Preplanning 2019-2020

Jul 18, 2019
2 min read

Hi there homeschoolers! We've truly settled into our new rhythm on the homestead: its been a complete and wonderful change. Today we made ketchup from over-ripened grape tomatoes, I have raw goats milk clabbering (but not yet the willpower to taste it...), many cheese failures under my belt, and a overgrown garden! PolkaDot has celebrated her 6th birthday with Unicorn Rides and a two-tier cake, and we've spent the summer nannying a gaggle of 4, ages four to nine years old. So what ARE we doing without LLV in its former cooperative glory? Well, homeschooling! I'll keep my bestie's 4-year-old this school year (I've nannied on and off the last six years, and its a perfect fit for us) and she'll follow an adapted version of PolkaDot's FIRST GRADE curriculum. EEK! We LOVE Montessori, but its not the best fit for our nanny-girl, and I'm excited to dive into the curriculum we've tasted over the last few years.

So how do I plan?

Our daily lives will look a lot like NaturePLAY preplanning did. I teach by "theme" and we take the best parts of the best curriculums, with no commitment to what we dislike. I'll continue to combine kinder and first grade "levels" as we are child-led. (Without going on too much of a tangent-- Kindergarten as it stands in the US is more age-appropriate for a six-year-old who has transitioned into the second plane of development. In Montessori children move from Primary to Elementary as they are ready, and "6" is that transitional and overlapping year. In response, some curriculum authors write a kindergarten curriculum for 5 year olds, others write for 6 year olds. PolkaDot has the freedom to take her own pace, yet our nanny-girl will be spending this school year preparing for traditional public kindergarten, so she will follow along to prepare for next year as she needs.) I am going to be creating (and sharing) a combination of the curriculum we'll use for you all to see. So ta-ta for now, I have a spreadsheet to make!