Totschool: March

I haven't been posting weekly Totschool, or Preschool, because, since January, the little kids have been doing more of a monthly theme than a weekly theme. It was just getting to be too much to switch things out every week. And it was too frustrating to work hard on something only to have it ignored all week. This way, they will eventually get bored enough to get around to it before the month is over.

These are their shelves for March. Our theme is Farm Animal Babies. Starting with the top left, we have a bin which holds paper strips for stamping, a pencil, a dry erase marker, and toilet paper for wiping away the dry erase marker. This should really go on the bottom shelf, but there isn't room for it down there, and... well, there it is. I also put sheets of blank paper in here every morning. But I have to ration blank paper or they would go through an entire tablet in one day between the two of them.

Next we have an assortment of ways for them to make their names. There are magnetic letters, penguins and ice-cubes, and, to support our theme: sheep and puppies. You can't tell in the picture, but beside the tray are cards with their names on them as a control.

Then we have a pattern-block horse. I got this from prekinders, one of my favorite websites for the small ones. And I just now noticed that someone snuck in and completed the puzzle! Silly kids can't wait until school-time.

Beside the pattern blocks are three small cups that hold: cards with the life-cycle of a chicken; cards with letters on them and teeny chipboard letters to match; and cards for our Go to the Pound game. It plays like Go Fish, except that we match pairs of letters. Since it's puppies on the card, we say, "Go to the Pound" instead of "Go Fish".

Next is a sheet with different groupings of trucks, trains, and tractors. This is for counting and number recognition. I got this idea from The Well Rounded Mama. Then we have lacing cards and Alphabet Bingo.

The second shelf holds lacing beads (wooden ones from Dollar Tree!) mixed with some plastic farm animal beads that my husband bought years ago to make bird toys. I got the left-overs. :)

Beside that is our phonics game. The rules never change, but I make new boards to fit our new themes and to keep the interest alive.

Next, we have a file folder game to match our abcs. It's baby animals (lower case letters) looking in the barn for their mamas (capital letters). I made it myself, and am planning on giving it its own post soon.

Then we have cutting and I threw a glue stick in there just for a special treat. And a roll a barn game I got from Play to learn. And their Bibles that they like to look at from time to time. Their stories are generally read from these books.

On the last shelf we have farm animal puzzles. (There are two stacked on top of each other.) Our Love Letters, a geo board, and finally, their crayons and stamps (I have seasonal ones, abc ones, and number ones) a book to read, and a box of farm animals with a tractor for free playing.

Daniel's Explode the Code book is on the next shelf up, since it is a "do with Mommy" item. Beside it I have their Alphabet Boxes (I have a post nearly ready to go explaining this) and a small bin with other "do with Mommy" items, that get changed out frequently.

Goals for Daniel and Abbie

I finally got around to writing out new goals for Daniel and Abbie since they pretty much have met the last set I made. Some of these they are pretty close to meeting, but still need to work on. Some of them are brand new concepts.

PREK GOALS

1. Count to 20
2. 1 to 1 correspondence to 10 (20 for Daniel)
3. Number recognition to 10 (20 for Daniel)
4. Shape recognition (review)
5. Sort and classify object by color, size, shape, etc.
6. Measure with non-standard measurements
7. Identify coins: penny, nickel, dime, quarter
8. Identify letters
9. Arrange alphabet correctly
10. Learn sounds of letters
11. Trace straight lines/ curved lines/ zigzag lines/ letters correctly
12. Use scissors to cut a straight line
13. Understand concept of same and different (Abbie)
14. Learn about community and community helpers
15. Understand concept of opposites
16. Learn about animal habitats
17. Learn Bible stories
18. Learn Bible verses
19. Understand that animals need food, water, shelter and plants need water, soil and sunshine.
20. Learn the days of the week and months of the year

I made the mistake of telling Daniel that he would be in Kindergarten in September, and he has asked me every single day since then, "Am I in Kindergarten yet?"

Expedition Australia

As I mentioned in my last post, we were given a free download of two of This Old Schoolhouse's products to review. I said we were pleasantly surprised at how good I Wanna Be A Firefighter was. Well, I was blown away at how awesome Expedition Australia was from Download N Go. It is a unit study on Australia (of course) that is supposed to last a week. It is, as the name implies, an instant download that you can use right away. It comes with everything you need except for basic school supplies: glue, paper, a file folder, a brad or two. Although it does have suggestions for books that you can purchase or find at your library to go along with the study. I found most of their suggestions at my library and my library never has books that I see online. The ebook is 103 pages that are packed with information. And at the end of the unit, you have a lapbook to show off what you have learned. If you are new to lapbooking, there are even links to show you the concept of a lapbook and to give you ideas for the project. And as a special bonus, there is a footnote that explains how to hide comments on youtube videos!

Now, we have been "going around the world" this year with a homemade curriculum that I am putting together myself, so I know how much work it can be to scour the Internet for ideas, videos, activities, and coloring pages. I have often spent a week or two pulling together resources, but I have never managed anything like the array offered in Expedition Australia. I was truly blown away by the links to videos, maps, dictionaries, online magazines and encyclopedia-like entries. There is so much there, that, even though we are not doing it all, it is taking us two weeks to work our way through it. And we are enjoying every minute of it. The price of $7.95 is well worth not having to spend the time doing the research myself.

I love the fact that it is already sorted out into daily lessons. So truly, all I have to do is sit them down in front of the computer and work our way through it. All of the links are in the proper places in the lesson so we can just click as we go.

But the part I loved the most was that for the lapbook elements, which were at the end of the document, there was a link in the lesson that you could click that would take you straight to that element, then there was a link on that page that takes you straight back to that part of the lesson. So there is no scrolling, no getting lost, no hunting back and forth for what you need to do next.

I could find no "target age" for Expedition Australia, but my six and seven year olds are able to get a lot out of the material. They love the videos of the animals, enjoy the informative links, have learned all about koalas, kangaroos, and wombats (just to name a few) and are talking like Aussies all day long. I have not yet found a thing that was over their heads. Yet there is a lot of information, especially about the animals, that I am learning for the first time.

I have been raving to my husband about this study ever since I first looked at it and he keeps asking me, "Are there no negatives at all?" But the best I can come up with is that one of the printables for the lapbook is slightly crooked.

I heartily recommend this unit study to anyone and I will definitely be buying other Download N Go products myself. I have my eye on George Washington, and Ireland, and Mexico and...

I Wanna be a Firefighter

The kids and I were given an opportunity to review two of The Old Schoolhouse products. They were free for the purpose of this review. We were given When I Grow Up I Want To Be a Firefighter which is a part of the Wanna Be series and Expedition Australia, which was part of the Download N Go series. I will review Expedition Australia in the next post.

I had never seen the inside of a "real" unit study before, only the ones that people give away for free. My husband always tells me, "You get what you pay for." And I have to admit that he was right. We were surprised and delighted with these downloads!

The Firefighter one said that it was directed toward kids ages 4-10, so I included all four kids. I would have anyway, probably, because Daniel has been obsessed with firetrucks since before he could talk. We own about 10 of various sizes and abilities, so it was time for him to learn more about the people that drive them.

The material was an instant download (very cool). It has 82 pages, but I did not print them all. My kids love the computer, so I just read the information part straight off the computer screen. The material consists of information about firemen, their history, equipment and what it takes to become one. There is even a section on firehouse dogs! :)

Then there are various worksheets: a quiz, word puzzles, vocabulary, coloring pages, handwriting, math and a science section. This was the part that I printed. There are also several suggestions for memory verses, a section of sign language, a lot of games and activities and some food ideas and room decorating ideas, if you wanted to have a themed party at the end of the study.

My kids thoroughly enjoyed learning about firefighters. However, I have to disagree about the age-range for the material. It was mostly over the heads of my 3 and 4 year olds, the material was too much information, too heavy of information and the only worksheet that they were able to do was the coloring pages. That said, they enjoyed the discussion after the reading and were delighted with the games. My 6 and 7 year old learned a lot about the history of firefighting and what the day-to-day life of a firefighter is like. We memorized a Bible verse, discussed fire safety, and worked through the worksheets together.

My kids favorite part of this study was the games (and there were a lot of them to play). They were active, fun and built upon what we had learned in the reading. I appreciated the selection of memory verses, and the various levels of handwriting sheets, from one word in print to several sentences in cursive and everything in between.

I definitely recommend this ebook. The price of $8.95 would be well worth what you receive. In fact, I am already looking at other books in this series for us to do!

This is a very bad picture of the kids playing their favorite of the games: Stop Drop and Roll.

He knows everything, and what he doesn't know...

After what seemed like an eternity of listening to the ant facts spilling from my son's mouth, I finally got a word in edgewise...

"Nate, are you making this stuff up?"

"Yep!" He answered, proudly.

So, as the mother of a young scientist, the question that keeps me up at night is this:

How, exactly, did Einstein's mom keep from going stark raving mad?

Money Recognition

The kids, Kaytie especially, have a hard time remembering which coin is which and how much it is worth. So they play this game, where they roll the dice and move their markers. Whatever coin (or dollar) they land on, they have to name it and say what it is worth. I have pictures of both the front and the back of each coin, and the dollar bill. They win when they reach the piggy bank.

This game board can be found by clicking the Scribd button on the sidebar.

Counting by 3s

They have both pink and green numbers in their number box. Kaytie chose one single "boy" number so she could not be accused of discrimination.

I am quite pleased with the number box. I bought it at Walmart for around $2. It holds all the numbers, in groups of tens, plus there is room for all the math symbols (+ - x =) right there together.

And as for the number tiles, I printed 100 charts off on colored paper, glued them to a piece of cardstock and cut them apart. I have letter tiles that I made the same way. (Only I glued them to a piece of foam. The cardstock was easier to cut and, so far, has been just as sturdy.)

Love Letters!

I feel badly because I haven't been sharing about what the little kids are doing with Valentine stuff. They have been quite busy with a shelf full of hearts/princesses/and "nice" dragons. This is one of my favorites, and will be on their shelf long after the holiday of love has past.

I found these awesome little heart boxes at Dollar Tree. I have no idea what they were intended for and when I snatched up 4 packages I really wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, either. However it didn't take long for inspiration to strike!

I put one plastic letter in each heart. Daniel opens the hearts, finds the letter, and matches it to a picture card that starts with that sound. He knows most, if not all, of his sounds and I am trying to gently push him into the habit of hearing the initial sound of a word. He did fairly well, except that the "g" to him says "juh" (I must always remind him that it says "guh" as well) so "guitar" puzzled him a little.

Abbie, however is not at all ready to match initial sounds, so she did the "love letters" ;) with this alphabet chart. She matched the plastic letters to the chart. This is just a little bit of a challenge for her, so it is perfect.

First, she has to use those fine motor muscles to wrest the box open.

Then, find the right place to put the letter. Hmmm... thinking... thinking... thinking...

She was hamming it up for the camera. :)

She giggles delightedly when she finds it!

Finally, when she has found them all, she has to return them to the box. This is more difficult than it would seem, because the tops and bottoms are different, and then she has to push hard enough for them to click back together. She enjoys this work a lot.

Right now, I only have eight letters out, but soon I will rotate them, and eventually, she will have all 26 to do at once.

Penguin Place Value

Here is another math game that we enjoy...

Penguin Place Value

This game is, in essence, one that you can find in Peggy Kaye's math book, but jazzed up a little with the penguin game mats and blue number cards. I also added in some just for fun cards that have a picture of a penguin on them and say things like: "toboggan" "fish" "waddle". The kids love to jump up and act them out. :)

Basically, the kids draw a card and decide which penguin to put it on. When all three penguins are full, they compare cards to see who wins. The winner keeps all six cards, and they play again. At the end of the game, whoever has the most cards wins. The strategy is in saving your 100 penguin for high numbers.

We also use this game for saying the numbers properly and helping Nate remember the order of 100s 10s 1s from left to right. He can remember that the 10s go in the middle, but he keeps confusing 100s and 1s. Somehow his brain thinks that place value should go from small to large, left to right, like he reads. It is also a struggle to get him to work his math problems right to left instead of left to right. This game helps with those problems.

If you click on the scribd button on the sidebar, you will find the mat and the cards to print.

Now, THAT, is the question:

Nate, while painting a sea-scape, poses the question: "Which came first? The fish, or the color?"

Science

I was homeschooled way back in the Dark Ages when we were scared to go outside in the daytime. When we answered the question: "Where do you go to school, little girl?" with a studied casual reply, "I go to a, um, private school." When people did discover that you were homeschooled, they asked, "But what about socialization?" (oh, wait, they still do, don't they, I guess some things never change) Back in the days when there were two curriculum choices. Both of which were workbooks.

I was raised in a literature-rich home. Books were plentiful and reading was encouraged. I picked up grammar, spelling, and how to express myself, through osmosis more than through direct instruction.

It was not, however, a scientific environment. So when I started teaching my own kids, I was confused by all the discussion over science and nature-journals and how people seemed to think that science could be fun. My only exposure to "science" was in a college lecture and that was hardly fun!

Eventually I discovered that we had been doing "science" all along... and that my kids were rather good at it and enjoyed it tremendously. All that was required of me was to provide a few "tools" to facilitate their learning. They were more than willing and able to take it from there.

So I have made available: magnifying glasses, guides, droppers, rulers, cups to catch bugs in, leaves, nuts, sticks, stones, pencil and paper for recording purposes, etc. for quite some time. But since I have so little background in the "facts" of science, I was on the lookout for something a little more instructive to hand over to them.

Then I discovered ScienceWiz science kits. They sell them at Hobby Lobby, so I was able to see them in person, which was a selling point for me in buying something I knew absolutely nothing about. Not to mention that they were currently on sale. ;)

They come with everything but the most common of household objects. (not weird household objects like: starch, but common household objects like: pennies) But what I really really love about these kits is that I can put the book and the necessary parts in a workbox and the kids do it ALL on their own. (well, except that I did have to blow up the balloon. Oh, and put a stop to the air-hockey game that broke out before they popped the balloon with their pencils, which they were using as hockey-sticks)

The book gives a quick lesson, with pictures and very kid-friendly language. The experiment is explained with easy steps and pictures. The kids read through this part, then start the fun!

First, experience the force of friction on the puck.

Then, blow up the balloon. (or have your mom do it for you)

And see how air reduces the friction so that the puck glides smoothly.

Glides right off the table, in fact!

Until the air is gone.

The Male Mind

We were playing a place value game that involved winning a (play money) dollar. Kaytie won and she waved the dollar, saying, "I'll trade this for a hug."

Nate snatched the dollar from her hand and hugged it.

What's a Girl to do?

Kaytie: Mom! Nate's humming and he won't stop! I asked him nicely. I asked him rude. And he still won't stop!