First Day of Kindergarten!

Well hey there! This is my third attempt at a blog, so this one will go where none of those dared to go. Somewhere (I hope). And here's where I introduce myself. And my blog.

I am known as Tat2 (pronounced "tattoo") to the youngest of my nieces. The five-year-old, who I'll refer to here on out as "Babe", couldn't pronounce my real name when she first started talking. Out came Tat2, and it stuck. Literally. Her little sister, who shall be known as Bubs, and who just turned three, also calls me Tat2. As does the one-year-old I also nanny. Oh. Yeah. I'm their nanny. Four years strong! And as of recently, I am also Babe's home educator. She started Kindergarten today.

Now, I didn't start this blog to hear the pros and cons of home schooling. My brother and his wife have been through the ringer and back in deciding on what to do with their very gifted, very ambitious, and very social daughter. After a year of thoughts, months of research, and discussion upon discussion, they decided on home schooling through Calvert. So, naturally, I became the Learning Guide, as Calvert defines it.

As for me, I did not graduate from college with an Education degree. Far from it, actually. But I started working for my brother after graduating college, and after entrusting me with his daughters' lives, I shortly thereafter became their nanny and educator.

Alrighty, intro over. Now for what this blog is all about. I'll post pictures (sans kids), ideas, ask for help, etc., so jump on in. I love constructive criticism and I'd appreciate the help!

Babe woke up to a note from her mom this morning. How cute?! Babe was very excited when I got to her house this morning. So after getting ready for the day, we started school around 9 AM.

We are on Lesson 3 of Calvert, so the math dealt with thick/thin. I had her and Bubs collect every pillow they could find in the house while I laid out some blankets and magazines. Babe pretty much already knows this stuff, but to include Bubs, I had her pick one of the things to stand on (everything was strewn about the living room). I then asked Babe if what she was standing on was thick or thin. Then we compared it to others in the room. After she got the hang of it, we all went to the table where I brought out the Play-Doh. She cut out thick butterflies, thin butterflies, thin alligators, thick giraffes, and so on. To add a little something, I had her make patterns with her cut outs. She did it perfectly. I then rolled a long piece of Doh, like real dough, and had her slice thick and thin pieces. Again, she did it beautifully. She finished off with the assigned math worksheets, then free played with the Doh for an extra limited time.

Math. Complete.

After the beep-beep (kitchen timer) went off, they washed their hands and I had them lay on all the pillows and blankets from the math lesson. It worked well - they got all comfy while I read "The Tale of the Three Little Pigs." Babe knew this story from VPK, so after I read it, we compared the fate of the wolf between both stories. It was an additional lesson in how stories vary from person to person. After the story was read and comprehended, we ventured outside to collect grass and rocks for a supplemental activity I thought of.

I cleared off the table and placed the grass on it. We all took turns huffing and puffing. Everyone got a big kick out of the grass flying off the table while I did it. We did the same with toothpicks (carefully). Babe, Bubs, and Z (the one-year-old) couldn't wait for me to have my turn so they can see it all fly off the other end. When it came to the rocks though, no one could do it. We even tried it all at the same time! I discussed with Babe why she thought it was so easy for the wolf to blow the hay and stick houses down, but so hard for him to blow the brick house down.

I added a craft to additionally supplement the reading comprehension lesson. All three participated, and with a little grass, toothpicks, and aquarium rock, fun ensued!

Here is Z's portrayal of the three (two) pig houses. I let him do whatever. Handed him the glue, grass, and aquarium rocks and let him go to town. I did not give him the toothpicks. He didn't miss them. He had fun!

Bubs had a good time too. I drew the three houses to give her an idea of what I wanted, so she did with that what she wanted. Perfect!

Here's Babe's! She's been into crafts since she could hold a crayon, so no doubt her's is just too cute for words. She even drew the pigs and wolf! :)

Reading Comprehension. Complete.

By the time math and reading were complete, it was about lunch time so free play/PBS Kids happened while I made lunch.

After lunch, Babe did her Calvert Checkpoints (two-question quizzes) online, and we moved on to Phonemic Awareness/Listening with Hey, Diddle Diddle.

We have a nursery rhyme book that pops up, and an illustrated nursery rhyme book, so after reciting the poem together, I had Babe identify Hey, Diddle Diddle in each book. She pointed to each character while reciting, we discussed if it was a pretend story or if it was real.

("Duh, Tat2. Spoons don't have legs, how can he run away with a dish?")

My bad.

I then had her draw her own illustration of the story:

Can we just talk about how cute the dish and spoon are, holding hands? Running away together? I got a big kick out of that.

Phonemic Awareness/Listening. Complete.

To end the day, I thought it'd be a good idea to teach her a patriotic song, so I went with You're a Grand Old Flag. It took her about 45 minutes, but by the end, she got the jyst of the first verse. When the (included) music played, she got off the couch each time to march to the beat and sing. It was cute.

When I told her that her first day of Kindergarten was over (around 3 PM), she asked if she'd have fun tomorrow too. I told her it was a possibility, and she walked to her room to get ready for dance singing You're a Grand Old Flag.

First Day of Kindergarten. Complete.

I'm going to say it was a success, but with all the notes I wrote for her parents to read, we'll see what they have to say tomorrow. I'll go out on a limb though and say they'll agree.

For those who read all the way through, what do you think about the day and the blog? Blog too long? Too short? More pictures? No pictures? Should I make the day harder? Easier? Longer?

Like I said, I'd appreciate any and all constructive criticism!