Preschool at Home: Year Two

I've had school on my mind a ton lately as it is starting here next week. Last year we did preschool with another family and Esther liked it. We stopped in May when I had Israel. By June, Esther was getting antsy, so I ordered the Pre-K curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful. I think she really missed the one on one time. We have been doing lessons everyday while the little ones nap. Esther loves it and has been learning so much. 

I have loved using this curriculum with her (not a sponsored post btw ;)) She has learned all her letters and their sounds. We will finish up the Pre-k course in a week or two, and then I will probably start the K Primer course. She is eager and ready to read and I'm so excited to teach her. 

We will also be using the Exploring Nature with Children curriculum this year. It will be a weekly outing to nature with both the girls, and Israel. It also comes with a list of books on each week's topic that we will check out from the library. 

As everyone is posting their first day of school pictures I sometimes get a little disheartened that Esther is missing out. I know she would probably love going to preschool. But after prayer and studying it out, I know that this is the right path for us for this year. Doing school each day with Esther is probably one of my favorite times of day, and our relationship has grown from it. I am also glad that we can continue to have an unrushed schedule with lots of playtime for these two bffs. 

 This is a picture I took the other morning after I had just fed Israel. A blanket fort still set up, and the girls reading books together.

I am still on the lookout for more social opportunities for the girls. Not because I feel like she needs it, but because she loves having friends and playing with other kids. There aren't many kids her age in our ward or neighborhood but we do have playdates a couple of times a month. I am trying to sign her up for a gymnastics class this fall, which I think she would love. We are just waiting to see if they will let her in since it is a homeschool class (yay for it not being in the evening) and she isn't in Kindergarten yet.

Meanwhile we have been enjoying places like the library all to ourselves as most kids are in school again.

As grade school draws nearer for Esther we have decided we will homeschool. (For now, plans can always change.) I have always loved teaching and I am excited to be the one by her side as she learns everything. There are so many options and programs avaliable online and with the schools. I am still researching everything. But so far I'm so impressed and inspired by everything out there. I feel like the internet is truly a blessing in this situation because there is so much available to us that wasn't even a few years ago.

Anyways I'm rabling now, but I just have so much on my mind concerning this subject. The main thing I hear about homeschool is that it would be too tough. All I know is that it is way less daunting to me than foster care ha.  Now if we could just find a small homeschool group with similar aged kids everything would be perfect. :)