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Homeschooling has been a journey for us, especially for me as the educator. I see it differently than I did at the beginning. As an ex teacher, I think I came into it with confidence while trying to replicate exactly what I learned in the education system. Things are slowly changing.
I don't write much anymore and have taken a step back at making curricula or printables because I want to give myself time to see what works for my daughter and what to improve on. I would be documenting our journey whenever I see fit and will share resources at times, in shaa Allah.
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Yes, you read the title right, we're starting Kindergarten Part 2.
That may come as a shock for some because we did kindergarten the previous year. As I said before, this is a journey for us. It would come with exploring, trials and learning. My daughter is 'supposed' to start 1st Grade (Grade 1) this year, but I believe she's too young. I don't want to rush her. And even if I were to call it '1st Grade,' it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. As an educator, you decide what Kindergarten or 1st Grade is to you.
My definition of Kindergarten Part 2 is a year to relax, explore and focus on what my daughter loves. She's obsessed with animals! She always says, "Animals are beautiful creations of Allah." That's right, so we will make that our theme focus this year in shaa Allah. It's basically unit studies, except, we will have a gigantic unit study subject with multiple subcategories.
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We homeschool year-round and try to 'officially' start the year after Eid al Adh-ha. So we started back not long ago. We're both excited to embark on this new journey.
And just because our focus of the year is on animals doesn't mean we would completely ignore everything else. I'd be using our kindergarten curriculum once in a while to re-enforce what she's learned so far and make sure she doesn't completely forget everything. We may also incorporate some of the previous lessons in our unit studies. We'll see how that goes.
Animals are mentioned in various parts of the Qur'an, so we will sometimes use examples from the Qur'an. It's also a good excuse to learn/hear one more Ayah. :)
Hands-on activities, trips and nature walks could also work very well with this unit study. I'll research on that and see what we could incorporate in our homeschooling this year.
Besides just learning about animals (which will be packed by the way), we will work on her reading and writing skills. It may or may not have anything to do with animals. My daughter has been showing an overwhelming desire to read and write, so we will work on that too. She can write letters and even short words, I just didn't think it was necessary to focus on that before. These days, there are children reading and writing even at the age of 2, but I think we're rushing our children to do things they would eventually learn at a more developed age anyway. If it works for your child, go for it, just don't feel pressured to follow the trend. Homeschooling is really what you make it to be and what works for your family.
Let's wrap it up now. I just wanted to share this new update with those who have been following our journey so far. I also didn't want to keep you hanging, wondering what's happening. This is also to help anyone (new or old) reading this to gain new inspirations or ideas.
I'd probably be sharing what we do along the way this year to give you a more realistic view of how it could work. Is this something you would like to get more info about?
Orrrr, would you want me to make an animal unit studies journal!?
I could probably do that at the end of our journey while still sharing bits and pieces along the way.
Let me know!
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Umm Sumayyah is a mother of two and a former teacher who turned into a home educator after becoming a mother. She is also an editor and a researcher who loves collecting and sharing information on social matters, education, career, and entrepreneurship.
