Mock Homeschool Day

So today I decided to try out homeschooling and see how it worked for us. I really didn't have a plan other than doing our lesson from "Learn to read in 100 Easy Lessons." So we did that and I learned that Boston mixes up his M and his W and it frustrates him to great length. So after that we took a break and headed on the patio to play. Dallas said he wanted to pretend he was riding a ride so I told them to climb on board the Dinosaur Ride. They loved when I said, "Please fasten your seat belts and keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Enjoy your ride!" (Dallas calls the me being "the man") They laughed as I pretended to be all the dinosaurs on the ride. When I couldn't remember all the types of dinosaurs (they have never really been interested in them before) I grabbed our dinosaur book that also talks about opposites. We learned some names of dinosaurs and practices opposites. Then I said, "Why don't we build our own dinosaur ride!" So we used the geotrax and plastic dinosaurs and built our own ride. We then applied the opposites we had learned in the book with mommy quizzing, "Which one has spikes and which one has lumps? Which one is bigger? Which one is fatter?" I also quizzed them on colors. They loved it! We talked about what we had learned last week about roller coasters and gravity and how the wheels are attached and how gravity keeps them inside the roller coaster. They enjoyed loading the passengers on the ride after they had designed it themselves.

Then we needed to come in to cool off since it was so hot outside. I decided to do craft time.(While I was getting everything Boston drew me a picture of me and him and then said, "Hey mom, we look like the letter M together!" And we did, and he was so proud that he recognized that it was M and not W. I then told him to turn it upside down and asked him what letter it was then. With a big smile he replied, "W!!!" I grabbed a bag of felt dinosaur stickers I had purchased a few weeks ago at the dollar store. I had Boston write his name and I wrote Dallas name while he spelled it out for me. Then they applied the stickers as we talked about colors and types of dinosaurs. I also had some dinosaur stamps they enjoyed. They then hung their decorated names on the door to their room very proudly!

Without even trying we had a great homeschooling day. I felt better about my skills as a mom today than I ever have. I was completely focused on them, not cleaning or anything else that had to be done. And it's amazing how much you can teach them without even trying. It really helped show me that homeschool doesn't have to be scheduled out with lesson plans and such. It's about making all day school without the kids even knowing! All it takes is a different set of lenses for you to look through. You will see your whole day differently!! It truly was one of the best days with my kids!!!