Sewn Valentine's Day Card

I watched my 4-year old niece this past week, in addition to my four little ones. She did school with us, and easily followed along in our schedule. In the afternoons, we focused on arts & crafts, as usual.
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we started on our family cards (the ones they'll mail to grandparents, give to cousins, etc)

My little guy (also 4-years old) has sewn before, but this was my niece's first time. I simply made white dots with a crayon, on their black paper, to show where they would need to poke in the needle. Of course, at this age, they needed constant supervision, and a little help when it got tangled. For the most part, though, they completed these solo!

This was one of the finished products. Impressive, yes? :D

They're very happy with their work, plus it's a great fine motor activity for little ones.

This little guy also made Valentine's cards, but was more interested in showing off his favorite toy, Bob.

He's my ham, the silly goofy one of the bunch, and lately he's taken to wearing a fedora. Every morning he asks me to paint his mustache on.

How can I resist this face?

His art even reflects his love for Bob. Lovelovelove it.

I'm in love with the little gangsta'!

I'd say my 1st grader is a pretty good artist!!

Fish unit

I'm feeling the need to revive the excitement and shake things up a bit in school. Middle of the year blahs, so to speak, and it's time to get EXCITED again! :D

We started a Fish unit this week. Sounds uber exciting, yes? Well, it is!
Our quote for Monday:

Einstein was a clever dude.

We worked on Japanese hanging koi (goldfish) and read about koi from Wikipedia. I'll post the pictures upon completion.

The kids made tangram seascapes...

Many of our writing prompts, mini books, our vocabulary list, and even the Bible verse suggestions we used are from Homeschool Share. That site is such an amazing resource!

The little boys sorted colored goldfish crackers... ...made patterns... ...used them as manipulatives for their addition problems, and then ate them. :)

We read Shel Silverstein's poem Fish, and wrote our own poems.

Tuna fish sandwiches (cut into fish shapes) for lunch.

T played this fishing addition game to go along with his math today.

We talked about the food chain. What do fish eat? Which animals eat fish?

We used the Melissa and Doug complete the picture fish bowl page, just for fun.

O played the aquarium game on Poisson Rouge, already one of his favorite sites.

The older kids finished strong, with their usual math lessons, and Papaw's history and Spanish lessons.

Last but not least, I added my own excitement by having my sister cut me some bangs when she stopped by. So many perks of having a sister who went to cosmetology school!

Ta-da. Short and choppy little hipster bangs. I like 'em.

I have more fish activities planned for this week, and have already started putting together units for birds, rabbits, etc. Pinterest has been a huge help, too!

I'm open to ideas or suggestions, so feel free to chime in!

Popsicle Matching Game& update

What's been keeping us busy/Reasons for less frequent blogging:
1. MyOldest is in middle school now (how did that happen) and it seriously only occurred to me a few months ago. So, we're now involved in both the elementary and middle school homeschool groups, which keeps me hopping a bit faster. I guess now is the time to be thankful that she's an introvert, and really prefers to stay home most of the time. I'm not sure how our family could handle another extrovert. ;)

2. I'm trying to be purposeful about spending enough time with my little ones, especially planning activities for them during school. They simply don't have the ability to work with us at the table or on experiments all day long. So, I've been utilizing pinterest for craft/learning/sensory activities, especially for the Littlest. This Popsicle matching game is one example. He loves it.

3. My little niece and nephew get here at about 6am every morning, so Fred wakes me up at 5:30 when he leaves for work. Naturally, this is forcing me to go to bed earlier, and accomplish more earlier in the evening. I.Can.Do.It.

4. My Oldest (6th) is doing SOS history this year, Teaching Textbooks for math, and her third year of typing all of which are computer programs. My Oldest Boy (4th grade) also does Teaching Textbooks and is starting typing this year. I also let the littler ones play on Poisson Rouge and Starfall during the day, for a bit. This leaves very little computer time during the day for moi, which is fine.




5. Planning field trips and activities this year just takes some time. It's not a requirement of my job, but a perk. I have been funneling some of my housework time into it, though, which means there are leftover chores at the end of the day. Need to find a balance there. It seems like I'm perpetually behind on laundry!

Teaching Greater Than > Less Than

Like so many other things, I don't really see the point of waiting to teach certain concepts until a particular age or grade. When kids are ready to get it, they're ready.

And they're usually ready before most people think they are!

Right now my kindergartner and 3-year old are at about the same academic level, (Dash is way ahead with his gross motor skills, storytelling, humor, etc. but a bit slower in fine motor skills and attention span )

So I'm embracing this, and am now grateful that I can teach double-duty for these little guys.

In case you haven't guessed it yet,

I simply start by telling the boys that the hungry alligator wants the side with more food.

He always eats the bigger number. Simple, right?

(below, my 3-year old LittleLad draws his "monster teeth," to eat the number 9)Within 30 minutes they progressed from manipulatives (poker chips and number rods, in this case) to number puzzles playing cards, dominoes, Skittles...

I should have taken pics of the Skittle Lesson. We had to turn the alligator around several times, depending on how many of their 10 skittles they ate. Soon, of course, there were no Skittles left, and we moved on to marker board "worksheet" practice.

Playing is the best way to learn!

Sensory Board and Texture Pictures

Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I made a sensory board, based on this kind of board.

This can be used for *toddlers, who are learning to explore with their hands (not just mouths,) or for pre-K and kindergartners, who are paying attention to senses and textures, and learning to describe their environments more precisely.

*obviously with supervision, as objects could get loose and become choking hazards.

1. bubble wrap, pictured below

2. prickly (okay, what do you actually call this thing? I should know that!)

3. burlap

4. stone

5. coarse feather

6. rough side of velcro

7. soft boa feathers
8. soft, smooth side of velcro

9. wax

10. sandpaper

11. wire brush (not glued on yet)

12. fake fur, pictured below

I kept duplicates of each texture aside in a small box, so the kids can match the textures. Of course, this is easy even for my LittleLad, but he still enjoys it! For his age and older (3+) you can blindfold the kids and have them match textures. :) This is a good empathy exercise, too.

(okay, so the glue wasn't even dry under the bubble wrap when I took the pictures. ;) Go ahead, Call me impatient.)

Next up: Texture Pictures.

We were inspired after reading this book.

Just give your kiddos a lot of textures to choose from. I put feathers, bubble wrap, sandpaper, fake fur, foil, etc on the table, along with a stapler, glue and scissors.

Here is NatureMan's picture: Close-up:

And Dash's pictures:

A little Montessori here and a little Montessori there

Hop over to Modern Montessori Mama, and check out the parenting tips from "Mother Blogs." Yep, I'm featured over there. Apparently I'm more Montessori than I thought! ;) It's funny-- I DO use Montessori methods, and love the learning style, but I don't often stop to consider which categories my methods fall into. We're just doing what works for us, and what we believe is in the best interest of the kids. Montessori and Charlotte Mason score the best, in our book.

Lately, I've been talking more about events and art than about school. Perhaps because I've been doing far less "school" than I have in years. Papaw has officially taken over history and Spanish! Plus he's reading a chapter a day of Anne of Green Gables. It took him awhile to find a classic that we hadn't read, but he managed it. :) I've always loved the Anne books.

The extra time has been amazing. We've been doing more purging, crafting, and dancing at home. I'm kinda lovin' this arrangement!! Not only does he do the lessons, but he also grades them and plans the extra-curricular activities to go along with the lessons (for instance, they've been practicing a play in Spanish, to put on for us.)

I've also had more time in the evening to pursue my interests, now that lesson planning and grading takes a fraction of the time. I only have reading & writing, science and math now. And Bible, but that's not "just another subject." Oh, and Art...which we've been spending much more time on.

May you all have a fairy grandfather to help school your kids!!

Sooo, one of the things I've been working on is making this house more kid-accessible. They already have their plastic cups in a low cupboard, for easy reaching. And my kids' bookshelves are all low, and easy to reach. I purged some of our shoes, and had the kids gather the rest to put back. Nice little shelf, by the playroom entrance, for them to tidy their own sneakers when they come in.

And, yes, my bookcases are still arranged by color. I'm a visual person, and I -always- remember what color the book is. This system makes it much faster for me to find what I'm looking for. Plus, it just looks better! And it's easier for the little ones to reshelve books.

I'm in the process of implementing some other hands-on, easy-to-reach kid areas, Montessori style. The more the kids can do on their own, the more confident they feel. And the less I have to do for them. I'm seriously considering kid-sized cleaning supplies for Christmas this year! :)

Preschool Fall Activities

First up, we played in the rain. And this time I was right out there with them, and neglected to take pictures of my oh-so-cute-hooligans traipsing through the puddles. Good way to start a day!
Then we did school. And when I say, "did school," I mean that we covered Teaching Textbooks for math, for both kids. Bible, with all four little people-- I read, and they munch and draw pictures. Works well for us. We discuss it all, as well as any family can when a 3-year old is participating. Some days work better than others. Today he just wanted to talk about his favorite colors and animals. What color was Jesus. I answered, "brown." Figured that was close enough. Then we read books, did handwriting, and I started working with the two little ones while the older kids worked on Spanish homework (Papaw teaches Spanish and history every day, thank You, Lord!)
First up: button practice with felt leaves. All you need is felt, ribbon (or twine, cord, whatever you have on hand) two buttons, or a button and bell. Cut leaves out of your felt, with a small hole in the middle of each, for the button to go through.
Tie the button on one end of your ribbon, and the large bell on the other end.

Let your kiddo put the button through the hole, and string the leaves on the ribbon. Easy peasy. Great for motor skills, and just to keep little ones occupied for as long as possible. Much better idea than my black paint fiasco! Gah. I still have a black ring around my tub.

I love his little pudgy hands. Just want to eat 'em up!! Here is my LittleLad, still clothed in his yogurt-encrusted shirt. Don't judge me.

It was a long day, and I decided not to change their clothes more than 3 x, no matter what.

Next up, on Rainy Day, we worked on colors and spellings. Granted, at this age Oli only remembers a few actual spellings... it's more about the matching for him.

I'm guessing this is self-explanatory. Write out the color names on corresponding colored paper. Then do it again, and cut the letters apart. Let the kids match it all up, spelling the color word.

I don't really know why, but this is one of his favorite things to do.

Works for me. I just hope something brilliant is sticking in his little mind! ;)

At the same time, Dash worked on stringing his name up with clothespins. He's in kindergarten this year, and regularly "misplaces" the letters to his name. Yes, his name is Trevor. But when he writes it, it often comes out as "TVR," or "Trvr." I believe he hates vowels. If he decides to include an E, it often has about a hundred horizontal lines stabbing through it.

He tries, he really does.

And, frankly, I just don't care about his writing much at this point. He enjoys learning, loves to write (who cares if it makes no sense.) He narrates stories and plays educational games. Kindergarten should be fun. I'm not stressing the omission of vowels.

That said, if he likes to string up leaves, I might as well give him some to put in order. He doesn't have to write it, so he doesn't mind.

Any other ideas for our next rainy day? Or other fall activities we could try? I'm feeling all perky and crafty again-- maybe because Christmas is a mere two months away, and the crafting-for-gifts-force is pulling me into artistic overdrive. I've been painting and drawing every night. Feels glorious. :)

We love Childhood 101 & Preschool Corner. Check 'em out, and link to the playing parties!