Our Kindergarden & Pre-K Homeschool Experience: Part 1- The Choice to Homeschool

As I have mentioned in the past, we are a homeschooling family.  It's just what is right for our particular family.  This year was our first true year!  My oldest son started Kindergarten, my second son started Pre-K, and my youngest tried to make the year extra challenging, haha.  Well, she followed along as best as she could.  I have been meaning to write a review & load it with pictures of our homeschooling experience for all those with the curious questions I've spoken to..  The other day I realized we've almost completed the second semester & I had yet to post anything!

Anyhow, last year we used the Seton Catholic Homeschool curriculum for my oldest, who was in Pre-K.  It really worked well for us in so many ways and my son seemed to learn a lot.  Yet, as parents, we worried that maybe they were missing out.  The big yellow bus was definitely attractive to a five year old and the idea of him having lots of little friends was pleasing too.  The day before kindergarten registration at our local public school, we still had not made a final decision.  I cried many tears for days at the thought of sending my little man off to school.  I was sad we wouldn't be teaching him any longer.  My heart broke daily as I thought of no longer painting with him, not being there to pick out library books with him,  and no longer snuggling together for story time.  However, I was devastated at the thought of having to separate my three kids from each other for most of their day.  They have a deep bond with each other and I wanted to nurture that, not break it.  Well, we finally decided to give homeschooling another year, and we would see how it went before making any further decisions.  I am so, very thankful for that calling.  It has not been a completely easy experience, but it has been a beautiful blessing.

"Parents are the first and the most important educators of their own children, and they also possess a fundamental competence in this area; they are educators because they are parents." -St. John Paul II, Letter to Families. (www.setonhome.org)

Below are just a few fun times from my oldest son's Pre-K year.

My silly, excited pre-k kiddo!

Practicing his handwriting and number recognition.

Calendar Math

Forming his letters in sand.

Caterpillar science

Counting bear math

A visit to the Museum of Natural Science was awesome.

Taking a break for a picnic lunch inside our new house.

Sunny Day science fun!

Intricate insect wings.

Finger paint work of art!

Making bird feeders

A trip to the zoo is always a joy!

Excited to be inside a real firetruck!

Floating practice at swimming lessons.

Learning to read!!!

Puzzle fun

My little Champion Mutton Buster!  He was awesome!

Reptile presentation at the library.

A love for reading.

Joined the swim team!

Launching rockets!

Painted Toast- Yummy Fun!

I plan on making Painted Toast as part of our Art lesson this week.  We made it many months ago and the boys loved it.  My mom taught me how to do this project when I was young.  It's super easy and yummy for the kiddos!

First, pour small amounts of milk into several small bowls.  Add food coloring to the milk, making several different colors.  Lay out slices of bread on plates or cookie sheets.  Have the child use a clean paint brush to apply the "paint" (colored milk) to the bread, making a beautiful masterpiece.  Before the bread is too soggy, place it in the toaster, and eat it!

Brushing the colored milk onto the bread.

I suppose you may need to stress that it's only milk, not paint... and that we don't eat real paint.  My boys watched me pour the milk and they know we don't eat paint, so I skipped the lecture.  My 2 year old did, however, move beyond the boundaries of his toast & decided to do a bit of body painting.  :)

My 2 year old painted himself with the colored milk.  Baby G is checking out the fun.  :)

The Painted Toast, ready for eating!

Life Cycle of a Butterfly- Our First "Official" Homeschool Preschool Science Project

This Spring, we have officially enrolled our 4 year old in home school preschool through
Seton Homeschooling!  Homeschooling, to us, is a mental state and a way of life.  Whether or not a child is sent to a public learning institution, their home should always be a place where they learn from the people who love them the most.

Our curriculum consists of Art & Music, Handwriting, Literacy, Mathematics, Physical Education, and Religion.  I am adding Science & History as well because my preschooler absolutely LOVES these subjects, especially science.

Everyday is a science experiment with these two boys, but we completed our first "official" project in our science journal yesterday- The Life Cycle of a Butterfly.  We caught several hungry caterpillars, watched them turn into a chrysalis one at a time, and waited patiently for 11 days.  Yesterday our first butterfly emerged- a beautiful Black Swallowtail Butterfly!  He was pretty sad when it flew away, but it's all a lesson in life.

A hungry caterpillar in it's second stage of it's life cycle.

Finally, the fourth stage- a butterfly!  So exciting!

Our Black Swallowtail Butterfly.  It's beautiful pattern is designed to keep away predators- looks like a large, scary bird from above!