Home "School"

Since Kenzie's birthday is in December, she kind of falls into that awkward age for school. If we put her in preschool in the fall, she will still be 4 when she starts Kindergarten. So, we have decided to let her start preschool the following fall. But, of course, we couldn't keep her from wanting to do school-like things while at home so we decided to home "school" her until then. After doing some research online, there is an abundance of resources available for those who choose to do some home schooling before sending their child to preschool. We decided to go with God's Little Explorers curriculum, a preschool learning experience that focuses on the Bible from beginning to end, while teaching letters, numbers, shapes, and all disciplines through hands-on exploration. Here are some snapshots of what we've done so far:

 Kenzie now has a gallery wall in our dining area where she can display her latest projects. 

The first letter of the week was the letter X. The theme of the week was Explore. We started with a treasure hunt to find various school supplies I had wrapped up for her: pencils, scissors, glue, etc. We explored her Bible, looking at the pictures and talking about God and His Word.

 The second letter of the week was the letter G. The theme was Garden. Naturally, we planted a garden! It's just a little toliet paper roll garden in an old baking pan that sits in our greenhouse window. I was worried at first that when we planted the seeds, nothing would end up growing. Boy was I wrong! We read the Creation story in the Bible, and made a Creation book that showed each day of Creation and what God had made. 

 The next letter of the Week was A. The theme was apple. Kenzie LOVES apples so it was a fun week of eating lots and lots of apples. We even cut apples in half and used finger paint to paint with apples. Kenzie also practiced her handwriting on these little apple cut outs I made. We used the cut outs to play a pattern game, which was a little tough for both Kenzie and I to grasp/explain but we'll keep trying! We read the story of Adam and Eve, and had some great talks about sin and obeying God. She, in her sweet literal 3 year old mind, thought that meant we weren't allowed to eat apples anymore either. But, hopefully I cleared that up! 

This week is the letter Z. The theme is Zoo. We've read the story of Noah and the Ark, made some great rainbows and are taking a trip to the Honolulu Zoo tomorrow. I've planned a scavenger hunt for Kenzie using a grid with pictures of the different animals for each letter (some are a stretch!). Hopefully it goes well! I'll be back to post pictures of our adventure.

And of course, what would school be without some red glitter. Okay, not just some, the whole entire container. All.Over.The Place.