I have always been a dreamer BUT I never thought "they, the dreams", would come true to this magnitude! I figured my chances for many little blessing had come and gone. Little did I know that God had BIG plans for us!
We have had 2 weeks of school so far and the children have really settled into the routine. The are doing so good getting their school work done, asking questions, participating and having a good attitude.
After missing so many years with them I can't imagine sending them to school. My heart would break each day as I waved goodbye to them.
Homeschooling has been instrumental with attachment. With this number of children plus heading off each day- I would be nothing more than the Aunties they new in China.
Sarah is working on a separate curriculum/ grade level. Some of it is easy for her and at times I think we should bump her up a bit but it is so important to have all the basics to an education, be successful, love learning, feel capable, be able to follow directions, and be able to comprehend what she reads. There were so many many holes in her education in China she was unable to connect all the dots. When she went to school she was there in body but not in mind. Now she has so much confidence!
The other 5 children, I teach together. Ellie, Ava and Anna are all at the Kindergarten level and doing very well. By very well I mean- Anna is extremely active and knows most of what we are doing. Ava is learning and has potential to "get it". Ellie knows it but has trouble with recall, so we need to keep repeating it.
Sam is doing pretty good but really is a preschooler. He just needs more time to be a little boy before officially starting school. I am planning on him doing kindergarten with Mia next fall. Sweet Emma is doing the work with us but learning is so hard for her. She seems to be happy being a part of the group. I know she is slowly making progress because now she knows all the letters, is working on her phonics and can count to 30 in english.
I have never had a toddler/ preschooler in the home while teaching the older children so if you have any suggestions please leave a comment!
I am thinking that Luke and Sam can do some preschool activities and then play together near us. I have also thought about putting them in preschool but Sam has his surgeries coming up and we need to find out Luke's health status. He also needs to bond with his new Momma- so we won't be doing that this year.
I love seeing the progress the children are making and knowing what they need to work on! The whole day becomes a learning experience!
I am finding that I am always evaluating what we are working on and modifying it to fit "us". We are unique and nothing is a perfect fit!
In the evening we turn into soccer fans and cheer on Johnny's team!
The kids love seeing Johnny play and will call out to him from the stands! He gets a kick out of it!
That's a soccer joke!
That's a soccer joke!
They were playing hide and seek outside! Anna was it! She had know idea we were in the porch watching her count! And BTW who taught her how to count? Her teacher! That would be ME!
