Week 17

Letter of the week was "Q" for quilt.

Beautiful quilts.

Learning how to hopscotch.

Gross motor skills.

Go Gracie!

Making snack people with pb and craisins.

Cutting out cookie shapes.

Making peanut butter cookies in school?

Science lesson: Watching them bake.

Silly kids.

Q-tip art.

Grace.

Playing musical chairs.

Feel and find the quarter.

Here it is!

Dance Party!

We've just completed week 17 of school. The letter for the week was "Q" so we learned about quilts, quarters, Q-tips, and Queens in New York (geography). I am so encouraged by the kids' progress. Looking back on all the school pictures so far, it's so fun to see everything that they've learned and experienced. I am so thankful for our co-op and the opportunity for me to ease into homeschooling. I only say me because the kids don't know any different.

Our children's pastor at church, Pastor H spoke for us this week at M2M and he was such an encouragement to me, especially when it came to homeschooling. He challenged us to think that we are actually all "homeschooling moms." He and his wife have 3 children that they homeschool. Pastor H comes from a teaching background in the public school system and one of the reasons why they chose to homeschool is because each of their children has a different learning style. If not identified and cultivated, the child may get lost in a class full of 30. They realized that as much as teachers wanted to, they could not possibly spend the time needed for each child in a big classroom setting. This of course could lead to poor academic performance, behavioral issues, or lack of self-confidence. He also discussed the different learning styles of children. The three common ones are...

- Visual- Need to see it.

- Auditory- Need to hear it.
- Kinesthetic/Manipulative- Need to be moving and doing something.

When we are able to discover the learning style that best suits our child, it is then that we can better teach them in ways that they will absorb the most. He also encouraged us to use creative and practical ways to teach, based on the child's interests (i.e. music, drawing, or physical activity). Thinking about my own childhood learning experiences, there were some subjects that I definitely would have enjoyed better, had I learned in a different style. From my short time teaching thus far, I know that auditory learning, especially at this young age, is not always the most efficient. I'm so thankful for our preschool curriculum and the fact that it allows our kids to move about, see, touch, and experience, along the way. It's neat to see each of the kids forming their own learning style and as teachers and moms, it's so crucial for us to know these things about our children. I feel like I can have more a bit more compassion, patience, acceptance, and encouragement towards the individuality of our kids in the years to come- a priceless lesson, in my opinion! It's been another week where I got schooled. :)

Grace blessed me again this week by saying, "Mommy, when I grow up, I'm gonna teach my kids school, too."