We are getting into my favorite time of the year with homeschooling! Things are starting to wind up with our current curriculum, we will enjoy some light schooling for a while, and I get to PLAN for the next year.
Planning is one of my favorite things. I love it.
I am still in a little bit of denial about having THREE kids doing school next year. But it’s going to be great. It’s going to be an adjustment…but it’s going to be GREAT! {Insert internal pep talk here}
One thing that I am really interested to see is how Benjamin is going to adjust to “school” time. Jacob and Sarah were ALL in when we started school. And Benjamin has just never really been interested. He is WAY too busy! So it will be interesting to see how it goes.
HOWEVER, just the last two weeks or so he has been asking when he gets to do “school” – which has NEVER happened before – so maybe it will be okay.
The great thing is – this first year of preschool – is incredibly light. Which is just how I like it. It is super basic and just a nibble of academics. We stick mostly to reading a lot and simply adjusting to sitting down and listening for a couple minutes.
Recap
As for as a recap goes: I did a little bit of school with Jacob when he was preschool age. We hadn’t planned on homeschooling yet and I mostly just came up with some activities on my own. Then he did a full year of preschool outside of our home.
But with Sarah we had already dived into homeschooling and so I was a lot more organized with her. I am mostly doing the same things with Benjamin that I did with her, with just a few modifications.
Curriculum
All Aboard the Animal Train
We will mostly be using the All Aboard the Animal Train curriculum from My Father’s World. When I began planning preschool for Sarah I wanted to have something to guide me a little. I found this.
Now, here is my honest opinion. I am a little indifferent about this curriculum. I don’t love it but I also don’t hate it either. I don’t get really excited about it {internally – I hype it up for the kids!} but I also haven’t found anything else that gets me really fired up for this young age either. So this works!
And, again, I think it goes back to what my goals are for this year. Make sure we have basics down – colors, shapes, numbers – and then just skills of learning to settle and listen for a few minutes. That’s it for me! And this fits that criteria, so we are using it again!
There are 12 units – each designed to last three weeks. Each unit focuses on an animal, a color, and a virtue. One thing I am really going to try and utilize more this time around is there reading list. We didn’t have easy access to a library when we did this with Sarah and so I am hoping to use that more this time.
Benji got really excited when I took out the materials and was looking through them. It will be really good for him I think. And he loves animals so, if nothing else, that should draw him in!
Mammals “Littles” Bundle
This part is NEW for me. Jacob and Sarah will be studying mammals for one of their units in science next year, and The Good and the Beautiful came out with some resources for “littles” to use alongside that unit.
Now, I don’t plan or anticipate Benji to want to participate at all in our science lessons. But I do anticipate that he might be around our school area more next year {he will lose Sarah as his playmate downstairs}. So there are two books about mammals and two flip books about mammals that should help keep him entertained and maybe learn a little something too.
Wrap Up
I am really excited to begin teaching Benjamin next year. It has been incredibly fulfilling as a mother to be present as I watch my kids make those connections academically. I love being able to learn WITH them.
I hope this is helpful for anyone who is planning or thinking about teaching their young preschooler. Decide what your goals are and find something that works for you!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment! I don’t count myself a homeschooling pro but I have learned some things over the years and would love to help you out if I can!
