You Asked For It, You've Got It...Why We Homeschool and Two-Year-Old Curriculum

Lincoln trying out his counting and alphabet posters

This book as been through my years of teaching preschool, Avonlea, now Lincoln and I'm sure I'll use it for Norah. It's a great book to teach colors, especially if your child is into trains like my son.

Our homeschooling shelf. This box is the one we keep Lincoln's school things in.

Here's what's inside: puzzles (a few pieces were missing or in the bottom of the box still), blocks (we use these for learning colors and basic fine motor skills), books, books and more books. Books on ABCs, counting, colors, nursery rhymes, etc. We pull out this box when Avonlea is working on independant school work OR sometimes, if he wakes up early from his nap, I lug the box into his bedroom and we play together and read from items in the box.

Okay, so you asked for it and you've got it! The poll the right-hand-side of my blog is for where you can cast your vote on what you'd like to see more of. The leading vote is for homeschooling curriculum and ideas. I'll start with a little background of why we homeschool, my two-year-old son and what we do with him. I'll move onto more details with Avonlea another day, maybe tomorrow.

A little background...

I'm no expert, but prior to staying at home with my little guys, I taught preschool for roughly 4 years, interned and substituted for just about every elementary grade when I was student teaching, also student taught in an ESOL classroom as well as spending a semester teaching handicapped and special needs children. Special Education was originally what I was attempting to major in in college, but after much prayer, I knew that wasn't what God was leading me to do. So, I majored in Elementary Education. I then got a great job at a Christian school teaching middle school English for 3 years. When I learned I was pregnant with Lincoln and Avonlea was 15 months old, Rob and I decided that I should stay at home and raise our kids. Can everyone do this? No. Am I grateful for this opprotunity? Hands down, yes! Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful for it.

In terms of why we homeschool, the number one reason is plain and simple. I refuse to fork out hundreds of dollars a month for daycare. Number two reason: I'm home with Lincoln and Norah anyway. Number three: I also have an education degree. This is my passion in life, teaching. I may not be a great singer like my husband. I may not be great at sports or a doctor and heal people, but I love to teach. I love to see lightbulbs go off in children's brains when the "Ah-ha" moment is there and I had a part in it. I love children, even when they're having an 'off day'. We all have 'off days'! Number four: I honestly don't know how we would squeeze in daycare right now. Avonlea is involved in a classroom setting 3-4 times a week already at church or at homeschool group and she loves it. Kids are too involved these days anyway. Sometimes, they just need time to play at home and be uninvolved.

What are our future plans? For now, we're homeschooling. I don't know what the Lord has in store for us in the next few years, but this is definately what He wants us doing now, without a doubt. My desire is to homeschool our children through elementary school, but we'll see if the Lord provides for that. Either way, I'm so thankful that I have a teaching degree and hopefully, I'll be able to teach at the school my children attend, when I return to the work force.

It's not a competition who's kid can read the fastest or who's kid is the smartest. Sure, we all take pride in our children's accomplishments and want to share, but my goals as a mother and teacher have always been to nurture the teachable moments and feed a child's desire to learn. When you're in a classroom setting, you're not always going to be able to hit each child's 'nitch' or what they're interested in. You have a classroom of 20+ kids, it's just not possible! BUT, (I know, never start a sentence with 'but') when you're homeschooling, you CAN! You can feed those desires to learn and achieve. If Avonlea is interested in insects, we can go outside and capture insects, observe them, make graphs and learn in that way. If Lincoln is interested in garbage trucks (this is a true story), we can take him to the city dump and observe it kinesthetically, not just from a book. Now, can you do this all the time? No. There must be a time for sitting still and learning as well. This is why we use textbooks and things we can do at the table.

On to homeschooling a two-year-old...

For a two-year-old, they learn SO much just through creative play (pretending, playing outside, with blocks, puzzles, artwork, cooking, etc.) that a tight-knit school schedule isn't necessary. They're just learning about how to communicate with others, feelings, emotions, fine and gross motor skills and more. However, don't underestimate these little minds. They'll surprise you right and left at what they pick up. Use this to your benefit. Buy educational toys and activities. Turn off those electronics and have them do a puzzle or some artwork! Do my kids watch tv? Yes, but only when I'm cooking dinner and sometimes in the morning, after chores are done.

I recently decided to start Lincoln on learning his alphabet. Avonlea had hers memorized by this age and was actually learning the sounds. Lincoln likes to learn more kinesthetically (hands-on), so I have to be more creative with his learning style. Anyway, I found these posters at the Dollar Store (don't you love this place?) and they have the alphabet and a number chart all for a buck! We taped them on Lincoln's wall next to his bed and now we say the alphabet (pointing to each letter) and do some counting before his nap and bed time. When he has the actual letter memorized, we'll move on to saying, "Ah in apple", "Buh in bear", making the sounds (short sounds for the vowels). He's still working on the colors, but Freight Train by Donald Crews has saved us. Lincoln LOVES trains right now and so this book has been great at teaching him his colors. In terms of counting, it's hard for little ones at this age to coordinate putting their index finger on an object and counting it. That's why it's important to do this in repitition, counting and pointing over and over again. You can count apples, bananas, cars, balls and my kids' favorite, marshmellows. =)

Good luck as you're learning at home with your two-year-old and let me know some things or ideas that have worked for you! I LOVE hearing others' comments and ideas, so please share.