Always Learning

We are into week 2 day 3 of homeschooling. It is extremely exhausting, but so far worth all of the effort. I am definitely still in the learning phase of what I am doing, but the point is I am learning too. This is a good thing for me! It is helping me to know my children better, to see what they need, where they are and how I can help them learn better. Jamey loves to learn! He wants to read a book then go through every page by himself and talk about the pictures. I love that! I am also learning, too, that many times you have to tweak your program. Week one I followed almost exactly what my curriculum for him said. I realized it was really too easy because of some of the things he already knows. So this week I am focusing on numbers and letters with high lights on other things, instead of only focusing on a letter one day and a number one day with only highlighting them the rest of the week. So far this seems to be working better. It is funny, though, that he has become resistant to singing! When I tell him we're going to sing he screams NOOOO! This is, of course, Lillian's favorite time as her primary focus is learning to sit with us and increase her attention span while we read. Jamey is also getting into learning words in Russian and today asked me how to say "bird in Russian" (yes he said it just like that). Then yesterday both at nap and bed time he asked me to play his Russian cd instead of music! That is so exciting for me. It is also helping me brush up on the little Russian I do know and add to my vocabulary. I do not have a grasp on the grammar, however, but we will work on that later.

Lillian is starting to get into books, but mostly likes to look in the mirror and play with puzzles while we're in school. I can definitely see an increase in her attention span growing ever so slowly, but she still gets bored quite quickly. We spend more time together in the afternoon working on motor skills and basic instructions. She loves anytime she can get with mama or daddy without Jamey competing for the attention.

I'm currently working on how to make the afternoons more intentional and a learning time for both kids. I know in a year or 2 they will be closer to the same level and it will be a bit easier, but for now, they are both having to learn patience as they take their turns in different activities when I am alone with them.

I also love unintentional teaching moments! We have had the worst time finding basic bottles of paint, so Jim finally found some but only in a few colors. Our color of the week is green but no green paint. So Jamey got to have a little Art 101 lesson about mixing blue and yellow together to make green! He thought it was cool! So did I. It's amazing to see the realization as they learn these things. Yes, I know I will probably have to explain this concept to him again many times, but it was a moment that might not have been had we found a bottle of green paint. I pray that I will continue to be aware of these unplanned learning opportunities and make the most of every moment God gives me with my children.

We are also working on developing the fine motor skills. This is something I did not realize would be so challenging and take so much time. Mostly it is teaching him to hold scissors, cut paper and use little pieces of paper to glue onto another piece of paper. I never realized how difficult this really is and how much time and practice it will take for him to really be able to do those things. He does well holding a crayon and will not hold it correctly most of the time without being told to do so. I am amazed in new and different ways every day. I'm learning that home school is just as beneficial for me as it is for my kids. Who knew!?

Above- green squares from our "homemade" green

Jamey's cow made from squares last week!