Homeschooling - 3 Week Review

We have had 3 weeks of homeschooling, and I thought I'd give you guys an update. I am using the Hands on Homeschooling curriculum for both kids; the 2-year-old curriculum for Isaiah and the 3-year-old for Sydney. This curriculum has lessons for 5 days/week, but I am adjusting it to my schedule of 2-3 days of school/week. I aim for 3, but sometimes I have to cut it down to 2 and it's just fine.

Here is our schedule:
8:30 a.m. Circle Time - This includes both kids. We begin with prayer, because I always think it's neat when teachers begin with prayer. Then we talk about the calendar and what day it is. We discuss the weather. We put a number up and count. We have music time, which usually consists of 1 action song and 1 non-action song and sometimes a rhyme. I pick songs that Sydney at least should be somewhat familiar with from VBS and Sunday school. After music, we read a story. We are going to start using the Before Five In A Row curriculum for this and talk about the story based on one of their suggestions, and probably take those a week at a time. Circle Time is usually done by 9:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m. Sydney's Time - Isaiah watches a video in the basement while I have one-on-one time with Sydney. We always start with her verse memorization (1 verse/month) and then do her Bible story. After that it varies, but there is usually 1 worksheet/day. Sydney really loves worksheets and often asks to do them again the next day. We also use this time to work on her Cubbies book for Awana. We work on reading/writing almost every day, and then have Science, Social Studies, and other subjects only once/week. At first, Sydney did the bare minimum required and then left to finish Isaiah's video with him. At this point, she is staying until Isaiah comes up to find us, usually just asking for more to do until her time is over. This time takes a maximum of 1 hour.

10:00 a.m. Isaiah's Time - Sydney watches a video during this time so that I can focus on Isaiah (and so that she won't want to do all his fun projects!). My goal with Isaiah is not for him to complete this curriculum. In fact, I will probably repeat the curriculum next year with him. My goal is simply to start him in some sort of routine, as I knew he would want to "have school" if Sydney was doing it. My goals for him are simply for him to learn his colors, shapes, ABC's, and count to 10 (which he can already basically do). We do have a memory verse and Bible story every day, but then have an easier schedule than Sydney. He usually colors a picture and does some flash cards. Some of the projects suggested for colors and shapes involve painting. He was apprehensive at first, but has become more comfortable with this the second time around. Isaiah's time usually only takes 30 minutes maximum, which is good for his age.

The first day, the kids were really excited. They were not excited the second day. However, by the end of the 2nd week, they had gotten used to the routine. We try to have school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, but sometimes adjust our schedule to other happenings in our life (that's the advantage of homeschooling, right?).

Regarding Hands on Homeschooling, I love the curriculum, but am too frugal to do every activity mentioned. I did buy tempera paint, as that seems to be an ongoing need throughout each curriculum. However, I do not buy things that will be used for only one project or do projects that are useless and will get thrown away in a week. I didn't care for some of the worksheets and simply found my own on other websites and substituted them in.

Comments? Questions? I'll try to give these updates every few weeks for your enjoyment. :)