Let School Begin

So we are back to school already, as summer is in full swing and the days are just getting so hot that we are starting to crave more indoor time....

We aren't going to be doing nearly the rigorous schedule that we do in school time, as we still plan to take advantage of the summer free movies and occasional trips to the pool and beach....

While we were on Spring/Summer break, the learning never stopped though. Bug and Monkey both learned how to go underwater and to jump off the side of the pool. Bug learned how much fun it is to bury yourself at the beach and how the sand makes it a lot harder to get up/move.... That a puppy in the house is a lot more fun than a really old dog, but a lot more work - that includes toy pickups and keeping the room puppy proof, which is not exactly an easy thing to do when you are four or two. We have also been learning more of how to care for puppies - who is going to find/throw the ball, who is going to feed the dogs, who is going to take the dogs for a walk, that type of stuff. All of this is valid learning, just not the books or paper learning that we tend to do at school time.

Our school year planning is still pretty much what I did last year. We are going through the alphabet working on activities that reinforce the letter, practice our letter writing skills, and reinforce the print and sound connection.... Monkey is at the age too where she is going to get to do the crafts too, but in her own style. (ie, don't expect it to look recognizable, just let me do it.) I tend to find most of my ideas online at various websites, with an occasional hand drawn assignment. I don't "buy" any set curriculum, I simply make my own version of it at this age as there is plenty of time to buy materials that are too complicated to make myself or can't find free in the upper grades.