week #1 in review

As we wind down our first week of the Fall Semester, I thought I'd post a few more pictures from the week, as well as a few more details about how things went for us. Overall, I've been absolutely blown away by how taken by our homeschooling activities Zoo Boy is. Mr. "No Thank You" has been an active and enthusiastic participant in just about everything we did. I had questioned, at the tender age of 4 1/2 yrs whether or not he was really ready for the Kindergarten curriculum, but I'm not wondering anymore, he's definitely eating it all up. (This first picture is my boys dressed up for our Great Fall Tradition -- watching New England Patriots football!! The team cooperated by playing outstanding football and making us all happy with a big win in their first game of the season today!)

In case anyone questions why I keep referring to this as "Fall" despite the fact that, according to the calendar it's still Summer for another couple of weeks, take a look at this photo, with all those beautiful autumn leaves covering the yard of this historical house in town. This is our reality of the seasons -- fall weather around here is September, October, and November, and that is how we celebrate it.

We did get some serious Summer weather by the end of the week, though, so the kids were able to enjoy another afternoon of playing in the sprinkler, and of course our trip to join a bunch of other homeschoolers at the beach on Friday. Getting their Physical Education activity in these manners, as well as just general play around the yard/farm yard is so much more natural than being lined up in a gymnasium waiting for a turn on a balance beam. I remember dreading gym class when I was in school, it makes me smile to see my kids getting their Phys Ed more "organically". J is signed up for Soccer this fall as well, with other homeschoolers, and of course I already posted about our daily morning bike ride.

Not only do the kids work on the Phys Ed portion of their education with these activities, but they are also doing the crucial work of Sensory Integration, which is something that is important for all children, but especially kids with Sensory Processing Disorder, such as my children. This year we've dropped working with a formal Occupational Therapist because I think I have enough expertise now to work with them at home via our daily activities and the Enki Education curriculum we are using, which puts an emphasis on Sensory Integration, amongst other developmentally appropriate things. Our morning movement circle consists of activities that work on Sensory Integration, Language Arts, Music, and even Natural Science via verses with a variety of topic. This fall we are also using a verse that helps the kids learn about the seasons and months, in winter we'll use a verse about the alphabet (pre-reading), and in the spring we'll use a counting chant (pre-math).

The most important "work" for Kindergartners is creative play, so we make sure there is plenty of time and materials available for that.

In addition to these activities, each week I read the kids a story from the Enki Education Resource Library, repeated at least three times in that week -- the following week I leave out a picture-book version of the story we read the week before, as well as reading a new story to them. Allowing them to "hear" the story first, before seeing the pictures, helps them to learn to develop their own images and interpretations of what's going on in the story, without getting caught up first in someone else's version via pictures. For the most part, the stories we're using this semester are traditional folk tales from various countries. We are also using seasonally appropriate Nature Stories that are written specifically for the Enki curriculum.

In the afternoon, after lunch and rest (rest is VERY important!), we have our Afternoon Adventures. As the weeks go on, we'll be adding painting, crafts, and cooking projects to our afternoons in addition to playground visits, playdates, nature walks, and special trips. This is the time to fit in fun seasonal activities based loosely around our monthly theme (September's theme is Apples and the Harvest). The theme idea is something a lot of homeschoolers do, a lot of classroom teachers too! It just makes sense to take advantage of the opportunities that are available seasonally! But it's not something specific to or suggested by Enki Education, although they do put an emphasis on keeping learning seasonally appropriate.

Another important part of our day is Family Story Time at the end of the day. The Map Man joins us for this, which makes it very special for all of us. We read the same 3 picture books each evening all week long, based on a theme as I mentioned above, then leave the books available for the kids to explore on their own for the next several weeks. During week #1 we've been reading Grandfather Twilight, by Barbara Berger; In the Woods: Who's Been Here?, by Lindsay Barrett George; and It's Fall, by Linda Glaser, illustrations by Susan Swan. (No, none of these books are about Apples or the Harvest, at least not directly! But this first week was more an "easing into Fall" sort of week for us, so these books have served us well.)

So that's my report for our first week of our school year! I'll try to do this sort of thing weekly, both as a record for myself (although I have a hard copy of what I'm doing anyway) and just because I like reading these sorts of details on other people's blogs, so I thought it would be fun to share! Besides, I'm so enthusiastic about what we're doing, it would be hard NOT to share!!