homeschooling {Bible and Buddy}

This post picks back up where we left off after {circle time} and our {typical day schedule}.  After circle time we move into Bible study.

I am very excited to share with you the Bible curriculum we use!  I love it and have learned much myself by using it.  And it's really cool to hear my four year old recite the books of the New Testament from memory- I ain't gonna lie!

We use The Bible Study Guide for All Ages.  They offer books according to your child's age and extra resources to buy.  A special note:  be sure to investigate all shipping charges on their site.  The first one that pops up is very expensive, but you can get it mailed media for much cheaper.

 Buddy spends most of his day in play time!

Now on to my Buddy boy.  After Bible study Moonpie has some independent learning activities that she does and I work a little with Buddy.  He is only 4, so the work we do is short and often times involves legos or blocks!  I set up a time for Buddy so I would be mindful of spending some one on one time with him and he feels big having some "school work" to do like his sissy!

When teaching children under six, I take my cues from the philosophies of Charlotte Mason, Waldorf and Montessori.  Both CM and Waldorf don't recommend formal schooling until first grade.  So our learning time is multi-sensory and fun!  I also try to include some Montessori elements during this time using the book Mommy Teach Me: Preparing Your Preschool Child for a Lifetime of Learning by Barbara Curtis.  This is a fantastic resource!

We also do some basic letter work and number work.  For letter work we use the book Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor.  This book has been updated, however we use the original copy that I picked up in a thrift store for a quarter!  Currently we are working through the book, one letter per week.  I introduce the letter by reading the page and then we make our letter rock.  

This was one of those ideas that made me feel like such a creative genius!  We have rocks all over this house (I'm sure you do too!).  I decided to put those rocks to work!  On Monday Buddy chooses a rock and then attaches a letter to his rock.  We do the capital letter on one side and then the lower case letter on the other.

The letters are just stickers from the scrap book section.  I found a big pack at Hobby Lobby.  

After Buddy gets his letter on, we mod podge it so it sticks really well!  He likes to stack his rocks, put them in order, put them out of order and so on.  This has been a very fun activity for us!

Later in the week we will continue doing letter work.  I don't buy workbooks for this- I just make it up as we go.  One day he might paint a giant letter using water paints.  One day he'll roll it out in play-do.  Another day he might cover the letter with stickers, bopper paint, or beans.  

I just make sure he is following the basics on how to make the letter correctly.  For fun extensions we might have a sound hunt (find 5 things that start with the /b/ sound) or search for the letter in a book.

For number work we read counting books and do dot-to-dot.  That's pretty much it.  He loves dot-to-dot and will do an entire book if I let him!  We like the Buki books and can find them locally.

We have also enjoyed using the Kumon tracing book, number book and folding book (this is beginner origami-lots of fun!).

After Buddy's time is up, he likes to spend some time playing with his legos or blocks while I work with Moonpie on math, reading and language.  After lunch he joins us for history or science.  

Most of Buddy's day is spent playing.  His book work time maybe takes 20 minutes of his day.  The rest of the day is spent in the dirt, looking at books, building and playing with cars.  Oh- and as of late- "writing" letters to everyone.

One of my priorities in our day is that a love of learning is stoked in my children.  For Buddy this looks like little "schooling" and lots of play and cuddle time.  So that's what we do.

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