We took an opportunity to do homeschooling today. We don’t usually do it on a Saturday, but the Littlest was sick Monday and we were all seeking a day of rest. Since I like to try to do three days of homeschooling per week, we did not do homeschooling on Friday, and Daddy is away on a youth trip this weekend, I figured Saturday was as good as any.

We took the opportunity to do some review. We have been going through an alphabet series of one letter, upper and lower case, per week. Since Rachael is 39 months, I am not expecting her to be able to freehand lower case letters yet (that is a more advanced skill since a lot of those letters have less defined lines [approximately Kindergarten aged]). But in our series (that I’m making up with the help for a few preschool/pre-Kindergarten workbooks I got at the dollar store and a teacher supply store [whoppin’ dollar fifty] and the rest I improv based on state standards for what a child should know to enter Kindergarten), she is expected to trace and attempt to freehand all the capital letters in the alphabet, as well as identify the lower case letters. We have gone from A to L thus far and are in week eleven of the series. I anticipate another 12 weeks of letter introductions to occur (we’ll combine some familiar letters in one week) and then have a review week or two before starting our “formal” Pre-K curriculum. I have been using the resources through the Answers In Genesis curriculum packet to introduce various topics to Rachael so the curriculum will not be completely foreign when we start doing a more structured preschooling. And the alphabet flashcards and 8’11” display resources along with tracing marks have proven helpful for the past series.

I’ve also been using what we refer to as “word pieces” to introduce the letters to Rachael as she has developed her fine motor skills in tracing and, ultimately, writing. These “word pieces” help to introduce the letters in segments, or strokes, and better help her organize the concept of writing the letter. She has really enjoyed the puzzle-like quality and handful of activities on the backs of the mats to aid in the letter’s introduction. While I did not pay for the wooden pieces (they were a bit pricey), but simply traced my sister in law’s pieces and cut them out of foam board, I did purchase the laminated alphabet pages and have used them for an introduction and reintroduction (should it be needed) of the letters at the start of each week.  I just couldn’t justify spending $53+ for an introduction material, even if I am planning on using it for all the kids in our household. The upfront cost when on a budget was a bit extreme. But not wanting to break copyright codes, I planned on just purchasing the sheets and then measuring the size of the “wood pieces” until my sister in law decided to purchase the wooden pieces and therefore I could measure the size from the wooden pieces themselves. So between the two of us, she really helped me out to make that product fit our budget and homeschooling needs. We’re just careful not to beat up our “word pieces” as we should be respectful and kind to all our supplies. I may very well actually buy the wood pieces here down the line, but not this year with our tight budget.

I have also used various storybooks, Rachael’s tag (not tag Jr.) reader system (A Christmas gift secondhand for $8.50 plus two books and then added other books via Christmas wish lists and sales racks), library books, and written sentences/words for the purpose of letter identification to begin to introduce the concept of decoding words. I’ve checked out “Teach Your Child to Read in 110 Easy Lessons” from the library and am hoping to start that with Rachael as well when we begin her “formal” pre-K curriculum. Since I have modeled my created lesson plans from the curriculum we are going to use for Rachael’s “formal” pre-K, it should be a more natural transition into increased listening/interaction time. We have been averaging an hour to an hour and a half of preschool three times a week. The curriculum we will begin is a 1.5 to 2 hour 4-5 day a week curriculum that is more holistic in skill and themed. Since Rachael has been exposed to many of the resources, saving the more advanced ones of course to use in the actual curriculum, the compilation of the resources should not overwhelm her. The curriculum in itself is for 180 days and since we are schooling year-round (at least for now) we are in no rush to take any quick pace. Rachael will begin her pre-K curriculum at the ripe age of 3.5. And if you’ve met her or held a conversation with her, I think you’ll understand why so “soon.”

So back to my original point of this post (though the previous explanations are quite beneficial in understanding how we came about this fruit). I had Rachael do some review today and I wanted to share her work with you all. Much of this work she completed independently while I fixed lunch, did house chores and put Abi down for a nap. I popped in for occasional instruction and to see how she was fairing. But without further delay, I give you Rachael’s A-L work.

I’d say it’s going well.

I’m VERY proud of her. She really worked HARD on this review and applied herself with great concentration, asking questions about letter formation where she had forgotten.

Once again, the child is only 39 months. =)

– Go Rachael!!!