Preschool

I've had a few people ask me recently how school is going for Annabelle. My response is always the same...I am learning a lot. 

I'm enjoying experimenting with homeschool stuff, and getting my feet wet (or, damp). 

And yes. I am well aware that it's "just preschool." So those of you who were going to comment something along those lines: no need to--I got that.

I had ideas of how school would "go" with Annabelle. In my planning and imagining things, I decided we'd have Calendar Time every morning, then have structured school for an hour or so on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. Well, let's just say it's NOT going that way at all. I learned quickly that Annabelle doesn't do well sitting there for an hour, or even doing guided active activities for an hour. She also doesn't seem to like the curriculum that I got (thank goodness it was less than $20!). It's okay but it doesn't speak to how Annabelle learns. She learns through life, not through focused games and worksheets. It's a pretty boring curriculum...the same activities each week, just with a different letter as the focus. Belle likes some aspects--she loves doing pattern blocks, she likes doing the calendar, she likes the magnet board pages, and she likes tracing letters/numbers with dry erase markers. Really she just likes coloring with markers. And, she's kicking butt at using scissors. 

I have the workbox method of school set up, so that I fill drawers with activities and she gets to choose which she does, when. She likes to go get an activity when I'm making dinner a lot of the time, and does an activity on her own if I just get her started. Mostly though, she wants to do things on her own time, her own way. 

Which...duh. Don't we all? 

So. I have let go of my pre-conceived notions of what "school" would look like as far as preschool goes, and am realizing that, if Annabelle's personality doesn't change a whole lot, we may be heading down the unschooling(ish) road more than, say, Classical Conversations. We'll see. We have a lot to learn about our kids, and I have confidence that they will show us the way that they need to learn, and we can follow their lead and support their learning styles the best that we can.