We attended the Homeschool Expo this past weekend, so I HAD to make some changes!  WOW!!  I saw so many things and got my hands on some awesome stuff!  We have definitely decided to go with some curriculum, which of course we will use at our own pace and add to and modify to fit our two little "students."

So my new encourager, Jenn4Him, begged me to do an open house entry, although I am FAR from being ready for day 1.  It is encouraging as well as pressuring to see what a great job everyone is doing and how so many of you have already had "day 1!" 

My goal is to begin day 1 of school on Sept. 4th.  A rough outline of our day follows, because I am one who NEEDS a schedule or I will slack or spend too much time on something that I truly don't want to.... Here's what I have so far for our daily schedule:

7:00-8:30:  Wake up, dress, breakfast, morning routine

8:30-8:50:  Center/Play time while mommy gets thoughts together for the day

8:50-9:00:  prayer, pledges, memorization time (verses, poems)

9:00-9:15:  Calendar time, action songs

9:30-10:00:  Phonics and Reading time, together and individually.  We are going to use the Abeka Program for Reading/Language/Phonics.  We are using the 5 yr program for Katie and just a couple of books for Noah from the 3-yr old program.

10:00-10:15:  Kumon Workbooks (cutting, tracing, mazes), Handwriting Without Tears (MAT man-I loved him!)

10:15-10:45:  Upstairs to make snacks and do a few chores around the house

10:45-10:55:  Read aloud, Bible storytime (Bedell Bible Curriculum)

10:55-11:25:  Math lessons together and individually.  Noah will just be "learning" some number recognition and counting.  We have chosen RightStart Math for Katie.

11:25-12:00:  Monday-Art activity, Tuesday-Science, Wednesday-Music, Thursday-library, Friday-Playtime and Gross Motor Skills practice.

12:00-12:30:  "Recess" on indoor play area or in rooms

12:30-1:00:  lunch/done for the day!

The schedule will be for Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays.  On Tuesday mornings we attend a Mom's Bible study that takes most of the morning where they will play in a preschool during the time I am in the study. 

After Tuesday Bible study, I will try to do some short reading and math lessons with Katie while Noah plays with some educational toys and games, so she is sure to get everything she needs in those areas.  On Thursdays I am planning to take them to the library for storyhour during the morning, then in the afternoon they are going to be enrolled in some kind of physical activity class, dance or tumbling. On Thursdays I also plan to fit in some sign language learning during the day.

 We absolutely fell in love with the format and thoroughness of the Bedell Bible Stories. I also LOVE the Handwriting Without Tears program, esp for my son, who isn't ready to "write" yet.  It looks easy and fun so I hope both of them will enjoy it!   I also have high hopes for the RightStart Math program.  I hated Math as a child, it was so boring and repetitive, so I am hoping that using the abacus and learning while using games, etc will make math time fun for Katie and she will look forward to "playing" with math.

One of my favorite discoveries has been the Kumon workbooks.  My kids have loved these.  These are great for my three year old to learn cutting skills, pasting skills, and right now tracing skills, where he just practices "drawing lines" to connect the two pictures to make straight lines, later on curved lines, etc.  It is so much like a game that he doesn't realize he is getting ready to be ready for writing letters.  Also, the cutting practices are so much fun!  We also have a simple mazes book that is great for practicing pencil control.  I really enjoy these books and have already purchased several to use this year to help them with fine motor skills.

I had to change the paragraph about homeschooling for free, because my views have definitely changed since I attended the expo.  There is just so much out there to help moms be great homeschoolers, and even though it will cost us a little upfront, I truly believe we will be making a great investment for our children!  I still plan to supplement with some fun things online as we need or see fit.  I will definitely be searching out the science/social studies/music/health activities and lessons online.

I am getting more and more excited everyday!  We have so much to do between now and Sept. 4th! I took a picture of my downstairs basement room (the future classroom) in its current unfinished state, and I will be anxious to compare it to the "after" picture when everything is ready!  I will definitely post our results as our adventure begins next month!  I couldn't bring myself to post the before picture until I have the "after" one ready!

Thanks for reading my extremely amateur open house blog!  I am really excited about looking at everyone else's postings and may change some things if I find some really good ideas elsewhere!