And So the decision is made

I have decided to make a blog of this experience. It will include my struggles, the struggles and achievements of G and F. It will serve as a diary so to speak that will be able to be document progress as well. Perhaps others will decide to follow along with us as well.

I am the grandmother to G  who is 6 yrs old and entering 1st grade as we begin, and to F who is 3 1/2 yrs old. 

G is reading books from the I CAN READ series with rarely help with 2-3 words in each book.  I believe her math skills are up to date, understanding addition and subtraction concepts She is able to write her numbers to 100 although sometimes in review she is distracted but catches her own errors.  G had a rough experience in K public school, although she learned a lot she also began to beat herself up over errors.  My goal this first year will be to re-install confidence and build self-esteem.

F is ready to begin K when you check her academic level but is not yet compliant with doing what I ask of her when i ask it. As of today she will enjoy one game of candy land but about two turns into the second one she becomes disruptive. I can only speculate that she is then not ready for a day of school.  She is able to not only count to 17 but understands it has a value.  She knows all of her colors and shapes as well and her tracing a line is improving.  I expect that she will be ready in about 6 months. Her speech is unbelievably good and she has memorized nearly all nursery rhymes, The Pledge of Allegiance, and several songs.  My goal for F this year is to help her find her own individual likes and dislikes as she often follows along with sister, I believe she has the ability to be a leader and not a follower.

The decision of what program to use is up the their parents. We will use the Calvert curriculum. 

I will be making a classroom for the two of them from the smaller bedroom. We have considered the larger extra room but I need bed space for guest as well. The room is not very large, it is about 10 x 10. It is brightly painted yellow so I will keep that for now.  I am not sure what all I will need yet or how to design it for a positive experience.