This morning I was awakened at 7:20 a.m. by an excited whisper. "Mama! Get up! I already made my bed! I'm ready for my first day of kindergarten!" Thats right, today is D-Day, the day we
launch our attack on education. And while I appreciated Bella's enthusiasm, I have to admit I cajoled her into climbing into bed with me for 20 more minutes of sleep!
So we finally got up at 7:40, at breakfast, brushed teeth, got dressed, and took this picture of my
very excited kindergartener:
Then we got down to business! It really wasn't too foreign, as we did our "practice year" last year,
so she already got the concept of sitting down for lessons. We did add a few things this year, though, and will continue to do so throughout the year.
We began our morning with prayer. Bella prayed for her Nana, Abby mentioned a few names, and I asked God to help us be good teachers and learners! Then we said the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't even know if they still do that every day in public schools, especially since it contains -gasp- the "G" word. (God!) But I want Bella to learn it.
Then we sat down for Phonics. Most of which was (and for a while will continue to be) a review. We went over the letter "I" (and i!) and did a couple of workbook pages. We reviewed all her letters with flashcards, etc.
Next was an art activity that came with her curriculum, then Math. We actually did two math lessons today as they were only a review of colors and numbers 1-10. As with Phonics, math will be a review for a while. But I did not feel comfortable trying to skip her to 1st grade so we will just cruise for a while and enjoy it!
We ended our day with Bible. We did a song, then started our first memory verse, Genesis 1:1~ Which, in a fabulous coincidence, begins with "I"! We talked about creation- beginnings!- and named several things God created, etc. We ended by praying and thanking God for his creation.
Since we finished all this in much less time than I anticipiated, I let the girls gather up a big pile of books, we got cozy on the couch, and read aloud for half an hour!
Mostly, our first day was a resounding success! I already see some improvements that need to be made, firstly in my organization, as I was not as prepared and I thought I was last night! And secondly in keeping Abbigail happily occupied! I got her a new toy to play with during lessons and it did keep her occupied for a while. But once she got tired of it she tended to be distracting. And while I do not expect her to sit quietly at the table the entire time, I do expect her to play or color without being a disruption. We are most definately a work in progress! But I feel very blessed and thankful to have the means, opportunity, and desire to homeschool.
