May 17, 2022
I can't believe the end of the school year is here already! One pre-grade down (Jr. Kinder/TK) and on to Kindergarten with my oldest (5) in the fall. My youngest (4) will be starting the *new* The Good and The Beautiful Preschool LA program this upcoming school year, which we are really excited about! More to come SOON on what our school year will look like; so stay tuned for that!
Today, I want to share with you a re-cap of the curriculum we used for schooling this year and my honest opinion/feedback on the product and learning experience. *I purchased all of these products myself and was not gifted anything or asked to review any products mentioned below*
Language Arts
This is a GREAT program for young learners and parents who are looking for short but effective lessons. It is recommended that you spend 20 minutes a day on a lesson but you can break up the lesson into however many days that your child needs. No need to complete a lesson every day. I personally love this "permission" to take it slow and at the pace of the child. This really takes the pressure off of teaching to get through the program vs. actually taking time to allow your child to learn, stretch and process the information for better retention. AAR Pre-Reading teaches a letter of the alphabet and the letter sound and has great game ideas and handouts for art projects that review each letter. I would highly recommend this program to any homeschooling family who needs a simple, open and go approach to reading.
We are currently planning on using the next level for the upcoming school year - All About Reading Level 1 Program
Handwriting
I wanted a gentle introduction to handwriting with my child and these workbooks were perfect! The pages are really simple and can easily be understood by young learners for independent work with a light instruction time beforehand. We would do a couple of pages a week and my child quickly became a fan of writing once he gained confidence after a few short weeks of using these workbooks. The best thing thought is that they are $4.99 each on Amazon!
Math
This year, I learned that my son LOVES math! This was our first time doing any type of math with him and Singapore Dimensions was really great at introducing math concepts at a good but challenging pace. This set comes in two parts - A and B - which can be completed in a typical school year. You have two workbooks, two textbooks and two teacher's guides. All of the materials are really bright and colorful but not too distracting. The only thing I didn't find beneficial and that I don't think is necessary is the teacher's manuals. That might not be true for the older grades but for the PK level, I used the book for the first week and realized it was geared more towards a traditional classroom setting. I believe this is something they are changing in the future but you can totally get by successfully without them.
Science + Social Studies
I'm pretty sure my kids favorite day of the month was when these subscription boxes arrived at the front door. They had SO much fun with Little Passports and Green Kids Crafts for Social Studies and Science. I really enjoyed these two subscriptions because they were so easy to follow and had multiple activities included that could be spread throughout the month. We will probably order these again for the upcoming school year because they were totally worth it.
Final Review
I truly believe in everything I shared and loved our homeschooling year using these educational programs and tools. I love flexibility in our homeschooling rhythm and these all worked really well into our style. Reach out if you have any specific questions about anything! I'd be more than happy to help support you!
* Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (at absolutely no extra cost for you). These funds help support my family and keep this blog up and running. All products discussed in this post were personally purchased and I did NOT receive any of these products for review purposes.
May 1, 2022
What made you decide to homeschool? I often get asked this question and every time I answer, I leave the conversation encouraged and motivated to keep going. And pray that the person on the receiving end, also leaves feeling empowered! Almost like a self-pep talk, if you will! This is also a question I find myself asking other homeschooling families because it really is such a personal decision to go this route when it comes to schooling. I love hearing from parents who always imagined they would homeschool to the parents that felt like it was the next right thing to do based off their children's progress in a traditional school system. I felt it only made sense for me to share our why...especially since I have a blog and instagram account dedicated to it!
Let's back up.
At the age of 18, I began a career in the beauty industry and quickly fell in love with the technical skill and art of doing hair and makeup and having the opportunity to connect with people in a special way. By 20, I was a licensed cosmetologist and educator for one of the top brands in the beauty industry and seriously loved every second of it. I was presented with limitless amounts of opportunities from photoshoots/special events to backstage teams for beauty shows to traveling as an educators for educators. I just knew I would always be a full-time working mom when the time came for me to have children. Fast forward 8 years and that desire had shifted dramatically. In 2016, my husband and I had our first child, Merrick, and I tried so hard to balance a full-time work schedule while being a new mom. I quickly had so much love and respect for my own mother who gracefully balanced this lifestyle for most of my childhood. When my second child, Indie, was born just 15 months later, my desire to be with them more outweighed all of my career goals and ambitions. I felt a pull to make a change. I began building my clientele in the salon so that I could leave my full-time job as an educator and have more time in my week to care for my two littles.
A year later, I had a really solid clientele in the salon and was able to support our family by only working 2 days a week. I seriously so thankful to say that as of today, I've grown an amazing clientele of diverse women who support me in the salon and was able to also move and expand my salon in 2020. (Head here if you wanna check it out!)
Fast forward to today.
When becoming a mother, I had a strong desire to spend as much time with my children as I could. That desire grew into wanting to pour into their little hearts and minds through homeschooling. I wasn't too confident in the first year of being a part time working mom/stay at home mom when it came to teaching my children but learned so much in that time. We started our journey very lightly by using an amazing program called The Gentle & Classical Preschool and fell in LOVE! I gained so much confidence while teaching the program and the community of women that came along with it were so helpful and encouraging. After that, I was totally committed to the path of homeschooling for the long run.
I'm always learning something new about the way my children learn best and what they are interested in. Having the opportunity to feed and encourage them on a lifelong path to learning is a privilege that I don't take lightly. I want to steward them well and allow them to explore different subjects, approaches and interests. I mean, why not?! We are all created uniquely and wow, do I see the differences in my two littles! I know that our homeschool path will look differently with each twist and turn but I'm seriously so thankful to have the opportunity and desire to lead my children.
Okay, thank you for reading that! I know it was long and wordy. I also wanted to share a list of specific reasons we homeschool as well:
1. I want my children to stay engaged in learning by letting their interests and hobbies lead the learning process.
2. I want to have a flexible schedule/lifestyle that allows for family time on our own terms.
3. I didn't want my children to sit in a classroom more than they were at home or participating in sports/activities.
4. I truly believe in individualized education and unfortunately, I haven't found that in my area. (I also don't agree with several principles being introduced to children at a young age. Ekk.)
5. I want more opportunities to interact with our neighborhood and community.
6. My children can play whenever they want, which is the best form of learning for all ages.
7. My husband and I want to be the ones teaching our children about Jesus and modeling what it looks like to be a follower of Him.
8. They can ask as many questions as they want and not be silenced for "not staying on schedule".
9. They get to be the teacher too / learn from each other. My youngest to my oldest and vice versa.
10. They don't have to learn just to perform or show what they know. (Less pressure and more fun.)
Why do you homeschool? Share in the comments below.
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