Week 7 Skool

Collecting manna after our bible lesson.

busy bees.

All the manna.

Teagan works on painting his letter G.

Grace was happy that the letter of the week was "G."

Playing hot potato.

Action shot.

Silly face #1.

Silly face #2.

Silly face #3.

Silly face #4.

Working on our fine motor skills and a great "G" snack.

Gotta love homeschool- where else can you learn to use chopsticks at school?

Teagan.

Show-off.

Faith decorates her Halloween treat bag.

Grace is so proud of her Rhonda the Rectangle.

She cut out and glued all the pieces.

Spreading peanut butter on our rectangle snack (graham crackers).

Dance party! We learned about slow and fast dancing.

Simon says...

And then there were 2 left...

Our winner, Gracie!

Grace makes a "G" with her play-doh.

We also made shapes, letters and numbers.

Faith made a chocolate chip cookie.

Faith designed her own Moses costume.

We've just completed week 7 of school. The kids are definitely getting the hang of how it works. I love it that my kids ask in the morning, "Mommy, what are we going to learn about today in school?" It was actually Shannon's week to teach this week but I filled in for her since she was out of town visiting family and friends. Now, I have a 3 week break before I teach again. There are so many positives about our co-op but one thing I am grateful for is the fact that as teachers, we are allowed the time to prepare our week's lessons well in advance. Therefore, when it's our week to teach, we are much more prepared to give our kids our best. At this stage of preschool, there are lots of activities to plan ahead of time and our co-op schedule allows us the gift of time so that we can plan in more detail. So far, here are my observations about the benefits of homeschool...

*immediate parent-teacher conferences.

*healthy snacks

*clean environment

*discipline issues are addressed immediately. Nothing slides!

*they play together in a closely observed environment.

*they are learning to take turns, encourage each other, and follow instructions.

*we can often talk about God and prayer throughout school time.

*the kids are learning to pray on their own.

*dancing, jumping in the bounce house, and playing outside is encouraged.

*strong friendships are being formed.

*as moms and teachers, we get to witness immediate growth and accomplishment.

Most of all, I'm loving the fact that homeschooling allows me to have some intentional and engaged time with my kids. If we weren't doing school, I would probably be spending my time doing laundry, cleaning the house, running errands, or allowing my kids to play on their own. All necessary things but without balance, they can also just be barriers that hinder me from actually taking the time to be intentional about mothering and teaching. I am so thankful and blessed for the opportunity to ease into homeschooling through our co-op. Love you girls!