I can't wait to homeschool!

Cleaning Coins

Hubby and I decided that we were going to homeschool the kids.    It wasn't part of our original plans as parents but over the last year the idea of it started to make more and more sense to us.   It started as a way for us to be able to travel between New Zealand and the States for longer  time periods whenever we wanted, and evolved into a conscious decision that we believe is best for our family.

Hard at work!

So here I am, finally a Mommy who is blessed to be home with her kids full time and about to embark on this new adventure.   I retired from teaching special ed over the summer, so the teaching part isn't where I'm feeling challenged.    The real challenge, that both excites and terrifies me, is teaching MY kids and engaging them in learning and getting to know them in a whole new way.   

Today I decided to find an activity from The Preschooler's Busy Book   I got it for Christmas and finally got around to taking a peek.  There is a wide range of activities for all levels and interests and most can be completed using simple arts/crafts supplies and materials found around the house.

This morning we embarked on cleaning coins!   So simple: basin with a little water, dish soap, coins and old toothbrushes.   Both kids loved it.    They splashed a bit, explored different techniques and it became the perfect opportunity to teach my son (almost 4) the names of the coins.   My daughter (20 months), not to be outdone tried to name them too!  They were both sad when we had to clean up to go to the doctors 20 minutes later.   And my son asked to do it again during quiet time.

It was so much fun, so natural, and so the way learning should be!   I loved teaching in the public schools but also felt like I was locked into a box that was more focused on putting others into the box and sometimes made decisions that didn't really reflect the needs of the people.   And at the end of the day the people are what really matters.

Now I'm fired up!  And excitedly waiting for my Bright Beginnings preschool curriculum.   I love the idea of having a curriculum framework with a biblical focus to guide what I'm teaching.  This year as Hayden embarks on his last year of preschool I want to really get to know him as a learning so we can do amazing things together homeschooling!