Unit 1: Sun

Unit 1 is the first real week of the curriculum.  Each week the students will learn a new letter and Unit 1 begins with S for Sun.  Every unit has a coordinating truth about God, and this week was: Jesus is the Light of the world.

Some supplements we used for this unit:

ABC Memory Verse Cards
In addition to the Bible truth, we are also memorizing a Bible verse that begins with the letter of the week.  I received these ABC Verse cards as a gift and they are by Dayspring, but I have also seen these online that would work just as well.

Shadow Video
This week, we read the poem "My Shadow." This short clip from Peter Pan goes along with it and the poem is read aloud while the clip is shown.

Sun Video
This is a cute and entertaining clip about the sun.

Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader K
This book is perfect for kindergarten, as it has a well-illustrated animal lesson for each letter of the alphabet.

Dr. Seuss's ABC Book
Entertaining Alphabet Book

Berenstain Bear's Big Book of Science and Nature
A fun and engaging book about weather, animals, the sun and the moon, etc.

Each week, we plan to get books from the library that go along with each unit.  I found several books about the sun to go along with this week's unit.

Creation Unit

My Father's World starts out with a 10-day Creation Unit.  It goes through the seven days of creation and was a great way to start out homeschooling.  The assignments were fun and simple, helping to ease a child into homeschooling.  We actually completed the unit in 7 days.

Some supplements we used for this unit:

Big Truths for Little Kids 
This book is in story format, and it helps introduce basic Christian truths to children. We use this in addition to MFW Bible curriculum.

My Father's World song
A video to watch as children learn this song.  It shows pictures of creation, etc.

God Made It for You
This is a precious book that goes through each day of creation.  We LOVED it!

Days of the Week Song

Months of the Year Song

We were able to go to a little outside zoo and talk about the different animals God created this week.  It was the perfect way to end our Creation week.

At the end of the week, your child has created a precious creation booklet.  It's so neat to watch your child create their own work.

Homeschool in a Small Space

My family and I sold our house a few months ago and are currently living in an apartment while we look for a house.  Although it's only temporary, it can be challenging to live in an apartment with three small children.  Combine that with homeschooling, and it can definitely get a little tight.  So, I am trying to make the best use of my small space.  For me, that means easy accessibility: I want easy access to my homeschooling supplies and easy access for it to be put away since we are using our homeschool space for other things as well.

Our homeschool room is also our eating area.  Here is what I have done to try and make it as practical as possible.

Here is a view of the homeschool wall.  When we work together, we usually sit at the dinner table.  But the small table is great for independent work or if younger siblings want to color while we are doing our lesson. 

We have a white, 6 cube book shelf.  I use this for storing supplies such as construction paper, learning station activities, paint, bins with art supplies, etc. On top of the bookshelf is my storage desktop carousel.  It holds pencils, scissors, markers, dry-erase markers, paper clips, tape, etc. It's amazing how much stuff it holds! Look for a coupon to buy one at Michael's.  On top of the book shelf I also display important things relevant to the week's lesson.  This week we are studying the letter S, so that is displayed.