Well, the new year has started! This is our first official year, paperwork included, as a private school here in California. California doesn’t have homeschoolers. Those who are homeschooling without the support of a public school system (like a charter school), file paperwork just like any private school here in the state. So, we decided…
Category: Math
Learning Plan: Age 5
And so it begins! For reals! Well, kinda. My homeschooling, in a legal sense, will start for real next year, but I’m going to use this year as a sounding board for the best way to keep records for the state. You can find my own goals and ways of doing things on my mentoring…
What A Four Year Old Can Learn
Last year I realized that it was a bit of a misnomer to call this list “goals,” as I wasn’t really focused on trying to get her to accomplish them. It was more just keeping track of what she was learning. Moving forward to get something done is a pretty inherent aspect of the word…
“T” Party
During our Letter T week, we had a “T” party…get it, T like tea. 🙂 We initially were going for Tuesday the twenty-first at ten. But, then decided to have it while we had some Chinese foreign exchange students over. So, it turned into a party for the kids followed with dinner for the adults…
Letter of the Week – Letter I
Day 1 Find “I” and “i” stickers and put on I Color and assemble letter I book (I only use three pages.) Look through our library and get I books Put out I words (instruments, iPad, iPod, iPhone…I highly recommend using masking or painting tape so nothing is ruined when you pull it off) Video: Olive…
Letter of the Week
So, there is a lot of controversy over whether to do letter of the week or not. Really, there is. I can see the validity of both sides and have tried to take out the repetitiveness and implement more meaningful activities. But, ultimately those who oppose the letter of the week idea, would rather the…
What a Three Year Old Can Learn
I really liked having goals for my two-year-old and myself last year. So, I figured I’d try and do it every year. Then as I wrote this article and titled it “Plans and Goals,” I realized that there are goals for me, but most of what I called “goals” are really just what I see her learning….
Learning: Ages 3-4
Cutting basil she picked for pasta I’m still dipping my feet into this whole “homeschooling” thing. I really don’t like the term “homeschooling,” since I don’t like what comes to mind when I think of “school.” As a ten year veteran elementary and middle school teacher, I have seen lots of flaws and learned a…
Plans and Goals for My Two Year Old
I like to plan. But, I also like to lay in bed. I figured if I tried to have at least a simple list of things I need to keep in mind each day, then I would not spend all day finding ways to keep my 2 year old busy at home, just so I…
Tot School: Beach and Ocean Theme
The great thing about themes is that any academic subject fits into them. There’s no need for objectives at this age, because she has such a limited knowledge of most subjects, totally immersing ourselves in a theme results in her knowing a lot more than she did at the beginning. There are a ton of…
Tot School: Intro to Shapes
Some find the idea of planning activities for two year olds crazy. But as a former teacher, I can rarely go a day without planning in my head. It used to be U.S. History that I saw everywhere (Pool noodles on sale? Those would make great bayonets for a Civil War battle! Controversial Dixie…
Tot School
“Tot school” is a term someone coined for doing activities with a toddler. I’d never heard it before having a toddler, but it’s real. My favorite site — and inspiration for a lot of what I do — is 1+1+1=1. They have a fantastic amount of information about this kind of thing. Many parents will…