Conversations with a 4 year-old.

On the way to church Keith thought he take advantage of a "teachable moment" with Isaiah and try to teach him a new "day of the week".

Keith: Isaiah, do you know what day it is?
Isaiah:  Play with toys day!
Keith: Well, yes, you're going to get to play with toys.  But do you know what day of the week it is?
Isaiah: You don't have to go to work.
Keith: That's right, and what day does Daddy get to stay home on?  What is the name of the day?
Isaiah: Hannah.
Keith: No, not Hannah.
Isaiah: Uncle Trenton.  David.
Keith: (laughing)  No, it starts with an "S"
Isaiah: Saturday!
Keith: Yesterday was Saturday, so today is..ssssss
Isaiah: Saturday!
Keith: Yesterday was Saturday, today we are going to Kidmax.  What day do we go to kidmax on?
Isaiah: Saturday!
Darcie: Sunday, Isaiah.  If Kidmax is on Sunday and we're on our way to Kidmax, what day is it today?
Isaiah: Saturday!
Keith: Isaiah, see that big bright ball in the sky?  What is it called?
Isaiah: The Sun!
Keith: That's right, the sun.  So today is Sunday.  Do you know what tomorrow is?
Isaiah: Cloud Day!

A Happy Little Space...

 

I saw it the other day, on the side of the bus shelter; "Kindergarten Registration" - it starts this week.  It was a bit of a shock to me.  Isaiah is old enough this year to register for JK and that shocked me a bit too.   Keith and I have been planning to homeschool our kids since we were engaged. During the past year or so I've been trying to do more learning activities and purposeful play with Isaiah to help prepare him and myself for his homeschooling journey. However, all structure sort of flew out of the window when we moved to Matthew House and the residents moved in.

Well, I reacted to the school situation the way I typically do when confronted with stressful and daunting tasks; momentarily panic, then begin to consider all options in case I can't pull this one off, then begin to furiously research and plan and plan and plan until I don't feel anxious anymore.  My coping mechanism for stress has always been to start to chip away at the problem - it feels active, productive, and usually gives me a better idea of how big the problem really is - which 9 times out of 10 - is not as big as I originally thought.

So, here you have it, a little spot in Matthew House that is for TotSchool with my kids. Fortunately, I've been reading a lot of terrific blogs for some time
and they have all sorts of ideas and links and resources for homeschooling preschoolers.  I'll try to post pictures of the Totbooks I'm putting together.  Most are from 1+1+1=1.  I haven't put them into the folders but put out two or three of the activities at a time.  So far Isaiah is LOVING the dinosaur activities. I think the added structure to the day will really benefit the littles even if they don't learn exactly what I think they should. I think the structure will really help me out as well since balance is still elusive in this odd little world we live in. Here is to a fresh start!