Preschool - Week 2 - Letter A

This week was brought to you by the Letter A and the Number 1. :-)



Here's what we covered:

Language Arts:
- Handwriting worksheets (Apple, Alligator)
- Reading books
- Letter of the Week Craft


Math:
- Number 1 worksheet
- Pattern worksheet
- Pick out "one" crayon, etc.
- Addition with apples

Science:
- Alligators
- Read books, coloring page
- Used tape measure to see how big an alligator can get (15-20 ft!)
- Used tape measure to compare a 4 year old alligator's length to C and 2 year old alligator to E. (The alligators won...)
- Added our first page to C's Science Journal. We pasted a photo of an alligator on the page and C answered some basic questions about alligators.
- Watched alligator videos (baby alligator, Everglades video)

Social Studies:
- Astronauts
- Read books on astronauts
- Talked about what kind of astronaut C would be - she said she would be a scientist, but "ACTUALLY" (her favorite word) she doesn't want to be an astronaut when she grows up. Good to know...
- Did an astronaut craft


Sight Words:
- I am going to make 5 sight word flashcards to work on during lunch each day
- This week we learned: An, Ant, And, Apple, Alligator

Snack:
- Apples

Music:
- Played a collection of Adagios

Bible Stories:
Elijah's Chariot of Fire, Jesus Walks on Water, Sun Stands Still

After learning about Jesus walking on water, we did a fun water activity. I got a tub and filled it with some sand and then water. The girls attempted to walk on water (unsuccessfully). Then I stirred it up to make it murky and then dropped some coins and fun buttons into it. The girls took turns looking through a clear plastic container and glass spaghetti jar to scope the water and find the hidden objects. They really enjoyed this.



For the story of how God made the sun stand still for Joshua, we made suns (with glitter!):

Preschool - Week 1 - Intro

For the first week of preschool, we are getting our feet wet with an Introduction week. Pretty much this is spent on Alphabet activities.

It went really well! E never had to choose option C, C was super-excited each day for more preschool time, I kept my cool and it was fun! Next week will be a full-week with our letter A, so that will be a better indicator of how this all will go. So far, so good.

Language Arts:
* We read some Alphabet Books:


* Watched Alphabet movies:




Music:
* Listened to Putamayo Kids Reggae


Math:
* Counted the letters in the alphabet
* Counted the letters in our names
* Did a couple math worksheets
* Played with sequencing cards
* Played with tangrams

Science:
* Cut out pictures to decorate her Science Journal notebook cover

Snack:
* Made Alphabet jigglers:


Craft:
* Played a magazine alphabet game

* Played Play-doh with alphabet cookies cutters

Game:
* Did an alphabet treasure hunt in the basement.

Bible Story:
* Learned about David and Goliath and Elijah and the Prohets of Baal

Homeschool Preschool - The Plan

We are going to follow a Letter of the Week curriculum for our homeschool preschool. Pretty much because that seemed do-able for me and there are tons of free resources to use online!

I used Brightly Beaming Resources as a base for ideas, and then built on that.

For craft time (you know my girls like crafts!) I would like to have them make a letter of the week craft, like No Time for Flashcards does. We'll post them on the basement wall around our homeschool area.

For the Bible Stories, I did purchase a curriculum from Homeschool Your Boys. (No, it's not just for boys...) It was $39.99 for a 143 page e-book. I have only had to modify it slightly, but love that the themes, memory verses, stories and activities are all planned out for me.

Our plan is to do preschool four days a week. Each week we'll have a new letter and number. We'll also cover Language Arts, Music, Bible Stories, Math, Science, Social Studies, Sports/Games, an Art Project, theme Snack and occasional Field Trips.

Yup. That's the plan. Yes, it does seem ambitious. But keep in mind that a lot of these topics can be covered in 15 minutes. The total amount of time each day will be between 2-3 hours. And I am going to try *really* hard to be flexible and not worry if some things don't get covered.

Some people have asked what E will do during this time. I have given her the options of:
A) Listening and participating along with C
B) Playing with toys in the basement
C) Going up to play in her room

The last option is really more of a "if you aren't behaving and are being a distraction, then you will have to play alone in your room."

It's going to be good for me, right? I think that having some structure in our day will be good for all of us. I pray that God will teach me to have more patience, that C would develop a passion for learning and that E would mature and learn to be less demanding. I'll keep you posted!

Venturing into the Land of Mod Podge

I got inspired to make some art for C's walls. They are bare right now, and need a little decoration. So, I cut up some scrapbook papers, arranged them on two canvases and Mod-Podged them on (is that a word???). This was my first decoupage craft, and it wasn't too bad. :-)

Our First Preschooler

Here's the obligatory photo of C on her first day of Preschool. You may be asking yourself - what preschool starts on Labor Day? Homeschool preschool, that's what!


C has been looking forward to preschool for a long time. She wanted to dress up for the occasion. :-)

We set up a little homeschooling area in the basement. Our first day went fairly well. We had barely gotten started when I realized that there was water leaking from the basement refrigerator. Half and hour later we were picking things back up and moving on. I think that is a good introduction to how things are going be. Distractions will occur, but I will need to learn how to roll with the punches and improvise!


I'll try to keep a record on the blog of what we do each week. Not to "show off" but to remember what we did and hope that it may help others who are considering a similar endeavor.

Pray for me!

I read strangers' blogs.

Sometimes Doug comes over the computer while I am reading blogs and says, "Whose baby is that?" "Um, nobody we know." He doesn't quite get it. But there are some really good writers out there and it's fun to read about their lives.

How about you? Whose blogs do you read? Or maybe YOU are a stranger reading MY blog! (haha)

Anyway, here are some blogs that I follow:

The Pioneer Woman - great photos and stories


Infarrantly Creative - encouraging testimony and craftiness


Filth Wizardry - creative ideas for preschoolers

Ali Edwards - scrapbooking inspiration

Bustin out the sewing machine

Whenever Doug goes out of town, I always feel compelled to accomplish some kind of project. This week I felt compelled to sew a couple aprons for my girls. I bought these dish towels a million years ago, made one (not great) apron for C, and stashed the rest.

I found a neat tutorial online and got re-inspired to dig out the towels and try again.

Here's the result:


Should be just right for when the girls want to "help" me cook!

Also, I found some motivation to organize all my leftover fabric stash. I have a whole bag of little scraps to be thrown away, too, but it's still sitting in my kitchen. SO HARD TO THROW AWAY! I must be strong. I will do it. Soon...


Before:

After: