The Changing Nature of Our Kindergarten

Clarissa and I did a preschool curriculum together, last school year. She really liked it in the beginning, and then started to lose interest in April, so we stopped. By May, she was asking to do “real school” at home, so I planned a June start to kindergarten.

I wanted to start slow and get into a habit of doing lessons 20-30 minutes per day, just four times per week. Our June Bible story was about Joseph (his coat, his brothers, and his life in Egypt). We read some of the Bible story each day, and did a few crafts. We spent some time learning about our five senses, colors, shapes, and emotions. She also learned how to make a peanut butter sandwich and a peanut butter waffle. Some days, Clarissa would enjoy school so much that she wanted to do more, so we would do two or three days’ worth of lessons in one day, and then she wouldn’t want to do school for a few days. The weather was so nice that we would often do school outside.

In July, we started doing more academics, adding letters and numbers to our days. We went to Japan in July, so we spent some time watching videos and reading books about Japan. We also learned about the letter J; its sound and how to write it. I wanted to spend the month memorizing Jeremiah 29:11, instead of focusing on a Bible story, but Clarissa kept asking for Bible stories anyway, so we did both. I knew that one of our next family adventures would be to the aquarium, so we started studying sea animals when we returned from Japan. We learned about the letter C, and Clarissa practiced writing her first name. She can already count past 10, but we focused on writing just those numbers, and counting things or playing board games that require counting dice and spaces

By mid-July, my husband thought that I was spending way too much time planning our activities. He suggested that I buy some curriculum, instead of making my own, in order to make the planning of school less stressful. I agreed to that, although I enjoy planning; I was spending too much time “trying to do it right.” I was also printing so much that we were spending plenty on ink. So, I went online and ordered some kindergarten books.

In August, Clarissa learned how to make her bed. Since it has been so hot outside in Korea, her new favorite place to do school is actually on her bed. We spent two weeks reviewing a literature study on Paddington Bear that was excellent. We then went back to studying ocean animals, worked on counting and writing numbers to 20, and learning the sounds and letters P, B, F, and S. We focused on Bible stories about fish: Jonah, Jesus calms the storm, and feeding the 5,000. For her birthday, we went to an aquarium in Seoul, and she really enjoyed looking at all of the animals and feeding the fish. At the aquarium, Clarissa and Tim got really excited about the kits to grow triops and angel fairy shrimp, so we have a few new pets at our house. We learned about life cycles, too.

I am looking forward to September. The weather should be cooler, so we can read and explore outside again. I also have a reading curriculum, math workbooks, and some unit studies that we will both enjoy, but I don’t have to do as much prep.

Suzanne Faust currently lives with her family in South Korea. A former teacher and current homeschool mom, Suzanne blogs at http://nextdoormama.com about faith, homeschooling, travel, and gluten free cooking. She has also published some Bible curriculum and family devotionals available on Amazon.