Confident Foundation

Happy Homeschooling–Even with a Toddler

 

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In the almost 4 years we’ve been homeschooling, there has always been a baby or a toddler in the house. Without a doubt the biggest challenge for me has been figuring out what to do with the youngest during school time.  I can’t even count the times our school day was cut short because of a younger sibling whining or getting into mischief or having a potty training accident, and after dealing with the situation I was often too frustrated to get things back on track. I realized that most of my frustration was coming from trying to fit our lives into a picture of what I thought homeschooling should look like, and it simply wasn’t working.

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Top Five Home Schooling Questions Answered (& Myths De-Bunked)

Top Five Home Schooling Questions Answered

Today I’m writing a post that has been in my mind and heart for years. It never quite seemed the right time to write it, so it’s always just kind of bounced around in there waiting. I feel strongly that this is the right time, however, so here it is!

This will actually be a two-part post because it would have been far too long to put into one post. Actually, this post is suuuuper long as well but I have been asked these questions so often throughout the years I was home schooled and even up until just a few weeks ago, that I feel they really deserved thoughtful and thorough answers.

So today I’m going to talk about My Experience With Being Homeschooled & Why I Loved It and later I’m going to follow up with a look into my views on if homeschool is the right option for everyone, all the time, and why my thoughts on this topic have radically changed. So be sure to read both!

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Preschool at Home

Amber’s birthday is in February-right in the middle of the school year. Last year since she was 2 then 3 we did preschool at home but I kept it simple and fun and we didn’t have much of a schedule. Now that she’s 4 and will be turning 5 we will still be doing preschool–but this year I’m going to get more serious about it and am dabbling with thoughts of beginning some kindergarten books in the second semester.

We’re planning on homeschooling Amber (probably a post on that to come later) and I love that it’s already giving me the flexibility to consider doing this and move at her speed-along with helping me not to stress that we’ll be moving thousands of miles at the end of September!

Here are a few of my favorite items for Preschool at Home–some that we used last year and other’s that we’ve just started using this year!

We are still super impressed with our Carlito C. Caterpillar’s MathHouse Game Card set. Such a great and fun introduction to Math skills!
For music time both kids absolutely love the Five Little Bunnies cd. They both request it often-and it’s one of the *only* kids music CDs that I actually like!
My very favorite workbooks so far have been the ones like the Colors & Shapes Write-On Wipe-Off Workbook. We’ve discovered that Amber loves using dry erase markers and I love that these kinds of workbooks she can do over and over again-which is key when you’re learning to draw shapes, numbers, and letters! Other workbooks I love and recommend along these lines are the I Can Print-Modern Wipe-Off® Book and Pre-Printing With Mazes.

Our latest favorite discovery has been Kleen Slate. These super cool and innovative dry erase paddles are absolutely perfect for practicing fine motor skills like drawing and letters! The dry erase markers that came along with them are super high quality and I adore the microfiber cloths that make wiping off a cinch (even for Amber!)

The paddles surfaces are even replaceable-so if you want to move on to a new skill or just need to refresh it you have many options! I have a feeling that we will be using these all through Amber’s entire homeschool experience!

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