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Since Jasmine was a toddler, I have been knee deep in everything homeschooling. I knew before I had kids that I would homeschool them, but I wasn't sure exactly how I would do it.
It really did seem overwhelming at first. First off, there are so many different educational philosophies out there: classical, Waldorf, unschooling, and Montessori to name a few. Then once you nail down which philosophy aligns with your family, you find yourself digging through Google looking for the right curriculum. Some families will use different curriculums for different subjects with multiple books (which is too much for me as a mama of three). And this is after you have built up the confidence to homeschool in the first place.
It's definitely a journey.
For the past few years, we have been learning through play without any kind of curriculum. This works well until first grade. However, this year Jasmine is entering kindergarten and I was looking for a curriculum that would help us transition into something more structured.
I wanted more structure but not something that was too intense or workbook heavy. So this past summer, I came across the Peaceful Press and fell in love with their Nourishing Nature Kindergarten curriculum. What is great about this curriculum is it is perfectly at Jasmine's level but allows my toddler to tag along as well.
Nourishing Nature Kindergarten
The Nourishing Nature curriculum is divided into 8 units. Each unit is centered around a theme and takes 4 weeks to complete. This gives us time off around Christmas and next summer (unless we decide to homeschool year round).
Each theme is centered around nature (such as tree, farm, and mountain) and within that theme, each week focuses on a topic pertaining to the month's theme. Most weeks we will be going on nature walks to gather supplies for the nature inspired projects, and we are really looking forward to the outdoor time.
This is a Charlotte Mason curriculum which means it contains a lot of hands on activities, literature, art, and practical life activities. There are plenty of opportunities for us to do things together as a family such as recipes, daily read aloud, and art projects. That is something that is important to me as our kids grow up and all three children are in homeschool-I need curriculum that, at least part of it, everyone can do together.
Supplementing the Curriculum
I am planning to supplement the curriculum just a little bit. I will be adding in Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons (a couple 10-15 minute lessons per week) and some pages from the Horizons Math K workbook here and there. Since my husband and I are musicians, naturally the kids will get music lessons from us.
Because this is our first time homeschooling, this plan may change but later this year I will write a curriculum review and update you all on how homeschooling is going for us.
Our Daily Rhythm
I know this is unusual for young children, but we all are heavy sleepers. My kids typically aren't up until 8 am, so that is when our day starts. Breakfast is around 9 and then by 10ish we will start our homeschooling routine.
At the kindergarten age, my daughter's attention span is around 20-30 minutes, so I will keep activities short. We will start the school day off reading together before getting into the lessons. Once we get through lessons (and probably we will have to stop a few times to feed and change the baby), it will be time for lunch. After lunch, most days the kids will go outside. I use part of the afternoons to get chores done and sometimes I work on YouTube videos or blog posts like this one. Around 4 or 5, I start preparing dinner and around 7, the kids start winding down for bed. In the evenings, I have quiet time alone or spend time together with my husband. Fridays will be for field trips, park meet ups, and/or running errands.
This is our plan for the 2022-2023 school year. We are going to be starting next week (exciting!), and I will keep you updated on how our homeschooling journey goes.
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