We checked out from the library five books we had never read before about snow and winter! I absolutely love utilizing the library for bringing new literature into our home. I search titles that I want us to read, request the library down the street to hold the books for me, that library gathers the book titles from all the other libraries in the county and then calls me when they are ready for pick up! So convenient and such a wonderful way to expose my children to new books without having to spend a penny!

Our favorites from this bunch were: Snow Sounds and Ten on the Sled. The others were worth the read, but not on our favorites list!

I am so proud of the way Little Bug is working on her handwriting! As I mentioned here, her class is working on the 1st Grade Handwriting Without Tears book. I am proud of the way she is trying to form her letters correctly. Her biggest obstacles are her refusal to hold the pencil with a correct grip and she tries to write too fast! But considering where her writing was at the beginning of this school year to where it is now, she is making progress, and that is all that matters to me. In the picture on the right Little Bug is working on a hands-on math activity her teacher sent home. It involved crafty things so Little Bug was thrilled for something other than a worksheet to do! She had to use objects to glue onto the numbers 91-94.

Towards the end of January, we got back into our Horizons Math K. This is such a good curriculum I really want Little Bug to complete it! She enjoys it. On this day we drew a number line on the garage floor to help us add. A fun way for a kinesthetic learner to do her math!

Sweet Pea is loving her school time with me each morning. As soon as breakfast is over she is asking for school time! She inherited her sister’s preschool handwriting book. She has already developed an interest in learning to write. Two days out of the week both girls are home during school time. It can be a chaotic time since I’ve started having one big Morning School Time instead of teaching them one-by-one.

Generally, we begin our Morning School Time by doing the activities we all do together: Bible Time, Calendar Time, Memory Verse, Science or History. Then I get Little Bug working on something she can do independently (usually handwriting) while I do Ready-Made Preschool Level 1 with Sweet Pea. After that, Sweet Pea gets to pick an educational toy or activity to do (on this day she chose to play with our bean sensory bin) while I work with Little Bug on Reading and Math.

I feel like we are almost into the groove of doing school this way. The key is me being prepared before we get started. I need to know what we are doing that day, have all materials prepared and ready to go and I have to make expectations very clear on what everyone is suppose to be doing at any given time. There are many days after our joint school time where I feel like my head is going to swirl right off!!!

It’s hard to believe thinking about plans for next year is right around the corner!

- Elaine