Happy Hearts Academy At-home Learning

The tween has set up camp in his room this year. He keeps his school items in his bookshelf next to his bed. He and the cat spend the morning together on the carpet working through math problems, etc. We've been using a mix of Rod & Staff, School Aid, and Seton homeschool materials.

The Kindergartener spends a limited amount of time at our table working on handwriting, math skills, and phonics. Much of her formal learning is via Starfall, a free online learning program. We use the CD-ROM. The rest of the time she plays with learning toys, helps me around the house, and goes outside exploring the flora and fauna. Her favorite outdoor toy is a magnifying glass. She and her father spent at least an hour outside this morning examining caterpillars, worms, and plants.

They went to the library and returned with a learning backpack about teeth and an interactive Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. I really like these DVDs because she can watch it on the computer and play the learning games, ages two - six with two levels. I read to her as much as she will allow. Her attention span is still developing, and hers is very short, just like her brother's was at this age.

Kindergarten is the easiest and most fun year of homeschooling. The real work happens later when I am trying to teach her to read. I'm praying she is easier than her brother!  He took a lot of patience and hard work. First and second grade were very long, but it was also the most rewarding. Once he learned to read , he really enjoyed it. I'm glad we persisted with the phonics because he now has a really good foundation and grasp of  English. We used(use) the challenging and thorough Rod & Staff English/Reading curriculum.

Some of our extended learning resources is gained from free online public domain(vintage) curricula.

Both children are strong visual learners.