Day 4

Today was day 4 of homeschooling here at Dandelion Hill Academy!

Happily, I can report we have had a wonderful week so far! Monday, Wednesday, and Today we got up around 7:30. Got dressed, and gathered around the breakfast table for a healthy breakfast. While eating, we read our Bible story and sang our hymn for this week (Make Me a Servant) and reviewed memory verses.

Then we began knocking off subjects one by one, alotting 10 or 15 minutes per subject until all were completed. This only took around an hour, and the M's are responding very well to this time in the mornings. Then we are done. The rest of the day has been spent playing with neighbors,

playing in the backyard, crafting, etc.

Tuesday has been my favorite day so far!! On Tuesday, we got up and had breakfast, and then we gathered up some food and headed to Thompson Park. After playing on the playground for about half an hour, we went to the zoo right when it opened. (A great time to go because all the animals are out and eating breakfast).





We spent about an hour at the zoo (we even saw the turtles doing a little hanky panky . . . that wasn't great).



Then we went over by the lake, laid out a picnic blanket and had our snack. Then I nursed M3 until he fell asleep and I laid him on the blanket. Then M1 and M2 sat on the blanket to do some watercolor in their nature journals. The each drew something from the zoo. When Michael woke up we headed home.





I hope many of our schooldays look something like Tuesday!!!

Lord, you are so good! Thank you for your provision and love! Please continue to direct this process. We love you, Father!

Amen

Curriculum

Charlotte Mason's principles are a heavy influence for many homeschoolers. I have adopted her principles as the foundation of our curriculum, with a few beneficial changes that I think will be good for us. Charlotte believed that children under the age of 6 should not have any formal lessons. She believed in letting children under six spend hours outside exploring and discovering on there own. Developing a love for nature, and learning the laws of nature in reality. Even though they would not be able to describe or define these laws, they are developing a basic understanding that will be expounded upon later. She believed in short lessons, only 10 or 15 minutes per lesson at this age. She believed in varying lessons (switching from sitting and reading to something hands on before you sit and read again). She believed the formation of habits are as important as the lessons themselves (the habbit of paying attention, the habbit of doing your best, the habbit of neatness, the habbit of putting other before yourself, etc) She believed that every child should be a naturalist, each to their own degree. Finally, she believed in "living books", not text books. Living books are factual, however they are written in story form, not in the form of a text book. She considered texts books "twaddle". I will be doing formal lessons with Mandie; however, they will be short, sweet, and they will require her full attention.

 I expect that our formal school time will look something like this:

Daily Subjects:
Bible: story, memory verse, hymn

Math: Hands on math (using manipulatives, not too many worksheets)

Reading: This is the hub of our year. This reading will not really be done in a formal way, but I hope to spend a LOT of time on the couch with a good book. Matthew is always welcome to join us! Our reading list comes from the Ambleside Online List for year 0. Some we had, some we bought, some we will borrow from the library.We will use narration to determine reading comprehension.

Language Arts/ Phonics: We are using the Kindergarten Hooked on Phonics program that our neighbor gave us. Using this Mandie has already read the first 4 books in the program. We will also practice writing and spelling words from our reading books. And I have a writing curriculum that we will use occasionally to practice handwriting.

Weekly Subjects:
Nature study: this is a dedicated time outside with our nature journals in which we experience and observe nature. Each child will pick one thing to draw in their journal either with colored pencils or water color paints.

Art: craft

Music Appreciation: We will use the music list from the Ambleside Online program to listen to classical music 1/week.

Seekers: Seekers is a homeschool co-op that meets one afternoon a week. Parents take turns teaching. Mandie and Matthew will each have a reading class, an art class, and a P.E. class.

Matthew will be making an alphabet book similar to the one Mandie made at KU when she was his age. My goal is for him to learn his letter names and sounds. Also, I want him to sit and read with us as much as he wants to.

When I asked them what they wanted to learn this year in school, Mandie said she wanted to learn how to make macaroni and cheese all by herself. Matthew said he wanted to learn how to draw Woody Woodpecker. So I guess we'll do that, too. :)

I think the hardest part for me will be getting to bed early, so that I am energized and ready to go every day. I'm a bit of a night owl . . . my kids are not. My main goal this year is to get plenty of rest, and make school time the bright spot in our day.

What's in a name

After spending all kinds of time trying to do it on my own, I decided to let Mandie name our school. However, I did give her some guidelines. The conversation went something like this:

Me: OK, Mandie, what's your favorite flower?
Mandie: Ummmmmm . . . . . . . DANDELION!
Me: OK, let's use a word that describes something outside. Like mountain, forest, valley, hill, dale, field, etc. So it would be like "Dandelion Mountain", or something like that.
Mandie: Hill, I like hill.
Me: Are you sure, I kind of like valley, or maybe plains?
Mandie: No, I'm sure. I like hill.
Me: OK

Why I LOVE the Name

There are several reasons why I love this name. First of all, I love that most people consider a dandelion a weed, when in reality it's a perfectly acceptable salad green. Kind of like the way a lot of people consider homeschooling a non-option, when it's actually a very wonderful way to educate children (at least that's what I'm banking on!).

Secondly, when I picture a hilltop covered in dandelions it reminds me of this Bible verse: "You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14-15. A major reason for homeschooling is to train up our children for God's call on their lives. I hope so much that they are, and will be the light of the world, and that the Lord will use them in whatever way He sees fit. I hope He uses me, too.

Third, I think it's so darn cute!

Thus, our school name: Dandelion Hill Elementary

Let the Journey Begin

In just 18 short days our family will officially begin our homeschooling journey. It has been a long time coming. I am anxious, but also somehow relieved by its arrival. When I first felt the call in my heart to homeschool I was skeptical about what I had felt. I had always imagined that my children would go to public school, and I had always laughed off the idea that I had the patience to be around my own children all day, much less teach them! But the seed had been planted in my heart, and the Lord used many conversations, books, sermons, and convictions to water that seed. Eventually I came to accept the idea that homeschooling was something my family could do, and my husband and I considered it to be a very real option for our family.

The Lord continued to ripen a desire inside of me to homeschool.  As time went by I began researching different homeschooling methods. I read millions of blogs about other families who were doing it. I tried to imagine how it would fit into our family, and I wondered what life would be like if we actually opened this door. I spent a lot of time questioning the Lord, asking him to clarify that this was His will for our family. He has answered so strongly that I am convinced that for our family not homeschooling would be a direct act of disobedience to the Lord on our part. We are not interested in disobeying, we want very much to hear his will for our life and react to it with a contented "yes sir".

I hope to use this blog to sort of chronicle our journey over this uncharted territory. I expect that as time goes by and our experience increases we will change our routines and plans as we continue to try to do our best in this endeavor. My prayer is that in all things done here, the love of Jesus Christ will reign supreme, and our children will grow to be ready for the plans the Lord has for them.

"The first step to getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are"

So our journey is beginning.