Nerd Alert!

It has begun.

Homeschooling that is!

Or, rather, it will this summer once the big-D goes down.

A couple things, though, regarding my educational philosophy. Our current system is heavily stacked against the way most little boys operate. And, school starts waaaaay too young these days. Little ones didn't used to go to school until 6, maybe 7! Now, they start at 3 or 4 - crazy! Let them play! Preschool and even kinder are really just designed to teach kids how to "do" school - sit still, line up, pass your paper, etc etc. Why does a homeschooler need that?

Why, then am I planning on starting "school" with my 3.5 year old this summer?

A number of reasons - firstly, he love love loves doing his "school" books already (some Kumon workbooks) and I think that this will be a natural extension of that. Secondly, with the Mr. gone, it will be nice to have a bit of a rhythm in our home, since that has been provided by having Papa come and go with work and such.

Lastly, I use the word "school" rather liberally. I'm planning on some activities that will be at max 2-3 hours weekly. Super, duper gentle. I am just looking for ways to channel my boy's eagerness to learn and do things with his mama into something a little more structured.

Here are my tentative plans:

Letters and Numbers. I am going to use Catholic Icing's Letter of the Week ideas, as well as her Good Shepherd script to start our lessons. Oh so cute, oh so Catholic, Oh so fun! In addition, Confessions of a Homeschooler has great printables for practicing with letters and numbers that I plan to use. I think what I will do is buy some of those colored folders that have the insert for looseleaf papers and every week, make a new "notebook," of sheets for that letter.

Five in a Row. I have very Charlotte Mason tendencies because I love to read so much. Five in a Row is a "curriculum" of sorts (although we will be using "Before Five in a Row" geared for 2-4 year olds - uber gentle!) structured around classic children's books. Every day for five days you read the same story book and each day you do something different. For example (this is from my head, I haven't bought the book yet), if you were reading "Blueberries for Sal," one day you might pick blueberries (science); another day you might draw blueberries (art); another day you might use blueberries and do lots of adding (math). Its super cool!

Fun Holiday Activities. Of course, holiday and theme obsessed that I am, I have tenative plans to do fun activities surrounding holidays like these "Preschool Packs" and most definitely, an Advent Alphabet lesson block (that I can't find the link to. grr)

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This is a Montessori style Catholic educational program. Hands-on, child friendly, Catholic and Jesus based? We can't lose!

I am also thinking very hard and seriously about "Bible Stories at Bedtime" as a way to introduce and familiarize my boys with the beauty of Scripture, specifically the Old Testament which I have always felt was sorely lacking in my 12 years of Catholic school. We most certainly studied the Bible, but between curriculum changes and who knows what, the Old Testament was definitely neglected. We already have a book basket for bedtime that I try to rotate seasonally, so I feel like this would be a good fit for us. And, its part of my oh-so-gentle approach that I hope will be a good fit for us.

So. There we are. I just need to a) make a schedule slash some kind of plan; 2) make a huge library list of titles to check out and c) convince my husband we need a new line item in the budget - homeschooling!