Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Snapping Out Of It.

Well, let me just start out by apologizing that I have not submitted a post recently. I am very sorry. This past couple weeks I've been clouded by a funk of sorts and blogging (even preschool itself) is something that has sadly suffered from said funk. But, alas I think that it came to a head a couple days ago and I am finally snapping out of it. There will be no entries this week because of Thanksgiving. Rest assured I will be back in full force the first week of December with lots of fun happenings to share with you. For whatever is left of November I will be preparing and attempting to get my house back in order. Hey, that's hard to even attempt with three kids running underfoot!

One more thing before I go..... Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Happy blogging.

jess_hak

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Sneak Peek Week 16: Moses (cont.), Gumballs, Turkeys

Still missing my November/December crayon. :( We are behind in our lessons. Trying not to let that bother me too much. December is a 5 week month so that should give us plenty of time to catch up. We were supposed to be introducing the letter Hh this week, but I'm going to wait until next week so we can work on Gg some more, and doing some alphabet review. With all these new skills that Annabelle is learning I'm a little worried that she will forget all the other things that she learned. So this review will give me a good assessment of where Annabelle is at. This week I also want to start working more on her learning to write her name. I noticed that this must be one of the first things that they teach in a public preschool which makes sense (because when you have 20 kids you really need to know whose paper belongs to who). Annabelle will write most of the letters in her name, just not in the correct order. So I'm hoping by the end of the year she will have it down.

We will be continuing with our Moses lessons this week. Hoping we will get through the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the Ten Commandments. I will post more on what we are doing with that in the Week in Review.

Let me apologize in advance for a couple messy pictures. I was just trying to take them and post them so I could finish prepping them. So without further delay here are our Turkey activities.

On the top is a color the turkey book for Asa. This and other cute activities can be found here: http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-preschool-pack.html

The rest of the activities include a feather number match, patterning feathers, and a feed the turkey game and can be found here: http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2010/11/turkeys.html




This is a turkey bowl game that I made. Pretty self explanatory.
And I know that these brown lumps do not look very attractive at this moment, but they will look much cuter in our week in review. Follow this link to see what we're going to do with our chocolate play-doh (that smells really yummy!)
http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/2010/11/turkey-playdough.html


I will say that even though it smells good I did not like the recipe that I used for this. It turned out really dry and I have no idea what to do about it. I did add more water which seemed to help. I also ran out of regular table salt so I had to use our kosher coarse salt....which really tore up my hands in the kneading process and did not dissolve good (hence the white flecks in the dough). Lesson learned: If you run out of regular table salt go to the store and get more. lol


These next activities can be found here: http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/2010/01/prek-letter-g.html


I don't know how well you can see the individual activities, but I will explain them clockwise starting in the top left: Gg gumball sort, Math activity (place as corresponding amount of gumballs in the machine), Roll a Gumball Machine (the kids love any game that they get to use the big dice for), and Annabelle's first color by number (I really hope that she likes it)!

This is a random counting file folder game that I found. This week we are reviewing numbers 1-6 so this fit in, plus who doesn't love an ice cream learning game? lol We are moving slower than I would like on numbers, but she is having a more difficult time with them. She can count to 14 (sometimes 15) before she is totally lost so I need to come up with a new strategy. A more consistent calendar time will most likely help with this.



Here is one of Asa's trays for the week. I found this at the Dollar Tree along with a lowercase one! They have some great learning toys right now for Christmas I'm assuming.

These are Silas' new trays for the week, I left out his blocks and his bead rollercoaster.
This is the pouring activity that you saw in the previous Week in Review post.
Just got this fun peg discovery toy off of Craigslist.

Some more new books from Target's Dollar Spot.


And a shape sorter (also from the Dollar Tree!).



Well, that is our upcoming week in a nutshell. Hope you have as much fun as we will (speaking positive words cause its been a rough morning). Happy blogging.
jess_hak






Monday, November 15, 2010

Week in Review: Attempt #3

Good grief that was a lot of pictures to upload....not to mention that this is attempt number 3. Yes, that's right number 3, thanks to my beautiful number 3 child. It's only fitting I suppose. Well, with him in bed I should be able to accomplish this!

We did not even scratch the surface with our Moses lessons. We talked about him as a baby and about the burning bush. So Moses will be following us into this next week. What we have covered has been fun though!

This is Annabelle proudly displaying her burning bush. I have the kids usually work on something while I'm reading the lesson. For some reason it helps them focus more. Annabelle even asks more questions when she is given something to do while listening. For this activity they glued scraps of paper (that Asa cut for me) onto the bush.
Here's Asa....with his Mowgli (Jungle Book) half smile. lol
The garbage game was a huge hit! It came off the shelf everyday and was enjoyed by all 4 kids (my nephew included). Sad. I was looking back through my pictures and realized that I didn't have any good ones of Asa, but rest assured he was playing right along with them. Here are some of my favorite action shots:.

Annabelle coming in from the side
My nephew Jude had a great time!
Silas throwing it in the garbage with force.
Gold and green glitter Gg (with green paper and glue to boot!). Annabelle is decorating her Glitter G. I put the glitter in salt and pepper shakers to make them easier for the kids to use, but this one had a lack of holes....or the holes were too small....or both. Either way they both had to shake it a long time to get enough glitter on their papers.
Asa spreading around the gold glitter glue.

Having a lot of fun with the Gg file folder game.

Annabelle had a challenging time with this tonging activity at first. Once she got the hang of how to hold the tweezers she didn't have much of a problem. I must have put too many pom poms in the basket though, because she finished up by sorting them with her fingers. All in all she liked this and it will be in her workboxes again.

Play-doh time! When the kids play with play-doh I first give them an activity to complete before they have free play with it. Here is Asa making a triangle (Annabelle had a letter Gg play-doh mat). I tried to get them to both play with green play-doh (because it starts with g), but Annabelle insisted she use pink, plus she told me the letter it started with...how do you say no to that? lol


The next few pictures that you will see are for Silas' Tot School, which is something new we started this week. I must say he is absolutely loving his 30-45 min of mommy's undivided attention. To learn more about Tot School visit this awesome blog: http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/
All the kids loved these buttons, which found many uses throughout the week. Lets see how many I can remember; money, pony food, stacking blocks, tea party cakes, necklace making, and mess making. lol I picked these things up probably 200 times....I'm pretty sure. Silas just really liked to look at them and put them in and out of the basket. He also started to notice the shapes. He can identify a star and a triangle (and he likes to attempt to say them too which is humorous for mommy). Asa is in this picture. The older kids are allowed to play with us, but they may not take these toys and not let Silas play (great lessons in sharing, patience, and cooperation), and they must understand that this time is for mommy and Silas.
This is a fun picture. I said, "Silas, where is a triangle?" Then he found one, picked it up, and tried to say triangle.
Goofball cheesing for the camera. We built a lot of towers (and I truly mean a lot.).


This pouring activity wasn't included in the sneak peek photos, partially because this was toward the end of the week when he was getting more and more disinterested with the activities that were on the trays. I switched one out a couple days early and am glad he did. We played with this for almost 25min! So simple. Marker caps (from dried out old markers), pringles can, and a basket....what could be more fun than that?
Concentrating really hard to get all the caps in the basket. Yes, yes, that is marker that you see on the side of his head. My children like to wreak havoc in the house while I'm trying to Skype with my husband, poor Silas was the victim this particular time. Other victims include but are not limited to, Asa's bed (totally thought I put all the crayons up....missed one...ugh), clothing drawers (all of them are now empty....hanging my head and sighing), and the bookshelf in Silas' room that houses 300 or so books is empty (his floor however is a literacy wasteland).

We finished off our week with a great afternoon outside. My awesome dad and brother, Joshua, came over to rake the yard. It was a chore! My kids all wanted to 'help'.
Annabelle raked,

Asa bagged,
And Silas entertained the masses.

Hey! It is tough work being so stinking cute.
That was our week! So glad we got those leaves taken care of. Looks like after the beautiful November weather we had this last week or so that winter is going to be settling in. Happy blogging!
jess_hak


















Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Sneak Peek Week 14/15: Moses, Gg

So you might notice that I have no picture of the date this week. I seem to have misplaced the November/December crayon.....kind of bummed. So I'm going to have to go look for it in a little bit.

So Moses is a whole lot to be covering in one week, so we started a little last week and we will finish up/review some this week. Such a mighty man in the Bible. Many great things to learn from his life, and some really cool happenings such as the parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Plagues, the Ten Commandments, the burning bush, and just the fact that God set him apart for the deliverance of His people out of Egypt. So our week is packed with fun activities.

On top of all the Moses fun we will be having. I am introducing the letter Gg this week. There are a couple of fun crafts to do with this involving glitter (oh man). We always have the file folder game that I use to introduce the letters. These are really too easy for Annabelle. I do have her do them once just so she is able to recognize a capital G and a lowercase g, and so that she is able to identify the phonic sound...in this case g gift (hard G). Asa, on the other hand, loves these little games. He will do them over and over through out the week. So I'm glad all my hard work was not done in vain! I purchased a whole down loadable set of almost 300 file folder games and these alphabet ones were included in that package. I cannot for the life of me remember where I got them. I should find the site again though.

Gg is for garbage. lol I thought that this would be a fun game to play to help the letter stick in Annabelle's head a little better. So I bought a garbage can and made it look pretty (no, it has never been used for real garbage!). I find that Annabelle and Asa both react well to these little goofy games and helps them recall what they learned better (Annabelle in particular). Bonus: It makes learning super fun!
This last week and a half I underwent yet another transformation in our school area. I really like the workboxes and they are working very well for Annabelle and for the most part for Asa too. However, there are some bigger manipulatives that I want Asa to do that just don't fit in a workbox, and I wanted something great for Silas too. I have been reading this blog for quite a while: http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/ and absolutely LOVE the idea of Tot School. So I've taken the plunge and bought a shelf and trays and these last couple of days have really been focusing some time in the morning with Silas (who is eating up the attention). Then a little later in the morning, I focus some time completely on Asa. Plus, the shelf adds a needed distraction for Silas when I'm schooling with Annabelle. I also use the shelves to put Asa's bigger manipulatives/busy-work with a purpose on top of. So without further delay here is what is on the shelf this week:

Sorting buttons. This is on the top for Asa, but Silas has played with them some too. I likes the basket.

Cutting fun (this one is on a tray, an entire activity on the tray makes it easy for him to get it himself). Asa loves to cut. He will cut and cut and cut and cut some more. These papers are left over from a paper chain we were making. The little box is what he is to cut his paper into. It is his responsibility to clean up when he's finished. He likes getting his paper into the box, and I really enjoy the lack of a mess on the floor! :)

Tonging/Color Sort. Sorry for the horrible picture. This is just to practice dexterity by picking up the pom poms with the tweezers (they are red, yellow, and brown), and placing them in the correct place. This is more difficult. I was going to see if Annabelle enjoyed it first, and if it is too easy for her it will get sent to Asa's eager hands.
Here is a better picture of the shelf. There are 3 more cubes up above these 6 and then the top (where Asa's things sit). Can I just take a brief moment and say that the Target Dollar Spot has some super cute things right now. I just spent $30 dollars there the other day. Their collection of books and puzzles (plus a couple other random little things) is just wonderful right now. You will see a few of those items on the shelves, and in pictures in the Week in Review post.
Alright, onto what is on the shelves starting at the top left: Coloring book and a couple crayons (this is one of Silas' favorite activities), Stacking cups (which have since been destroyed by the dog), buttons and string (Silas doesn't string the buttons, but his older siblings and cousin love too....he just really loves playing with them), books from Target Dollar Spot, puzzle from Target Dollar Spot, and always fun MegaBlocks.
Here is a closer picture of the books. They are little finger puppets! Silas is loving these.
That is our week. I will be posting tomorrow on what we are doing. Happy blogging.

jess_hak




Monday, November 8, 2010

Catch-up....

So I was going through some of the pictures on my camera this morning and realized that I missed posting a batch of them! How this happened I don't know. But I thought that I would share them. They are some from the last couple weeks in October. Weird that I missed them!

Here is Annabelle playing the Chicken and egg count game that I posted in the Farm Week post. She had fun with this.
Pasting a puzzle together. The link to this can also be found in the Farm Week post. She really liked doing this. She really loves puzzles so this was right up her alley.

Working hard on the Candy Corn Math activities. This link is shown a couple posts ago too. If you can't find the link and want it let me know and I'll get it for you. Asa liked the sorting part.
Here is a fun shot of Annabelle graphing her candies, and all the yummy candy she sorted.
Just a fun shot of Silas and mommy.

A post or two ago I had a picture of lily pads with frogs on them. Also I posted a frog/bug color matching game. Well, we kind of mixed those two games up since we can! :) I had Annabelle and Asa pretend to be frogs, I would scatter the bugs around and they had to hop to them like frogs and bring them back to the lily pads. They still ask to play this. "Lets be frogs mommy." I tried my frog jumping skills (or lack thereof) out too...let me just say, jumping like that is NOT easy. I was pretty tired. And daddy just pretended to be an old bullfrog that couldn't jump anymore lol (daddy's idea is all thanks to a WonderPets episode). Anyway, we had a lot of fun this night.
Annabelle wanted to bring the bugs back in her mouth.

Little froggy in action.

There. All caught up with a few random photos that got overlooked. I still have prepping to do for this week yet, so no Sneak Peek post today. Tomorrow you will have it. I guess schooling Tues.-Sat. just works better for us. Monday is for recuperating. :) Happy blogging.
jess_hak





Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Blogging Break

Just posting to say that we have soooooo much going on this week. We are going into a huge family transition at the end of this week so there isn't going to be too much time for any picture worthy preschool, let alone blogging for it. I will be back next week (hopefully posting Sunday afternoon with the Sneak Peek). Have a wonderful week. Sorry that I didn't have the time to post this sooner! Happy blogging.

jess_hak

Monday, November 1, 2010

Week 13 in Review

We had such a fun week! Lots of pictures to go through so lets get started!

We painted pumpkins this week. I realized that next year I'm going to have to get bigger pumpkins for them to paint. So yeah, naturally I took a picture of the paint. I think it looks so pretty all separated and colorful. (I'm a dork. lol)

Annabelle took her time at first, but then got tired of that and just covered her entire pumpkin with paint (mixed together, because she loves to mix the colors).
Asa just went to work painting the whole thing from the start.


The finished pumpkins. Asa's is the one on the left, Annabelle's is on the right.

Putting glue on her their Ff's. We put feathers on them. We also did the Ee this week too. We glued clipart eggs on those.

He was saying, "I paink with gue!"

Hard at work doing a worksheet.

Asa still loves to play with the vegetable gardens that I posted about a couple weeks ago so I still get it out for him to do.
I went to a church rummage sale and found these incredible stringing beads for only $1.00! This is only half of them pictured. The kids LOVE these and we spent quite a bit of time playing with them on Saturday. By quite a bit I mean well over 2.5 hours (Split up between two different sittings)!

Annabelle is making a purple necklace.

Asa did such a fantastic job at stringing beads. I was pretty impressed that he could do it at all.

Silas didn't string them, but he had a good time 'cooking' with them. Wish I knew what he was making. I bet it was tasty. :)
Displaying our finished necklaces.

Here are a couple pictures of what Silas did this week. He entertained himself all of 5min. with putting these colored zip ties into a container. I was hoping that he would like this a little more and play with it longer. He was really quite frustrated that he couldn't put the top on by himself.

He practiced eating yogurt with a spoon all by himself. That's a pretty intense skill. lol

Yeah! The spoon made it to his mouth.

Then I put him to work mopping the floors. Gotta teach them young! For some reason he is obsessed with following me around while I'm mopping. I had to pick some toys that were on the floor before I mopped the next room and he took advantage of me setting down the mop. I hope he likes to mop when he's 10.....here's to hoping. :)


That was our week. I'm excited about this next week. I bought some things that will hopefully help with Silas' activities during the week. I'm excited to post about it. Waiting for a couple of things to come in the mail still. Have a wonderful day! Happy blogging.
jess_hak