Showing posts with label Tot School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tot School. Show all posts

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Tot School: Jesse Bear

Gabe ~ 40.5 months

It is amazing what 15-30 minutes of concentrated, intentional one-on-one time will do for a little munchkin.  Especially when that munchkin is one of four. 

He will grow.  Blossom.  Start talking up a storm.  Remain content the rest of the day.  Kind of.

Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? finally rowed itself to the other side of the homeschool room.  It only took a little over 3 weeks. 

But we made it. 

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With a little help from big brother.

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Many of our rowing ideas came from Delightful Learning and Homeschool Share.

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Other learning tasks . . .

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Real life with Gabe . . .

  • Gabe is becoming quite the man. 

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Practicing chivalry.  Showing love.

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He is a real Awana Cubbie through and through . . . so long as his leader (and my dear friend) Nicole is there.  This week he memorized, “He made everything beautiful.”

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For other Tot School posts, head on over to 1+1+1=1!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Elementary Round-Up and Then Some . . .

I’ve received several comments.  You want to know what’s up with Elementary Round Up?

Granola Mom 4 God

To be honest, I’m not sure.

For starters, I’m sorry. I lied.  I told you that I would provide a link every week for the months of June, July and August.  I didn’t.  Here is my reason why . . . I was trying to take a bit of a blogging break. 

It worked – kind of.

June and July only had blog entries in the “teens.”

I’m trying to evaluate what I would like to do this year.  With having a second-grader walking in my midst and a rapidly rising kindergartner . . . I have to stay focused.  Ahead of the game . . . not to mention just living my life outside of the school room with all of its responsibilities.

There are so many other great blogs out there who host weekly link-ups that are a bit more dependable (read reliable) with their weekly memes.  Like,

It leaves me to wonder if there is room for another? 

My issue, though, is that I would like to link up weekly to all three . . . but in order to have enough time to do so, I have to do ALL of the above memes in one post. 

One entry. 

The question is then . . . is that right or fair to post our second grade activities on a link up for Tot Trays?  Or featuring Naomi for a Preschool Post?  Not to mention, in order to hopefully have others jump over to my blog . . . I’ve got to manually enter in my links to various websites.  And though it sounds like I am complaining . . . that takes time. 

Time that could be spent reading an extra page in a book. Or rubbing a tired back. Or having a prepared table to welcome the Engineer home of an evening.

And should my heart be concerned with others reading . . . since the Round Up is supposed to just provide documentation of our school work in a fun way for me?

The reality is that the most I ever had for an Elementary Round Up was seven . . . typically a faithful seven linked up.  Though a good number and I value those seven ladies . . . is providing a link for Elementary Round Up (Kindergarten through 6th grade) helpful? 

Did enough people use it to document their schooling or gain ideas . . . encouragement that it is worth my time?

I don’t have the answer to that question. 

I would welcome feedback.

I have had another idea. I’m curious to see what you think.

What about the opportunity to dedicate a post to what MOM learned that week?  Kind of going back to my If You Give A Mom A Book meme I did a year or so ago . .  .

If You Give A Mom A Book

We learned all about wasps and termites this week . . . and what an insect REALLY is . . . stuff I had forgotten.  It was so much fun to learn.  I’d like to share. 

So . . . let me know what you think.

Here is our week in review.  I’ll probably keep my words few as I have already said my share above.

Gabe – Tot School

Tot trays galore . . . but he only wanted to do them once.

DSC_0019animal figurines

DSC_0022using a spoon to dump buttons into a bottle

DSC_0025dumping buttons with the cap proved more entertaining

DSC_0028putting bouncy balls in an ice cube tray

DSC_0029ripping tickets

DSC_0035playing with Purpllinker

DSC_0063first day at our church homeschool co-op

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DSC_0036playing quietly while his brothers did school in the kitchen

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Ezra (Kindergarten)

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A big component of Classical Education is copywork.  I don’t have my munchkins write to punish them . . . but to learn about language, both written and spoken, using the learning that is already occurring around my boys.

So rather than pull something out of nowhere, I have made some printables for Ezra (with the help of the Engineer and Valerie) using Ezra’s AWANA verses (this is only John 3:16).  Feel free to download them as they become available, but please note that they are the NKJV.  For other great AWANA printables, check out Homeschool Creations.

DSC_0075Letter K with Handwriting Without Tears . . . lowercase

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uppercase

DSC_0077Ezra confiscated Gabe’s Tot Tray . . .

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Memorization:  The Caterpillar by Christina G. Rosetti

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He was so proud of his work.  One thing I have learned from all of the books I have been reading . . . assign age-appropriate work.  It would be STUPID of me to make Ezra write out this entire poem free-hand.  So, I wrote the poem and he traced it.  This way he learns letter formation and works within the structure of the poem without meeting frustration.  He can still feel proud of his work.

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Homeschool co-op

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Stick Figure Bible with Grapevine Studies . . . Old Testament

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Asher (1st/2nd Grade)

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Saxon Math

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Memorization:  The Caterpillar . . . now Asher had to do the entire project on his own . . . because it was age appropriate for him to do so.  Does that mean he liked it?  No.  The reason wasn’t because he thought Ezra had it easier – it was because Asher wanted it to look perfect.  Sigh.  Being the first born can be rough.

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Homeschool Co-Op

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Science with Apologia Flying Animals of the Fifth Day . . . we captured a wasp and learned how they are different than bees.  Quite fascinating. 

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AWANA  copy work . . . see explanation above.  And if you have a Sparky in the Sky Stormer book . . . here are some verses to get you started.  Once again, we are memorizing NKJV . . . check out Homeschool Creations for other options of GREAT Awana printables!

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Cooking is a fabulous way to make math practical.

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Phew! 

A new week begins in a few short hours!  What did you learn?  And let me know if you want:

  • an Elementary Round Up
  • if so, what day?
  • or a link up for What Mom Learned? (AKA If you give a Mom a Book)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

One Room School House (week 1)

An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.  Anatole France

Starting school was like opening up a present.  It’s messy but it is contained . . . a framework for our day . . . providing purpose, closeness, and conversation.

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We launched the first day with a new tradition, that succeeded in being educational.  Thus, I was better able to justify breakfast out.  Wafting through the air like the warm aroma of bagels, was addition facts set to music. 

Despite what the reviews on Amazon said . . . this CD is annoying, rather grating, but it does “get the job done” by getting this facts ingrained into an absorbent young brain.

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After mailing 10 books from my PaperbackSwap shelf, we headed home to the school house in the green bus.  (New and want to know who my students are -- click HERE. Or would you like to know what curriculum I was going to use . . . but have since changed—click here?)

  • Enter Square Time (not circle time)

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  • BFIAR with Jesse Bear, What Will you Wear (for Gabe)

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This little boy, my Gabe, later fell asleep from all of his learning. 

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And later woke up with quite the hair-doo.

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  • Other learning . . . lots of Jesse Bear, to be honest.  Or at least that is what the majority of my photos captured. 

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Great printables for Jesse Bear can be found on Homeschool Share and Homeschool Creations or see this lesson in action at Delightful Learning.  Other blogs featuring BFIAR are listed at All of A Kind of Family.

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I must say . . . we are REALLY enjoying All About Reading.  Don’t forget you can get a free book!

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I had to giggle as I was organizing our All About Reading activity pages.  For the Letter U, they have an “udderly” lifelike cow part!  That will be a fun one . . .

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  • We moo-ved around a lot. 

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Simply because . . . they are boys.  Active boys.

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  • Independent reading was sprinkled into the day.

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  • Memorization, copywork, and narration weaved into our new routine.  (I am so enjoying our new approach – Classical Education.)

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  • Math . . .

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  • Cutting . . .

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and more cutting.

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  • and a little pixie dust from Peter Pan and a little Old Testament from Grapevine Studies.

What was your week like?

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