Friendly neighbors

Among the questions constantly thrown at us, as with other homeschoolers, is how can they develop socially?  (Isn't it that the baranggay is the basic unit of society?)  Well, I also make use of the baranggay (in our case.  I encourage my kids to say hi to other kids.  Naturally, they were a little hesitant, but this morning, they sure made me proud.  Kuya M had a very good self-control.  A toddler w/ the sister who's as old as M rode his kart as soon as they got hold of it, but M held himself back and let them play.  Then we met another boy who M used to dislike but now he was willing to lend his toys.  We even invited the boy to our house where M & MP showed and shared him their toys, and weren't even willing to let him go home.  For their reward, they get to stick their 'social' butterfly on our WCV reward poster.

Brotherhood

We homeschool for reasons that matter to us most, something truly close to the heart.

Maths: Numbers & Numerals

M1 knows about his numbers since he was 2 but I'm just making sure that he didn't missed steps, and so I'm just running through Montessori at Home-style numbers and numerals.  I skipped buying sandpaper numerals but what I did was use glitter glue over Joytoy numbers puzzles to provide texture.  M2 will use the same materials when he's ready.  For counting we use coins, the abacus, blocks, and the small paper rolls you see above from another toy.  I might ask an aunt to make us Montessori teen beads.  M1 gets a little confused with numerals 6, 8, and 9, but has mastered counting 0-10+.  Next up: 11-20 practice & mastery.  M2 counts to 20.

delivery!

I'm so pleased that "What your Preschooler needs to know:  Read-alouds to get ready for Kindergarten" from The Core Knowledge Series, has finally arrived at our doorstep.  The contents are divided into the following:  poems, songs, stories, history, science, and art, with some resources for parents included.  History we couldn't relate to very much since it's all American, but I suppose there are values there to be learned.  There are a couple of stories that the kids are already familiar with, but there are still more stuff to be explored.  The illustrations are eye candies and will definitely catch their attention.  A lot of the things here we can learn from somewhere but this book just makes it all coherent, and is reassuring that minimal, if not none, will be missed in homeschooling during the preschool years.  Definitely the stuff that will engage my boys.

Our other new materials:
Audio:  Susan Hammond and the Classical Kids
            Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays

Back to school (2nd in the same school year) update

I've stepped down as Chair of our department (and also asked to be able to go on duty on days that will be more friendly to our homeschooling schedule) to better focus on our homeschooling.  When it comes to planning, I have a generalized schedule for the week, but really, we just take it one day at a time.  I've stuck with my old favorites, Mater Amabilis, Montessori at Home, and Catholic Heritage Curricula.  With regards as to how M1 is taking it... Well... he's a little mischievous for Montessori but I'm still managing to have a little of his cooperation.  I do notice that they really stop and listen when it comes to literature, so perhaps Sonlight, or Before Five in a Row would have been the way to go.  But I find the planning part, and dividing the stories into lesson plans and subjects a little challenging, perhaps when I've developed more creativeness (which I hope will come with experience in homeschooling).  And, so we have read-alouds everyday but I'm not using the stories the way BFIAR/ Sonlight does it.  But I love buying us living books... I'm sure there are always pearls they can consciously/ unconsciously pick up.

But I think the best way I can teach them at this point is by being a good example.  Again, stressing the importance of continuous personal growth, and development as a parent.  I look at my eldest now, and he has certainly caught a couple of my not so good traits.  They do watch me, and catch on the way adults act around them.  When I see them pick on the bad habits, it gets me fidgety thinking how fast time is and it seemed I have little time to correct them and get them back on the rail, and I find myself asking for more time to build them on their formative/ foundation years.  But I see the good in them also, and how M1 can be a compassionate and a good leader between them two, and it makes me proud.  It gives me faith that I'm on the right path when parents around me are telling me stories how their children have started to excel academically.