. Animal kingdom labs include examining real worms, mollusks, arthropods, and butterfly metamorphosis. Students learn about the plant kingdom through looking at the makeup and function of seeds, flowers, leaves, stems, and roots.
- Hands On Experiments at home
- Solar System:
Glow in the dark solar system mobile making kit
Geography: Interactive Globe
MATH
Learning from Nature, Our Greatest Teacher
We will spend as much time in nature parks as we can. Some of our favorite local parks are:
- Greynolds Park, North Miami
- TY Park, Hollywood Florida
- West Lake Park, Dania Beach Florida
- Anne Kolb Nature Center, Dania Florida
- John U Lloyd State Park, Dania Beach
4- Year Old Curriculum
My focus homeschooling my 4 year old Preschooler is for her to work independently on the Montessori activities and lessons while I’m working with her older brother on reading and math. She will take part in our Science activities together with her brother. She is familiar with most of these from her year in school, but I will spend the first couple of weeks guiding and teaching as needed
Some of these activities include:
Spelling with cards and images
- Letter recognition and sounds
- Math: Number Recognition and Counting
- Practicing holding a pencil, writing letters, coloring and drawing
- Water Beads are great for sensory play!
- Sensory Bins with Wooden ToolsYou can use items you have around the house like dried rice. Some of our favorites are sand, kinetic sand, and slime.
Wooden Tools for Sensory Bin
- Aromatherapy Dough : All Food Safe, Kid-Safe ingredients, this non-toxic play-dough makes the perfect addition to your arts and crafts sensory table for kids of all ages!
- Most importantly, PLAYING!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES/GAMES
- Outschool.com : Live classes as low as $10/class. Discover fun, social, and safe learning experiences for kids ages 3-18 led by passionate teachers.
- Education.com
- https://www.education.com
- Lesson plans, games, activies, worksheets, songs, stories.
- $9.99-$15.99/month depending on whether you sign up for a monthly or yearly plan
- Math Seeds/ Reading Eggs (Similar to ABC Mouse)
- Get both for $10/month, free 30-day trial available
FIND A LOCAL, LIKE-MINDED HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Community Is Everything!
- Facebook- search your local area and ask for recommendations. This is very specific to your area, goals, and philosophy so I won’t drop any specific groups here for that reason.
- There are different philosophies on homeschooling, find a group that share the same values and long-term goals that you do.
Most importantly, be gentle and loving with yourself. YOU GOT THIS!
Special thanks to my good friend, Cassie Pflug, for her invaluable guidance and advice through this process!
