CEO Series: What I Learned Homeschooling Preschool

Rookie Homeschooling a first year Preschooler

Three Lessons learned by a rookie homeschool teacher! It took a full school year to figure out what works best for me & my daughter.

Thank God for summer! Little does my daughter know but I have put her on a summer break from planned homeschooling. I need time to regroup and apply the lessons I learned to a more productive and smooth second year preschool. (Of course yesterday she eagerly set everything up then came to me smiling "Let's do a reading circle!". It was nice. I just had to show up and read with no learning objective.)

Lesson #1: Planning

Even with homeschooling, and it only being preschool, I must plan ahead and have the weeks set. This past year I was planning the week/day the couple hours I had to myself before she woke. My printer took the brunt of my angst for my poor time-management. Lack of planning on my part does not constitute an emergency on yours, I'm sorry Epson CX9400.

The month of June is my planning month. Since this will be her 2nd year as a preschooler I will be reusing much of what we did last year saving me TONS of time. She turns four June 17th so a main planning tool I am using is Active Learning for Fours. I used the version for Threes, more as a last minute reference. This time it's a manual!

Lesson #2: Winging it

Even with the best plans, it's OK to wing-it when necessary. This was a big lesson for me. My Type-A, slightly OCD side wanted to stick to whatever last minute plans I made. Near the end of the year I learned it's OK to throw the day's plan out the window and do something else. I can incorporate the learning objective on the fly. Example: chucking the day's plan, jumping in the car and go to the mall. While walking and during our intense conversations asking pertinent questions like "What letter does that store's name start with?" "Which color bracelet do you like?" "Let's count the steps to the next store." etc. all were opportunities to reinforce what she already learned and teach new stuff as needed.

Lesson #3: Relax, she still has 18+ years of schooling to learn everything!

All parents want their children to accelerate at learning. When I was feeling flustered B wasn't learning as quickly as I, her MBA mother thought she should, a close friend and fellow homeschool mom would remind me "Kim, she's ONLY 3!" Then I'd look at B and let it sink in that less than a year ago she was still in diapers! Reading the encyclopedia is not necessary right now; learning to wipe her butt is!

Though I've taken the summer off from active homeschooling, B has a very filled one! She will be attending a preschool-like program through the park district one day a week. My goal is for her to learn more discipline and group behavior with other kids. She is also registered for swim lessons and dance. This girl will be busy starting Monday! 

If you are thinking of homeschooling and it seems overwhelming or that you are not capable, learn from me. One, yes you can teach your children. Two, the best plans are organic and ever evolving. Leave the static plans to the schools!

Foreign Language Learning

We took a break from Italian School for the summer so it is on my & my in-laws shoulders to keep her moving forward in her bilingual education these next few months. Mondays will still be Italian Day and I have the curriculum book from last year to use. Also there are many ways to immerse foreign language throughout the day, even if the parent does not speak it! Stay tuned for my next CEO Series post "Language Immersion The Mom Standard Style".

CEO: Figgy the Italian Fairy by Kimberly Demetrio

Figgy the Italian Fairy

The Fairy Figgy loves all the trees

but her favorite of all has big sweet fig leaves.

She sings and dances and glows with much love.

She even talks to the figs in their own native tongue.

Figgy speaks Italian,

a language so sweet.

Another fairy who speaks it

she has yet to meet.

The Fairy Queen one day had a sorrowful job.

One lonely fig tree, she had heard it sob.

"This cannot be, all trees must be sprite

I'm sending Figgy to tend, immediately tonight."

Figgy was sent to an area unknown.

She didn't know the fairies,

she didn't know the gnomes.

Figgy was scared when she arrived late that night,

she ran to her tree and sang "It'll be alright".

She looked at the house and in the window she saw

a fairy like human a couple feet tall.

Figgy grew happy, she knew she'd be fine

she had her own fig tree and a little human divine.

One day her humans were out in the sun

her little human divine was having much fun.

The language they spoke made the fig stand with pride,

Figgy's ears perked to listen and her heart happily cried,

"I found more like me, this was the Queen's plan

She sent me to live where they speak Italian."

-Kimberly Demetrio

Figgy the Italian Fairy copyright 2012

B is in Italian school. She understands the language quite well, yet, doesn't use it much on her own. To encourage her to speak more of the language I made this wool fairy to hang in our window, looking out at our fig tree. I wrote the story to go along as a reference. B loved the story and the fairy. She still doesn't like to speak Italian much, but I have caught her using her new language skills whispering to Figgy in the window. My plan is working!

CEO: Adding Waldorf Rhythm to our Homeschooling Approach

The ideal part of homeschooling from my perspective is it not being cookie cutter. There are numbers of curriculum and education theory approaches available. I have chosen to pick what facilitates the optimum learning experience for my daughter.

Montessori is the primary theory I chose to use and works quite well with B. I did notice she became a bit bored so my research into additional approaches began. Waldorf stood out. It is a nature focused philosophy lead by imaginative stories that organically lead the children into learning on their own at their own pace.

The key requirement for Waldorf is rhythm in the day. Oh, for almost 4 years now I have tried to create some form of routine in our daily lives, dictated by the clock and have failed miserably at it. Reading about the rhythm of Waldorf caused my insides to do a happy dance. My daughter is not a clock watcher, she is all about rhythm and since we started creating a daily rhythm our days go by so much smoother. The best part is our days are now more structured with routine as a result of this rhythm. Funny how that turned out.

Our day begins with our little morning mantra (we clap and say it in a cheerleading type tone)

It's good morning time

We need to 

eat breakfast

brush our teeth

wash our face

get dressed

Start our day!

Each day is assigned a main goal:
Mondays: Italian day-B goes to Italian school so before and after I do my best to keep the day focused on Italian culture, language, food, etc.
Tuesdays: Baking day: She chooses what we bake and while in the kitchen math, reading, direction following, tool usage is learned.
Wednesdays: Music day: I recently started teaching her to read notes. It's in the beginning stage so just knowing the staff, clefs, and note letters is our goal. The remainder of the day she plays on her instruments, listens to music, dances, and sings...all. day. long. I've learned to kinda tune it out as best as possible. I just remind myself, she is learning to appreciate music and having fun.
Thursdays: Craft day: This can entail anything she needs to use her hands with. The one thing I have banned from our home is playdough. I know, bad mommy. I have to draw some lines somewhere. So aside from no playdough she has opportunity for many other crafts: painting, sewing, drawing, etc.
Fridays: Nonna & Nonno day: Nonno & Nonna come over and the day is a free for all. I try to stay in the basement working to avoid this! :-)

The television is not on Monday thru Thursday and I found this to be the best thing to keep the rhythm of our day smooth.  After lunch we clean up our mess then she is able to continue to play until I give her the "relaxation time before daddy comes home" countdown. Relaxation is our term for nap around here. You mention nap and she will go from angel to a tantrum throwing 3.5yo devil in under a split second.

Yes, there are stories of fairies, gnomes, and other earthly mystical creatures that go along with Waldorf educating and I have nothing against any of it. I even created a fairy out of wool and a story to go along with her. The day she was introduced tremendous dialogue took place between B and I all about Figgy the fairy. B's imagination was ignited and shone bright from her being. WIN!