I have chosen the Sonlight Curriculum to start Pre-K with Righteous. She is turning 5 in December so I thought I would hold her back from Kindergarten, but still wanted to start a foundation to start learning. We turned the smallest bedroom into the classroom. In Nairobi I bought my prized possession for teaching, my very own laminator. Jason was calling me a nerd when I got all excited about it. I have laminated the alphabet which I am going to tack across the wall as soon as we paint the classroom. I have also laminated the seasons, months, numbers, food chart, skeleton bones, ear anatomy, and much much more. Each morning I star out with "Good Morning Class" and Righteous and Nevaeh respond with "Good Morning teacher." We practice the memory verse for the week and have successfully memorizes 3 verses so far along with their references. What I like best about this curriculum is that there is no prep work ahead of time because it is mostly reading different books. After we read a story we sometimes reenact it with their stuffed animals to have a puppet show. It only is taking us an hour a day so often times I will double up on the schedule in the afternoons so we complete a week's requirements by Wednesday or Thursday and can be involved with opportunities in the community.
I made the bed our "reading couch" by putting another matress up against the wall. The map in the background is laminated so it can stay in great quality to be around for my other kiddos in the future.
We read a lot of nursery rhymes. This day we read: Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
Had a wife, but couldn't Keep her
Put her in a pumpkin shell
and their he kept her very well.
Afterwards we made pumpkin pancakes from a recipe the curriculum provided. They turned out delicious and put me in the fall spirit even though I am living in "summer all year around" weather.
We went outside with buckets after reading about Jack and Jill. Righteous and Nevaeh have so much fun playing with water and would do this everyday if I would let them. They make all sorts of desserts in mud. Charis really will try it out to see how it tastes. When they are busy "cooking" for me they can get so involved and be content for a whole hour. I am able to use this time to grab a book and lounge outside while pretending to sip on my "chai" they endlessly bring me.
One of the things I thought would be a challenge was finding field trips for my kiddos as we home school here in Kenya. I know it is just the beginning but I already feel blessed. Last weekend was the Show- which is kind of like a carnival. Every business from our town sets up a booth to showcase their. All the local farmers bring their livestock for everyone to look at. The police marching band plays. It was a great way for us to walk around and learn more about our town and the people that live and work here.
I was very impressed to find these swings at the show. Our town usually doesn't have things as glamorous as this but it was wonderful for the children to have. Only 100 shillings, not bad at all.
6 comments:
Cool! A laminator! I would love that too!
If I had it to do all over again I think I'd start with Sonlight. Everything I've read about it sounds wonderful! (And I love my laminator, too!)
Hey Bekah, What is your email? My facebook isn't working for some reason. Mine is blairchesson05@gmail.com I want to talk to you. Do you have skype?
That was Blair : )
Awesome! What a blessing. I love the pics. The girls seem to be really enjoying school. Keep up the awesome work!
Wow! This takes me back to our first days of homeschooling, and with Sonlight, too! We used it all the way through. And we didn't have to look very far for "field trips" either, being along the Great Barrier Reef, and in a different culture from our home culture. You are giving the girls a very rich heritage!
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