Not so back to school

So far, so good.

Our first week of Pre-K was a success, I'd say. And considering our school days only last about an hour each, I should be able to keep up with with my new standard of excellence.

I'm adopting a new approach to school this year that I'm calling a "lifestyle of learning." (I like to lift my chin slightly when I say this, waving my hands in the air with a great deal of flourish.) We'll still do our letter crafts--this week we stamped frogs with green thumbs--but instead of the dedicated school days that we set aside each week last year, we're setting aside a little bit of time each day to do our more focused Pre-K activities (worksheets, handwriting, reading preparation, etc.). Coincidentally, our school time coincides exactly with Jacob's morning nap, which, I'll admit, makes my teaching moments a lot simpler.

Outside of that, we're planning to work through the 21 Rules of This House this year, spending as much time as needed on each one, coloring worksheets that illustrate each rule and giving the kids plenty of time to role play how they're supposed to act toward one another.

We're using the Handwriting Without Tears program to work through the uppercase alphabet. And though Caleb thinks he's in Pre-K too, and tags along with all of our other activities, this is one of the things from which he's exempt. As smart as he is, and as well as he follows along with Abby's curriculum, I have to keep reminding myself that he's only 2, and technically he wouldn't be in preschool until next year anyway. So the extent of his handwriting lessons this year will be holding a pencil properly. So far he's doing great. If he learns a few letters along the way, I won't complain.

For scripture memory, I've decided to reinforce the verses Abby's working on in her Big Kid Sunday School class instead of introducing new ones. We're also going through an awesome book as a family called Long Story Short, a collection of short devotions that will take us through the entire Old Testament in a year and a half. The kids are loving this book so far, and the lessons are perfect for their ages. The scripture selections are short enough to hold their attention, and the follow-up questions really help them understand what we've read. I can see this book being a favorite for years to come.

And for the second year, we're using the Sonlight curriculum and its fantastic selection of children's books to guide us through our school year. It puts a smile on my face to see that my kids love seeing a new book on the shelf as much as I do. Now if I can just keep us from finishing our entire year's worth of stories in the first few weeks, I think we'll be okay.