For the Kindergarten year, I’ve only been working on the three r’s - reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic. I know, I feel funny writing those words that way too.

For math we have a few workbooks - Kumon and Evan-Moor bought at Barnes and Noble - as well as flash cards and worksheets printed from a math worksheet creator.

Then earlier this week I read on a blog (I don’t remember where!) about the public school (located wherever the author was located) didn’t teach multiplication tables in school anymore. The teacher told the author (the dad of the child in public school) that the smart ones would pick it up.

What!?! Seriously, did a teacher think saying that was okay? That is just flat out ridiculus.

But also in that article, the dad linked to Singapore Math. There are placement tests for grades first through sixth, but none for kindergarten (here is the placement guide for the tests) So I printed off a 1A test and gave it to my daughter. Everything that we have been studying - more and less, addition, subtraction, guessing, patterns, and more - she did great on. There are a few things she didn’t have a clue about though we didn’t finish the test. I am going to give it to her again at the end of the year and maybe buy the 1A book for her to do during the summer. I know, school in the summer! But not as much as we are doing every day now.

I’ve decided we need a curriculum. I think. Maybe.

Ugh. Okay I haven’t decided anything really. I just feel like we need something structured.

Mostly because I’m a structured person and my daughter is just like me. She likes “playing school” with her brother and enjoys doing worksheets.

I ordered a Sonlight catalog and it just wasn’t for me. I love literature and reading and that aspect of it - but then they said something along the lines of not being afraid to admit (and they should not be!) that the people who purchase Sonlight are typically Christian families. And we are not Christian.

So I’m off to find another curriculum. Granted, most days I think we are doing fine. We are basically unschooling - I got a lot of advice that I completely agree with that made us pick this route. Kindergarteners don’t need school from 9-3 (or whatever the school day is these days). They need to be encouraged to learn about anything and everything they are interested in. Alice catches on to whatever she is learning very quickly. She got a Barbie computer for Christmas and (other then the half that is Spanish) she is doing so good with it. She loves her leappad and once she “gets” what she is supposed to do, really enjoys working with it.

I suppose it is just me that feels this structural need. Admittedly we don’t have a set day time schedule. The kids wake up when they wake up, we have breakfast if it is 8:30 or if it is 10:30. Chris wants them to have more of a schedule but considering I stay at home with them (and we are homeschooling!) why should they? Granted, they do have a fairly set bedtime, that’s all that is set.

Maybe I’ll just write a general schedule of what needs to be done during the day and then during the week. I’m a list-maker and that will make me happy. Of course I rarely follow my lists down to a T so I’m flexible.

Does any of that even make sense?