We have been dabbling in some homeschool lessons for the past couple months, but I thought the start of Zachary’s part time preschool year would be the perfect time to take it on full force. We are definitely new to the experience, so I’m sure we will have to use some trial-and-error to figure out what works for us.
Right now, we are using a Morning Board and Activity Trays (more on that later) to focus our learning.
The Morning Board
This is the Grand Central Station for our schooling. It concisely summarizes what we will be focusing on for the week. Our board has eight categories, but you could easily customize it however you would like!
1– Calendar
The calendar includes day of the week, month, and date. I have Zachary change the weekday and number, and I ask him what the number is. We also sing our Days of the Week song (sung to the tune of the Adams Family)
Days of the week *snap*snap* x2
Days of the week x2
Days of the week *snap*snap*
Today it is Monday
Yesterday was Sunday
Tomorrow will be Tuesday
Those are our days of the week *snap*snap*
2– Name Recognition and Spelling
The letters of his name are laminated and attached to the board with velcro. I take all the letters off, scramble them up on the table, and ask him to find the next letter. For now, I name the letter and ask him to find it. Eventually, he will know which one comes next and will be able to do it all on his own. We sing a little song when he is done.
Let’s spell Zachary! Let’s spell Zachary! Z-A-C-H-A-R-Y, that spells Zachary!
3– English Letter
I rotate a new English letter every week. I’ve started with the letters in his name to make the Name section easier. Each letter has a picture to go with it. We say the letter, make its sound, and say some words that start with the letter.
4– Mathematics
Eventually, this will cover topics like addition and subtraction, but for right now it focuses more on counting, number recognition, shapes, and other simple concepts.
5– Responsibilities
This lists out our expectations for him for the day. The list doesn’t change very often, but sometimes new items will be added based on our activities (for example, “Help with groceries” if we are going to the store).
6– Arabic Letter
Zachary and I are learning this together. So far we can name 3 letters! We just say the name of the letter and I ask him to trace it with his finger.
7– Character Quality
We use the character qualities from this Chart. I typed them all out and included the text for the Bible verse for each one. I don’t know how much of it Zachary actually absorbs, but I figure it’s never too early to start teaching it. Sometimes for the Bible verse, I will try to make up hand motions or a song (easier for some verses than others!). I’ll try to use one that matches the English Letter of the week, but not all the letters are covered. For right now, I just read through the card and try to include a brief explanation.
8– Bible Story
I pick a story from the Bible that is related to the Character Quality. Sometimes it is a bit of a stretch, but I think I will be able to find something for each of the qualities. I give Zachary a brief synopsis of the story, and a few times throughout the week we will read the story or watch a video of it.
Well, that’s how we do our Morning Board! I’ll post soon about Activity Trays.
How about you? What subjects would you add to your board? If you already have one, what subjects does it have?
