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First day woes
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Today we officially started kindergarten. I suppose it’s going as well as could be expected; I don’t know why I expected it to go more smoothly. It just seems he’s doing more playing than working. (That’s what CM would want, but it’s hard changing my mindset). And we’ve already had one battle of wills this morning. Here’s what we’ve done as of 10 a.m. CT:
Bible story and coloring sheet (I read all of Genesis 1; I’m wondering if I should take it in smaller pieces)
Some reading aloud (we haven’t gotten through the stack, but we’ve got all week). He really enjoyed the Very Hungry Caterpillar puppet.
Clean-up time (he actually didn’t have a problem with cleaning his room, since clean-up time was part of preschool).
Music Time. Since music is usually a kid’s CD or a Cedarmont video, it was a little awkward.
Nursery rhymes.
We’re taking an extended break, until dd is taking a nap. I was hoping she would want to participate more, but I suppose that will happen with time. But at least she stayed within my sight.
During naptime, we’ll do math (play with M&Ms), phonics (flash cards), penmanship, and possibly more reading aloud.
On the upside, ds is either reading or remembering some simple books really well (The Sound Box books by Jane Belk Moncure; similar to the Bob series).
I don’t know why I’m concerned; it is just the first day, after all. It just seemed a little unorganized; I don’t want it to become chaotic.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Karen
It’s now 12:30 CT. We just finished math (he counted 44 M&Ms, grouped by color and recounted, then got to eat them), did some phonics flashcards until he started goofing (he recognized a lot), and made the letters F and E and the number 1 in cornmeal (penmanship is the only thing he’s behind on). He wanted to play in the cornmeal so I had to tell him if he wanted to be through in time to watch Barney he had to get busy. (I know–cop out). I’ve got some planning to do for the rest of the week and record my observations for the day, and we may read aloud some more, but we’re basically done. I suppose the day wasn’t as bad as I originally thought, but it wasn’t great either. How long does it take to get into a routine, anyway?
Karen
Hi ladies I am no expert but here is my thought. When they are young like this, keep it short, varied and fun. The attention span of little ones is fleeting, but variety and short CM lessons work – it may not seem like you are accomplishing an awful lot, but trust me you are. When the lessons become a chore more than fun at this young age, it is likely you are expecting too much. Little by little train them to sit and pay attention to whatever it is you are doing, then change focus and do something different – like after some math, do sing alongs, art, nature study or some sort of PE. This would break up the sit down time and then they may be more focused for another short session of sit down time. The most important thing is do not worry – worry leads to frustration and unhappiness and then in the end little is accomplished. Also at this age, don’t try to cram too much into everyday – mix it up and above all have fun. Blessings to you both – Linda
He will willingly sit for a long time if I read aloud to him, so we did that the longest. The total time we spent on math/phonics/handwriting was about 20 minutes. (And he was eating M&Ms while I was showing him the flashcards!) He was sitting down for the Bible story, but he had his hand busy with the coloring sheet. He was sitting for music, but he didn’t have to. I wouldn’t have minded if he had to get up for that. Bible/Music took less than 30 min, Reading was about 30 (including letting him run around with the puppet) and Math/Phonics/Writing was 20 min.
Karen, It sounds to me as if you had a great day…but you didn’t get to enjoy it because you were worried about not doing enough or wanting it to flow better.
My advice would be not to have such high expectations for this first week. Just relax and rest in what you already have planned. The routine of it will flow easier each day as you run through it.
We started today also, I was just happy we finished everything on my “list” and on the schedule..the kids didn’t complain. They weren’t as excited as I would have hoped but starting something new is always an adjustment..so chalk it up to getting back into the swing of things.Blessings,
Shelly
I agree with Shelly, your day sounds fine – if some of the lessons even go a little shorter, don’t worry – some days he will sit longer, others you may have to adapt – I think one of the biggest problems we have as home schooling parents is that we worry way too much – it is natural to do that, but I can safely say that worrying won’t make things better – just more frustrating. Keep doing what you are doing and enjoy it – the main thing is to really enjoy the days with your child and train them, but not to worry if every day does not meet your expectations. A lot of times our expectations are a bit much and we need to stress less, enjoy more. Blessings, Linda
Karen,
I’ll just chime in with some more encouragement for you! I can tell by what you have shared here that you are a great mom and you have such a wonderful heart towards your children. Try not to sweat the small stuff, enjoy the process and continue making special memories together (I’m telling myself these things too)! These are truly the sweetest years when they are so young (ours are 4,6 and 7). As you get into a rhythm and try new things or throw some things out that just aren’t working, I’m sure you’ll find the right groove for yourself and your children.
May grace and peace abound in you homeschool!
Rachel
I agree with the others it sounds like you’ll work out the kinks as time goes on! Great job on your first day.
Yesterday was our first day, too. I have an 8 yo dd in 3rd and a 5 yo ds in K, a 2 yo dd and one on the way. Our first day was great, but today my 8 yo has chickenpox and I think the 5yo is coming down with it, too! So, I guess we’re on break again!
Blessings,
Christie
Day 2 went a little better. We started at 8:00 instead of 7:30, but he had a slight meltdown. He didn’t want to “play school.” But other than that, he cooperated pretty well. And dd didn’t wander off, although she still wanted to do her own thing. He even wanted to do math early, since he knew he’d get to eat the M&Ms. We had a problem with handwriting; today we used the MagnaDoodle. Maybe it’s because he can’t feel the letters when he makes them. Tomorrow we use chalk; we’ll see how that goes. We also had extra read aloud time, since we went to the library today mid-morning. He did well on the errands, although he talked the entire time we were at the library. He breezed through a stack of sight word flashcards that he had never seen before, so our suspicions were correct–he can read already.
Karen
My advice would be not to have such high expectations for this first week. Just relax and rest in what you already have planned. The routine of it will flow easier each day as you run through it. 
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