Routine...what the Stamp Clan THRIVES on!

We ended our school year this past spring in April, around the time that we got frantic with moving out of our house in CO and Indy getting ready to retire from the Air Force after 20 years.  It seems like it has been forever since we've done school.  Now, don't get me wrong, all of life is school...traveling and looking at maps as we crossed the US, meeting new people, learning new languages, doing so many things we had never done before.  But, actually sitting down and doing school, well, it's been a little while.

About a month or so ago, I remember Krypto saying to me "Mom, I hope you won't be upset at me when we start school again this fall." I was shocked and said "Why would I be upset at you?"  Krypto "Well, it's been so long, I feel like I've forgotten everything I ever learned."  Now, anyone that knows Krypto knows that there is no way he has forgotten everything, he is one super bright kiddo and I'm very proud of him.  Nevertheless, I understand what he's saying.

I had another experience with Gwangi, he said "Mama, I could have more to do if I really knew how to read."  Don't I know this is true...he sees his brother with his nose in a book every chance he gets and he feels like he's missing something.  I'm sure he is frustrated that he got his glasses in December, can finally see well, we were on track and starting to teach him how to read in February and March and then oops, we stopped doing school and packed it all away to move.

Sissi is so cute, she is super excited to start doing school "just like her boys!"  It's going to be a lot of fun this year to have them all in school...a FIRST for me, all three kids doing school!!!!

SO, we have 20+ pieces of luggage sitting here, I would say about 1/3 of it is related to school, no kidding!  I brought books, school supplies, craft stuff, all kinds of curriculum from Pre-K for Sissi, to 5th grade for Krypto and everything in between.  I want to unpack and get started...alas, it's all dispersed in every piece of luggage because of weight restrictions.  I can't just say, let's open these 6 bins and I can do school.  Since we're not moving into our house for another 2 weeks, and yet Daddy is going back to work on Monday, I have been scratching my head about what to do.  I've got it, I went through the bins and picked out a few things for each child and we're going to do "short school" and start warming up for an official full start on the 29th of August.

Here's what I've got....

In my usual way, I want to start everyone off together.  We'll do our Bible time in the AM.  They are all really liking the verse by verse look at Proverbs, so we could spend a few months there!

Then we're going to take the ideas of several of my friends and do a Tanzania lap book over the next 2 weeks.  We're going to get out some books and use the computer and look at these 10 things (one each day for the next two weeks) and draw and talk about them...

-Learn the 4 Presidents names and talk about the Flag
-Learn and label all the surrounding countries and learn a fact about each one
-Learn the major cities in Tanzania and locate them on a map
-Learn the basics of the major religions in Tanzania
-Learn the common foods eaten and grown here and their Swahili names
-Learn about what animals live in Tanzania and their Swahili names
-Learn about the Indian Ocean and what animals/fish live in those waters
-Learn about tides
-Learn about Zanzibar
-Learn about what insects live in Tanzania, specifically about the mosquito

We're also going to learn a few new phrases in Swahili and things to get us around.  We'll start the actual Rosetta Stone Swahili program in a few weeks; but, in the mean time...

-Days of the week
-Months of the year
-Numbers
-What is your name?  My name is...
-How old are you?  I am .... years old.
-What grade are you in?  I am in .... grade.
-How are you today?
-How much does .... cost?
-How do you say .... in Swahili?
-Which way is .... ?

After our "Tanzania School", which if you're interested, you are welcome to join us in learning more about the country we're living in, we'll do some individual items.

For Sissi (pre-school this year), I got out one of her pre-school workbooks.  We'll do a couple of pages in that and then she'll be free to go and play while I finish up with the boys.

For Gwangi (first grade this year), I pulled out the "Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading" by Jessie Wise.  This worked so well with Krypto and Gwangi was really taking off this spring.  I love how it covers some basic grammar and a full course in phonics as you take them through the book.  It's fully reusable with subsequent children and in just a few minutes a day, you'll get your child reading and being able to sound out words that they aren't necessarily familiar with.  When he's done, he'll be free to go and play while I finish up with Krypto.

For Krypto (3rd grade this year), I will have him start doing some review math drills on the Math-U-See website.  He was half way through 4th grade math when we left CO, so he was just starting long division.  I know he needs some review on his multiplication and division facts, so we'll re-drill those these next two weeks so that he can start up again in "Delta" where he left off.  He can do math drills while I'm working with Sissi and then I pulled out a Lamplighter book, "Sir Knight of the Splendid Way."  My plan is that I'll read one chapter the night before and he can read it to himself in the morning, while I'm working with Gwangi.  Then, we can get together and talk about the chapter.  It'll be great for him to get some good quality reading in again, he's been reading mostly little kid books and comic books this summer.  I think it will also be good to start training him for some Upper Grammar discussion time.  I want to be sure he's having full comprehension and pulling out themes and character issues that he might see in books.  I know this will take time and training; but, I'm so ready for this phase in his education.

I am so thrilled to get started this year, and to share this time with the kids.  We'll spend time in the morning doing school, and then we'll still be free to run a few errands and see people before lunch.  It'll get us "warmed up" for full school to start in just a few weeks and answer that need that we all have for routine in the household.  I'll post more about what we're learning over the next few weeks.  I'll also pull together all the other curriculum and subjects that we'll be using and let you know about that adventure.  In the mean time, I pray this finds you blessed and please, if you join us on any of these items, let me know what you discover!