Homeschooling Coqui

Last week, I started to home-school Coqui. I just figured that it wouldn't hurt to start.... and we only do 'school' for about 30 minutes max. every day. I have a German alphabet book and I am teaching in German only. I figured that it might not be too late to learn some German. I will add more English over the years. So this book, in German called a Fibel, is the first letter book a German student will hold in his hands. It is THE most important school book because:
- it has the whole ABC in it
- and all the Umlaut (vowel mutation (I looked this one up in the dictionary))
- and once you know all the letters and Umlaute in the German language, you are able to read every single word!!!
(Not like in the English language that students need to have Spelling for many years.) So he will have some English spelling later, after we start with more English.

So we learn a letter a day. He learns the capital and the lowercase one, and how to write it. We have the Fibel and a block of papers with the entire ABC. First he writes it with the dotted line, eventually he is suppose to write it on his own. He can do that, but he has a real hard time staying in between those lines.... So for now, we just write with the help of those dots. We had the A and the Ae, the B and the C and the D, also the au, aeu and ch and ck.

At the same time, we learn a number a day. So we had the 0, the 1 and the 2. He can count from 1 to 12 in German and I am so proud of him.

His pronunciation is still a little off, but that is MY fault for not speaking more German to him. I realize that now.... and hopefully, I will remind myself to speak more German throughout our days - also to facilitate things for Peanut.

Next to all those writing exercise, we also learn the colors and shapes, in German of course, because he knows all that in English - yes, even the diamond, we just have to work on the trapezoid and the parallelogram.
(And next year, we can do percentages and probability - just kidding!!!)

I am not trying to make a prodigy of him. But I think early learning can't hurt. He is just sooooo interested in writing. At the same time, he can be such a silly goose, a wild child, and a 'Hampelmann' (fidget and jumping jack in one person!). So he is also learning to jump and do summer salts and arts and crafts. He loves painting and play-dough. He loves to help around the house like cooking, definitely baking, and washing my floors. Also he loves to have stories read to him. Sometimes, Daddy is too tired to read, so he tells him to read to Daddy. Maybe that's how he got interested in learning the letters?

So he is just a typical three year old! Oh, excuse me, I forgot, he is three and a half - he insists on that.....