First Grade Fun

We're still plugging away at 1st grade!

 Annabelle is absolutely enjoying her Sonlight Curriculum.  She is loving the adventure reading and is always asking for the next chapter.  Right now we are reading My Father's Dragon (probably finish it today or tomorrow).

After the first chapter or two I had her start coloring her 'backpack'.  This free printable is from Homeschool Share.  It is for a lapbook.....

But we made it into a reading activity.  Everytime something that he put in his backpack is mentioned in the book Annabelle cuts it out and puts it in her bag.  I've found it helps her pay attention, gets her anticipating and involved in the book, and helps her with comprehension.

We also learned some about Canada.

I've said it once....and will probably say it again.  We LOVE All About Reading.  She is moving along in Level 1 and will probably finish late Dec/early Jan.

She loves all the activities that come with it (so do I).  Flipping eggs and reading what was on the back.

This one was fun.  These gifts all had phrases on the back.  When she was done with the activity she colored the presents and then gave one to everyone in the house......

This was my gift.....what I would do with six men is beyond me, but I had to laugh that she picked that one to give to me. lol

She is finally at the stage where she is starting to write and leave notes all around the house.  I am enjoying it completely.  This was my first ever letter she gave me.  We had a rough morning  and she was taking a break in her bedroom.  When she came out she gave me this.  Keeping it forever! :)

One day she sat down and made and TON of Halloween cards.  She put most of them in envelopes and gave them to her friends.  Zak and I each got one as well.

We are really enjoying Math-U-See.  This curriculum is a lifesaver for me.  In this picture she is beginning to learn about place value.  I was beyond clueless as to how to teach her this.  SO THANKFUL!!!

We had a great time doing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  The all really enjoyed picking things out for their boxes.  We had great discussions as to why we had to choose what we put in there carefully and why some things were very important and good choices and why somethings weren't.  This is going to make a fantastic yearly tradition.

Hope every one is having a great autumn.....cannot believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner!!  Happy blogging.

jess_hak

C: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We in no way came near to doing everything I wanted to do for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I didn't even make up the trays for it. :/  But, we have been on the letter Cc for 3 weeks now and it's time to move on. lol

We talked a lot about food and healthy choices and what should be eaten in moderation.  The boys had fun looking through the grocery ad and cutting out the things they would choose to eat.  After that we talked about their choices.

Making circle caterpillars.....

After the caterpillars were finished Asa decided to do an extension of the activity....and Silas joined him.  They found another grocery ad and decided that since it was a hungry caterpillar they should feed it.  They glued some food into each circle section.  Kept them busy for a LONG time.  Love it when they come up with their own ideas and have the time to see it through to the end (one of the reasons I love homeschooling).

Working on a caterpillar to butterfly puzzle.  These boys LOVE puzzles.

We made cupcakes for C (yeah for me in the kitchen!), and then frosted them to look like the hungry caterpillar.

....cute!

Other random happenings these last few weeks....

Explode the Code (I LOVE ETC!!)

All About Reading Pre-Level 1 (I LOVE AAR Pre-1!!)  He is playing a rhyming game.

Then he colored his rhyming game (his idea again).

Another AAR activity.

This took him forever, and he was pretty proud of himself.

On a day I had nothing prepared for them they put together this floor puzzle and were copying the letters from it.

Math happenings.....

Working with pattern blocks

Graphing counting bears

We also made boxes for Operation Christmas Child (which reminds me I need to drop them off still!).  Our church usually does an adopt a family (which is GREAT!), but they always have more than enough help, and all we essentially give is money so it really doesn't mean anything to the kids.

I wanted them to see something tangible that they were giving.  We had a lot of fun with these.  They helped shop for what went in the box, stuffed the box, and learned why we put things in like soap/washclothes, toothbrush/toothpaste, socks, etc.  We got everything at the Dollar Tree (good stuff too...candy, water bottles, art supplies, bubbles, little animals, slinkies, balls, etc) and invested everything we would have into adopting a family into three boxes.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn!!  Happy blogging!

jess_hak

Linking up to 1+1+1=1 and Homeschool Creations

Blueberries for Sal

We had a lot of fun with Blueberries for Sal.  This is the first time I've ever read my littles this book and they really enjoyed it.  I  really enjoyed it....what a sweet story.

Letter B sensory bin.

Bear Bingo tray.  I just had Silas match the colors for this. 

Working hard.

Glue the Bs on the blueberry bushes.

He had such a great time cutting out apples and gluing them for the letter A that I printed out this letter B with bears from 1+1+1=1 Animal ABCs series.

He really enjoyed this tray.  Guess I will continue to do this.

Bear Painting.

He enjoyed using a different painting medium other than a paint brush.  Using these little balls also gave the bear an unexpected furry look.  Bonus! :)  Love when something unplanned that is cool happens.

Finished bear.  One of Asa's alphabet sheets....no idea where the big B went......I will probably find it someplace random at some point.

I felt the need to set up the easel one day and let the kids paint. lol  I drew about 5 Bs for Silas to paint.  He had a good time with it.

Asa and Silas helped make Blueberry, Banana muffins.  I have been doing really good on my goal of getting the kids in the kitchen more with me.

Asa is really enjoying his Explode the Code.....what a great resource.  My kids just love doing their ETC pages.

Using our GeoSafari Phonics pad.....learning more about the B sound.

Working on sorting and patterning in our Saxon K.  So far this has been relatively easy for him we've been moving at a good pace through it.  That is nice since it gives me the freedom to not do a lesson everyday.  :)

The kids were being really quiet one day....one of those 'too quiet' moments that kind of strikes fear in the heart of a mom and you don't know what you're going to find as you walk around the corner. lol  I was pleasantly surprised when I found an impromptu art class in session (believe me I was expecting syrup, or hair cutting, or wall painting/coloring).  Straws, glue, and big paper = these creations.....plus cooperation, getting along, and quiet....wonderful combination.

I really wanted to do this balloon activity with them again...they LOVED it, but I just didn't have the time to set it up.  Maybe another time.  Up next is The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the letter C.  Happy blogging!

jess_hak

First Grade Fun

Please forgive me for the lack of posts lately.  We are still in the 'new baby' adjustment phase....how long does that phase last?  I forgot.  We have been really successful at doing school here, there, and everywhere we can squeeze it in through out the day.  Some things are really easy to squeeze in and we are right on 'schedule' (week 5).....other things we are still stuck in week 2. lol  I have been coming to terms with that and realizing it's really ok.  My littles are learning, growing, and thriving.  Instead of being rigid and inflexible I have been learning to let go a little and really just ENJOY them and schooling them.  I have been learning to not wish away the sweet younger years.  I have been learning to let them enjoy each other, learning to communicate and solve problems, learning how to truly care about each other.  It has been a joy to watch them. (I am talking about progress not perfection). :)  Anyway, enough about what I've been learning and enjoying.....

We ventured to Mexico with our geography studies.  I have been trying to be in the kitchen more with all the kids this year.  So far so good.  Annabelle help make quesadillas.  We also discussed that the foods our family likes mostly originates in Mexico (quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas etc).

 She started out to make a yarn bowl (Mexican craft).....she does not like to get her fingers sticky so this craft ended quickly and didn't turn out how it was supposed to. lol

 We have been using the All About Reading curriculum and loving it.  She was getting a little tired of the letter tiles so we took a little break from them and have just been using dry erase markers.  This sparked her interest in spelling.

 Drawing a picture for one of the words she wrote.  She likes to do this a lot.  After she spells a word she will either use it in a silly sentence or draw a picture of it.  Makes for a long spelling lesson sometimes....but she is choosing on her own to apply what she is learning.

 She LOVED this.  Zak noticed we were using dry erase markers for spelling and said something about the window being a giant white board.  I had never thought of that.  The next day guess where we worked on spelling and reading.  Annabelle thought it was the coolest thing ever and was asking for more words to spell rather than 'is this the last word?'. 

 All ready to go to her first day of dance class.  I love that she is wearing cowgirl boots with her outfit. :)

 Finally got around to having her birthday party.  She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake cake.  Her talented grandma makes wonderful cakes!

 Happy birthday 6 year old.

I hope to begin posting more regularly.....we'll see how that goes....no promises. lol  Happy blogging.

jess_hak