Our Homeschool Lessons Today

The boys woke up just before 8 AM today. They had some unstructured play (indoor and outdoor as usual) after having breakfast and their morning prayers. WAHM-me spent some time doing some tasks in my laptop. Checked the work of the artists I hired from fiverr.com. I was very happy with the results. The artists did a great job and they worked very fast. No delays, no revisions as well. And the great thing about it is that I only paid 5 dollars for each service. So happy to finally discover fiverr.com. I highly recommend it to authors and entrepreneurs like me who are in search of budget-friendly options for jobs we need to outsource.

 

After they came back from walking around our small village, they had a mid-morning snack.

 

Then, I had some homeschool activities with my eldest. I supervised his handwriting practice just like what we had been doing in the past days. We're on letter J already. After a few minutes, he answered some pages on Fun Thinkers' English Level 2. Yesterday, we reviewed the last few pages of English Level 1. Today, we began with Level 2. We only had around 30 minutes of activity before we had a break to prepare for our lunch.

 

My toddler was with our helper while I was supervising my eldest son's lessons. I asked them to read some board books (on the alphabet, numbers, animals, etc.). I also chose some short videos that Mateo can watch if he's done reading. They watched a phonics video and the days of the week (same videos I used to teach these to Yanthy before).


 

 

After lunch, the boys alternated in playing with our keyboard. I took photos and videos of them while they were at it.

 

The first song that Yanthy learned to play in the piano was Amen. Tito Ed (the one who serves in our parish as pianist) was the one who taught him. Yanthy would then practice at home using our keyboard.

 

 

The second song Yanthy learned to play in the piano was Alleluia. Tito Ed taught Yanthy this piece shortly after Yanthy mastered Amen.

 

 

While I was on bed rest and the kids and I were not able to go to Mass daily, I asked my husband to teach Yanthy new songs to play in the piano.

 

The next song Yanthy learned to play was Happy Birthday.

 

 

The next song he learned after that was Mary Had a Little Lamb.

 

 

Now he is learning Do, Re, Mi/Doe-a-Dear from The Sound of Music. 

 

After playing with the keyboard, Mateo brushed his teeth and took a bath.

 

Yanthy continued to practice some more.

 

I read a couple of books to Mateo first before he took his nap.

 

While I was spending some time with Mateo, Yanthy brushed his teeth and took a bath. I put on some lotion on him to massage and relax him before we started answering some more pages from Fun Thinkers. We continued with English Level 2. He enjoyed answering the succeeding pages. I had to stop him after we have spent a little over 30 minutes. I told him it's time for his nap. We can continue the next day. When I checked the remaining pages, I noticed that we have past the halfway mark. He could finish it tomorrow if he's in the mood again. But if he's not, I don't mind finishing Level 2 next week. I don't intend to start with Level 3 until August. :)

 

 

I love Fun Thinkers. We bought it when my eldest was over 2 years old. There were times when he was so eager to answer the books but there were also times when he wasn't interested. So I did not force him. When he is interested, he would answer several pages in days.

 

I love using it because it helps my eldest son learn while having fun. I'm able to check his learning through the game. It enables me to incorporate focus practice with him by asking him to tell me how he arrived at his answers. I did this today because my son is quite impulsive. I'm teaching him to think first and to articulate what he is thinking. I want both of us to hear him process the "question" before he chooses to answer.

 

If you're interested to buy the book set Fun Thinkers, you may read my detailed review of this product here. I bought our set years ago at a mall where the distributor had set up a booth. You may buy it at the upcoming Manila International Book Fair this September. There are usually a number of sellers who set up booths there to sell this product. You can even get it at a discounted price.

 

Since my eldest has a very active mind, I chose not to read to him anymore this afternoon. I cuddled him in bed instead until he fell asleep. It was already past 2 PM and I wanted to fall asleep before 3 PM. I'm glad he eventually fell asleep.

 

That's why I was able to update my blog today. ;)

 

Later, we'll no longer have structured activities. The boys will have plenty of time to play again and practice singing if they want to.

 

Then, we'll have reading and storytelling before bed as usual.

I hope that by sharing these activities and resources, I have helped you somehow, whether you homeschool your small kids or not. You can use these resources even if your kids go to brick-and-mortar schools.