So, I have been pretty indecisive whether or not I wanted to start home schooling with Imanuel.  He showed interest in learning and he has always loved to read, but I wasn’t sure about structuring the learning in more of a school-style format.  Well, it got to the point in our lives where it seemed like the days were just crawling by.  We would go through our daily routine, but particularly with Imanuel, he seemed to be getting bored and constantly itching for something else to do.  When I brought up the idea of starting school, both Imanuel and Micah were ecstatic.  So, last week, on Monday, January 23rd, 2012, we officially began.  They each chose a backpack for their school books and supplies and we were ready to go.  When Ty goes down for his nap, school begins.

I haven’t purchased anything since deciding to start school.  I decided to utilize all of the pre-K/K books, workbooks, stickerbooks, coloring books, and flashcards that we have accumulated over the years.  I dug out all of my teaching supplies that I previously had, as well as a stash that I had been collecting over the past years specifically for teaching my boys.  I came up with a basic learning curriculum to start off with.  We set an alarm for one hour and within that hour, we have a short worship, learning/assignment time, flashcard time, craft time, and then we close with prayer.

After the hour of school, it is snack and story time.  They are listening through The Bible Stories on CD.  That was one of the best investments we have made for them.  After that, they are ready to play.  🙂

I am so proud of how much they have learned so far.  It really is amazing to see how sharp their minds are.  Just a week and a half ago, Manu didn’t know how to read at all.  But today, he has learned to read over 20 sight words.  A couple nights ago, he read his first few board books by sounding out the words.  Micah came into school not knowing how to color.  Seriously.  But he has really improved in staying within the lines.  His proudest accomplishment has been learning to identify both capital and lowercase letters. 

So far, they really seem to be enjoying this time together.  They help each other by encouraging one another.  When one of them does something amazing, they give a “squeegie-like-a-luigi” (which translates to a big bear hug where both end up on the floor).  Micah made that one up.  It’s lots of fun. 

It has been really fun getting back into teaching.  It is so different from teaching my upper elementary/middle school kids.  But it is still a fun challenge and the satisfaction of seeing your students learn remains the same.  I’m thankful that I spent those years as a teacher by profession.  It provides lots of ideas and resources that I can utilize now.  The limited one hour time frame gives me motivation to prepare a solid, fun, and challenging school session from start to finish.  Hopefully as time goes on, I will be able to maintain the same quality of teaching for a longer period of time.  I pray that God will continue to grant me patience and motivation to be the best teacher I can be for them.     

Here are pictures of our first days of school:
(FYI, we do school in our PJs.  🙂

Happy Groundhog Day!!!