For the Love of Learning: Family Home Evening Resources

A little about us....

I am a mother to three. The oldest passed away, so I am raising two, a six year old and a four year old. I am 28 and stay busy. I am in school full time majoring in elementary education. I am also the Sunbeam teacher (3&4 year olds) at church. I virtual school my kindergartner through SCVCS (South Carolina Virtual Charter School) with the K12 curriculum. My preschooler is homeschooled. We try to stick to a schedule, but sometimes life gets crazy and we aren't able to do everything we planned but life goes on. As long as we're having fun and we're happy then it's all good, right? I hope you enjoy this blog. It's really fun and the kids enjoy the activities we do. Hopefully you and your family will enjoy them too.

I have found this is the best way to start our school day. It is done in many preschools and kindergartens. You can google it and see what comes up but I have my own Circle Time routine. This mostly goes with my preschoolers lesson plans so I don't make the K-er participate except for the Pledge.
*Gathering Song
*Good Morning Song
*Calendar
*Book pertaining to the weekly theme
*Song about the weekly theme
*Poem about the weekly theme
*Pledge of Allegiance

In the school setting, many circle times include group work. I only have two kiddos and one is still very young so group work doesn't work so well. Some families are larger and more able to incorporate group work into their routine.

*A lot of the songs we use come from here.

Our Daily Schedule

9:40-10am: Circle Time (Mondays Collin has reading class @ 9am)
10:00-10:40: Phonics
10:40-11: Recess
11-12: Alternate between History and Science
12-12:30: Lunch
12:30-1: Alternate between music and art
1-1:40: Math
1:40-2: Snack
2-2:40: Language Arts
2:40-3: Independent Reading

All done!! :)

With K12 the kids have to have 6 hrs of school but it's not all book work. We do a lot of fun things with hands on activities. There are plenty of educational tv shows that we sometimes use as well. Collin's current favorite is Beakman's World.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

"Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these little ones.

"Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices, keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones, welcome them into your homes and nurture and love them with all of your hearts.

"They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried. Never forget that" (Gordon B. Hinckley, address to the Salt Lake University 3rd Stake Conference, Nov. 3, 1996).

Quotes:

Gordon B. Hinckley (while serving in the Q. of the 12) said, "I would like to suggest that you follow that injunction given by the Son of God. With all of your learning, learn of him. With all of your study, seek knowledge of the Master. That knowledge will complement in a wonderful way the secular training you receive and give a fullness to your life and character that can come in no other way."

"While motherhood is not a perfect experience, we are each blessed every day to experience perfect moments with our children... While we are unlikely to experience never-ending joy in our mothering lives, we can become conscious of embracing the happiness that comes our way and be part of actively creating the happiness that we can experience and share with our children." -- Mothering with Spiritual Power by Debra Woods

Tips:

*Plan ways to identify the lesson for the children and help them understand an apply it in their lives. Consider how you can give the children opportunities to:
-Discuss
-Read
-Visualize
-Sing songs
- Physical Activity related to topic
*Children love to see their own artwork. Consider making a roller box.
*Children will learn better and remember longer when they are engaged through physical movement.
*As you plan your lessons, consider ways to include children in the learning activities.
*When doing an activity, clearly identify the topic you are teaching. This helps the children understand and apply it better.
*A chalkboard or dry erase board can be used as an effective teaching tool. They can be used to greet the children, ask a question, identify the topic, record ideas, and illustrate stories or concepts.
*Using children in visual demonstrations will get their attention and prepare them to learn.
*Working in small groups will keep more children engaged in learning.
*Not all children enjoy coloring. Some may only make a mark or two on the page. The purpose of coloring activities is to give the children a visual representation of the lesson that they can hold or hang up.
*Children learn through repetition and challenge.

Our Calendar

I bought a tri-fold board (science projects) and glued a pre-made calendar to it. I put velcro to it and I printed out a bunch of numbers and used clear contact paper on everything. The days of the week are at the bottom and I have three popsicle sticks that say "Yesterday" "Today" and "Tomorrow". We put them in the appropriate envelopes. On the left is "Today's Weather". I looked online and found pictures to represent the different types of weather and attached them to popsicle sticks as well. It's fun to go over. There are lots of songs online to help learn the days of the week too. We do this every morning during circle time.

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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Family Home Evening Resources

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