Homeschool - Getting Started

I've had many comments on the homeschool posts from readers who are encouraged to start homeschooling or plan on starting in the future so in this post I thought I'd share a few things that have been helpful to me and Noelle.

When I got serious about starting a curriculum with Noelle I was quickly overwhelmed with the amount of information there is out there. I remember my heart pounding and telling Mr. G that I felt inadequite. There were so many sites to filter though and nothing stood out to me. Then I found Confessions of a Homeschooler and immediately I knew I found the perfect place to start. I purchased the Letter of the Week curriculum for $10 and starting printing the first weeks lesson plan. We will be moving on to the K4 curriculum next.
So do some research and find a curriculum that fits for your homeschooler and give it a try! Homeschooling has been one of the best decisions that I have made. I've heard from many moms that they've never heard someone say they wish they didn't homeschool - only that they wished they started sooner. After the first day I was hooked. It is a blast teaching Noelle.

My experience as a substitute teacher was helpful from the start. I've worked in almost all grades from Kinder to High School as a sub. My time in the Kindergarten classes helped me get Noelle's "classroom" set up. If you have a friend who teaches maybe you can ask for a tour of the classroom.

Keeping to a schedule is key. If we don't get into the "classroom" first thing in the morning, I'll get busy with chores and projects and shopping - and school gets pushed back or forgotten for the day.

Prepare, prepare, prepare. On Sunday night I prepare all of the material for the week. It makes everything easier to have it done in advance, especially with a young one. Noelle is not going to sit around waiting for me to print, cut and organize the lesson plan for the day, so I have it all laid out ready to go in the morning.

Find your child's learning strengths and style. Noelle learns fast with songs and repetition. She will learn a Bible verse in one hour if I repeat it 10 or so times when she's tracing, lacing, coloring, etc. About the 5th time she'll start to say it with me. She's very much an auditory and kinesthetic learner.
Noelle and I made this song up to remember vowels. It's a silly little jingle, but ask her what the vowels are and she'll tell you!

"a.e.i.o.u. Oh Ya. a.e.i.o.u. Brake It Down Now"

Pray. I pray daily for wisdom, patience and contagious excitement about learning.

A short Vlog about our "classroom"

We finished up the vowels with letter O and then spent a week reviewing each letter and all 5 Bible verses. I think I'll do a review week every 5 weeks or so. It was fun to go back and see what she's learned and accomplished.
This past week Noelle learned letter B - for butterfly. Here are a few pictures of her favorite activities:

Tracing all of the letters in the alphabet - she did this several times.

 Matching big B with big B and little b with little b.

Tracing B and b

Matching (and gluing)