The beginning of our homeschooling journey . . .

       We've finally gotten into some sort of a groove again. We've been able to take trips to the library more often now that Little Pumpkin is here. Thank Goodness!

     I love watching my kids learn. I mean duh. What weird parent doesn't, honestly? I love watching them change and grow (even though it tends to be bittersweet). It's pretty amazing. What's even better is seeing their individual personalities and interests develop.  I'm all about loading their big little brains up with all the information they are willing to take in.

     Since I'm only prepping for CLEPs right now and I won't be taking any classes this semester I have been using all that former study time on what some might deem "homeschool preschool". It just feels like normal to me. We hope to homeschool our kiddos long term. Right now we take things easy and don't follow any particular schedule or curriculum. I originally didn't have any intention of starting things up seriously (ie keeping records or taking grades) until my oldest is ready for kindergarten. Of course . . . that's only a little over a year away.

      As some of you know, a few weeks ago Bitty Bug asked for a "body book" out of the blue. She was sitting in the recliner and we were on the couch when she just brought it up out of nowhere. We are still not entirely sure what sparked this seemingly sudden fascination with anatomy. She is not a big fan of going to the doctor. Hubby and I explain things pretty realistically to her though. We use anatomically correct words. She likes Doc McStuffins. I don't know! We didn't dawdle over it too long. I pulled up the Barnes & Noble website and literally searched "body book" in the kids section. I showed her the results. She was so excited about what I showed her saying "Yes, that's my body book!". We went to the library first but we did end up buying a "body book" for her. She's "read" through it every day since. It's definitely a favorite. She loves the illustrations. 

    So now, my (almost) 4 year old knows about all sorts of organs, how blood works, and what some of the different body's systems are and what they do. Hearing her say "digestive system" or "skeleton" is the cutest. 

Here the things we've been learning about or working on.

• Counting to 100

• Uppercase and lowercase letters

• Months of the year

• Days of the week

• Winter (anything from the weather to birds migrating)

• Body systems, bones and organs

• Coins, bills, and sorting

• The Presidents of the United States

• Manners and etiquette

• Reading (letter sounds and 2-3 letters words)

  I'll be sharing more soon about the different ways we're learning these things!!