Excited!!

School is about to begin and Hailey will be beginning middle school on Monday. I have been thinking about what I want to do with Delaney this year...it's difficult to decide whether to begin a structured language arts & math curriculum with her, or continue with a scheduled make-it-up-as-I-go method, which is basically what I have been doing. She is only three, and I don't want to overwhelm her, but she is a brilliant little sponge, and I know she is capable of a lot.

I decided to buy the Starfall.com reading/language arts curriculum and adapt it to her level. She loves the website, and I am 90% sure that playing on www.starfall.com taught Hailey much of her reading skills at the age of 4. I received the materials yesterday, and oh my gosh...I am excited. There are so many fun books and materials that come with it. Delaney saw the stuffed animals that are included and immediately began to pack a lunch for Backpack Bear's pack. Starfall.com supplies a step-by-step teacher's guide, bi-weekly assessments and daily lesson plans to keep me on track. 

As I mentioned, Delaney is only three, so as I started exploring all of the materials, I was figuring out what I thought we should use right away, what to save, etc. This morning, I read through the first week of lesson plans, and it is so perfect for her. The picture books we will use during the first week are books she is familiar with. Some of the skills are things she has mastered, so she will already have a level of success, and some of the skills are new ones to introduce to her. The curriculum takes its time and is very methodical, emphasizing phonemic awareness (hearing the sounds) and sight and vocabulary words, and throws in some math, science and social studies as well. 

We are ready! School starts Monday! :)