BFIAR Jesse Bear

As the mainstay of our curriculum for the 'semester' we are using Before Five in a Row by Claire Lambert. The premise of BFIAR, is that each day you read the same story, then do an activity relating to that story.

This week we chose to read Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? By Nancy White Carlstrom

Day one:

In this story, there is a picture of Jesse Bear playing peek-a-boo with his dad. I put a bunch of baby blankets in a laundry basket and asked James to find the blanket that looked most like Jesse Bear's blanket (light blue). Then, we played peek-a-boo...it was that simple! The kids had a blast, we played for a good 30 minutes.

Day 2

We looked for the different patterns that are throughout the book, especially in the house on the wallpaper and carpet. I cut different shapes out of potatoes, then James chose three colors and we stamped them on a grocery bag.

Day 3

Jesse Bear takes a bubble bath in the book. On day three, we blew bubbles.

Day 4

Nate's Grandparents came to visit this week and wanted to go to the zoo. I used this as an impromptu BFIAR lesson. Before we left for the zoo we read the book and I asked James what type of animal Jesse Bear was and told him that we were going to see a bear just like him at the zoo. This also led to good conversation on the difference between real animals and animals in books that are given human characteristics (real bears don't live in houses, wear clothes etc)

Day 5

By day, I'll admit, I had run out of ideas. Not that BFIAR didn't offer enough, but some of them I just wasn't that into. I winged it! The last picture of the book is a hamper with all of Jesse Bear's clothes from the day. I set a timer and put a laundry basket in the hallway and told James that we were going to find as many dirty clothes that we could in 2 minutes...I decided not to take a picture of our dirty laundry!

All in all, we enjoyed our introductory BRIAR experience. James has mentioned the book on a handful of occasions without prompting and has asked to do some of the activities again. We really enjoyed ourselves! I think there are plenty of activities that all of us will be able to do, it's nice to include Laura, not just for her sake but for James' as well.

First Day of School

We decided to officially start school Friday, September 9th, the first day of library storytime for the semester. James had voiced that he really wanted a backpack. Attempting to be the thrifty mom that I am, I thought that I would wait until the school year had started to buy a backpack that was on clearance. That did not work in my favor! Most stores were either sold out or only had the less-than-desirables left. Luckily my mom, who lives in the town next to ours found the one! We put a few school things in the different compartments for James to discover; scissors, crayons, etc.

He was thrilled:

The next morning, we took obligatory first day of school pictures:

Laura got in on some too:

After our photo shoot, James and I went to the library. On a normal library day (because have been going to storytime before we started 'homeschooling') Laura would have joined us, but because I wanted this day to be special for James, he and I went alone while Laura stayed home with dad.

While at the library, James got his very own library card-safely kept in his backpack, we also checked out our book for Before Five in a Row for next week. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear (more on BFIAR later!) as well as others he picked out. James made it through storytime, with the need for some redirecting, I assume from taking the summer off.

After lunch, naps, and some playing, we did a little more 'school'. I gave James some paper and his new safety scissors and let him have at it:

A Homeschool Adventure Begins

Getting the fine print out of the way.

We're the Sawyers. I'm Jen, wife to Nate and mama to:

James (3)

Laura (1)

My husband and I have decided to homeschool our children. I've created this blog for a few reasons; as a means to share and archive our homeschool adventures- the successful and the less than moments, as a platform to assist me in my efforts to identify the various educational ideologies that work for us, and as a place to find other people who help, inspire, challenge me.

You may be thinking, 'Wait. James is only three. He doesn't need to be homeschooled. What are they doing?'

True. James is only three, Laura one. We are not doing any extensive curricula nor do we plan on doing so anytime in the near future. I have chosen to call what we are doing 'homeschooling' so that when the time comes that my kids shift into the more extensive stuff, it is a gradual, more natural change. Not just for them, but also for me. I am a creature of habit and I do not see myself having the capability to begin 1st grade without some practice. Starting now will give me the ability to iron out as many of the wrinkles that may arise as possible.

So, with all that being said....let the fun begin!