School days, school days.

I have been wanting to start allotting a specific time each week to do "school" with Scarlett. I knew we had to start and get in a routine before Ivy arrives otherwise we could just be a 3-ring-circus every day of the week! Speaking of 3, I was thinking that 3 days-a-week would be a good start for us. So, we shoot for school time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. I have loved conferring with some other mommies of girls' Scarlett's age (thank you Megan and Annie !!) and my neighbor, Lizzy, who was an elementary school teacher prior to being a stay-at-home mommy. 

It has been so fun planning out a little nook for Scarlett and I to use for our learning time together. I ended up finding some nice resources just on amazon to use for the time being. We are starting out very simple and fun... mazes, tracing, memory-verse each week, colors, music/movement time, stories, coloring, following directions, etc. We have been having so much fun. I have to say, although it may be a little premature, I told Mitch the other day that I don't know if homeschooling will be in Scarlett and I's future because sometimes she ends up telling me what to do... bossy. Ha! (I am totally kidding about really being able to homeschool someday). 

My project, after getting Scarlett's big-girl room going, was our "classroom." I wanted a spot that was sunny most parts of the day, so I chose our landing upstairs that is in-between the guest room and SJ's room. 

I have not chosen a specific curriculum or program to implement. So far, I have made a "bullet point" lesson plan that we follow pretty closely for our school time. As far as our classroom tools, mostly we are using things that we already had like her little table and chairs and the Crayola easel that my parents got Scarlett for Christmas. I did purchase a couple things to add to our classroom such as, a calendar... 

And I found this "workbook" on amazon. It's starts out very simply and I love that I can make copies of each page for practice and repetition. 

Here is Scarlett working hard on her letter-of-the-week page this morning. 

Her finished product... 

Speaking of letter-of-the-week... Here is a book that I am loving! I don't know if it is still in print because I had trouble finding it. I found a used copy online. The journey to letterland is a fun way to learn your letters!

Okay, markers... they are the easiest to color with (you know, crayons are hard to use sometimes because you have to press so hard) but they can get messy quick. I love these little washable markers crayola makes. I think they are called Pip-Squeaks. They are just the right size for little hands (and great for on-the-go). We got most of ours in a little coloring book packet from Target (there is a Cars or Disney Princess version) and then I found a little set of 4 at Cracker Barrel. 

To segue into tracing letters and numbers, we are working on mazes...  

This is not something we have started yet, but I am looking so forward to. I think we have some ground to cover yet before starting these daily lessons together. My friend Annie suggested it and the reviews on amazon are stellar. 

I know there are LOTS and LOTS of other resources online and through networks that can be tapped into. I am just starting out so I look forward to finding out more and more about how I can make Scarlett and I's learning time together enlightening AND fun :)