Pond Math

While we were on Spring Break, I spent some of my free time blog surfing on my favorite type of blogs... homeschooling blogs! One of my great finds was this game. However, I knew that my kids would find it a little boring and all those cards seemed like an awful lot of printing to me. So I concocted my own version.

I created this mat, pulled out some foam numbers and our big jar of plastic counting animals.

I was intrigued by this game because it has so many possibilities. It will work for all four kids at their various math levels. I like it because it will eliminate the step of counting both groups (an unnecessary step that I unwisely allowed Kaytie and Nate to do and am just now seeing success in getting them to stop). 

Yesterday, Daniel and I sat down to play with this. I placed the top two numbers and told him to count out that many animals to the turtle and snail respectively. Then we counted each one as we moved it to the fish. Then I would ask, "So what is 3 plus 8?" And he would yell, "11!!!" Then he would chose the numbers for the answer and put it in the bottom box.

For the record, I was only choosing "+1" problems, but he insisted on taking turns and this was the problem he set up. I also eventually got smart and laid out all the numbers in a row to make it easier on him to find the correct numeral for his answer.

Here, he is laughing because he snuck a zero into his answer and thinks I won't notice. :)

Meet Jupiter Pickle

Please disregard the dirt on the boy. Focus on the snail and the smile.

The Holidays Are Over

Tomorrow, we start back to school. I have spent the last few days feverishly preparing for the next thirteen weeks, because I pretty much left everything to the last minute.
The kids are excited... Nate because we are studying insects (and I bought cute little ant farms at Target), Kaytie because she gets to read aloud from this book, and she is intrigued by our new topic in history (I told her about all the crafts. She adores making things.), and the little kids because they just love school.
I have tweaked things a bit... Daniel now has three drawers (workbox-style) that I am filling each day with things he MUST do. Kaytie and Nate have bran-new read-alouds. I'm taking some of our emphasis off of math and turning up the heat on handwriting and Bible memorization. We are switching our history from random, pointless wandering to Story of the World, Vol. 1. And we are starting All About Spelling.
So now you know what my upcoming posts will be about.

Something was lost in the translation

Kaytie says she has another loose tooth. Naturally, this sparked some annoyance from the next oldest child, who has yet to lose even one tooth. I explained to him, that, since his baby teeth were late coming in (he had his first birthday before he had his first tooth) they would probably be late coming out. I advised him to expect it to be another year before he lost a tooth. And I finished with, "You just have your Dad's wacky tooth genes."
He looked down at his shorts and said, "These aren't tooth jeans! They are shorts. And how do you know they were Dad's?"

c a t says...

I created a sheet of pictures of CVC words for Daniel, intending to teach him to hear all of the sounds in the word. However, it was more of an exercise of exposure than actually teaching him anything. I said, "Show me the //d// //o// //g//." And he pointed at the dog. Some words I had to say more than once, and a few words, that he wasn't as accustomed to, I had to blend a little, "Show me //d// //ig//." The funny part was, I had a few words in there that he didn't know at all, so I would sound it out, and he would say, "Cog. What's a cog?"
I intend on making more of these.If you click on the scribd button in the sidebar, you can view and print the pictures I have made. I put them in squares so you can leave the sheet intact, or cut them apart into cards.
The next time we got it out, I pulled out our magnetic letters as well, and formed the words with the letters. He sounded out the letters and found the matching picture. His very first word to sound out all by himself was c... a... t! Then he yelled out, "CAT!" and pointed to the picture of the cat. He was quite pleased with himself. :)
So there you have it... reader number three! Abbie was jealous, so she had to give it a try, too. She did pretty well with the sounds that she knows, but she doesn't have all of her letter sounds down yet. She will just have to put in some hard work before she can join the ranks of readers.

Easter Chick

This picture is linked with Sweet Shot Tuesday.

What Kaytie Learned

Kaytie found a project in one of Nate's ant books about discovering what ants like to eat. She created a chart to record her discoveries and then she put out four lids around an anthill. I don't think you can see the anthill in this picture. In the lids she put, syrup, cornmeal, salt, and honey.
It was a chilly, windy day, so the results were inconclusive. At least, as far as what the ants prefer. We did, however, learn that two small preschoolers prefer syrup from the above sources, and that they are more apt to dump out the salt on the ground.
Science is so unpredictable!

Reminder

Have you gotten your ticket for the TOS Homeschool Expo yet? If not, you should hurry, because the first pre-session is Tuesday night!  Mali Russell will be speaking on: Managing the Multi-Level Homeschool and Teaching the Difficult Child.
Don't miss it!

Bubble

This post is linked to Sweet Shot Tuesday.

Fun!

Daddy found this tire abandoned on the side of the road. So he snagged it for a cheap swing. He hung it in the back yard last night and the kids have not hardly left it alone all day. One great way to keep them off the struggling grass in the front yard!

Daniel is patiently waiting his turn.

She just dangles and swings, dangles and swings...

Nate is the daredevil. He will be the first one to whack his head on the tree.

Abbie likes to give her "best brother" a helpful push.

Daniel is always willing to stop and pose for a picture.

A swing is great fun!

Daybook: April 5, 2010

Out my window: I see greening grass and blooming trees. I hear small kids laughing and shouting in the glorious spring weather.

I am listening to: Abbie singing "I Love You" at the top of her little lungs, Nate's chatter as he puts a puzzle together, and the other kids shouting and laughing outside with their new swing.

I am thankful for: a RISEN Saviour!!! And a fairly good report from Kaytie's cleft checkup this morning.

From the kitchen: something to do with chicken, I think, for supper, and probably chili dogs for lunch. I'm craving chili dogs these days...

I am creating: well... I am supposed to be creating lesson plans for next term, but, I guess, actually, I'm just creating plans to create plans in the near future.

I am reading: The Horse and His Boy, The Colonists (by Jack Cavenaugh), Seasons Under Heaven (by Beverly LaHaye and Terri Blackstock) and The Martha Years series (I am previewing this for Kaytie, ahem) Oh, and this series is a find because it is so solid she doesn't whip through them in a couple of hours like she does her other favorites!

I am praying for: a dear friend and her family

Around the house: My wonderful husband did an awesome Easter cleaning this week, so I just have to worry about upkeep.

One of my favorite things: Preschooler chit-chat. I love the Abbie-isms: "I sit on yours lap?" "My hand is into mys cup!" And I love the nonsense that Daniel spouts: "Did you know we are walking on ladybugs? Yes, because the grass is really ladybugs!"

A few plans for the rest of the week: Recover from the holiday. Goof off A LOT. A few phone calls that I have been putting off. And beginning on those lesson plans...

I am thinking: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. (Jim Eliot)

I am going: probably nowhere

From the learning rooms: we are on vacation for the next four weeks, so the kids are experimenting in "delightful learning", which means... well, I'll explain that in a later post.

He Is Risen Indeed!

Help!

Those West Texas winds sure can be awfully strong!

Easter Egg Craft

So we have been busy with Easter crafts around here. The kids have really gotten into crafting, lately. This project was a little intense, so I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the process, but here is the final result.

Abbie's egg

Daniel's egg

Nate's egg

Kaytie's egg

If you are interested, I'll post instructions tomorrow.