Homeschool Kindergarten Recap

As a mother, the pandemic forced some pretty big decisions on us. Berkley was supposed to start Kindergarten that fall, and I wanted so badly for her first year to be perfect. But with the question of virtual learning, wearing masks, the Covid illness itself, and even Plexiglas around desks, nothing was sounding good. We all had to make the best decision for our own families, and for us, Billy and I just didn’t know what the right fit was.

So I started researching homeschool options. Since I work from home, it could be a possibility, but homeschooling also had such a negative stereotype, I really needed to figure out specifics.

Not only did I fall in love with everything I read, but I became so passionate about it, I couldn’t wait to dive in and start planning. The fact that I could have the opportunity to teach her sweet soul exactly what I wanted, based solely on HER learning style was something I just couldn’t pass up. Think the benefits of one-on-one tutoring, combined with eliminating distractions. (like spending 30 minutes for a whole class to go to the bathroom. SERIOUSLY, our homeschool school day is about 1/4 of a regular school day!)

I pulled together my own curriculum, and planned out themed weeks, with Fridays being a field trip day to a location that coincided with our week’s topic. I wanted to make sure she was hitting the Kindergarten learning requirements, but that I was also taking advantage of the opportunity for a more hands-on approach by getting to step outside of the traditional classroom.

There are seven main homeschool approaches: CLASSICAL, CHARLOTTE MASON, MONTESSORI, UNSCHOOLING, SCHOOL-AT-HOME, UNIT STUDIES, and ECLECTIC EDUCATION METHODS. A great resource for learning about each style, and their benefits is from this article on thebestschools.org. I would say we definitely pull mostly from the Charlotte Mason approach, with positive elements from other styles mixed in.

You can check out some of my curriculum and learning tools based off of the links below! The only thing that changed for us throughout the year, was that we bumped Berkley up to first grade math, because her Kindergarten textbook was a little too simple for her.

• Masterbooks- Math Lessons for a Living Education

• The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Course set LEVEL K

(with the Course Book, we always purchased the Course Reader, Mini books, Phonics cards, Beginners Books boxes, and the Level K Handwriting workbook, I wanted everything in the same subject to be cohesive, and this was a great program for sure.

• Ocean Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the World Under the Sea

• The Julia Rothman Collection: Farm Anatomy, Nature Anatomy, and Food Anatomy

As far as our weekly themes, I first researched field trip locations that would be educational, and checked to see if there were any special events going on at specific times of the year. For example, I knew I wanted to do a “Space Week” and go to the Kennedy Space Center. After researching, they had a special “Meet the Astronaut” event in October, so I scheduled our “Space Week” to fall during that time. With each theme, we would study our regular curriculum, and then have crafts, songs, snacks, and learning revolving around that theme! Here are some ideas I used, and some I will use this year:

I am so proud of Berkley, and thankful we had this past year to learn so much more together. The bond that she and Juniper benefited from the time together was exactly what they needed to. These photos of her graduating Kindergarten bring me to tears. I can’t believe 12 years from now, she’ll be standing there in that same spot wearing her cap and gown, ready to take on the world.

thank you for being here!

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