Homeschool Preschool | SY 2015-2016




Another school year has been completed! The recent school year has been very laid back and it fits our family lifestyle, specially that a new member of the family was born mid of last year. Before I write about the upcoming school year and the preparations we are working on, I'd like to share with you what we did from May 2015 to March 2016.   In a nutshell, this was how our school year went:


Spent most of our days playing!



In the summer of 2015, I worked on our curriculum using the DepEd standards and SSRW curriculum as guidelines. I was able to lay out our subjects and for a month we were on track with our lessons and activities. But as my pregnancy progressed and the date of delivery came nearer, we lost track and eventually removed planning, then went back to unschooling.


Academics


Some of the (formal) lessons we touched on  were:

  1. Science - senses, farm animals, pets, Go, Grow, and Glow foods

  2. Language Arts and Reading - We continued with the curriculum Sing Spell Read and Write

  3.  Math - review of colors, shapes, numbers 1-10

  4. Writing - practiced on writing name, numbers 1-10, and letters A-G





In October, we enrolled our son for Singapore Mighty Math at The Great Leap Academy. He had a total of 16 sessions wherein it helped him count up to 30, write numbers, follow instructions, practice logic thinking, and solve problems. You can read more about our experience here.


Little V with Teacher Mico during his assessment




 It was also last year when we introduced our son to locally printed books, like Ang Barumbadong Bus, Si Ching na Takot sa Dilim, and Jepoy Dyip.





Field Trips


We don't have a helper so I bring the kids wherever I go. You'd be surprised that kids can learn so much about society, people and occupation, money, and government, among others. Some of the places and events we visited were:

  • Doctor's clinics (pedia, OB, dentist)

  • Hospital (when Baby Z was born)

  • City Hall (paid taxes)

  • Post Office

  • Supermarket

  • Restaurants

  • Bookstores

  • Hardware store

  • Office (their Papa's and Lolo's)

  • Hotels

  • Adarna Printing Exhibit (learned about traditional Pinoy games)

  • Trick or Treat

  • Easter Egg Hunt







Grocery time with Grandma









  Little V also had a chance to visit Kidzoona, Art in Island, and Kidzania.


Play time at Art in Island












Fire chief for today  #kidzooona #playtime #fireman #playground A photo posted by Petite Momma | Kat (@petitemomma18) on




Practical Life


If there's one thing I'd say I was focused on this school year, it would be teaching Little V chores and helping him learn to be more independent. We were able to accomplish a lot so I'm happy with our progress on this field. Here are some of the life skills our son learned:

  • gardening

  • feeding chickens

  • how to take care of a baby (helping in changing of nappies, getting items for me specially when I breastfeed, babywearing, etc.)

  • dressing by himself

  • putting on/removing socks and shoes

  • brushing teeth

  • putting away toys (we're having progress! Yay!)

  • going to the bathroom by himself (turning on/off lights, flushing, wash hands)

  • sleep without holding my thumb

  • business (he helped man our bazaar booth in our community)


Practical life skills: eating on his own, gardening, babywearing, taking care of baby sister




Unstructured Play


In a previous blog post, I wrote about the benefits of unstructured play- this is when adults don't interfere on how kids play.

We let our son play the whole day and saw his creativity through the vehicles he made using his blocks. He designed all his cars. Sometimes he asked for help when the tires won't work the way he wanted.

He also enjoys pretend plays with his sister specially when Baby Z started to sit. The house is filled with their laughter as they play peek-a-boos and catch-me (he runs, the baby crawls).

There are also days when he'd pretend to be someone - a police, cashier, super hero, a father, etc.


Other activities


We tried the subscription of Buribox, first for toddlers and then the set for preschoolers. Since we weren't able to finish all the activities, I opted to unsubscribe after 2 boxes. I'm still thinking though if we will reactivate our subscription in the future.




Other activities he did were art projects which we placed inside a clear folder as his portfolio.


What's Next


For summer, we enrolled him in a sports class on martial arts so he'd learn discipline, get along with others, and follow directions. He's half-way through his sessions as of writing and so far so good. He's learning to follow, respect others, and work hard for a goal - at his own pace, of course.


Stretching at his Taekwondo class


This coming school year is the start of his formal lessons. We have decided to continue our homeschool journey and are enrolling him to a homeschool provider. It's gonna be hard to stick to a schedule because our little babe in the house has started walking and has been exploring a lot. We still don't have a helper at home, and for sure it's gonna be HARD... Please do say a little prayer for our family so that we will be guided by God in this calling. :)

I will write about our preparations for the coming school year on my next blog post for homeschool. Please stay tuned. :)



Comments

  1. wow. kudos to little v and to you, mommy kat. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! I admire moms who homeschool! Good job, mommy!(:

    ReplyDelete

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