Chasing Babies... Growing in Grace

Friday, April 15, 2011

Preschool Corner: Gardening Unit

Tornado is 4 years 4 months
Sweet Pea is 3 years 1 month

We've been working on a garden unit the last few weeks. (Thanks Jolanthe for the activities!)

We read plenty of fun books!

In addition to the reading and talking we did about gardening, I worked in the Parable of the Sowers as our Bible focus. There is a pdf story available online here that we really enjoyed!!

Then we used Jolanthe's garden activities a number of times too!

Tornado put these numbers in order 1-20 (the picture was after we started cleaning them up... sorry!) and then we hid the trowel under them. Couldn't fool him. He looked for which one sat higher than the rest. I call that problem solving!!!

Sweet Pea is still working on her colors and shapes so these cards are great! We'll probably keep them out longer than the rest.

This is the first time we've used anything like these "first sounds" cards. Tornado loved them! And did a great job!

We tried these matching "vocabulary" cards for the first time too. He's getting pretty good with his reading, so I put all the word cards on one side and the picture cards on the other side. He sounded out the words and found the pictures to go with.

Sweet Pea worked on her number recognition 1-5 and Tornado started learning how to add with these great addition pages from Confessions of a Homeschooler. He loved them and is really getting the concept. Often the mistakes he makes are because of miscounting.

Here he worked on sequencing the growth of a flower and putting together a flower and labeling the different parts.

And tracing... and then erasing. Ok... Sweet Pea really just scribbled on our 1-20 chart.

These are some fun blocks we found for $5 at the thrift store. They are for making mazes to use a marble with, but until we have a marble to use, we are using them as blocks. This past week I introduced the "dominos" concept... very exciting. I even found Tornado doing it with clothes pins later in the day.

And to go with our good soil lessons we planted seeds in "good soil" and in sand to see what would happen.

And a week later, we have a seedling in the good soil. (Sorry about the blur!)

And that's it for our garden unit I think. Have you been doing anything special for spring???

Labels: Homeschooling my 3 year old, Homeschooling my 4 year old, Preschool Corner

Friday, January 14, 2011

Preschool Corner: Preschool for the rest of us!

Tornado is 4 years, 1 month old
Sweet Pea is 2 years, 10 months old

What do I mean by "Preschool for the rest of us"? Doing preschool with our littles is a great goal. It really is. Since I'm on the subject, preparing a complete dinner every night, sweeping the floor sometimes and keeping everyone's underwear drawer from going empty are great goals too. But they just don't always happen. Perhaps I should do a (long) series of posts on "Life for the rest of us". Maybe I'm the only one they would apply to... or maybe, just maybe, there are others out there who find that they are falling behind too. (Would any of you others like to come clean my bathroom??? It could really use it!)

Sorry, back to preschool. It's been a while since I've participated in Preschool Corner... and even longer since I've been deliberate about "schooling" my littles. Ok... so it was shortly after my 5 month old was born that I tossed out my "official plans". Sure we've been reading! Gladys Aylward, Charlotte's Web, and lots and lots of picture books! But's it's been more haphazard.

With the advent of a new year, I've set myself up to go again! Last year I started fresh with the new year and we had a great run of it. But at least it was something!

We're going to give it a go this year too! :) This year I'm not using any particular "curriculum", but instead piecing together my own thing based on different themes each week or so. And it's pretty relaxed. Though apparently not relaxed enough or I wouldn't be missing things already!

This is where the "preschool for the rest of us" part comes in. I'm no Jolanthe or Carisa or Erica... but I'm so glad they are. I make the plans (I have a thing for the planning part), it's just the implementation that I struggle with.

I'm trying to base my plans on a relationship based model, spending time with my children (duh, right?) and enjoying them. I have a new schedule/routine for us, but we've yet to actually complete it as written. As the weeks go by, I'm trying to add in more from the schedule to our real lives, so it's really more like a routine goal!

Ok... long windedness. Sorry. What are we actually doing? Well, here it is... for the last couple weeks since I didn't get around to this last week:

Bible

We got the kids the The Jesus Storybook Bible for Christmas. Really, I wanted it for them... but I'm thrilled that they really like it too. I decided to use this book as our Bible "curriculum". We're going through a story a week. I have no idea how many weeks that will take us, and we will probably do somethings out of order around Easter, but we're doing it. I read the story of the week each day (more or less) of the week and we talk about it.

Also during our Bible time (approx. 10-15 minutes total) we practice our verse. I put our verse sheet (click the pics above to download) on the fridge and they love to do it at meals and throughout the day as well. I find the big letter and the picture help them remember "which one" we're working on. The rest is really for me since I'm the only reader! :)

We are starting our Bible time by learning/singing the Doxology (we walk in a circle like "ring around the rosy"). They seem to like it so far. Then at the end of the time, we sing a related song/hymn. When learning about Creation last week, we sang "In the Beginning" from Donut Man. The kids like that one and we have it on a CD. This week we've begun learning the hymn "Trust and Obey" to go with our story about "the Fall". They really like that one and ask to sing it all the time. They already know the first verse and chorus themselves, so we may work on adding a verse this next week.

Our "theme" is outside our Bible time most weeks. Right now we are in a "Winter/Snow" theme. The kids have really enjoyed the snowman related materials I found here, here, and here.

Here Sweet Pea is practicing poring with pony beads and her tea cups:

Sweet Pea is also learning how to help Mommy do dishes. For real this time! (I'll try to get pics sometimes.)

I'm trying to incorporate some "manly" activities into Tornado's day since Daddy is gone all day:

This week Tornado had a chance to shovel the front porch and around the car (with my help of course). He was very proud!

That same day, (since we got several inches of snow) I brought some inside.

And of course there are other crafts...

... like this one. I don't think any of our crafts are done... from this week or last week. I'll try to include pics when they are. This will be a cute snowman head. We started 4 inch earth balls last week (a long story I'll share when they are finished) to go with our creation story. Sigh... maybe we'll finish them this next week with the rest of our snow crafts.

And then we're also doing some normal things. The kids think they are play... and they are. But I also know they are helping in the area of math, problem solving, etc.

"Look Mommy, I'm making a garage!" And he did it all by himself for the first time ever!

As you can see, we did do some things. But it's hit and miss at best. Some days all we do is Bible time and I call that a successful day. Other days, like today... we don't even do that. But we're a work in progress.

Labels: Homeschooling my 2 Year Old, Homeschooling my 4 year old, Preschool Corner

Friday, October 29, 2010

Preschool Corner: Gladys Aylward

Between colds and apples and everything else, I haven't been around here much. But that also means I've been busy doing other things.

One of those things has been reading. Though I am far from reading to my kids as often as I'd like, we've been incorporating chapter books in with the other picture books. Last night we finished our third chapter book since beginning this summer. We've read Mr. Popper's Penguins, Charlotte's Web, and now Gladys Aylward.

Gladys (as she's become affectionately known around our home) is the last we've read. I'll admit, that when I started reading chapter books to my 2 1/2 year old and almost 4 year old, I wasn't sure how much they'd really get, if anything... not to mention if they'd enjoy it. But just when I am sure they haven't caught anything, Tornado pipes up with a question or comment during the reading that tells me he's catching more than I thought. And though I know Sweet Pea is catching even less than Tornado, that isn't stopping her from requesting that we read it just as much... or from carrying the book around and looking through the picture-less book during other times of the day.

We all really enjoyed the read! It was a great introduction to missions (aside from "let's pray for our missionaries"). I really appreciated the opportunity to discuss death, hardship, and some of the other themes in the book from a Biblical worldview with my children. While I don't know that Sweet Pea even picked up on them, Tornado definitely has and it has opened up some conversations about them.

In addition to reading the book, and in order to expand on it, I worked in a few things into the reading. Initially I thought about doing something with each chapter, but I don't have time and energy for that and I was afraid I'd put off reading the next chapter until I could do the "fun" thing I'd planned, and I decided that reading was more important than putting it off to do some little something. So we did what we could.

With chapter one we looked at the globe and trekked out her planned journey on Google Maps. Then I let them color a map of the eastern hemisphere and drew a line for him to trace of her path across Asia. Tornado liked that. He also found and colored China. Tornado often talked about China and Russia, both when we were reading and when we were doing other things. Often the earth comes out to look at where she was. (Geography)

During the chapters when she was traveling through and trapped in Russia (and therefore surrounded by people who didn't speak her language) I found a website that had some phrases in Russian and we listened to them. (Social Studies)

I also stopped here and there to explain things, answer questions and expand on things.

One important thing you should know is that there were a few places that I chose to edit out for content, either skipping the paragraph entirely, or changing the words around a bit for issues I wasn't ready for my 2 and 3 year olds to hear about. Be aware of these things when reading anything to your littles! :)

Labels: Homeschooling my 3 year old, Preschool Corner

Friday, September 10, 2010

Preschool Corner: Reading together

~Tornado is 3 years, 9 months~

As I've mentioned, we've said good-bye to official curriculum... even the homemade kind. We're saying hello to books, life and fun! (I'm working on the fun part... I do still have a newborn!)

We've been doing our reading (including our Bible/Character stuff) for sure... and that's about it these days. Aside from working strenuously on first time obedience with both Tornado and Sweet Pea... and getting Little Man to take his day time naps in his bed. That's a big one!

The kids have loved The Little House by Virgina Burton. I'd never read it before... but Tornado loves the trains... go figure!

An Amish Year has been a favorite for both of them too, but especially Sweet Pea. A week or so before Little Man made his appearance, we made a trip into Amish country to an Amish run organic store. While we were there the kids were excited to see all the horse and buggies around. We tried to explain some of it, but I made a mental note to get some books from the library. It's been such a hit that I plan to get some more books about the Amish in the coming weeks! (Their work ethic helps encourage me to get my own work done too!)

Aesop's Fables is going over well too... The first one in the book is The Boy Who Cried Wolf. That very day I was able to use that lesson with Tornado around nap time. We've been struggling to find a way to help him understand the importance of being honest... very helpful! What I didn't expect is that it would disturb the next several sleep times with fears of a wolf being in the room to eat him. I assured him that the wolf was only there to steal and eat the sheep... and that if there is ever a real wolf in the room, he can call for me, and just like the towns folk, I'll come scare him away. "But don't forget," I told him, "you need to tell the truth. Don't call mommy about it if there isn't a real wolf!" Very funny!

We haven't done any "Table Time" lately, but one day Tornado plopped himself down in front of our chest freezer and started arranging the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics in order... by himself. He did the first couple on his own before I even knew what he was doing. Then he started asking me (who was doing dishes nearby) where letters were (as you can see, they were every which way, making it harder to notice them). I would help him some, but mostly let him do it himself. He got to letter "L" before I called him to do something else. He was adamant that no one touch them so he could finish later. We never did get back to that before his sister "messed them up" the next day.

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Labels: Homeschooling my 3 year old, Preschool Corner

Friday, September 3, 2010

Preschool Corner: Tossing the Bath Water...

... keeping the baby. All of them.

I had some pretty big ideas about what preschool would look like this fall. I sat with notebook in hand this summer, very large with child, while the kids ran around in the grass that makes up our front yard. I started with a basic list, a brainstorm of ideas. From there, I organized it all onto a calendar... taking into consideration special dates that work for the themes I had in mind. Then I started thinking in more detail about what I would include for each week's theme. I wanted to have as much planning done before baby came as possible... so I'd be more likely to get it done on this end.

Let's just say... the time and work were not wasted. I can still use those ideas someday... if I want to. But I am making the decision to let it all go.

The plans.

The schedule.

The delusions of grandeur.

I'm tossing them out the window. Saying good-bye. And not looking back (except to borrow ideas when I want to.)

But let me clarify here... I'm tossing my plans. My curriculum. My lesson plans.

I am not tossing learning. Education. Preschool.

The bath water (my curriculum) is gone. The baby (learning) is sticking around! (As is Little Man... just in case you're worried!) Just with a little less structure (or no structure... as the case may be.)

So below is the new plan, for now... always ready for tweaking as needed! This may simply be the plan for this week... or this month. Maybe it will last through the fall, or to Christmas. Maybe it will be all of what this "school year" looks like. It's ok. He's 3, she's 2. This is preschool we're talking about. And it looks like, as hard as I've tried to fight it, this more relaxed approach is the best way for us after all!

We'll be concentrating on character in general... obedience specifically. I'll be learning how to slow down. To incorporate the children into life. To exude gratefulness. To keep my focus upward. To keep our home with joy. And so many other things. The kids will learn whatever they glean from the day to day... and hopefully a lot of what I'll be learning will spill over onto them.

Our plan:

Bible and Character

Small Talks About God:Devotions for Young Children
Scripture Memorization
Bible Stories
Catechism (Big Truths for Little Kids: Teaching Your Children to Live for God)

Science

Nature
Seasons
Animals (interest led)

Reading/Language Arts

Read Alouds (Chapter Books specifically, but also tons of picture books)
Mazes, Tracing, Coloring, etc.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons or The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (not doing this right away, but plan to start sometime this year)

Math

Number Recognition to 20
Telling Time (again, not right away, but a goal for the year)
Other early math as it comes up in life

Social Studies

Literature based (as it comes up in our reading)
Holidays
Community Helpers (interest led)

I hope to share with you each week some of what we've done... and what it ends up looking like. I'm excited for the year, and I'm no longer overwhelmed because this is pretty much what our lives look like without trying. I'll prep for some things and plan some activities as I have time, energy and desire... and if we don't ever get to working at the table (coloring/mazes) one week, I'm not going to worry about it.

As much as I love planning, I'm looking forward to just living... and seeing my kids learn through it!

Checkout what others are doing too!

Labels: Homeschooling my 2 Year Old, Homeschooling my 3 year old, Preschool Corner

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Preschool Corner: Getting Ready for Baby

~ Tornado is 3 years almost 8 months ~

We're still picking at the school thing over here. I decided to move my plans for the week I'm due up a little (just in case baby came early... no such luck). The plans were to focus on baby... his coming, what babies are like, baby care, etc. I plan to continue with this theme through this next week too... might as well, they're enjoying it. :)

Our verse for the week has been Jeremiah 1:5a...

This next week we'll be focusing on Psalm 139:13...

I made "vocab cards"...

which he enjoyed cutting up...

...and gluing to a piece of construction paper.

The first day we introduced the verse, we did play-do to illustrate the concept of "formed"...

I "formed" this little baby (I also talked about how God is way better at forming babies than Mommy is) to give them the idea of being shaped or molded or made. They enjoyed that lesson. Sweet Pea wanted to hold the baby, but she was very upset every time an arm or leg or the head fell off. :)

Today we got out the water color paints and made cards for the new baby. We'll finish them up tonight or tomorrow or Monday (or someone else will finish them with the kids if I'm not around). We had to let them dry before doing the other side. I don't have a pic of those yet, but they had fun making them. Tornado even traced the message he wanted to put on the card. I asked him what he wanted to say and he said, "We love you!" It's what the characters in one of our books put on the banner they made for baby.

Sometime in the next few days to a week we (or they) will make these cute crowns...

I made them up on the computer so they can decorate them. Then whoever is with them (friend or grandma) can help them cut them out and staple or tape them together to wear when they visit the hospital.

I was really picky about books to read for this unit. So many books on new babies for kids talk a lot about how they will feel left out or may get angry at the baby and I don't like that. I don't see any reason to tell them how they will feel... especially feelings I am trying to train out of them. I requested a bunch of books from the library, but I promptly returned 3/4 of them. I thought about doing a post reviewing them all with what I thought and why, but time and energy eluded me... sorry. What we did end up with, I censored slightly if I didn't like a word they used or something, so please preview my recommendations yourself before reading them to your children.

Check out Preschool Corner for more preschool ideas!

Labels: Getting Ready for Baby, Preschool Corner

Friday, July 16, 2010

Preschool Corner: Doing what we can

~Tornado is 3 years, 7 months old~

~Mommy is 37 weeks pregnant~

As I hit 35, then 36, and now 37 weeks pregnant, it's become harder and harder for us to get anything "grand" and "fabulous" accomplished in the area of schooling. I'm okay with this... I've decided. I had put together a fun unit on spiders (which was last week's theme), but when it came down to it, we didn't do much. About half the library books we requested were ready when I could pick them up, so that's all we got.

Since we hadn't done any of my "lesson plans" (crafts and coloring sheets and such) by the end of the week, I decided to extend spiders into this week. A noble idea I thought... plus, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to do anything else. Still, we haven't done any other theme things. Maybe someday we'll do the plans I made. Until then, we've enjoyed the spider books we have from the library.

This one's Mommy's.

Aside from our plans, however, I did get to add a new activity to my arsenal. We returned a couple things to Target without a receipt a week or so back and had $30 something to spend on something. We found sheets for the kids new beds (once they are done) and let them pick their favorite, and we found a couple dollar day items. All in all, we had just a couple dollars left, so I picked up a pack of pony beads from the craft aisle.

I started out letting Tornado do whatever he wanted with the beads on the "fuzzy sticks" (anyone else still call them pipe cleaners??? It's so hard to change over!)

He really enjoyed this.

Sweet Pea had fun with it too. She threaded them on the sticks for a while, but then just enjoyed moving them from one section of her plate to the other.

Then when she was seeming done, I let her put them in the bag (little clean up trick I suppose!)

Then Tornado and I talked about patterns again. A couple times I'd see he didn't have it quite right and suggest that he check his work. He'd catch the problem and ("uh oh") pull them off to do it again. He really wanted to do the whole length!

Then we sorted out two colors from the rest.

And I introduced "estimating" with more or less. It was a lot of beads to introduce the concept with (another day this week we did it with fewer and it worked nicely!), but we grouped them together and I asked him to guess which color there were more of. He made his guess and then we counted them up. We did it with two new colors when we were done... his idea.

I don't really have official plans for the next couple weeks. I'm slowing down a bit these days and will probably focus more on this sort of thing when I have the energy and time. I do have some plans for when baby comes (and there is someone else here to help with it) though, so I'll be sharing that as I am able... assuming I am able! :)

Stop over to see other Preschool Corner posts!

Labels: Preschool Corner

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