Ditto

The teacher part of me hates to admit it, but I really dislike worksheets.  Don’t tell anyone. okay?  Remember dittos?  You know, those bluish worksheets we had in grade school.  Did you ever have a teacher who would make packets so full of dittos that the staples could hardly hold them all?  So began my feelings of animosity toward worksheets. 

That being said, worksheets are a part of school whether public, private or home.  I can’t deny their usefulness, their necessity or the great help they are to those of us who teach.  I use them and will likely continue to do so.  I still dislike them.  A lot. 

I’ve started planning for home school year number two.  I’ll have one in second grade, one in kindergarten and one in “pretty school.”  I must admit, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by our little one room nuthouse, er schoolhouse.  Helping my kids learn in a house with a toddler and a three year old will be hard.  I know, because I did it last year with a baby and a two year old.  Somehow, I have to find a way to fit in all the needed learning, make it exciting, and keep up with the littles who are tearing my house apart and climbing on everything.  No big deal…

So, this is the plan.  After we finish getting ready for the day and doing chores in the morning, the kids will spend an hour or two doing the necessary seatwork.  Some things just need worksheets.  Math, handwriting, some grammar work and spelling will be done during this time.  I also hope to spend a bit of time working with my kindergartener on his reading skills.  He is beginning to read simple words and is wanting more.  We’ll read some simple stories together and do some word building games.  We’ll have a word wall, as well.

The fun stuff will come in the afternoon while the littles are napping.  We are going to do topic studies that will last 6 weeks.  Our first topic is trees.  We will read books about trees and make posters and charts to share what we learn.  We will make tree crafts and we will do cooking projects with foods from trees.  We will take a field trip to a state park nature center and/or the woods at my momma’s house and learn to identify common trees.  We may even plant a tree. 

It almost sounds like too much fun, doesn’t it?  Nevertheless, we’ll be learning some great science along the way, studying art, measuring and calculating, and learning a bit of history.  Much better than worksheets, I think.  Hopefully the kids will think so, too. 

Most importantly, I hope the kids will continue in their love of learning for the sake of learning.  I pray that they will see this wonderful world we live in and be filled with curiosity.  I hope they will recognize God’s amazing handiwork.  May the be intrigued by the intricacies of math, science, literature and art. 

Looking forward to a great year of learning with my kiddos…  light on the worksheets.