I started homeschooling midway through Rosalinda's third grade year. I pulled her from the public system in November and started the week before Thanksgiving.
In a single week, I read "Top 100 Curriculum Picks for Homeschool Curriculum," created the list of curriculum I wanted to try out, touched base with Rosalinda's dad, who was amazingly in agreement, and even had the money on hand to make the $300 purchase in curriculum at our local Mardel's.
Our first year wasn't a "trophy case" year, but I learned a lot about what NOT to do again, lol. My poor child dealt with some craziness, but we survived and she still had a desire to homeschool fourth grade.
For fourth grade, I changed our science and language arts curriculum and made her own space in our living room to 'get her learn on.' I affectionately labeled it her "genius corner."
I was more educated with my purchases and grabbed used pieces everywhere I could! So my $300 purchase of last year was NOT repeated and I got even more materials for around $150!
We had an overwhelming busy year and learned so much!
I actually had an end! Last year, I'm sad to admit, kind of faded out opposed to officially ending.
We ended our year with a showcase that allowed Rosalinda to show our family and friends all her hard work.
I designed the invitation myself after searching and searching in vain for an invite that didn't use the word birthday or have monster's with party hats. I had them printed as photos at Walgreens.
The only problem I ran into was finding envelopes that fit! They do have photo sized envelopes, but
that were ridiculously priced because they are a specialty item. So....
I took regular business length envelopes, sliced two inches off each side, and used craft tape to close it up! They worked perfectly!
I sent them out about a month in advance due to all of the graduation schedules that would have to be coordinated.
I sent them out about a month in advance due to all of the graduation schedules that would have to be coordinated.
Our showcase was a hit! We had table displays for each subject. (As the host, I wasn't able to really take pictures myself, so I had to rely on the collection of photos from our friends and family, so you might notice some style differences, lol.) We greeted people as they entered and started with our presentations. I gave an overview of our year and Tiff's accomplishments. I said personal thank yous to everyone there, as we only invited friends and family that had impacted our homeschool experience.
Rosalinda did two presentations. She recited a poem that she had to memorize as part of our poetry unit. She also did a puppet show of Aesop's Fables. She wrote the scripts and created the puppets herself and had some cute elements. This picture is of her doing The Fox and the Crab. She also did The Crow and the Pitcher, which brought lots of giggles. My favorite part being the light bulb she had that lit up above the crow's head when he got the idea to put pebbles in the pitcher. This puppet show was a result of Aesop being one of her favorite history lessons we did when studying Greek Culture. She gave a small summary of Aesop and his life before starting the show.
After the presentations, we gave my parents a certificate of appreciation, as this year they have become the biggest supports of their granddaughter's education! I also gave Rosalinda a formal certificate of achievement.
After 20 minutes of presentations, I asked everyone to browse her trifolds and notebooks and to feel free to ask her questions. We also had thank you favors for everyone and I made a yearbook. All of our loved ones signed their summer wishes and now my daughter has a great keepsake from this year! :)
Her Art Display (She made all the trifolds herself, by the way)
We used our timeline trifolds from the year as our backdrop for our history display.
Her Math Display
For her science display, we had a sound wave experiment available using combs and wax paper (the materials aren't pictured, but they are there!).
Here is a broader view of her history, math, science, and art displays!
Her Language Arts and Bible/Virtue were combined on this table
I also put up a small photo booth with monster props. I posted the instructions and had props in a vase. This is Rosalinda's uncle, Rosalinda with one of her brothers (from her dad), and Rosalinda with her great-grandparents that traveled 1,600 miles to support her! We're sooooo loved! (And probably a little spoiled.)
We had so much fun and it was so great to be able to show our gratitude and share our year with our community! I can't wait to do it again next year!
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