A lot has been stirring in the Tiny B and Strong B household. Transitional kindergarten has ended for Tiny B, as well as speech and occupational therapy, and preschool has ended for Strong B. We've begun our summer but it doesn't feel like it has begun. Tiny B had surgery to close her feeding tube stoma (hole) and we had an overnight stay at the hospital, which really was nothing compared to the stays we've had in the past. But it made me very tired physically and in my soul as well.
God has been calling me to slow down, change some things, do some things...The homeschool convention was beautiful and I was able to truly think about what I want for next year. I long for the days when I'll have Strong B home with me without Tiny B (because he really still needs me and she really needs to have some school adventures on the two days a week that she'll be attending kindergarten outside of the home).
This summer I've got to purge a lot of stuff from our house so that cleaning up isn't so hard. I've got to get my remaining ten pounds off and I've got to start organizing our time better. I look forward to next year....I went from a full-time teacher (this was my entire life for many, many years) to a full-time special needs mom of two, and I'd love to transition to a more "normal" existence (is there such a thing?). I'm praying about what that will look like.
I've decided to change the way that I view this summer. I had big, big plans to continue schooling them just as I had throughout the year, but I fully believe that they need a break, and so do I. In July and a bit of August, we'll be doing "Art Studio" with Mother Goose Time. Instead of focusing on the whole curriculum, we'll be doing all of the art projects, since there is an art project every single day. I'll also continue to do small amounts of writing and reading with Tiny B, and of course read-alouds with both.
I'm going to try try try my darndest to keep blog posts short so that I can focus on the other things that so desperately need to be done. Oh, how I love writing, and especially writing about curriculum and my children. But I know that is what I need to do, even though it is very hard to keep it so short.
And with that...I will now continue my long post, ha ha!
One of the lessons that I loved for A to Zoo Animals with Mother Goose Time was Dolphin Toys.
I decided to not even discuss the toy shapes ahead of time with Strong B, and he was able to match them very fast.
Tiny B was doing her own work.
Note: After this activity I decided to change the layout of the desks. Now they are still facing each other but they each have their own desk. Tell me how I was able to engage thirty 6th graders for six hours without difficulty, but my own two make me feel like I've never taught before??
I was so proud when Strong B found a cutout from a previous lesson and recognized that it was a hexagon. He was so proud too.
We then made dolphin cups to make dolphin sounds.
We did dolphin calls using all of the vowels.
I differentiated the lesson for Tiny B and really mixed up the toy shapes and the shapes. She was able to quickly pair them up.
Here's to a summer where we take time to relax and just be. I want that more than anything. My mind is full and I just need to empty it out, and hopefully my mom will come over a lot and let me go to the beach and have peaceful thoughts there. Today a friend said that the summer is often busier than the school year. Man...ain't that the truth. I desperately hope to change that for at least six weeks.
Happy Start to Summer!
I receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.
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