When I first started homeschooling I wrote out schedules and times for when we would do certain subjects and activities. I pretty much drove myself crazy trying to keep up with our strict schedule. I felt stressed and most of all I felt like I was failing. I've come a long way since then. Our homeschool is so much more relaxed and homey feeling. I think the biggest change I made is going by a routine instead of a schedule. A schedule is so rigid and gives you this feeling that you can't stray from the schedule. A routine, for me anyway, is so much more flexible, and Mother Goose Time has fit in so seamlessly with our routine. In fact I will be a little sad when my kids are to old for this program because I love the way Mother Goose Time enhances what we do each day.
Our morning routine pretty much starts off the same each day. We start with what I like to call Breakfast and books. This is the time that I introduce the Daily Topic for the day. Mother Goose Time provides a Daily Topic Poster for each day that I hang up to remind my kids what our focus for the day is. Then I read the recommended books that go along with the days topic. This book list can be found in the member resources section of the Mother Goose Time website. It has been one of my favorite resources they have. I put all the books on hold from the library a couple weeks ahead of time and then I have them all ready for when I need them. I usually have about 50-60 books and movies from the library out at a time. I really recommend checking out your library if you haven't. It is an amazing resource. I usually read 2-3 books during breakfast time, and sometimes my daughter takes a turn and reads aloud to us. It's a really cozy time, sometimes we even light candles.
After this we clear the table and do the calendar activities. Mother Goose Time provides all we need for that as well, and its really cute.
I usually have them help me put up the calendar piece, the weekday cloud, and the weather. We also review the letter and number of the month, sing the alphabet song, and review our vocabulary word. The vocabulary word is mostly for my daughter, but my little guy has surprised me by using some of the big fancy words himself. After this I have them do handwriting practice. My daughter is learning cursive and my son is learning to print. He uses the letter cards to trace with his finger, or some of the pages from the More Literacy books or the journal to practice his handwriting. I also let him use white boards, rice, shaving cream, and play dough to form the letters. While they are doing this I set up my lap top and get the student news channel we watch ready. Once they are finished we watch a little 10 min news channel that keeps them up to date on current world events. Again, mostly for my daughter, but my son seems to watch sometimes too. After this we discuss anything they want to discuss and then we brush teeth and get ready for the day if we haven't already. Then they get a little play time because they function better if they have plenty of time to play and move around. We usually put some music on at this time, usually our Mother Goose Time CD. I try to follow this routine every morning so they know what to expect. Sometimes something might distract us though, or we might have something planned early in the day that prevents this from happening. After this morning routine though things can get a little crazy and don't always go as planned. I am totally ok with child led learning and if something excites them we go for it.
I like to start with math once we get the wiggles out. We start off with a math game, sometimes from Mother Goose Time if one is provided for the day, and sometimes one of our own math games. This has been a great addition to our math time. The games don't feel like learning and they are a lot of fun. After this I either teach my daughter her lesson while my son plays with the provided manipulatives, or I have my daughter do a practice sheet and I work on the More Math workbook with my son or do the math activity from the teacher guide.
After Math It's usually close to lunch time and I let them watch a show while I get lunch ready. During lunch we also read more books. We are learning about different countries this year so I get a lot of great picture books to read to them from the library. We are also using a map book and the internet to find out information about each country. This month we are learning about South America, and we will finish off the month by having a special dinner with some of the foods we've learned about. I think I might try alternating months with math and science so we can really get into what we are learning about without feeling like we don't have enough time for everything. Next month Mother Goose Time is all about weather and seasons so I am thinking we will focus more on science projects and experiments to go along with that.
After lunch we do some language arts activities, which for my son might include an activity from the teachers guide or his More Literacy workbook.
Last we do some art before we are finished for the day. Usually we do whatever is scheduled for Mother Goose Time that day. They usually have such wonderful art projects. The they get some free time.
*Mother Goose Time has generously provided this curriculum to us in exchange for our stories and honest opinions*
Our morning routine pretty much starts off the same each day. We start with what I like to call Breakfast and books. This is the time that I introduce the Daily Topic for the day. Mother Goose Time provides a Daily Topic Poster for each day that I hang up to remind my kids what our focus for the day is. Then I read the recommended books that go along with the days topic. This book list can be found in the member resources section of the Mother Goose Time website. It has been one of my favorite resources they have. I put all the books on hold from the library a couple weeks ahead of time and then I have them all ready for when I need them. I usually have about 50-60 books and movies from the library out at a time. I really recommend checking out your library if you haven't. It is an amazing resource. I usually read 2-3 books during breakfast time, and sometimes my daughter takes a turn and reads aloud to us. It's a really cozy time, sometimes we even light candles.
After this we clear the table and do the calendar activities. Mother Goose Time provides all we need for that as well, and its really cute.
I usually have them help me put up the calendar piece, the weekday cloud, and the weather. We also review the letter and number of the month, sing the alphabet song, and review our vocabulary word. The vocabulary word is mostly for my daughter, but my little guy has surprised me by using some of the big fancy words himself. After this I have them do handwriting practice. My daughter is learning cursive and my son is learning to print. He uses the letter cards to trace with his finger, or some of the pages from the More Literacy books or the journal to practice his handwriting. I also let him use white boards, rice, shaving cream, and play dough to form the letters. While they are doing this I set up my lap top and get the student news channel we watch ready. Once they are finished we watch a little 10 min news channel that keeps them up to date on current world events. Again, mostly for my daughter, but my son seems to watch sometimes too. After this we discuss anything they want to discuss and then we brush teeth and get ready for the day if we haven't already. Then they get a little play time because they function better if they have plenty of time to play and move around. We usually put some music on at this time, usually our Mother Goose Time CD. I try to follow this routine every morning so they know what to expect. Sometimes something might distract us though, or we might have something planned early in the day that prevents this from happening. After this morning routine though things can get a little crazy and don't always go as planned. I am totally ok with child led learning and if something excites them we go for it.
I like to start with math once we get the wiggles out. We start off with a math game, sometimes from Mother Goose Time if one is provided for the day, and sometimes one of our own math games. This has been a great addition to our math time. The games don't feel like learning and they are a lot of fun. After this I either teach my daughter her lesson while my son plays with the provided manipulatives, or I have my daughter do a practice sheet and I work on the More Math workbook with my son or do the math activity from the teacher guide.
After Math It's usually close to lunch time and I let them watch a show while I get lunch ready. During lunch we also read more books. We are learning about different countries this year so I get a lot of great picture books to read to them from the library. We are also using a map book and the internet to find out information about each country. This month we are learning about South America, and we will finish off the month by having a special dinner with some of the foods we've learned about. I think I might try alternating months with math and science so we can really get into what we are learning about without feeling like we don't have enough time for everything. Next month Mother Goose Time is all about weather and seasons so I am thinking we will focus more on science projects and experiments to go along with that.
After lunch we do some language arts activities, which for my son might include an activity from the teachers guide or his More Literacy workbook.
Last we do some art before we are finished for the day. Usually we do whatever is scheduled for Mother Goose Time that day. They usually have such wonderful art projects. The they get some free time.
This is how a typical day for us looks with Mother Goose Time. The nice thing about Mother Goose Time is that it works with life. If we want to take a project outside, or to the park, or use it as something fun to do while at an appointment we can. It is so easy to take with us. If our routine changes or we go off on a total different direction because something really grabbed the kids attention and we want to spend more time exploring it we can without feeling like we are falling behind. Its flexible and relaxed just like us.
*Mother Goose Time has generously provided this curriculum to us in exchange for our stories and honest opinions*
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