Homeschooling and Manipulatives

 

Manipulatives have been a wonderful addition to our homeschool journey so far.  They seem to hold his focus for longer than anything, including regular toys.  At this point I am trying to incorporate them into our daily lives more.  The fact that he wants toys but then doesn't play with them bothers me.  Yet, if I set out manipulatives of one form or another, he will sit and paly with them for hours.  Focused.  Getting him to focus on anything for more than a few minutes, if we are lucky, has been a challenge.  I call it a win.  Even if he isn't using them for their intended purpose, his brain is working and learning.

For instance, take math cubes.  They are meant to count, addition, subtraction, etc.  We did that briefly.  Then we used them to create patterns.  I would create something that he would then continue on the pattern.  That turned into him making his own patterns, and asking how patterns work.  Now, he has figured out that he can build things with the cubes.  

We have magnetic tiles, magnetic cubes, a marble run, legos, etc.  Currently the math cubes are his focus.  He gets creative with them.  They are rather limiting since they only have 1 connection spot.  He has figured out how to build things in layers to create animals, people, etc.  The amount of problem solving he is using is amazing.  He will keep build and tear apart repeatedly without getting mad over and over again until it looks the way he has it pictured in his head.  It is fantastic to see.

Mosaic tiles are another favorite of his.  There is a grid with pictures you can create with the colored tiles.  He patiently creates these pictures, as well as creating his own.  It has helped with him looking at something and trying to copy it.  Whether that be a letter, number, or simple picture.  He is making that brain connection.

These manipulatives help with fine motor development, problem solving, creativity, etc.  The best part is he is working hard, focusing, and learning while he thinks he is just playing.

Frugal Homeschool Adventures

 Now that the weather is cooling down around here we are setting out on our adventures.  It is time for nature hikes and trails without sweating heavily and burning to a crisp.  This also means a lot less mosquitos to contend with.  It makes for more enjoyment in our adventures.

There are many trails we can do in our area without going very far.  All of these are free with the exception of the gas to drive there.  We just add these trails onto our days when we are already in the area.  Pack a lunch and drinks and we are good to go for a while.  

The boy loves to just run through the trails at full speed for a while.  The joy of being untethered in nature.  He looks for butterflies and moths as he runs.  Asking many, many questions about the sounds he hears, as well as the trees and flowers he sees.  Questions about the animals we see and hear, the trees that are down, as well as many others.

Collecting rocks, flowers, pine cones and a myriad of other items from outdoors is a daily occurrence with him.  He brings me small gifts from exploring outside.  He is very thoughtful.

He is definitely in his element outdoors.  He spends a lot of time outside exploring at home.  Nature trails and paths are the highlight of his day when we fit them in.  Unfortunately, we are not able to do this every day.  His disappointment shows up more and more in his behavior on the days we do not go.  I wish this could be an every day adventure, but unfortunately life has many other demands.  Working full time from home gives me some freedom to go on short  adventures, but I still have to work.

Homeschooling and Activities

 I have always been against signing kids up for activities just to give them something to do.  Too many people sign their kids up for activities that they don't like or want to do.  And then, on top of that, they have them in multiple activities so that they are doing something constantly.  

I have seen people around me have their kids in regular school and then an activity or sport almost every day after school.  I see this as detrimental to kids.  They need time to decompress, especially if they are going to a traditional school.  

We don't like being busy from the time we get up until we fall into bed at night.  Why would our kids want to, why would they like it?  I have been of the mind that if one of my kids showed an interest in something, we would explore it.  If they wanted to try something out, we would find a way.  The stipulation being that they had to put an effort into it and then if they didn't like it or enjoy it, they were allowed to drop whatever it was.  The other caveat was that if it caused negatives in their life or our family life that it would be stopped.

That being said, a year ago now, my four year old (then 3) jumped off of a jungle gym and broke his arm.  I realized then that he needed something to burn off energy and teach him limits.  He is very stubborn and determined child.  Not a bad thing if funneled away from harm.  I am not opposed to him taking risks.  However, I decided it was time for him to try something that would feed into that desire in a safer environment.

I looked into a few different options in our area.  I knew I didn't want a sport that required a lot of practices and games.  Between work and caring for his disabled adult brother I knew those would not be possible.  In my search I discovered Taekwondo for kids.  Our area has several different places that offer this.  To my surprise, one was very affordable with a monthly plan and flexible classes.  Add to that, they have 2 mornings a week that are set as a homeschool group.  Fantastic and the most affordable option. 

We gave it a try.  It took him a bit to adjust to a group setting and an instructor, but he loved it.  In a few weeks we will hit a year in.  He has thrived.  It has helped in so may ways.  He is becoming a very very outgoing child.  He is making friends with kids and adults.  He is learning how to trust his body, how to pay attention to his body and muscles.  I never expected this.  In this year he has moved up to a group of the next age group of kids.  

This class teaches anti-bullying techniques at the age and development level of the kids.  The instructors are really good with the kids.  I never expected to have my child in a "sport" 2 days a week.  But, he is thriving with this.  

Team work and working together is part of every class.  Moving his body in a healthy and positive way instead of just wildly throwing himself around has been a huge improvement.  He is learning how to identify and target certain muscles for movements, stretches, etc.  This has become a family activity in a way.  His dad now goes to the adult classes.  We practice exercises, stretches, and movements at home together.  I am allowed to watch his entire class time.  I am then able to help him practice at home.  

Secondary to an activity for him to burn off energy was self defense.  Some things have happened in my life the last couple of years where it has become a bigger concern.  He needs to be able to physically defend himself if needed, as well as know when it is needed.  I have needed this as well.  I don't ever want my kids to face some of the things I have in my life.  I want to set them up the best I am able for their future, and that includes personal awareness and safety.

Homeschooling Adventures in Nature

 Now that spring is upon us we are getting out in nature as often as possible.  There are quite a few nature paths and trails near us.  It is quite easy to fit a trail into our day. 

Trails, streams, woods, anything outdoors brightens the boy's mood.

Exploring the trails opens up an endless chain of questions.  Anything and everything is an optional topic.  He asks the most random questions at times.  His curiosity, as all over as it is, leads him to explore and absorb everything around him.  He is learning about many different things simply by being present and fully immersed in his environment. 

I have found a small kids book on trees and rocks to help him answer some of his many questions.  It allows him to search for answers on his own.  He loves these books, and will just sit and look through them at home.

Lately, we have been seeing a few different birds in our apple trees.  He loves watching them.  Next on our list is to acquire a bird book for him.

The physical exercise is really good for him.  He loves being outside.  The outdoors brings him into a better mood when he is having an off day.  I do have to say,  it lifts my mood as well.

He does a lot of learning out in nature, away from books and workbooks.  I know he remembers these adventures more than anything we do on paper.  He asks to go for walks frequently.  And now, even at 4, he knows which trails he wants to go on.  He has his favorites already.

Homeschooling and Learning To Read

 

I have tried many, many methods of teaching my 4 year old how to read.  He has refused to cooperate with any of these methods/ curriculum.  In November I decided to shelf everything.  He was just not ready.  

I decided to just focus on to reading to him as much as possible.  I started slipping in how to sound words out while we were reading since he wanted to repeat all the words that I read to him.  He already knew his letters and sounds, mostly in part to the Caterpillar alphabet game that he loved.  We also used bits and pieces of curriculum from workbooks as he tolerated doing them.  

He has been memorizing stories that are read to him for over a year now.  A few months ago he decided he was going to "read" to me.  He was "reading" his memorized books to me.  I had to slow him down and encourage him to look at the words and run his finger along as he "read".  When he would miss a word in the story I would tell him the word and then sound it out.  This worked here and there, he usually wasn't patient enough for this.  

Every once in a while I pull out some of the Bob phonics books and would read with him through them.  About a week ago he started, on his own, to try to read books to me that he didn't have memorized.  To see if he was actually reading the words, I pulled out a few phonics readers we hadn't used yet.  He read me more than 75% of the words.  

He is very proud of himself.  He is a stubborn and determined boy.  The way our homeschooling journey is going, it isn't happening unless it is his idea.  I have been trying to just toss all age expectations out.  

I am trying to embrace unschooling.  The problem I am running into though, is family and acquaintances.  Everyone seems to think it is ok to ask him if he is able to do something, or quiz him on stuff they think he should be doing.  It's very frustrating.  This is his journey and he is naturally curious about everything.  

I recently purchased a field guide for rock identification as well as a book on tree, plant and flower identification.  He always wants to know what everything we see is, I figured he could learn to look things up.  He was excited and already going through the book.  They will be a nice companion to our warm weather trail and nature walks.  

I have been trying to focus on teaching him how to learn.  So many things fascinate him and learning how to research his interests and questions will be an important skill for life.

The Start of our Homeschooling Journey

 

Our homeschooling journey has begun for my 4 year old son.  

Up until this point I have been following his interests and supporting them with materials as needed.  At the beginning of September I decided to switch things up a bit with him.  He currently has an intense desire to know what every word he sees says.  I have started working with phonics and increased our reading together.  He loves books and has his favorites.  Granted, those favorites periodically change.  He has started memorizing these books and reads them with me.  He has the desire to know what each printed word says.  I was really worried about my ability to teach him to read, though at this point I think he has taken the reigns in that department.  All I need to do is support and guide him right now.

He is a very active and squirrely boy.  It appears that he may not need as much pushing and heavy guidance as I thought.  He is really interested in learning many skills.   

As I tend to do with a lot  of things, I may have went overboard in trying to figure out what to use with him.  I have multiple different methods of teaching to read in various forms.  I have flash cards, electronic phonics and books, BOB Books, workbooks, a teach your child to read book,  and Montessori tools and books.  So far I have been using all of them in one manner or another.  

I am still testing out to see what type of learning method works for him.  We tried the hooked on phonics program this summer for a few months as well.  The idea of it was good.  It started out really well.  However he got bored of the lessons pretty quickly.  There are only a few different formats of lessons.  He realized pretty quickly how the lessons were set up and got tired of them.  I also realized I wanted to combine learning to write the letters with learning to read.  

We worked consistently all summer on getting a good pencil grip and confident movement of said pencil.  I realized that he tends to only want to do physical activities and that I needed to push him into writing, painting, etc. in a relaxed and fun manner. We are getting there.  He is still struggling with tracing letters and numbers.  However, he does know how to count to 20 and understands the value of the numbers.   He is a negotiator of the quantity of things.  We have been using a Monkey scale balance game to reinforce numbers, quantity of the number and the names of numbers.  He really enjoys this  method.  It is hands on with no writing.  I'm hoping he learns to enjoy writing, drawing, etc.  But for some reason he tends to try to get out of it.  

When it comes to using scissors, we have been practicing holding them correctly and cutting things out.  He is quickly improving in this area and really enjoys it.  I have also introduced glue.  That has become an obsession of his.  The little goof ball wants to glue everything.

Nature walks are a frequent additions to our days.  He loves running down trails and exploring.  Creeks and rivers hold great fascination.  He asks many many questions about everything he hears and sees.

With endless curiosity, boundless energy, and a thirst that absorbs everything around him, he is plowing his way into learning.  It is amazing to see everything he is learning and picking up by just following his lead.

Frugal Adventures

 Frugal Adventures

One of my favorite things to do is to explore and enjoy trails.  My youngest really enjoys the outdoors.  He spends a lot of his time playing outside.  He has become my walking buddy.  

There are quite a few trails in my area.  Free or frugal, depending on which trails I use.  Some require a pass.  Those trails that require a pass I will purchase a year long pass and then plan to use it as much as possible.  I don't do those every year.  The majority of the time I pick a free trail to enjoy.  Once my son is older we may switch things up and do more of the other trails.  

It was a beautiful day, so we stopped at one of the trails that follows a river.  He had a blast.  He ran and explored, full of joy.  Rock throwing into the river was a fun activity.  Inspecting trees and rocks.  Asking many, many questions.  The boy loves rocks and sticks.  He collects both. This turned into a good activity for him to burn off some energy.  

Watching him explore his environment gives me joy.  He absorbs everything around him.  A good homeschooling activity even if he is just a toddler.  Playing in the sand, running through the woods, exploring, inspecting rocks, sticks, etc may seem like play to us, but for him it is hands on learning.  It may not be measurable, but he is learning about everything around him, in his way. 

Now that warmer weather is here we will be hitting up trails as much as possible.  It brightens his mood while physically wearing him out.  

A New Homeschooling Journey

 Now that my toddler, Raf,  is closing in on 4 years old I am starting to aim him toward homeschooling.  For me, this will be a dive back into homeschooling.  I am looking forward to encouraging his curious and inquisitive nature.

 I homeschooled my oldest kids, now adults, from 4th grade until graduation.  Starting out with preschool will be an adjustment for me.   With my other two kids I started with a regular curriculum and slowly changed things up as we went along.  With my daughter we ended up mostly led by her interests, with required subjects added in.  By the end she was doing mostly part time work and life skills.  

I have a lot of regrets, in the fact that I was working full time, limiting what and how I could educate them.  Now, I face another challenge.  Trying to figure out where to start with a strong willed toddler, a full time remote job, part time in person job, a disabled adult child that requires full time care, a house to take care of, along with a myriad of other things that I am responsible for.  

Due to everything in my life right now, I have decided to mish mash a few methods together.  He is naturally picking things up on his own.  He knows numbers, letters,  shapes, colors, and recognizes a few words all on his own without pushing him.  Our main style is going to be unschooling focused with as much play and outdoor time as possible.  As he draws interest in things I will bring supports in to help him learn.  I refuse to push him through anything.  I want him to learn and not just memorize.  

Life skills are already a big part of our day.  Giving him as much independence as possible to continue to build confidence in himself and learn naturally.  To let him explore his interests and delve into them as much as he desires.  

Now that Spring is upon us we are spending a ton of time outdoors.  He is exploring the woods, our back yard, anything and everything that he is drawn to.  He has discovered bugs underneath rocks and logs.  Raf wants to know about everything he sees and hears, asking many, many questions throughout the day.  

The world is changing and I would like him to have the ability to apply himself in any direction he desires.  Raf is a determined, strong willed child that sees something he wants and goes after it. As frustrating as this may be at times, these traits will take him far in the world.