2011 Family Bible Reading Time - Long Story Short by Marty Machowski

I know I already mentioned our Advent Jesse Tree activities, and how I love this time of year, but I think I am even more excited about a new book that arrived in my mailbox today:

Recently my pastor published a list of books that he thought would make good Christmas gifts and this family devotional book was on his list.  I have already browsed through the first few days and I can't wait to get started.  I think Jack is the perfect age to really solidify some family Bible reading habits each evening....or morning depending on what works with our schedule in the new year. 

So if you need a great book to encourage you in your faith and help you pass on the gospel story to your children...AND you need all the resources at your fingertips, something to tell you what to say and do to help family time go successfully, then this book is for you!  FYI, it was $19.99 on Amazon.  I have no idea where else it can be purchased. I was so eager to get it in before the new year that I didn't "shop around" (glad I have a forgiving husband! Love you J!).

Henry - 18 months

There is a sweet, loving, obedient, funny, determined, focused, empathetic, amazing boy that lives in our house these days.  It's hard to imagine our lives, 18 months ago, without Henry!  He is so special to us! Just wanted to take a minute to write down what he's doing and how he brings us such joy:

His favorite things to say are:  choo choo, all aboard, sorry, bye bye, more, Jack (which sounds like 'ack'), mama, dog, daddy, Grandpa, car, pray, truck, and a number of other things that we can interpret but would be unitelligible to most listeners!  

 He loves cars, trucks, fire engines, LEGOS!!!, books (finally!), eating, playing outside, doing everything Jack does, playing in cabinets, seeing Ms Kelly & Ms Lisa in Sunday School, throwing a ball (or anything he can get his hands on!), and Christmas lights.

He is currently 26 lbs and 33 inches tall.  His favorite foods are animal crackers, apple juice, green beans, and chicken nuggets.  Henry is great at climbing in his chair for activities or meals, sitting still for a short story, sharing toys, saying he's sorry, and picking up toys.  We are hoping these habits stick through the preschool years!!!

We love this boy!

Advent Season - Jesse Tree

My Catholic upbringing always makes me think about the Advent season.  I remember the colored candles, wreath, live nativity, incense burning my eyes each week (oh wait, I was listing positive memories!), candy advent calendar, etc...... all culminating with Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. 

Although it's a great reminder for myself, I also really want my boys to have a clear grasp on the true meaning of the Advent/Christmas season.  Salvation doesn't begin with the birth of a sweet, tiny baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  The rich history of the Old Testament brings forth the work of salvation from the beginning of Creation.  

The answer.........The Jesse Tree 

There aren't as many resources out there as I thought there would be, but we are really pleased with the book we chose to use - The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Meador Lambert.  (I ordered it on Amazon for $10 last year and it came in 2 days, which was important since I waited until Nov 29th to order!)

As the author states, "The Advent Jesse Tree seeks to tell the story of God's redemptive plan for the world through 25 symbols from the Old and New Testament.  Each symbol is explained with scriptures, devotions, questions, prayers, memory verse, and songs."

There is a children's devotion and a short one for adults as well.  I enjoyed reading the adult devotion each morning and then doing the children's one with our family in the evenings after dinner. 

I'm leery of even posting pictures of our meager ornaments, but I know I was frantically searching for pictures of ornaments last year, so maybe they will help someone else out there....

The ornaments are placed on a small 2 foot pre-lit tree just sitting on our kitchen counter.  Ornaments can be made or purchased.  We just used felt and made each symbol....some were even made the day they were needed! Better late than never, right?  All our symbols are ready to go this year, and will be wrapped up this weekend.  The boys will get to open one each evening during our devotion time.  It would be fun to create or even color a simple ornament each day, but my boys aren't big into crafts (bummer, right?) so we might wait a few years. 

I only became acquainted with this in 2009, but it was such a sweet time for our family last year.  I think I've been dreaming of Advent since July! I hope and pray that your family will spend time thinking about the work on the Cross and the true meaning of Christmas. 

(I know you only have a few days to get your stuff together for this year, but it would be SO FUN to do an ornament swap in the fall next year!  If 25 ladies wanted to participate, each family would make 25 of one ornament, come swap, and then go home with a completed set.  Sounds fantastic! Lord willing, I will try to get this together next fall!)

Marshmallow fun!

[Yes I know it's been a month since I've posted.....maybe one day I'll be a "real blogger" (aka posts every day) but for now I'm happy to be a wife, mother, sister and friend.]

A few weeks ago we had Jake's family (minus Hannah :(...) over for dinner and SMORES!  Henry LOVES marshmallows and actually did really well around the fire.  Now that the weather is consistently cold we may get to have more fire nights! 

Jack also found a dead snake this same day.  He "wore" it around his neck for most of the afternoon!  He had seen a snake at a friend's  birthday party recently and the man held it around his neck.  Unfortunately I can't get the picture to upload correctly.  Maybe one day I'll figure out how to rotate pictures once they've been imported to the blog.........

Preschool Days - T for Turtle

After going to the beach and taking some days off for school I thought it would be hard to get back into the swing of things, but it hasn't been difficult at all.  I think a little break was just what we needed!  This week we studied the letter T and talked about not quitting, but  persevering.   

Gluing ten triangles on the letter T was tons of fun!  It just happened to be the week to talk about triangles in math!  I must admit that these darlings LOVE glue almost as much as I do....who knew I should've purchased LOTS of glue during all the Back-to-School sales! 

Now that we have learned several consonants (t, l, m, n, s) and one vowel (a), we are able to work on blending! Both J & C were able to blend s-a-t on the first attempt!  They were very excited to be reading!

(Side note - Since we are "readers" now, we ended our time today with C "reading" to us from the Bible.....C taught us about several things, not necesarily in this order - for such a time as this, being baptized and going to heaven, 1066.....in Bethlehem, Jack Spann trusted God without disobeying, God told Satan what to do, there is a true God Christ in the Bible and some spontaneous singing at the end. Glad they are thinking about our Lord at such a young age. Excited to see them grow in wisdom and stature in the years to come.)

Unexpected Blessings

This happiness makes 8 hours in the car by myself with two young boys, totally worth it!

We didn't expect to find ourselves at the beach this week, but WE ARE! What a blessing!  Unfortunately Jake is working and couldn't come down with us, but last night he worked it out to come down this weekend! Yippee!  We are so excited to be here and even more excited that Jake will be here this weekend.  Even Aunt Hannah is going to come in some time tomorrow and stay a few days!

This is Henry's first time at the beach and he LOVES it!  There is a great sandbar right out from the condo and he has spent hours there today.  It's hard to even get a picture of his face because he's looking down at the sand and water constantly.  This is also the first year that Jack is really enjoying himself and is feeling confident in the water.  Grandpa got him a cool surfboard so he has been busy "learning to surf." 

Long mornings in the sun make for wonderful, long nap times!  We all need it after sleeping in one room last night.  I never knew that BOTH of my boys snore and talk in their sleep.  Hysterical, but makes it difficult to get much resting accomplished!

Soccer

So we always said we wouldn't put Jack into any organized sports until he turned 5, but the opportunity presented itself for him to participate in soccer this year.  He has pretty limited contact with other kids his age these days (except for church and preschool time with C), so this was a great way to give him some peer interaction and get some exercise.

During the first week the team was lining up to give Coach John high fives.  This picture just cracked me up, especially the girls!  The one with her hands on her face is the coach's daughter.  The other two gals, near Jack, are serious ball players and don't mess around.  Jack was wanting to show Coach John his number - #9!

Coach John & Coach Terry (our neighbor & friend - pictured above) have done a fantastic job and have gotten lots of exercise themselves.  They spend the majority of the playing time running after rogue players who have inadvertently exited the field with the ball and proceeded to join another game going on adjacent to our field.

Terry's son, Carson, is small in stature but he makes up for it in speed and skills.  He is our leading scorer and appears to be loving every minute of every game!

The kids play 4-on-4 with 6 minute periods. There are three 6 min periods, a 5 min halftime, and 3 more 6 min periods. 6 minutes doesn't seem like very long to me, but Jack thinks it is an eternity. I think this was the same day he said "I had to play for a long time...at least an hour, Mom!"

One of Jack's favorite parts so far is taking a break.  He loves to come to the side and drink from his water bottle.  This past week he even volunteered to be the first one to take a break. Maybe this means he needs a little more exercise during the week......

Sometimes Jack even takes a break on the field!  He has spent some quality time laying on the grass during each game.  Luckily here he was just taking a "short break" and didn't get squashed by the other players.

Fun Preschool Days

One of the first letters we studied in preschool this year was S.  We spent a lot of time learning about the Sun and Jesus as the Light of the World.  The kids drew "suns" and "s" on a large piece of paper.  

They thoroughly enjoyed using shaving cream to practice their handwriting.

Notice C has a cute backpack.  Jack thinks he needs one too.  I've tried to explain that all his stuff is right here at our house and he doesn't have to carry anything anywhere.  We might be getting a backpack one of these days.....

We made suns using finger paint and talked about ABAB patterns.

Another little friend M was able to join us for preschool recently.  Jack and C were thrilled to have someone else to learn with for the day. She jumped right in and was such a joy! Sometimes it's nice to have some girl infusion in my boy world.....

We have a 4 yr old!

For the past few years we have loved ending our summer with Jack's birthday bash!  For his 3rd birthday he had a swimming party with tons of friends, but it was a bit overwhelming for ALL involved, so this year we toned it down and just had a family party.

Toy Story has always been a favorite movie, so having Toy Story 3 come out this summer was fantastic!  Jack LOVES all things Buzz, Woody, Jessie, etc.... We had a great time eating lunch together, opening presents and enjoying some super yummy cake!  Thanks everyone for making Jack's day memorable.  He really enjoyed his day.  We thank the Lord for the gift he has been to our family!    

This is his new serious 4 year old face.

Side note, if you are in ChattaVegas, check out BB Cakes for your next celebration!  Becky is super sweet and does excellent work.  If you can think it up, she can do it.  You won't be disappointed!  

I love this man.

I love this man.  Plain and simple. He's absolutely fantastic and more than I could've ever dreamed for in a husband, friend and father. It doesn't hurt that he's pretty stinkin hot too....

Back to School

We took a break last week from school.  We enjoyed a restful weekend with our family but now it's back to regular schedule.  Thought I would post our plans for tomorrow.  Jack is thrilled to have "school" tomorrow and spend time with his friend C. 

Monday, September 13, 2010

BIBLE
“I will live and grow in Jesus.” – That’s our theme for the week. Psalm 1:1-3, Jeremiah 17:7-8, and 1 John 5:12 will help us to learn this concept.

LANGUAGE
Sing the ABC Song (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). Present a textured L (we cut one from sand paper). Have the child say the /l/ sound while tracing the letter. Show the /l/ leaf picture card. Select 3-10 letters including L and have the child name the letters he sees. Review the sounds for each letter that has been taught - /s/ and /m/.

Complete the letter L pages from MFW. 1) Look at 6 picture cards for the letter L. Color the pictures, cut them out. (We have two sets so we will play memory with the picture cards.)

CALENDAR TIME/MATH – Sorting by Color/Creating a Real Graph
Ask some new calendar questions: What month is it?, What letter does September begin with?, What months have we colored?, Whay year is it? Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “What letter does (day of the week) begin with?” “Let’s say the days of the week together.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” ‘What number will I write in today’s date square?” “let’s count to see if you are right.” Write the date in the correct box. “Today is (day), August (date), (year). “What colors are we using this month for our calendar squares?” “What color will we use to color today’s square?” “Let’s read our pattern to check.” Color today’s square, remembering to alternate colors. Review the names of the months.

Put out 20-30 teddy bear counters of assorted colors in a pile on a work mat. ‘Watch what I am going to do.” Begin sorting the teddy bears by color. “What am I doing?” “Do you know what we call this?” (sorting) “I am sorting the teddy bears. What does the word sort mean?” (to put the ones that are alike together) “Today you will learn how to sort and make a graph.” Give the child a work mat and 8-12 bears of assorted colors.

“Sort your teddy bears on the mat.” “Now you are going to graph your teddy bears.” Give the child a chart (any piece of paper with a grid on it with squares large enough for the teddy bears). “How do you think you will put your teddy bears on this graph?” “Line up the bears on the graphing grid.” Assist your child if necessary. Ask the following questions: What color you have the most of?, How do you know?, Do any columns have the same number?, What color do you have the fewest of?, etc… Put the teddy bears in a pile on your mat. Pick up your mat and slide the teddy bears into the container. Save the grid for future lessons.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Name the Sound
Using small objects and paper bags play name the sound. Name and show the child what is in each bag. Shake each bag so that the child can hear the sounds they make. Close the bags and change their positions. Encourage the child to listen as you shake the first bag. Have them name what is inside. Repeat with each item. Continue until the child has succeeded several times. At another time repeat this activity. It promotes skill in identifying objects, listening for a sound to help make a selection, distinguishing different sounds, confidence, and language enrichment. (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready)

THEME - Leaf
Remember the grapes from the letter S (Sun), go check them if you haven’t tossed them out. Ours are really beginning to wrinkle and are completely brown.

There are lots of great leaf activities to do. Go outside and collect a variety of leaves – different colors, shapes, sizes, etc… Count the number of leaves and sort the leaves. Make a leaf book. Trace each different kind of leaf on a small sheet of paper and label it with the name of the tree, if known. Have the student color the leaves in realistic colors. Staple the pages to form a book.

There is a great illustration about leaves and living and growing in Jesus. I’ll try to post it later. We are also reading lots of leaf books from the library:

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Picture Guide to Tree Leaves by Raymond Wiggers
Fall Leaves by Don Curry
Counting on the Woods by George Ella Lyon
ABCedar: An Alphabet of Trees by George Ella Lyon
Let’s Play in the Forest by Claudia Rueda
My “L” Sound Book by Jane Belk Moncure

Perfectionism out the window

So I thought I would only post in chronological order of life events but that just isn't happening.  If I do that then other things in my life suffer, so I am putting away perfectionism and biting the bullet. 

Jack wanted to send a picture of his store/theater to his Aunt Hannah, so I said, "Why don't we just post it on the blog?" He liked that idea except his preference was for a picture of him at the store in his underwear....I had to veto! Sorry buddy!

A few months ago I discovered an AMAZING, FANTASTIC, CRAFTY little bit of heaven called KnockOffWood (which has now become Ana White  - an updated, beautiful version of her old site!).  I found some plans for a kid's play store, went to Lowe's and got started!

The whole experience was a great stress reliever and because it was a task that had an END (unlike laundry, dishes, child training, cleaning, cooking, etc..) it gave me a great sense of completion, which is rare these days! Here are the details in case you are curious:

Cost - approximately $80 (For wood and screws.  The paint and fabric were leftover from previous projects.)
Time - one naptime plus a little evening sanding/painting
Accessories - $0  (Jack's birthday wish list included food, cash register, etc... THANKS to everyone for making this all come together so well!)

Note to all you doubters, YOU can do this too!  I had never really used a drill before and certainly am not a woodworker.  The site tells you to use nails & glue but I am lazy by nature and would rather use a power tool, than an old fashioned hammer. Anyway, Ana White makes it so simple with step by step directions and pictures throughout all her plans!  Check out her site and let me know what you build!!! I can't wait to hear about your projects!

Changes

After 2 weeks of our home "preschool days,"  we've had a few changes.....

• Only doing school Mon, Tues & Thurs afternoons (to allow for nap/rest on Wed before evening Bible Study)
• My laundry pile has become a mountain in a very short time
• Henry must know we are doing something without him because his naps are all of a sudden less than 2 hours
• No longer typing out lesson plans (@ least for the blog)
• Nap time craft time/"me" time no longer exists 
• I do absolutely LOVE being home with my boys (It's only taken 4 yrs to get used to it) and wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Many other things are going on right now, but just wanted to give a quick update.  I hate to stop posting our weekly lesson plans but it is a time sucker that has to go away.  (If you have been using the lessons, just email me and I can send you what I am doing.)  Once I posted the school stuff I didn't have time to post any "life" stuff.  Looking forward to a little catching up this week....fun birthday times, Henry moments, allergy excitement, etc....

Preschool Day 8 - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Day 8 – Tuesday, August 24, 2010

BIBLE
Review John 8:12 – Again Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of the life.” We will work toward at least partial memorization. Remind the students that the sun helps us to see where we are going so we go the right way and don’t stumble or get hurt. Ask, “How is the sun like Jesus?” Explain that when we listen to the Bible, we learn how to obey Jesus. When we obey Jesus, we will go the right way in what we think and what we do (My Father’s World).

LANGUAGE
Review the letter for the week - /s/-/s/-Sun. Demonstrate how to correctly form the letter S. Have the child “draw” the letter on the table or carpet using his finger as you demonstrate. Have the student complete a handwriting page for the letter S.

Place the textured S on the table with the envelope of pictures (from yesterday’s lesson). Mix up the pictures and place them picture side up. For each picture, have the student trace the textured letter and say “”Spoon starts with /s/, etc…”

Complete a sound discrimination page (multiple pictures – some with beginning sound /s/ and some with other beginning sounds. Circle any pictures with the letter S and put an X on those that do not begin with this lesson’s letter.

CALENDAR TIME/MATH
Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today’s square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). Count the days of the month together. This is also a good time to introduce months (January, February, etc…).

Today you will learn how to make a real graph with teddy bears. Ask, “How are the teddy bears different? The same? What colors are the bears?” Have the child choose a color teddy bear. “I’ve asked a few other people we know to choose their favorite color. Their favorite color teddy bears are in this envelope. Now you will make a graph with these bears to show our favorite bear colors.” Using a grid (Master K-10) put the teddy bears on the graph. “Which column has the most teddy bears/ How do you know? Which has the fewest teddy bears? How do you know? Are any columns the same? Which ones? How do you know? What color did most people choose? Let’s count how many (most common color) teddy bears are on the graph. Let’s count all of the teddy bears together as you take them off the graph and put them away.” (Saxon K Math)

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Obstacle Line
Lay a long piece of yarn on the floor. The yarn can extend into another room if there is enough open space. Position the yarn so that at intervals it curves left and right in a snake fashion. Place a small object at each curved indentation. These objects will serve to establish boundaries for the child to go around. Demonstrate how to walk with one foot exactly in front of the other. Then tell the child to walk from one end to the other. Tell her the objects have been placed to remind her to be careful as she walks along the curved yarn strip.

Another option is to place different pieces of colored paper along the yarn. Ask the child to retrieve specific colors and bring them back. (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready)

THEME - Sun
Make raisins by placing a few green grapes in a window. Watch the grapes for a few days as they become grapes. Since this is the first day of raisin making you will have time to do other activities:

Paint a yellow sun, painting the sun’s rays in alternating colors (yellow, orange, yellow, orange, etc..) to reinforce the concept of patterns recently introduced in Math.

Allow the student to write the letter S and circles/sun in shaving cream on the table.

Preschool Day 7 - Monday, August 23, 2010

Day 7 – Monday, August 23, 2010

***It was birthday weekend at our house so beyond celebrating not much got accomplished! Sorry for the lack of posting the past few days.****

Our “introduction” time for My Father’s World curriculum is completed, so we will be moving on to focus on an individual letter each week for the next 26 weeks.

BIBLE
Since the lesson this week is S – Sun, review the Genesis account (1:14-19) of God creating the sun, moon and stars. Focus on John 8:12 – Again Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of the life.” We will work toward at least partial memorization.

LANGUAGE
Introduce the letter sound /S/. Have the child trace the letter (preferably a textured letter) with his/her finger. Put the letter s and any two other letters in front of the student. Point to s and ask, “what is the sound for this letter?” Show the flashcard and tell the student that you will be studying the sun for a few days. The first sound in sun is /s/. Make sure to point out capital s and lowercase s on the flashcards. Say, “When we see this card, we will say ‘/s/-/s/-sun.’”
Sing this song to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Remember that whenever a letter is in slash marks you must say the letter sound, not the letter name.

/a/-/a/-apple, /b/-/b/-butterfly, /k/-/k/-cow, and /d/-/d/-dinosaur,

/e/-/e/-elephant, /f/-/f/-frog, /g/-/g/-goat, and /h/-/h/-horse,

/i/-/i/-insect, /j/-/j/-jewel, /k/-/k/-kangaroo, and /l/-/l/-leaf,

/m/-/m/-moon, /n/-/n/-nest, /o/-/o/-octopus, and /p/-/p/-penguin,

/kw/-/kw/-quail, /r/-/r/-rock, /s/-/s/-sun, and /t/-/t/-turtle,

/u/-/u/-us, /v/-/v/-vegetables, /w/-/w/-water and /ks/-/ks/-fox,

/y/-/y/-yellow, and /z/-/z/-zebra, all are in my Father’s World.

After this time we will use our MFW workbook page – the student will color pictures of S words and then cut them apart. If you don't have the MFW workbook, you could easily just use picture cards from something else. After the cards are cut have the student trace the textured letter and say the picture card names. You can file the card away to be used again or use them to make an art project – yellow sun cut out & paste /s/ pictures all over.

You could also continue work on letter formation, with one of the following activities: draw letters in a tray of salt, form with cookie dough (bake & eat), draw letters in pudding on the table, look for ways to form letter with twigs or pebbles, draw “glue” letters and then place yarn or paper pieces on it.

CALENDAR TIME/MATH
Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today’s square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). Count the days of the month together.

Distribute linking cubes. “Count and snap 5 cubes with me.” “Is your tower the same as mine? How do you know? Hold your tower next to my tower. Is it the same? Let’s count our linking cubes as we snap them off.” Try several other numbers, allowing the child to choose the numbers.

Remind the child of the color pattern on the calendar. “Today you will learn how to make the same pattern using linking cubes.” Use the same colors as used on the calendar (green, blue). “Which color should you use first?” “Which comes next?” Continue until there are 5 cubes. Allow a few minutes of free play if time permits and then clean up. (Saxon K Math)

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Colorful Fish
Cut out two construction paper fish from each of the following colors: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, brown and black. Show the child the fish and name each color as you place them on the table. Ask the child to pick up the red fish. Repeat with all fish. This activity is designed to reinforce the skill of visual recognition and memory recall. For more interest, put a small paper clip on the nostril of the fish. Tie a magnet to a string and shoe the child how to actually catch the fish with the magnet.  (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready)

THEME - Sun
We are going to read sun books this week and do some “sun activities.” Bear Shadow and The Sun is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch are two that we will read.

During our "theme" time we also are emphasizing circles, so we traced and cut out circles of all sizes. 

Preschool Day 5 – Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Day 5 – Wednesday, August 18, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE
Read Gen 2:1-3 (rest) from a Bible. This passage covers Day 7. Create Day 7 page. For Day 7: Leave the page blank. (My Father’s World)

LANGUAGE
Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Introduce W, X, Y, Z. Feel free to play any games with the ABC Chart and button, as you have done the previous four days. This is also a great time to begin discussing uppercase and lowercase letters. We sometimes call them “Momma” letters and “baby” letters. Remember this is only an introductory time and no part of the lesson is done for mastery. (My Father’s World)

CALENDAR TIME/MATH – Linking Cubes
Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today’s square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). (Saxon K Math)

“Today you will learn about a new math material called linking cubes. What do you think we will do with linking cubes?” Allow 3-5 minutes of free play with the cubes. Give a one minute warning and have the child stop working. Ask, “What did you find out about linking cubes?” “Now let’s try snapping five cubes together. When I say a number, you pick up a cube and snap it on. Watch me.” Demonstrate and then do it together. “Now we both have towers of 5 cubes. Are the towers the same size?” Have the child take apart the towers and put them away.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Animal Moves continued
Continue discussing how animals move. Remind the child of yesterday’s animals (snake and frog). Ask how a bird is different from a snake. Tell them a bird has two legs, two wings, two eyes, two ears and its body is covered with feathers. Birds eat mostly insects, worms and small plant seeds. Their mouths are made to help them get their food. They fly or hop to move forward.

Share the following rhyme:
                       Once I saw a little bird come hop, hop, hop,
                       So I said, “Little bird, will you stop, stop, stop?”
                       And I was going to the window to say, “How do you do?”
                       When he flipped his little tail and far away he flew.

Pretend to be a bird and follow the “directions” in the rhyme (hop, stop, fly away). If the child is enjoying animal pretend, extend the activity further to include other animals (fish, lions, etc…). (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready p 180)

THEME – Mrs. Wishy Washy continued
We didn’t have enough time to do all of our Mrs. Wishy Washy activities yesterday. For this lesson we will complete our lapbook activities found at Homeschool Share.

Reread Mrs. Wishy Washy and possibly read other Mrs. Wishy Washy books, if you have them available.

Use a light colored piece of construction paper and allow the child to “finger paint” with chocolate pudding. This will create a page of mud. When it dries (make sure to wipe of excess), paste on animals from the story.

With cutouts or puppets/stuffed animals have the child act out the story, with him/her playing the role of Mrs. Wishy Washy. Preschoolers enjoy pretend play and will do very well with this style learning.

Sweet Friends

Although there are days I wish I had a basement or a neighborhood with flat roads to walk or well you know anything else I could think of at that moment when the grass is looking greener somewhere else.  But moving would mean not being neighbors with such sweet friends.....

This is only moments after she informed him that H is her boyfriend, but he is her "real" friend.....

Preschool Day 4 – Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Day 4 – Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE

Read Gen 1:20-31 (sea animals, other animals, & people ) from a Bible and use The Jesus Bible Storybook to show pictures to the children. This passage covers Day 5 & Day 6. (My Father's World)

 

Create Day 5 & 6 pages. For Day 5: Draw and color sea animals in the ocean. You could easily use pre-cut animals or stickers for this activity. We may use our thumbprint & ink to make different animals. Day 6: This page will have 2 people and other kinds of animals. For the people we will use a precut man and woman (I am going to trace a gingerbread man/woman cookie cutter). For the animals we are going to follow the great but very simple animal drawing instructions in The Usborne Big Book of Playtime Activities! (I LOVE this book for all ages!)

LANGUAGE

Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Make sure to pause to avoid the usual slurring of L-M-N-O-P. Have the students point to each letter as they sing it. Introduce W, X, Y & Z. Then using a button & the ABC Chart, review those letters, as well as any previously taught letters. For example, you could say, "Put your button on letter B." Print the letter on another piece of paper and allow the child to correct his own mistake if necessary. You can also turn the cards over and let a child choose a letter. Then have the child put his button on the chart. We have tried to "play" several versions of the ABC Chart game this week. (My Father's World)

 

CALENDAR TIME/MATH

Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, "What month is it?" "What year is it?" Say "Yesterday was ________." "What day of the week is today?" "It is ____________________." "Yesterday's date was the ____th." "What is today's date?" "Today is (day), August (date), (year). Write the date in the correct box. Color today's square, remembering to alternate colors (green, blue). (Saxon K Math)

"Today you will learn how to count using teddy bears and pattern blocks." Give the child a piece of construction paper to place in front of them. Have 15-20 teddy bears in a pile close by the paper mat. "As I count, take a teddy bear from the pile and put it on the edge of your mat." Demonstrate as you count. Put the bears at one side of the mat. "One, two, three…" "Line up your bears and watch how I count my teddy bears." Demonstrate sliding the teddy bears across the mat as you count. "Let's slide and count our teddy bears together." Then say, "Our teddy bears are tired. Each bear will need a chair to sit on. Let's pretend our pattern blocks are chairs. How many chairs will we need?" Put out pattern blocks in a pile close by. Take enough chairs for each bear to have his own chair. Put your bears on the chairs." "How many bears on chairs do you have? Let's slide the bears and chairs as we count." After a few minutes of free play with the bears and chairs, have the child separate the bears and patterns blocks and then put them away on their own.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY – Animal Moves

If necessary, you may want to forgo a new activity, and repeat the developmental activity from Day 3, based on the child's skill level. Although skipping was definitely not "mastered" at our house, we are moving on.

Show the child a picture of a snake and discuss that it has no arms or legs. Talk about what you know about snakes (dry scales, sheds, two eyes but no outside ears, hears/feels vibrations, doesn't eat often, etc..) and then encourage the child to wiggles like a snake by lying on the floor on his stomach and moving his body forward with body muscles.

Repeat this activity focusing on frogs. Tell what you know about frogs (four legs, two eyes, smooth skin, tongue to catch insects, no external ears, moves forward by jumping, etc..) Pretend to be a frog and even find a few things to jump over (pillow, book, etc..). This activity will be very entertaining if you join in too! Think of it as easy exercise! (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready p179)

THEME – Mrs. Wishy-Washy

Today we will make another lapbook. They are a lot of work (printing, cutting, etc…) but the children love them so much and they can be pulled out later in the year for independent activities. We will use all our most of the activities at the Homeschool Share site for the Mrs. Wishy-Washy lapbook. There are so many great ideas here. I hope we have time to do them ALL! J

 

Note- Once we get into studying a different letter each week through the My Father's World curriculum (which will be soon now that we have "introduced" all the letters), there will not be time to do many lapbooks, so I am trying to get some in now while I have a chance!

 

Our FIRST lapbook - Goodnight Moon

Today was a success! Jack and C are already anticipating some of our daily activities - calendar, ABC chart game, etc.. Here are a few pictures.....

Day 4 - Bible

Saxon Math - Pictograph Lesson

Here are my favorites!  Jack & C had a lot of fun with their lapbooks!

As soon as I put in a load of laundry, figure out dinner, love my children, monogram something for a friend, and doing a little editing....then I will post tomorrow's lesson plans!

Preschool Day 3 Monday, August 16, 2010

Sorry this post is so late.....my Sunday got away from me! Have a wonderful week!  Look for the rest of this week's lessons to be posted tonight, if my pretzel M&Ms don't run out!  Would love to hear any feedback about last week, if anyone tried any of the ideas! 

Day 3 – Monday, August 16, 2010 – 1:30-3:30

Pray together.

BIBLE
Read Gen 1:14-19 (sun, moon, stars). Also read pages 22-23 in The Jesus Bible Storybook or any other children’s Bible. This passage covers Day 4 of the Creation account. (My Father’s World)

Create Day 4 page. For Day 4: Fold paper in half (hamburger style, not hot dog style). Paste a cut-out sun on one side of the paper. Paste a piece of black paper on the other side. Either draw the moon and stars with white crayons or paste on pre-cut stars & moon.

(Although I didn’t mention this last week, we are doing some scripture memory work too. We learned Genesis 1:1 already and will be working on Genesis 1:27 this week. – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”)

LANGUAGE
Using the ABC Chart, sing the ABCs at least 2 times. Make sure to pause to avoid the usual slurring of L-M-N-O-P. Have the students point to each letter as they sing it. Introduce M, N, O, P, Q. We use flashcards with pictures to introduce each letter. Then using a button & the ABC Chart, review the new letters, as well as any previously taught letters. For example, you could say, “Put your button on letter B.” If a child missed one, print the letter on another piece of paper and allow the child to correct his own mistake if necessary. (My Father’s World)

CALENDAR TIME/MATH - Pictograph
BEFORE the lesson: Cut one 3” light colored construction paper circle for each family member. Tape two pieces of construction paper together and create a grid.

Remind students that we use the calendar to tell us the month, year, day of the week and the date. Ask, “What month is it?” “What year is it?” Say “Yesterday was ________.” “What day of the week is today?” “It is ____________________.” “Yesterday’s date was the ____th.” “What is today’s date?” “Today is (day), August (date), (year). “ “Let’s say that together.”

Point to the date squares. Ask, “What do you notice about these squares?” “What colors are they?” “Let’s read the colors of the squares together.” “This is called a green, blue pattern.” ‘What color do you think we will use to color today’s square?”  Color today’s square using the appropriate color. (Saxon K Math Lesson 5)

“Today you will learn how to make a graph to show how many boys and how many girls are in your family.” “You will use a picture of each person’s face to make the graph.” Give the child a construction paper circle (cut to fit your pre-made graph). “Draw your face on this circle.” “Who else is in your family?” “Draw ______’s face on this circle.” Repeat until all faces of family members are drawn. Point to the words “Boys” and “Girls” on the grid. “What do you think these words are?” ‘When you graph the faces, you will put one face in each box. You will start at this end.” “Where do you think you will put your face?” “Will it go in the girls’ or boys’ row?” Ask this same question before the child places the remaining faces. Occasionally ask “Which row has more?.....less?....the same? How do you know?” When all the pictures are graphed, ask “How can we find out how many boys are in your family?” Count the boys’ faces. Do the same procedure for the girls. After this portion of the lesson, glue the faces to the actual graph. Save the graph for Lesson 6.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY
Skip around a room or outside as slowly as you possibly can to show the child how to skip. Skip very slowly and say, ‘Step, hop. Step, hop.” Encourage the child to follow you. Demonstrate how it can be enjoyable to skip fast. (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready p177)

THEME – Goodnight Moon
Read Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown . Talk about different pages in the book, pointing out the idea of rhyming words. This is an early age to be learning about rhyming but remember”exposure” is the idea here.

We will be doing many of the lapbook activities from Homeschool Share. If you choose to do these, you will want to get them ready a few days or the night before. They require some prepwork, especially if you want to be able to reuse the resources later. Also if you’ve never made a lapbook, the short 4 minute video on Homeschool Share is helpful.

Each child will have a folder (with 5 or 6 blank construction paper pages in the brads) as their “lapbook” for this story. I have added pages in the folders to display their work. This can be arranged in anyway you would prefer or even use the items as individual activities with no intention of preserving them for future use. I would like my child to be able to go back and look through the lapbook at a later date, so we will attempt to keep them all in the designated folder.

Complete the What Color was the Balloon? Have children fold the book and then color each balloon. We will be cutting each color section and pasting them in our lapbook. Color words will be learned this year.

We will choose at least two other of the lapbook activities to complete during our time together.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITIES
We chose to focus on the moon, during our theme time, but one could easily do something else with the Sun or stars.

Read Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, by Ira Trapani. There are many star theme-related activities at Homeschool Share for children who are a little older than the ones I am working with right now.

This is a fun and easy star activity. - Twinkling Stars