Today the kids had their first day at gymnastics. We were a few minutes late because I wasn’t sure if we were going in the right direction. Turns out we were though.
There were four other kids there and two adults. Alice and Jake were the biggest kids there - I figured Alice might be because she’s 5 (the class is for 3-5 year olds). But I was surprised that Jake was second to her. He was the only boy in class and maybe girls are just tiny these days.
There are windows so you can watch the kids jump, tumble and balance. I took my crochet box with me because I am very close to finishing Alice’s poncho! They start out with basics like what looked like light stretches and jumping. Then they tumbled, played on a trampoline, played on balance beams and also on the uneven bars. With the adults help of course. I watched a lot or glanced up in between crocheting and they looked like they were having so much fun.
Child development is always interesting to me. I wonder what it is that makes some kids develop faster (emotionally, physically, mentally, etc.) then others. I said that Jake was the second biggest kid but once the class was over and everyone came out, I realized his vocabulary is much more advanced then the rest of the 3 year olds. The teacher said something about him being close to Alice’s age, and I said no he was just 3 in August.
So since the kids were bigger then the rest, the teachers (both also the owners) said it would be okay to move Alice and Jake to a different class. They said the other class moves a bit faster then this one did and those kids are about at the same level as where Alice and Jake are.
They had a lot of fun though, at the end they get a washable stamp on their foot and they were so proud of that. We go back next Tuesday.
When I said curriculum, I should have said workbooks and coloring books and craft books and project books. LOL
We went out today and purchased said books! Alice loves doing worksheets - she inherited that trait from me 
- and she also wanted flash cards. She got a couple of books that come with attachments - like one book comes with crayons and hard plastic with a pattern, you put the plastic under the page (I think? I haven’t looked at it too closely yet) and then color, then your page isn’t smooth but patterned.
She also picked out a book with felt cutouts and has been making various creatures since we got home. I have a list of things I want to get her now - more felt stuff, some Usborne books, and some Bright Minds books. I need to make a list! We spent a little today so I don’t think we will be buying anything for at least a couple of months.
Unless she breezes through these workbooks too!
I stopped thinking about curriculum back when I was trying to figure out what method of homeschooling we would follow. And now, about two months into it, I think I need some.
Alice breezed through the workbooks we purchased. And for the past couple of weeks we have been doing projects around the house, letting her help more with cooking, teaching her crafts, etc. And it just doesn’t feel like enough. I struggle to define what we are doing and when Chris doesn’t see her doing worksheets, he doesn’t think she is doing school work.
Actually, curriculum or no, we just need more resources and idea books to get her going. We were cash strapped until recently so I bought a couple of books off of Amazon and am going to look into a couple of curriculum choices this week. Even if we had a few things to get us jumpstarted, it would be easier.
A quick post so I can remember where I read this - Homeschooling does not equal isolation.
Over on a message board I frequent, there is a debate section. There is an article on the front page of MSN with the title of something along the lines of “the controversy of unschooling” or such. Someone on the message board posted the link and then said “have at it” without offering any comments. Okay so not offering comments may only be annoying to me!
That being said, its … somewhat akward for me to read about the misconceptions of homeschooling. For some reason people picture a family who never leaves their home, lives in the woods and has sheep so they can use the wool for clothing. It’s a very odd thing to me. Even before I homeschooled, I did not think that way. And after researching and reading SO much - I KNOW that the homeschoolers out there are awesome people doing a great job.
How can you isolate your children? Do they come home from school and then talk to noone else, are you leaving them at home while you go to the store, on vacation or outside? Then that’s YOUR issue, not the schools. And really, who is doing that? Noone that I know.