Installment Number Two of my homeschool students features Kiana, who will be six years old the end of September. She is thrilled to start Kindergarten, and is my fourth child in birth order.
This little girl loves music. She has her own case of cds and the rest of us have learned to relegate her constant playing of cds to background noise. Her favorite activity is to don dress-up clothes and prance around the living room kicking and twirling to the rhythm and mood of the music.
This summer we once again allowed her to participate in a four-day Princess Ballet Camp where she practiced both gymnastics and ballet in the company of a "Disney princess". She loved it even more this year and got herself ready each morning and then waited impatiently for it to be time to go.
A pursuit of ballet wouldn't necessarily have ever been on my radar and if you had asked me 10 years ago, I would probably have said I wouldn't let my daughter take any kind of dance lesson. I don't know how long she'll get to participate in ballet as I think it could lead to problems with self-esteem and body image or modesty issues, but I am quite impressed with this particular studio and its vision of grace and modesty for this season.
She is also so interested in ballet and has such a natural aptitude for it that we decided to let her try it. I have to admit it's also fun to see her get to do her "special thing". Her eyes just sparkle and her smile lights her face as she shares the steps she's learned and tells us all about the princess of the day.
She is a particularly kinesthetic learner, probably the most of any of my children, and I think I would be wise to keep that in mind throughout her academic career. I was blessed by one of the sessions at the homeschool conference in Omaha this year as the speaker perfectly described Kiana and then highlighted ways to teach to her strengths.
We have already started reading lessons and she is progressing splendidly. Just as she anticipated ballet, she runs to me each morning, eager to start her day with a reading lesson. Teaching my children to read is one of my favorite things about homeschooling. It's not always easy--in fact it's frequently rather frustrating--but I'm so grateful not to miss a minute. When they really get it, when they learn to decode those squiggles on the page not only into sounds but into WORDS and then STORIES--oh, how I love to see the delight in their eyes! I'm looking forward to seeing those sparkling eyes and receiving the spontaneous hugs of excitement from this especially expressive daughter of mine.
Back-to-school student installments 3, 4, and 5 hopefully yet to come. . .see installment number one here
Kiana is a lovely little lady, and so full of life and energy. Glad she's excited about reading. Sometimes that might be tough for a kinesthetic type to want to sit and focus.
ReplyDeleteI agree that teaching reading is rewarding but not necessarily easy. I don't think it really fits in the category of difficult, either, just that it's kind of an endurance/patience game and that makes it challenging in its own way. But yes, it's so wonderful to see them become readers and enjoy it. :)
I know what you mean about ballet... and many other physical interest areas are similar. It's frustrating. Glad you've found something you're comfortable with for her at this point.