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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Homeschool Plan for the '11-'12 School Year

This year is going to be incredibly busy and tight financially, but I still want to make sure that Henry gets the attention and opportunities that he would have if he were in daycare or preschool.

A couple of months ago I wrote out a list of skills that I wanted to work on this next school year. Many of these were just a shot in the dark, I have no way of knowing which he is capable of or which he will exceed. Since the list was written he's actually picked up some of the skills on his own.

Objectives:
- counting objects 1-20
- potty training (if he is ready, I'm definitely not going to push this)
- phonetic reading of three letter words
- saying please and thank you (started doing this recently)
- learning colors/sorting by color (knows colors, will continue to solidify with games)
- recognizing some sight words if ready
- pouring liquid from one container to another
- setting a table and eating well with utensils
- stringing large wooden beads
- matching lids to jars
- using a dropper to drop liquid
- able to do a Montessori cylinder and stacking blocks puzzles
- matching fabrics of different textures
- identifying animals, babies, group names and sounds
- understanding cold v. hot, big v. small, open v. closed, on v. off, up v. down, in v. out, over v. under and perhaps biggest, smallest, coldest, etc.
- learning to be quiet and listen for a quiet sound
- listening to classical music (one composer per month to build appreciation)
- recognizing basic shapes (pretty good at this now, but has some trouble saying some of them)
- associating words/objects with the first letter sound (great with this)
- obeying simple commands, following directions (especially when it comes to directions like, turn around, it's behind you, etc.)
- drawing a counterclockwise circle
- transferring objects with tongs or large tweezers
- sweeping with a tiny broom/dustpan, wiping up spills, tidying up toys
- making own bed
- gross motor skills (tbd)
- naming clothing, ability to put on and take off some clothes

As far as what each day will look like we'll have to see how it goes. I am planning on "doing school" either three or four days a week depending on our schedule. Right now I'm thinking we will continue to start with the calendar time, then do a Bible story and possibly something crafty to go along with it. Then one to three other learning activities, some outside time, a little music while we play, and that's it.

I'm planning to have a new theme every two weeks, but can adjust to a new theme once a month if we need to. For September the themes I picked are "Apples" and "Farm", mainly because I was able to collect some books at a used book fair and good will. I also think it will be fun, easy and cheap to go to an apple picking place or farm for a field trip.

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