Friday, April 2, 2010

New lesson will be posted 4-5-2010

I am asking your forgiveness now as there will probably be a few chick/ hen lessons in the next couple months. We are getting 8 baby chicks for Easter. They are currently holding up in a brooder box at my moms until we visit Easter Sunday and the kids are finally surprised. Will post pics of our experience.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Week 4- The night sky, Dd, 4, star and Twinkle twinkle little star

This week my little blog helper Cory wanted to learn about the night sky. The stars and the moon in particular, so with the weather warming up a little its time for us to head outside and enjoy some star gazing. Plan at least 1 night this week to go outside and view the night sky.
We love star gazing and although we live in a fairly suburban town here in Texas we can still see the stars, this might be difficult if you lived in a larger city but there is always a trip to the planetarium.
There are also these cute star projection machines you can pick up ranging anywhere from $8 to over $100 (ok the $100 one isn't so cute).

Star facts for kids-
What is a star? A star is a big ball of gas that changes color and size over billions of years. On any given night, up to two thousand stars light up the sky.
You can see stars best on a clear night in a dark spot, away from bright lights.
You can also see 1 star during the day. The sun is the brightest and biggest star in our universe it is about five-billion years old.

Shooting stars: Shooting stars are stars that collide with Earth as it moves around the sun. They heat up, glow, and then burn down. It’s common to see one every 15 minutes but they often move so quickly through the air that if you blink, you’ll miss them!

Twinkling stars : These are the easiest stars to spot. Most stars shine with a steady light but when wind or debris pass through them, the light bends and they appear to twinkle.

Constellations: Stars are usually grouped in clusters (commonly referred to as constellations). Constellations form dot-to-dot patterns of heroes, animals, and gods. Although the clusters may appear to be close together, they are actually far distances apart and visible only at certain times of the year.

Star coloring page | dot-to-dot constellations | Craft

The letter Dd- Tracing page | coloring pages

The number 4- tracing pages | coloring pages

Star (shape) - Make a shining star

Trace and cut out a star on a piece of cardboard, tape a pencil or small dow rod to the back and wrap the star in aluminum foil.

Songs- I have 2 songs this week. One is a classic nursery rhyme called Twinkle Twinkle little star, the other is a song we sing in nursery at our church called I am like a star shining brightly. The kids love holding up their stars and singing these songs. Then there is always the classic Perry Como- Catch a falling star song.

(Video's coming soon)



Tuesday, March 9, 2010

No lesson this week -Spring break

Spring break is here in Texas and the guests we had last week put us behind a couple days on our last lesson. There wont be a break for summer so dont worry. I made a trip to Sam's club last weekend and made a pretty cool find for my 2 Diego loving boys. (we wont talk about buying New Moon for my 12 yr old) We only paid $5. 98 for the Diego book, there is also a Dora version of this book both come with a small dry erase marker. We are keeping it in the Lesson box along with some color wonder coloring books so the boys dont have access to it all the time or it wouldnt last very long. Which has more to do with my boys destruction streak than the actual quality of the book.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun spring break!!!!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Week 3- Spiders, Cc, 3, triangle, and the Itsy bitsy spider

This weeks theme is Spiders, Sorry to all the arachnid phobics. My son picks the theme and he just got an RC Tarantula and a fish tank for his Birthday (hence last weeks fish theme)-
For ANYTHING spiders I am just going to send you here, it is possibly the cutest spider site on the net (and it made this weeks lesson easy to prep). I would certainly vote for it. Click on the little spiders on the left to choose which section you want to explore more.

Spider facts this week is going to be a poem
by: Mary Ann Hoberman titled Spiders


Spiders seldom see too well.

Spiders have no sense of smell.

Spiders spin out silken threads.

Spiders don't have separate heads.

Spider bodies are two-part.

Spider webs are works of art.

Spiders don't have any wings.

Spiders live on living things.

Spiders always have eight legs.

Spiders hatch straight out of eggs.

Since all these facts are surely so,

Spiders are not insects, no!

Spider- Books| Activities |Spider snacks| Coloring

Letter of the week- Cc |Tracing page|coloring page

Number of the week- 3 |Tracing page|coloring page|

Shape/ Color of the week- Triangle |printables|

Nursery Rhyme- Itsy Bitsy Spider/ Eency Weency Spider
|Sheet music|Coloring page1| Coloring page2|



Monday, February 22, 2010

Week 2- Fish, Bb, 2, circle, and the counting rhyme 1,2,3,4,5

This weeks theme is- Fish

This craft was very easy to make and although I used, colored card stock and my scrap booking supplies, this could easily be made with construction paper. Each one of my kids had their own fish to decorate, framed in an 11x 14 picture frame it now hangs in the hall.


Fun facts about fish- coloring pages

1. All fish live in water and breathe with gills.
2.
All fish have a backbone.
3.
All fish are cold-blooded.
4.
There are about 25,000 different species of fish alive today.
5. Fish don't sleep but they do rest.


Vocabulary word of the week-
Fry: Newly hatched or born fish.

Letter of the week- Bb
printables

Number of the week- 2 craft|color|handwriting

Shape of the week- Circle
color| worksheet 1 | worksheet2

Rhyme of the week- A counting rhyme called 1,2,3,4,5

1,2,3,4,5 once i caught a fish alive
6,7,8,9,10 but i let it go again.
Why did i let it go?
Because it but my finger so




Books about fish-

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Rainbow Fish Big Book by Marcus Pfister Herbert and J. Alison James
McElligot's Pool (Classic Seuss) by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel
Curious George at the Aquarium H. A. Reyand Margaret Rey
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna

Week 1- Cows, Aa, 1, square, Hey Diddle Diddle,

This weeks theme is - Cows
Fun facts about cows-
1. Cows are the mommy's, The Bulls are the Daddy's, A heifer is a girl cow that hasn't had a baby yet (like a big sister) and babies are called calfs.
2.
Cows can live up to 25 years.
3.You can guess the age of a bull by counting the rings on his horns.
4.Cows have almost a 360* panoramic view meaning they can see most of what is behind them. Cows can see all colors except for red.
5.They can detect a smell 5 miles away. Cows can hear better than humans.
A cow has one stomach containing four digestive compartments.
6.The average cow drinks about 30 gallons of water and eats about 95 pounds of feed per day.


Vocabulary word of the week- Calf
A calf is a baby cow.

Letter of the week- Aa printables

Number of the week- 1 coloring page | handwriting page

Shape of the week- square coloring page
A square has 4 corners and 4 sides and all the sides are the same length.

Nursery rhyme- Hey Diddle Diddle (coloring pages)
Hey, Diddle Diddle the cat and the fiddle,
the cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
and the dish ran away with the spoon.





Book list-
( print out and visit your library in advance)
Kiss the Cow! - by Phyllis Root and Will Hillenbrand

Cows Can't Fly (Picture Puffins)
by David Milgrim
The Cow That Went OINK
Cow Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Dooby Dooby Moo (Click, Clack) by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

Its learning time..... the basics

This course is designed for ages 3-6 and covers preschool and kindergarten curriculum's.
These lessons are catered to me a homeschooling mom of 4 and designed so that I can teach both my 3 and 6 year old with one basic and simple lesson. There may be somethings that are too advanced for your student, then again there might be somethings that are too babyish. Have fun and enjoy your lessons...

Lessons are posted on a weekly basis and I suggest making a learning poster out of poster board but it is not neccesary. Hang your learning poster where your child can see it regularly. We have ours on a wall in our eat in kitchen.

Our Learning poster. (mine is very simple)
Your categories..... weekly theme, shapes/color, number, vocabulary, letter and nursery rhyme.

Each week you will be taping new things on your poster so it is a good idea to have it laminated.