Kindergarten Plans

The beginning of school is still about a month away for us, but I am busy getting things ready. Admittedly, I am a little nervous about schooling all three of them this year. I'm not entirely sure how it will work out logistically, so I am trying to be as prepared and organized as possible going into the year.

I have the materials we are planning to use for kindergarten, for Tiny Dancer. It's always exciting to have new boxes of books arrive at our house!

We are major readers in our home. We just got some new bookshelves for all of our books, and we are constantly at our check-out limit at the library. With that in mind, we will be doing LOTS of read-alouds and fun activities to go along. One thing we will do is literature pockets. We started working with them last year, and we LOVED them! They are definitely on our list for this year.

 She is learning to read now, but it has taken some time to find something that works for her. She is actually a very good reader, but she has little confidence in herself. What has clicked is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. They aren't kidding about the easy part! I love the way it's laid out. The program introduces new sounds, not letter names, every couple of lessons. There is a focus on rhyming, sounding out each bit of the word, and there is a little bit of writing. She likes reading the little stories and talking about the pictures that go along. You can also go onto the Donna Young website to find printable handwriting pages that correspond.

We are also going to work our way through the Horizons phonics and reading program. I have never used Horizons before, and it doesn't fit in with our classical approach, but she wanted some fun workbooks. I appreciate that it is slightly more advanced. She does not need to start out learning each letter, so why start there?

We'll throw in some Bob readers and other readers left over from her brothers. 

We're also going to use Horizons for math. Again, she wanted a fun workbook, and I appreciate that it is more advanced than many of the other kindergarten programs. I wanted to find something at her level, and I think this fits the bill.

For some hands-on fun, we're going to work with Cuisinaire rods. I think she'll like doing some different activities with these.

Science for everyone this year is biology. We're going to start by learning about animals, then move on to the human body, and we will finish the year with plants. We will mostly read lots of books, craft, and have a nature journal. She loves taking pictures, so I may let her create some sort of photo book throughout the year.

And then otherwise, we will do some seasonal lapbooks. We have had fun with those in the past, so I think we'll use those again. I just need to be organized and get them printed and sorted while it's still summer!

Last year we used activity bags  to keep her occupied during school time. I think we will pull some of those out again this year.

And that's it! Kindergarten at the Oak House Academy!

"Who Wants to Earn Some Money?"

That was the question Papa Oak called out yesterday morning. The response, of course, was immediate.

Who doesn't want to earn some money? Who doesn't want to have some of their own money to spend as they choose? And these kids are being treated to a trip to Disney World by their grandparents this fall, so they are eager to earn every penny they can. Bring on the chores! Every family has different ways of doing chores, allowance, and money. It took us a little while to hit our stride, but the system we have in place has been working for several years now.

Our chore system began in response to Curly (aka The Hoarder), then about five, asking to buy every thing in every store we ever visited. Frankly, the constant questioning and refusal on my part was exhausting. I knew it was time for the child to learn to make his own decisions about what to spend and how to spend it. He would learn the value of money and maybe some hard lessons along the way. And he has. It has been encouraging to see him think through whether or not he REALLY wanted that bouncy ball.

So... here's how it works.

In the early days, we sat down and made a list of all the possible chores the kids could do to earn money. There are some chores that do not earn money such as cleaning their rooms, putting away their things, setting the table, and helping with the groceries. But there are plenty of paying chores left to be had!

Okay, he might be a little too excited.

Once we had the list, we assigned each chore a value in ten cent increments. Some of the values have changed over the years as the kids have gotten bigger and the chore has gotten "easier." Some examples of the chores that pay include vacuuming, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the cat litter (which no one has ever done!), doing laundry, and taking out the trash.

Bringing the laundry downstairs and sorting it is a popular job.

For a while, we kept the list posted on the fridge so the kids could see exactly what they were earning. Now they know the values, so the list has long since left the house.

After the kids complete a chore, they put marbles in their jar. One marble = ten cents. (I won't even talk about the math lessons here!)

When the jar is full, the kids count out the marbles and have a pay day. The marbles go back in the reserve marble basket; the kids get paid. And it all starts all over again.

Some of the chores are things we tell the kids to do. Some of the chores are things they might ask to do to earn more money. In the beginning we required three chores per day that they could select. But that didn't work out so well for us. They often chose the easiest chores to be finished quickly, but the bigger jobs weren't being completed. I think they have forgotten that was once an option. Now they just do what they are asked, however many jobs that might be.

On payday, the kids are to split their money into three different containers: God, savings, and spending.

I like this system because it gives them some control over the process. Curly has come to me recently, of his own accord, and told me how fair he thinks the system is. He understands that in the real world you don't get money for doing nothing, so this is good practice. He appreciates how the value increases as the chores increase in difficulty. But mostly, he appreciates that once he is paid, the money is his. He can spend it however he likes.

Now we're working on the lesson of credit. He wants to buy something when we're out when he hasn't brought any money along. But that's a post for another day. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Pittsburgh Zoo

Our favorite zoo...

Biggest Loser Bedroom Style

For the past six months, it's been fed a steady diet of junk mixed in with Dad-assisted weekly detox. The hope is that the detox will inspire a healthier lifestyle, but so far there have been no sustained results.

Enter Mama.

 Today there was a five pound weight loss! I'm pretty sure I heard the Halleluja choir.

While Curly is off at camp this week, it was time to go on a crash course diet. I am well aware that next week it will all return to normal, but at least I can have a few days to enjoy a lighter, easier feeling in this room.

The boys have shared a room since Tiny Dancer was big enough to leave our room. I won't go so far as to say it's Oscar and Felix in there, but I will say there are marked differences between the two.

One is messy (he's been known to be called Pigpen) but organized. Messes seem follow him. Like the crumbs under the table, on the floor I just swept. But he knows where everything in the house is. Lost your glasses? Ask Little Bear. He'll tell you: upstairs in the closet, on the third shelf, next to the towels.Under his bed is a mountain of stuffed animals but little else. I'm okay with that.

The other one will be featured on Hoarders someday. Under his bed, you might get lost in another world, an alternate dimension. Which, actually, might be his goal now that I think about it. Here you can find a styrofoam ball, menu from a restaurant, 15 pens, his personal collection of stories, 20 books, enough tissues (clean, thank goodness) to wipe every nose in America if there is a sudden tissue emergency, and enough paper clutter to light a bonfire.

All from under one bed. And there's more.

You never know when you might run out of reading material during the night.

Curly hates to be messy. Mud pit? Not a chance. Eat a peach? If it's sliced and with a fork. Finger paint? Only under duress and with the tip of one finger. He sure does like lists, though.

It's always a good idea to bring the entertainment.

Friday night, he'll return and bring a truck load of camp paraphernalia with him. The room will gain back those hard-earned pounds. I don't think a healthier diet is going to cut it here. Maybe we'll just have to stick with the detoxes. 

A Rainy Day Treat

We got to spend the morning with this little teddy bear.

I twisted his mother's arm to let us have him for a few hours. I'd like to say I was trying to be helpful, but I really just wanted to spend some time with him.

What a joy he is. Always smiling. So easy to make laugh.

The kids loved taking care of him. They got a chance to pretend to be big brothers and sisters (I know, the boys already are, right? But they don't have a little brother. We'll say that was the draw.)

He helped clean up the toys in the basement. He came to morning swim practice with us.

Everyone wanted a turn to push the stroller.

We pushed him. We fed him. We rubbed his round belly.

Maybe we need a little more practice at the feeding. It's been a while.

The kids asked him a million questions to which every answer was: No! He matched their tone of voice perfectly every time. Tiny Dancer pulled out a very high-pitched baby voice for him, and he responded in kind. Little Bear asked his questions in a lower voice, and the answer came back in the same tone. It was so much fun. All four kids were laughing and enjoying the little ham.

So, to his mama, I'd like to say a big thanks for making our day.

Wordless Wednesdays: Birthdays 2013