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So begins another year of homeschooling. With only two days under our belt, we are off to a good start {so far!}. We have implemented our new plan-using the Bible as our main text. There is some tweaking to do, but overall things are going well.
Many of you are interested in seeing just how we are doing this. So I will try to include details when I can, and share with you what is working and what is not. I am new at this myself, so I am trusting the Lord to lead me in this…
So far this is what we have done:
We have started the morning around 8:30 am at the dining room table, everyone together. I actually love this part the most. We pray, and then go over the day of the week, the date, and the weather with the littlest guy-my preschooler.
Then we read the passage that we are studying for the week, which is Genesis 1. We are using the King James version.
Yesterday I read the passage out loud, and today everyone took turns reading parts of it. It was beautiful to listen to the children read it.
I am using Genesis: Finding Our Roots, by Ruth Beechik as a resource to guide me in discussion with the children after we read. They each have a binder with a section for Bible notes, and during this time they write down anything we discuss or something they want to remember.
For Genesis 1 they wrote down the words “bara” and “yom”– Hebrew words that mean “created” and “day.” We talked in depth about the importance of the translation here.
We also are using resources from Answers in Genesis, the Life Application study Bible, and some commentaries on Genesis.
Our memory verse for the week:
Yesterday’s discussion focus was what happened on each day of creation. We talked about how God had a specific order for the way He created things, and how we still need order when we do things. We talked about how our complex world could not have just happend by accident and God had a specific plan. We also discussed how humas were created higher than animals and in God’s image.
The preschooler made a mini book representing the days. The older kids put on a play depicting the days of creation. They were very creative and it was so much fun!
Today our discussion was focused on the number seven and how God used this number of days to create the earth {and rest.} We talked about the number seven in the Bible and the importance of that number elsewhere in scripture.
Tomorrow we are focusing solely on being created in God’s image, and how special we are. I plan on focusing on each child as individuals and their uniqueness. Friday we are going to focus on myths of creation and understanding other beliefs about creation/evolution.
Next week we are going to look each day at specific animals that God created. The older kids will choose an animal to write a report on.
Both days, we watched a video on demand from Answers in Genesis website. They kids really enjoyed their videos.
After our discussion time, each child has individual assignments. Each child has a spelling list that I created using words from Genesis 1, but on each of their level. I have entered them into SpellingCity where they can play games with their specific words. I love this site! They also can write sentences or paragraphs on the site, using their words. So far they LOVE this.
There is a section in each of their binders for spelling and for copywork as well. Each day they are doing copywork from Genesis 1, either in cursive or manuscript depending on their age.
My middle schooler is reading “Adam and His Kin’ by Ruth Beechick and also The Basket of Flowers from Lamplighter Publishing. My nine year old is reading Dr. Doolittle and the seven year old is reading easy readers.
The preschooler practices his ABC’s during the older kids’ individual time. I set out flashcards on the floor and we played our own version of “Hullabaloo” by calling out different letters for him to hop to, skip to, or crawl to!
My eleven year old wrote a one page paper describing creation vs. evolution. The highlight of her week is that she emailed me her assignment. I sent back corrections and she is working on the revisions. I think she likes using the computer for assignments!
The eleven year old and nine year old also wrote a newspaper article today, the topic being “Earth Created in Just Six Days!” I look forward to incorporating more of these creative writing assignments each week.
We also did some experiments from “Genesis for Kids: Science Experiments that Show God’s Power in Creation.”
In the afternoons, the children work on finishing up individual work. They are all using Math U See for their level. They are all using Rosetta Stone for Spanish. Once all of their assignments are complete, they are free to play outside or find something creative to do {paint, computer art, games, experiments, etc.}
I am grateful for two good days. It’s a start. What I am loving most is that we are all studying the Bible together, and our discussion time in special. It is truly a blessing. It does get a bit crazy when we do our individual work, so I am trying to make it all smoother. For the most part though, it has been great.
I am letting God lead us on this journey. He is the Teacher. We are sitting at His feet.
“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said….
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:39, 42
I will post more at the end of the week about how we are doing, so be sure to subscribe here!
How did you first week go? Or, if you have been schooling through summer, are you trying anything new this fall? Comment below.
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