School on the Steps

Since Slim is not currently enrolled in preschool, I've started doing some structured schooling at home.  Yet, I'm reticent to call it homeschooling.  I've even named my favorites folder School at "Home (but not homeschool)"  I'm not anti-homeschool.  And before I sound like a stupid bigot and spout, "I have friends who homeschool", I'll just stop there.  Except I didn't.  I said it anyway, didn't I?  Well, I'm genuinely not anti-homeschool and if pressed, couldn't answer why I'm reluctant to say I'm doing a homeschool preschool for the boys.  It's all in the semantics.  Ask R - I'm big on semantics. 

I have a school area set up at the bottom of the stairs in our finished basement.  Thanks to where we're doing the learning, I've titled our school at home homeschool school at home oh, just get over it already and figure out what the hangup is school, School on the Steps

I'm trying to have movement, literacy, science, and math.  Our first lessons were about the letter A

- We sang the ABCs
- Talked about the sound the letter A makes
- What animals start with the letter A?  Slim immediately shouted, "Ape"  Other A animals he came up with were, ants, antelope, alligator
- What foods start with the letter A?  apple
- What family member has a name that starts with the letter A?  Auntie A
- What transportation starts with A?  Airplane
- Drew the letter A with sidewalk chalk on our back patio
- Wrote some words and had Slim identify and circle the letter A
- Made an alligator craft with clothes pins, green glitter paint and googly eyes and then sang about teasing monkeys and sneaky alligators
- Brain Quest tracing writing A
- Manipulated our fingers and stretched our bodies into the shape of the letter A





I've made a felt board and am eager to incorporate that into our lessons.  I'm taking a lot of ideas from Slim's old Montessori preschool and the handy dandy internet.

Here's some of the sites I imagine I'll be resourcing most:

- Montessori for Everyone free downloads

- The Artful Parent

- Counting Coconuts

- Preschool Alphabet

- Midwest Homeschoolers Kansas City area field trip ideas

- 1+1+1=1 ... Tot Trays

- home is wherever I'm with you