Preschool at Home

Tomorrow, my little Bunny and I are starting a new, exciting adventure.  Before I get to that, though, we'll have to backtrack a little.

Our big Bunny girl turned 2 years old a week ago tomorrow.  I just can't believe it!  She has grown into this wonderful, silly, spunky ball of energy and we laugh together as a family every single day.  As every parent knows, 2 years old means a doctor's appointment for a well-child checkup.  Bunny's was last Tuesday.  Everything looked great.  She was healthy and happy and the only concern her new pediatrician had physically was that she was a bit underweight for her height.  No problem, more food more often and we'll check back in in six months.

Then, we got to the mental and emotional development.  Oh my.  It was what we were expecting, but we were still hoping for better news.  After discussing some milestones with her doctor, we were told Bunny is a little behind linguistically and socially and possibly in some of her motor skills.  We discussed our options with Dr. B. and went on our way with a referral to have an audiology exam done, the number for Early Childhood Intervention, and a bit of uneasiness about the road ahead.

We got home.  And then we prayed.  A lot.  And watched Bunny to see for ourselves if we thought she was truly behind.  After a few days, we had to rethink our assessment of her.  She was eating with a spoon like a semi-pro, a big deal for a two-year old.  She had acquired the 50+ word vocabulary a 2 year old should have and seemed to be learning and retaining new words daily.  We still had the whole social skills issue going on, but we felt she was making, and had been making, progress we hadn't seen.  She was moving forward while I though she was stuck in idle.

After more thought and prayer, God gave us answers.  Great ones.  Exciting ones.  Hopeful ones.  I was able to admit my shortcomings to myself and MM.  I have been relying on the TV a little too much to keep Bunny busy while I finished chores around the house and I was letting my extreme social anxiety affect her social development.  Those could easily two huge contributors to her issues.  I knew what could be done to help Bunny, and I knew how and when to do it.

I signed up immediately for a Fall Women's Bible Study at the church we've been visiting so that I could spend that two hours every Tuesday morning in fellowship with other Moms and Bunny could spend it with kids her age.  I also committed to going to MOPs every other Wednesday once they start back up in September.  That's another few hours to socialize. For both of us.  We committed as a family to not miss church anymore and get her in the nursery during worship every Sunday.  With all of that, and the occasional toddler time at the library, I think she'll be back on track socially in no time.

Then came the language situation.  We decided that Bunny just didn't have enough quiet learning and play time at the house, so we decided I would commit to turning the TV off and being sure to track how much she watches and tostart doing "Preschool at Home".

I scoured the internet for resources and curriculum ideas and found this Letter of the Week Preparatory Curriculum.  I immediately knew I could make that work for us and set about planning the first week's lesson.  I've used the ideas on the site to make Bunny a Learning Board to use each day, and spent some time printing corresponding coloring sheets, poems, and nursery rhymes.

Bunny's Learning Board.  So pleased with the outcome!

We start tomorrow at her new little "Home School" station.  I've put a few hard hours into making sure I'm ready and getting things together, but it has all been such a fun blessing for me.  I even got to make a solo trip to Hobby Lobby in order to shop for supplies!  (I'll do a detailed post later on about what I bought and what my Preschool at Home start-up costs were.)  We are still going to have her audiology exam done (tomorrow) and consult with a private Speech Language Pathologist, but we are almost certain that our plans as they are will result in great strides being made and a 2 1/2 year old that flies past all her milestones at her next check up!

Her Homeschool Station.

 So, long story short, the "Star Academy Preschool at Home" starts tomorrow morning and we cannot wait to see how fun it will be and how far our little student will go!

Our curriculum binder.  (I'll go into detail regarding the contents in another post.)

Running towards the future!!

 We are so ready, so excited, and SO BLESSED!  I'll update soon on how Preschool at Home is going, how the audiology exam turns out, and what we hear from the SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) we meet as soon as possible!!

Thanks for reading and many blessings!