Letter E

Here is our Kindergartener!







Ee is our letter for the week. Although this week has been busy with the holiday, MOPS and hanging on to the last bit of summer, we were able to squeeze in some school.

Here, Turbo is using clay to form the Letter E on a printed card. He really enjoys doing this kind of stuff.




He also likes to do crafts, so we made an elephant out of a toiletpaper roll and added ears and googley eyes.

Isn't he cute?

Letter A

This week we kind of sort of started school. With OT coming up, vacation and the Holiday weekend, we decided to start school a bit early, but not full schedule yet.

We began with the Letter A. Using LOW curriculum, we practiced cutting, coloring, saying aloud both the names of A, matching, sorting and fun crafts like these:

We will be going to the apple orchard this week to pick our own apples, but we will also be reading a lot about apples and making yummy apple desserts and applesauce with pork chops, our homemade applesauce, and probably just munch on some crisp apples to celebrate the oncoming of fall. So we made a little craft of a half-eaten apple! A is for APPLE!



One other day this week, we read, The Lady with the Alligator Purse, and made an alligator out of the Letter A! Turbo had a lot of fun with it! The glue was especially sticky!


We also have been working on our Raising Rockstars Memory verses.

This week: "Keep me as the apple of your eye. Psalm 17:8". Using Songs for Saplings and printables from 1+1+1=1 we worked on putting the memory verse together, sang songs and read from the Bible where it is found in Turbo's Preschool Bible.

Using geoboards, playdough, Bingo dobbers, and file folder centers, we worked on our numbers and recognizing number words, etc.

We love our new one room schoolhouse, and feel very blessed to have it. This year is going to be a great year, we just need to get somethings under our belt and nail down our schedule!

CCC: aka CAMP CREEPY CRAWLIES!

Last week I had envisoned a week of bug watching, catching, reading, experiments, arts/crafts, etc. However, it did not go according to plan...does it ever really?

We started the week off with making T-Shirts:



Turbo made fingerprint insects, while Tank just got "CCC" - hey, he'd eat the paint if I wasn't looking!

I had the greatest intentions of investigating, worms, grasshoppers, ants, crickets and ladybugs. The first day, we were able to get part of the lapbook made on worms. However, there are no pictures because I can't seem to find it...Oi! There is just this one of Turbo cutting out some stuff about worms. On the up side, he did cut along the lines very nicely!


We were however; able to make a worm terrarium:



Unfortunately, at this point in time, I had forgotten all about it, and it is inside a box, stashed at the top of my closet right now...mental note: must get that before something terrible happens...don't want to think about all the possibilities!

Now, I am returning all 75 library books that I so painstakingly checked out so that we could have a plethora of information and surround ourselves with knowledge of the critter world. I have stackes of printed activities, ideas for ladybug fingerprint crafts hidden away beneath unpaid bills, probably covered in sweet potatoes with cheerios stuck to them. Ahhhh...another day maybe.

For now, we are off to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in the Springs, to enjoy feeding the giraffes...hmmm...maybe I'll stop off at the library and pick up a few books on giraffes before we leave....

UPDATE:
Okay, so I lied...here are a few more pics of the Turbo and Tank in their T-shirts...too cute if you ask me:

Bookshelf

A couple of days ago, in my attempt to take back my house from my vacation to Prague, I moved the half bookshelf from the hall into the living room. Every home needs a bookshelf to house the books you have already read or house the books that you intend to read, but just have never gotten around to it. Or in our case, books that we think make us look like intelligent beings even though we never have, never will and have no intention of reading...kidding...sort of...

ANYWAYS, in my attempt to take back the house and to prepare our family for the first official year of homeschool - KINDERGARTEN - for Turbo, I decided that he needed to have an entire bookshelf dedicated to his school stuff. So, those piles of books are just gonna have to find a new home, but that, is a different day.

His school shelf is now lined with educational board games, puzzles, workbooks, crayons, markers, manipulatives, matching cards, magnets, math games, etc. You name it-it's there. We are on the mission of slowly (and if you know Turbo, a transition of slow is necessary so that he won't break down!) creating an new schedule that doesn't include TV, excessive snacks, and independent playtime. Coupled with a lot of reading time together (OH! there is our library basket of books near the shelf too).

So the past few days, this transition is proving itself to be a smooth road. Not only did the TV not come on, but it didn't ask to come on. A feat in itself since we have had RAIN, RAIN, and oh yeah, RAIN forever! He did want me to play with him a few times, and I did, but it was amazing to watch him, without being asked, to go over to the shelf and pull out any and all kinds of games, school stuff, workbooks and begin working on/with them! The PLUS!?!? HE EVEN PUT THEM AWAY WITHOUT BEING ASKED!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!! Turbo has made my day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, any of you out there in cyberspace land, if you have any games, school stuff, etc that needs a new home, I would be glad to take them off your hands! As this bookshelf is going to be needing to be restocked and rotated throughout the summer and the school year!

And to think, I got this bookshelf, battered and bruised from the GoodWill. Huh...never thought such a gem could become so treasured in our home.

Getting it in Gear...

So this weekend, I spent a lot of time thinking about my lil' Turbo and Tank. I know that I don't have a ton of time with them...I hear it all the time...but I am beginning to feel that never-ending pressure of this reality! AHHH!

It seems that I am so scatter-brained lately that I don't know if I am coming or going half the time. Usually I just check out and hope for the best! (Don't we all?) I just don't get it, I used to be a planner! A very good planner! Now, i just hang by the skin of my teeth and pray to God that we are all there by the end of the day.

So this weekend, I had a bit of alone time. My dear hubby was off making some extra money, and I decided to buckle down and figure things out.

First off: Food...I have been using e-mealz. www.e-mealz.com has been the best thing that I have found in a long, long time. It creates a menu and a grocery list for you each week. DONE...now just have to find time to get groceries.

Next: School. I have been so overwhelmed by what is out there that I get so excited about doing stuff that I forget what I have and move on the to next. Hence...scatter-brained. So, I made myself say: "For the next 4 weeks, I am going to do this." If it doesn't work, then I'll move on.
I have done this with:
-Planning.
-Lapbooks.
-Themes.
-Bible Time.
-Memory verse.

Each week I am going to plan the week (meals included). Each week will include a theme, that will also conclude with a lapbook at the end of the week that will compile what we learned. Each morning at breakfast and before bedtime, we will read a story or two, or three from the Bible. Finally, each week, I will introduce a memory verse, that also has a song to help with memory.

Some of you may have realized that I have an addictive personality...Heh...meaning, I get addicted to things very easily. One that I have found that is something that I really believe our family can get into is Letterboxing (www.letterboxing.org or www.atlasquest.com). However, I find that I get too excited about finding a box, that I end up neglecting important things. So, along with my planning the week, I will also plan 1 or 2 letterboxing adventures. And once we have found the letterbox, then that is it for the week, no more until the next week. Plus, it gets us out of this tiny apartment and into the fresh air.

I am really excited about this week and me getting on top of things. I am really getting tired of this trying to keep my head above water thing...WHEW!

When Life Gets In The Way...

I am wondering how you veteran homeschooling mamas do it! This week is going to be so hectic that I don't know if there is going to be any time for school! Monday was about the only time I can foresee actually having some sort of academia involved!

Since the morning time is the only time that we can do school, naps take precedent over school in the afternoon...mainly because of my sanity needs, we have short window of opportunity to get stuff done.

Now I understand that "school" happens all day and every day at different times and it will always look different. But I am treading water here!

Any words of encouragement out there? THANKS!

Let the Learning Begin!

Turbo...officially Homeschooling...last day of preschool...first day of Homeschooling...

IT HAS BEEN A SUCCESSFUL DAY!

This morning Tank has been a bit off, but Turbo has been outstanding! I am reading a new book called, Taming the Spirited Child, by Dr. Michael Popkin, which we all know that Turbo is, and it has helped the heart of this little boy tremendously and also the act of homeschooling! My approaches have been different and my methods have been altered. In doing this, his reactions are much, much, much different!

We started the morning out in reviewing his vocab words from the last couple of days: pup, car, big, dog, snowman, small, mom, dad, circle, blue, green.

Then we made Jell-O. In doing this we learned how to measure in cups and what hot water looks like. We also added the words: Jell-O and cup to his list of words.

Next up: some action math. We bought him a learning game that hooks up to the TV for Christmas. There is a pad that he jumps on to play educational games on the TV. We worked on math: adding and subtracting. He really does have a mathematical mind: Great! Just my luck!

Afterwards, we worked on uppercase and lowercase letter recognition. Followed by book reading and just playing together.

During this entire time, Tank was a mess. He is just really not into taking naps...only power naps. Which, incidentally, doesn't work too well when trying to do Homeschooling. GRRRR!

This weekend proved to be a lifesaver in the form of spelling! SNOW! I emptied out an old squirt bottle and filled it with water and added blue food coloring: also one of his vocab words - BLUE. I showed him how he can color the snow with it by squirting it onto the clean, white snow. We had a ball! We even spelled out his name and "Mom"; another vocab word.





Then, right before nap time, Turbo said, "I had a Great day at Homeschool, mommy! You're the best teacher!" Ahhhhh....warms my heart!

Now there is only, what: 2256 more days to go until he graduates!

Countdown until official start date!

The count is on. Next Monday is the official start date!

You should see my notebook of ideas that I want to implement, but I tell ya, I am overwhelmed by where to start. I have given myself a goal. I have until the first part of September to get Turbo "ready" for Kindergarten. His birthday isn't until October 5th, so technically, he wouldn't start Kindergarten until 2011. If he isn't ready, then he isn't ready, and I'm good with that. But I think I need to find something to measure his progress by so I know that the things we are doing shows that he is making progress.

Here are some ideas:
Color month
Shape month
Letter of the week
Theme week that coincides with the Letter of the Week
Number of the day
Animal of the Month

That way we have something to tie his learning to whenever we are at the library, on a walk, etc.

If you have any thoughts or ideas, let me know! I am way open to anything at this point!

February 08, 2010

"Time for school, Turbo!" "Okay! Let me get my 'pack-pack' on!" HMM? Pack-pack? "Alright, I'm ready!" Turbo, still in his jam-jams came out of his room ready for school in his cowboy boots and Transformer backpack. As I sit at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, an empty bowl of oatmeal, school books and my journal to jot down notes, Turbo climbs into the chair and smiles, "READY!" Oh my gracious!

This morning we worked on identifying letters and numbers from a workbook. We worked for 15 minutes! Very, very good considering sitting is not a characteristic that is used regularly when describing Turbo. Next, I was under very much stress when it came to Turbo's toys. So I decided to teach sorting and identifying objects. We found a Hot Wheel logo, Disney Movie "Car" clip art, a Monster Truck clip art, and an airplane clip art online. We printed them in color and then Turbo practiced cutting with scissors as he cut them out for me. Then we taped them onto 4 plastic bins. Next, we sorted all of his toys into those 4 categories. Mind you, he has many more toys than this, but these toys were the source of my stress! That took us about 30 minutes! This is awesome!

Afterwards, he had had enough of this sitting gig. He wanted to M-O-V-E! So I dug out an old "Mommy and Me" video and we danced away the morning with each other.

It was Tank's turn to have some mommy time. While I nursed Tank, Turbo and I read from a big book of Dr. Seuss stories. I forgot how much fun those stories are.

Finally, to finish the morning off, we played with is newly sorted Monster Trucks and Fire Ramp...which...to my dismay...are still sitting in the living room as I type this...ahhh well! At least they have a home now!