The first day at Regina Caeli, I dropped the girls and Gabriel off at the church, took a couple of pics, walked them outside to the playgroup and said goodbye. I was sad to see my sweet angel boy start kindergarten, but I didn't cry. I still have a baby at home to occupy me, thank goodness.
Speaking of work, the girls have assignments in Math, Religion, Science, History, Latin, Phonics/Spelling, Language Arts, Geography (not every day), and Language Arts. Yep...it's a lot! But they are learning, and so far, are doing great. Rebecca especially loves the History--right now she's reading about George Washington and the American Revolution. Christina hasn't made any of her preferences known. ;-). Gabriel seems to LOVE it all, especially reading.
So...what have I learned? Plenty I tell ya!
After the first 2 weeks, I realized that the math and reading curriculum we use in Regina Caeli are too easy for Gabriel. They are learning phonetic sounds and numbers, which he already has a firm grasp of, thanks to 3 years of private preschool. It's not a bad thing to go over the sounds again, since he technically may still need speech therapy. So, I'm using the BOB readers to help him combine sounds and recognize sight words, and a harder math kindergarten workbook I found at the dollar store. For now, I'm spending more time on the reading. He LOVES the BOB readers, and wants to read 3 or 4 of them in one sitting. Otherwise, we are working on fine motor skills---he can write letters if there are tracing lines, but is having some difficulty if there are no lines to follow. But he is trying very hard, and wants to practice more...so I have plenty of pre-printed worksheets, the chalkboard from Handwriting Without Tears, and a dry-erase board so he can really go to town, erase it all by himself, and start over again. He likes to recite the poems and has memorized them quickly. It's good to hear him recite...I can see if he is pronouncing the words correctly. He did have some behavioral issues at Regina Caeli which we we able to quickly nip in the butt, and he loves going to school at the church with his big sisters.
Christina is a eager learner, but is also my most stubborn student. She and I have butted heads several times already, with me storming out of the kitchen, and her in tears at the kitchen table. Not good! I knew my patience would be tested with her, and Lord have mercy...it's been a battle. Earlier this week, I realized I HAD to STOP getting angry. I knew this was not the way God wanted me to school my child. It would be a LONG school year if I didn't figure out a way to teach her calmly while meeting her needs and adapting to her learning style. It finally hit me 2 days ago...she was dreading the math lessons (and no wonder, it would take her 2 hours to do 2 pages!), and she seemed to be slow at addition/subtraction with regrouping. (It doesn't help that Mommy isn't a big fan of math either!) I knew this could be the root of her poor attitude. On the advice of another homeschooling friend, I had her take a placement test on Xtra Math...a free, online math program. Sure enough, she scored a 57%. She got all the problems right, but was too slow on just under half the problems. So we are drilling, drilling, drilling with Xtra Math and flash cards. Obviously she needs to be faster with her math facts--which should make her math assignments less arduous in the future. My SIL (who also homeschools) told me about Addition/Subtraction War, which I showed the girls how to play, and they love it. Hooray for math lessons that are FUN! This hasn't solved all of our tussles at the table, but so far, it has really made a difference. I still find myself having to be rather firm with her--like yesterday when it took her 10 minutes to write ONE answer to a question using a complete statement. She was crying by the time she was done...and it took her 3 tries...even though I was as calm as a cucumber and dictated it to her 4 times. One thing at time, right? ;-)
Rebecca has frankly been a dream to homeschool. She is an extremely independent learner, and prefers to do nearly everything by herself...even her Latin declensions, states and capitals, and phonograms. Unless I have to dictate something to her, or go over an assignment orally, I can give her the syllabus, and she just runs with it. I love seeing her discover something she didn't know before (George Washington didn't want to be the Commander in Chief, nor President of the United States, but did so out of love and duty). She loves all the assigned reading, and makes time for supplemental materials without me even suggesting it. I might ask her to help Christina for a minute or take the baby outside while I'm working with Gabriel, and she never says no...she readily lends a hand. After the first two weeks of homeschooling and Regina Caeli, I asked her if she wanted to go back to public school, and she said, "No way!" She says everyone is so nice, and she doesn't mind all the hard work--which is gratifying because we thought public school wasn't challenging enough for her anyways. Even the slight uncomfortable and hot uniforms don't seem to faze her too much. What a gift homeschooling and Regina Caeli have been for her.
It's been an amazing and interesting 4 weeks. I knew it would be a challenge, but I truly have learned as much, if not more than the kids. I've had to draw upon my years of teaching experience (from 13 years ago!), use my old resources, book, and files, and call upon the Lord for patience so many times. But...I believe we are in for the long haul...and it's a journey I am really looking forward to. I am so happy I get to spend more time with my kids instead of having the logistical nightmare of driving them to and fro, all over town. I am thankful we've been given the gift of Regina Caeli so I can get that little break 2 days a week and be home with Theresa. Most of all, I am thrilled that I can incorporate our faith while homeschooling the kids in so many ways every day! I am blessed beyond measure!
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