Tot School–Homes and Houses

Nathanael is currently 38.5 months

Last week, we only met one day for our co-op, and we did one day of activities at home. With Labor Day and my sister being in town, it was a mixed-up kinda week :)

Our theme was “Homes and Houses”. When I started working on the plan, I was stumped, but once I started rolling, I actually found a bunch of great resources! Thank you to the others who post your things so that I can use them too. I am also trying out Google Drive for sharing my plan sheets and printables with you, please please let me know if you have any trouble so I can try something else!

Here’s what we did for our Homes unit:

Building a house from shapes. Teaching shapes, use of glue stick, and spatial awareness.

Cracker Houses. I really couldn’t find a good snack that didn’t involve graham crackers, which we did twice last week. That, and I didn’t have time to go to the store and get anything special. So this is my creation: cracker “houses” stuck together with plain cream cheese. The kids liked it, so I guess that’s what counts :)

Three year old version of jumping jacks, heehee.

Two activities we did at home on Thursday:

(click to download PDF versions)

 

These are the books that we read and some others that I checked out from the library but we didn’t get to.

What did you do for school this week?

~S

I have a Pinterest board for all of my Tot School findings too, which of course I will be adding to as the year goes.

Tot School–Beaches and Oceans

Nathanael is currently 38.5 months

Again, I’m later in posting this than I want to be, but I am working on getting back on track, so I’m going to post it anyway!

Tot school. It’s a little different with the second kid. With the first, I had a lot more time to devote to just her. We started earlier in her life. She’s a girl and she absolutely loves crafts and always has. Nate, on the other hand, is 3 and 2 months (yea, that means 38 months), and doesn’t know any of his letters or numbers. He excels at other things, but academics just do not interest him.

Now, remember when I said in my Weekly Wrap-up post that I had come up with the ideal schedule? And that I had this great idea for a co-op tot school? It’s all to encourage my dear son to learn something and not just play wedgits all day long.

So, here’s my great idea. I was throwing around ideas about what I was going to do this fall since I still have Liam until mid-October (he’s the 2-year-old that I watch in the mornings while his mommy works). I decided I wanted to do some form of tot school, maybe going back to Hubbard’s Cupboard or Kitchen Table Play and Learn, both of which worked decently well with Kahlen. I mentioned this idea to a friend (who has a 3.5-year-old), and she said jokingly “Hey, maybe we’ll join you” and a co-op was born. It expanded to two more families, and I now have 5 kids coming to my house twice a week for two hours. Two of the mommies come too, so I’m not alone with these crazy monkies, but I am doing the planning and the “teaching”. So far, it’s been really fun, but a lot of work too. They burn through activities like you wouldn’t believe! (Unless, of course, you’ve taught preschool before). My original ideas about just using lesson plans I already have didn’t hold up, and I’m making a new lesson plan now for every week. It’s still thematic, and not really based on a learning objective, but I want them to have fun while learning how to learn (geez, you’d think I tend toward classical education or something )

Last week was our first week (as I’ve already mentioned several times), so I’m still getting in the groove. Here’s our basic lesson plan for each week:

1. Sing a verse song
2. Read a story
3. stART project related to book
4. Worksheets
5. Sing a song. You know, one of those classic kid’s songs that we all learned growing up.
6. Play a game or some kind of movement activity
7. Have a snack
8. Read a story
9. stART project related to book
10. Play another game, this one not necessarily movement. Sometimes we’ll use Education Cubes for this one.
11. Read another book
12. Do another craft
13. Sing verse song again
14. Watch a short movie related to theme.

Here’s our specific plan for our Beaches and Oceans theme that we did last week. I’ve tried to include links to where I found the various things, but I’m sure I’ve missed a few.

I started with the plan sheet found at Hubbard’s Cupboard, and expanded from there.

Here’s the printable plan sheet with supplies you need for each activity. I don’t have the actual PDF creator, so the links don’t work in this file. That’s why I’ve included the activities again below.

Day 1:

1. Sing Verse Song – Genesis 1:1
2. Read book – Beach Day by Karen Roosa
3. stART – Make a “beach towel”
4. Worksheets 
5. Game – Sharks and Minnows OUTSIDE
6. Snack – Sand Snack – Blue yogurt with crushed up graham crackers for sand and chocolate sprinkles for ants
7. Read Book – At The Beach
8. stART – Sand Painting
9. Game - Beach Ball Roll – What color is your finger on?
10. Craft – Make a Sand Scoop using milk jug
11. Sing Verse Song

Day 2:

1. Sing Verse Song – Genesis 1:1
2. Read Book – Way Down deep in the deep blue sea
3. stART – Paper Plate Jelly Fish
4. Worksheets
5. Game - Land or Ocean? (Tell them an animal. If it lives in the ocean, go to one side. If it lives on land, go to the other side of the yard)
6. Snack – Edible Sea Life
7. Read Book – Commotion in the Ocean
8. stART - Paper Bag Fish
9. Education Cubes – Ocean Animals Bingo
10. Activity – Ocean Shapes Mural using Pictures of Ocean Animals
11. Sing Verse Song

Goodreads Bookshelf – Here are the specific books that we used for school.

Printables for off days – I’m also coming up with a handful of activities for my two to do on the days we don’t have tot school, and printing extra copies for the other kids if they want to use them. This time, I was able to find a bunch of activities thanks to Totally Tots.

Size sorting whales.

And I made them a little sensory bin with some things I already had. I used pinto beans, shells, shovels, and bottlecap letters. They don’t share very well, and the point of having the sensory bin is so that I can get some activities done with Kahlen. So I made two that are smaller than I am used to making, but they worked great. Kept them entertained for almost half an hour twice!

Whew! That is one long post! If you made it this far, I’m impressed :) This was actually all last week now, it’s taken me a long time to write this post. This week, our theme was “homes and houses”, and I’m going to try really hard to get a post up about it on Sunday. Next week, we’re doing “Me and my Family”.

Questions? About resources, activities, anything? I <3 comments, so ask me anything :)

~S

Weekly Wrap-Up–September 7–Week 2

Well, I have less pictures this week, not more. Oops. Really, we didn’t get to that much this week. With Labor Day on Monday, and my sister in town, it made me glad that we homeschool and that it’s just not a big deal if we don’t get to everything.

Let’s see…what did we do? Monday we did a Healthy Kids Fun Run, which was supposed to be one mile and was actually only 6/10 of a mile. But that was fine, she was running exceedingly slow that time. Which is not always the case. Got this picture of her after the race, which was held on the oval at Colorado State University, my alma mater.

We completed the second week of spelling words. Still easy for her, which is good, and still definitely good practice.

She did another lesson in her Draw Write Now book, but this time it took much cajoling because she wanted to come do tot school with us instead, that looked way more fun.  (And yes, I’m working on a post about Tot School, it’s just long and I have to sort through all the pictures and, well, I have three kids)

We worked a tiny bit on her junior notebooking journal for Apologia science, but did not cover any new information.

We did start the Alpha book from Math U See. The first few lessons should be review for her, but she was having a hard time focusing on the lesson, so it still took a long time. Finally, I bribed her with Reading Kingdom to finish her worksheets.

Tuesday, she played with her Aunt and Uncle. Wednesday, she whined her way through the Draw Write Now lesson. Thursday, we actually got some school done, but only for about 1/2 the time I wanted. Thursday afternoon and evening was spent with family, and then Friday was with my sister again until she left for the airport to fly back to Portland. It was a short school week.

Next week, the goal/plan is to start with Tapestry where we left off last year (most of the way through Year 1:Unit 2). We’ll be starting with the life of David, good times! I’m actually really glad that we’ve been easing into it, and not trying to start everything in the first week.

Here’s to the weekend! Kahlen will be doing the Mud Brigade kid’s run tomorrow morning, and we might try to check out this life-size replica of the Ancient Hebrew Tabernacle that will be in Loveland for a week.

~S

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Reading Kingdom

It’s almost Saturday, right? ;)

We have been reviewing Reading Kingdom over the last few weeks as part of the TOS crew.

Here’s what they say about their program:

Our commitment to online reading for kids is based on our patented six skills method for reading success. These skills include sequencing, motor skills, phonics (phonemic awareness), meaning, grammar and reading comprehension. Our online reading for kids program is ideal for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, special education, homeschool, and English as a second language. The Reading Kingdom online reading for kids program is an ideal supplement to existing curricula, as well an excellent independent curriculum. Our online reading for kids program is also a great educational alternative to other entertainment options. In fact, most children refer to the Reading Kingdom as a reading game, since it is so fun to play. We're proud that our reading programs for kids are thought of as reading games (especially by kids!).

• Most kids can use the program on their own after just a few lessons.
• It's fun so children think they're playing a game and want to practice.
• It was created by Dr. Marion Blank, Director of the Light on Learning Program at Columbia University and one of the world's top experts in reading.
• It works with any other curriculum a child may be using.
• It's the only program to offer customized online reading instruction for each child.
• And, it's the only system that teaches all 6 skills needed for reading & writing success!

After the first few minutes, I have left Kahlen to do this one by herself. It said in the assessment not to assist the child, and it seemed like I was just interfering, so I let her just do it. She has enjoyed playing it, but we both felt like it moved very slowly.

The program provided lots of practice, but once she mastered a concept, it was still going over the same one. Also, the graphics and the game flow were very very slow. It took a long time to move from one activity to the next with nothing to do but wait for it. I felt like it was more like watching a video in terms of engaging her brain.

The parent reporting section was only marginally helpful. It does state what she has completed, but does not say anything about what skills were covered, it just has the name of the level and what level of performance she had on that level.

I guess I was not all that impressed with this program, however, I could see it being useful for children who are reluctant to do anything that looks like school work as the game aspect of this program is entertaining and enough like a game to not look like work as much as some other things. Kahlen doesn’t have that problem, so this wasn’t a great fit for her. I will be letting her use this program after she’s done her other work as a reward for completing her other schoolwork quickly. I think that extra practice in reading and keyboarding is a good thing, but not if it just adds unnecessary screen time.

A risk-free Reading Kingdom account can be created and used free of charge for 30 days.  Afterwards, a subscription can be purchased for $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr for your first reader.  Additional readers are $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.  Additional books, kits, and resources are available in the Reading Kingdom Store.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Wordless Wednesday -

Look, ma, I can roll!

~S

Linking up at:

Weekly Wrap Up–First Week of 1st Grade!!

I would have loved to have posted a curriculum plan, like I did last year, but that just didn’t happen yet. Maybe it will in the future, who knows? This week has been a complete whirlwind, and I’m not sure that I survived it completely intact. Coming back from vacation, then doing a kid’s run the next day, followed by serving in Children’s ministry at church, followed by the first week of school. I wasn’t actually planning on starting 1st grade last week, either. I was planning to just start Nate and this awesome Tot School co-op idea that I have, and start Kahlen either this week or the week after. BUT after she heard that it was the first day of school, there was no stopping her :)

The plan is a bit more complicated since she is the oldest and I also have a 3 year old, 2 year old who I watch, and a 7 month old. I had to really sit down and plan out how we’re going to fit everything in. Then I have to remember that I don’t live in an ideal world, and sometimes most of the time things will not go according to plan. That said, though, I don’t think I’ll mind if we have some left to do over next summer. I’m remembering this week how much we thrive on routine. This week was, for the most part, much calmer from an emotional perspective than we’ve been all summer. With that said, here’s the ideal week that I’ve written down, fully knowing that most weeks, at least part of this won’t go to plan. 2012-09 Weekly Schedule

So, what are we up to? Here goes…

*We’re using a lovely set of books called Draw Write Now. They are thematic books where each one includes a drawing lesson, copy work, and coloring.

Kahlen doesn’t have a hard time wanting to write, like some kids at her age, but she definitely still needs practice. I didn’t get a picture of her finished lesson, but here’s her working on it

(Taken with my phone, sorry for the blurry quality)

*We’ve dropped handwriting as a specific subject and are just using our other subjects to practice handwriting practically. One of the resources we are using is ttp://www.k12reader.com/ which has spelling lists for grades 1-5 as well as printables for each week! We did week one, which has 4 sight words and 4 –at words.

*If you’ve never looked at Apologia’s science curriculums, I would highly suggest you do! They have a book for each grade, 1-12, and many resources to go with it! We’re starting with Human Anatomy and Physiology.

I gave her the choice between that and Astronomy, and she picked this one. We’re planning on working through this one for this semester at least, and evaluating if we want to switch in January to Astronomy or continue with Human Anatomy.

We worked on the first lesson, and she really enjoyed it. I need to get the materials ready for the projects before this week’s lesson though…hoping I remember!

*We’re continuing with Math-U-See. We are just finishing the Primer and will start Alpha probably next week.

*Going along with the Classical education model, we started First Language LessonsIt’s an introduction to different parts of speech, among other things: Copywork, narration, picture study, and other classical techniques to develop the student's language ability are thoroughly covered. Each step-by-step lesson leads parents through the simple oral and written projects that build reading, writing, spelling, storytelling, and comprehension skills.

So far, I like it a lot. I feel like language is a difficult thing to teach without some kind of guide, and this one fits the bill. At least for now.

*We will be continuing with Tapestry of Grace, but that won’t start until next week.

Right. More pictures next week. Maybe we’ll even get a bit more done…I doubt it, really. We’re easing back in. With Labor Day yesterday and my sister and brother-in-law are here from Oregon for the week, I’ll be lucky if we get anything done. Hey, that’s the beauty of homeschooling, right?

~S