Reading Resources

The boys are still doing well with their reading and are progressing steadily through their Bob Books. Both boys enjoy reading them to their little sister, Cutie Pie, which makes me so proud and happy to see!

We also work on building words and playing games using magnetic letters.
Whenever possible I try to incorporate the phonetic spelling list that from, Mommy, Teach me to Read by Barbara Curtis. I say the word and the boys try to spell it out using magnetic letters.

Another great resource has been a series of file folder learning center games given to us by a friend who is also a first grade teacher. We are using them to work on consonant blends and digraphs. You can download several free games from Kelly's Kindergarten.

My primary focus is to give them a strong foundation in phonics and to keep reading fun. I have not stopped reading aloud to them though. We cherish our read aloud time in this house.

Parents should always read to their children at a higher level than the child can read to themselves.

Additional FREE Reading Resources:
Starfall
Jan Brett Dolch Word Flash cards
Jan Brett Phonograms
Jan Brett Alphabet Flashcards in 3 fonts

Between the Lions

Between the Lions is our new favorite weekly educational show. We now work it into our daily routine. I tape the episodes on our DVR and we watch them in the morning before breakfast, which gives me a chance to get myself and Cutie Pie dressed for the day.



Their website has a wealth of information to help you extend this show into your curriculum.
You can download the Episode and Curriculum Content Guide, Teacher's Domain with downloadable video segments, Printables, Activities, audio for mp3 and download View/Read/Do Activity pack.

You can also download information on starting a Between the Lions Read Aloud Book Club.


I did also enjoy reading, The Between the Lions Book for Parents, for tips on teaching your child how to learn to read.

Between the Lions is probably what Sesame Street was "back in the day". When I have reading time with the boys, I can see some of the concepts they watched on TV at work. I really cannot say enough good things about Leapfrog Learning Videos and Between the Lions. What a great resource for parents!

Christmas Crafts

This Christmas Tree with star ornaments was just some fine motor fun for Cutie Pie.
It also kept her busy while I was working on reading with her brothers. Shhhhhh!


This is another Rudolf that I downloaded from The Mailbox.

The boys had fun cutting it out. I'm trying to give them more opportunities to practice using scissors. Preschoolers and Kindergarten age children greatly benefit from any activity that develops the muscles in their hands to prepare them for handwriting.

by G-man

And finally, we are of course counting down the days until Christmas...

This was also a good exercise with numerals. On the example below G-man knew the correct order of the numerals, but he started "snaking" the numbers down---instead of always going left to right. He has since adjusted his numerals.

by G-man

Everglades Field Trip part I

For part one of our study on the Everglades we went on a field trip just outside of Everglades National Park with 3 naturalists, one of whom is also a U of F Sea Grant Extension Agent. What an amazing learning opportunity this was for our little co-op of 4 adults and 6 children ages 3-9 years old.
During our half day tour with Everglades Area Tours we took a boat through part of Ten Thousand Islands and then set up camp on one of the islands. From there the children explored the beach and estuaries and even had an opportunity to use a seine net. Once the seine net was brought out it was hard to tell who enjoyed it the most----the children or the adults. At any rate, it's safe to say a good time was had by all. We saw some amazing creatures which always reminds me of the incredible Creator we have.


We will include some of the photos below in our Science Notebooks, after we receive a little follow up help from our guide Bryan, in properly labeling and classifying them. The children will then choose one or two of the things we saw today to do additional research on. I am going to take a wild guess and say the Batfish is going to make the short list. For me, a close runner up would be the flat fish. That creature lays on the bottom of the sand with both eyes on one side of its head! It is truly a remarkable looking creature.

During our trip we also had an opportunity to see and touch Sea Pork!

Sea pork got its name because after death, the rubbery tunic bleaches to white, resembling salt pork or fatback.

Please allow slideshow to load below:

Another wonderful find was the Horse Conch, Florida's state shell. After a few false starts with Lightening Welks (left footed) we finally found a couple. It saved us a trip to the local shell store where I most likely would have been talked into purchasing one by the kids.

In addition to the 157 photos taken on our visit, we brought a few treasures home (molt of horseshoe crab, tulip shell, and worm rock). None of them were living, of course.
We are trying to be Young Florida Naturalists after all.

Calendar Time

We have started Calendar Time as part of our Morning Meeting each day.
Our calendar was downloaded from The Mailbox Online (I have a magazine subscription).


Each morning we review:

• Days of the week (English and Spanish)
• Counting 1-31
• How to use the calendar to tell today's date/ numeral recognition
• Parts of a calendar (Month, Days, Dates, Year*)

The children take turns making X's on the calendar.
*Our calendar does not have the year shown

Writing Numerals 1-20

The boys are just starting to practice writing their numerals.
This was G-man's first worksheet that I used as a starting point to see where they were.

Click image below for better resolution

The worksheet shown is from All about Plants from Evan-Moor Publishers.

One of the things I like about homeschooling is that I can focus our studies on the areas that they need instruction on, for as long as it takes for them to master that skill. Bear had a little more trouble writing his numbers within the spaces provided so we are going to practice numeral formation on the white board before moving to lined paper.

Handmade Christmas

This Christmas we are focusing on handmade gifts and spending time with each other instead of the commercialism of the holiday. Here are some of the gifts the children have been making in preparation of the holiday. Both them were also great activities for developing fine motor skills.

Decorative Votive Holders

materials needed:
glass votives
votive candles
adhesive jewel stickers

Instructions:
Wash and dry the glass votives
adhere jewel stickers to outside of votive

Recycled jar Vases

Materials needed:
Recycled jars of various sizes
colored masking tape

Instructions:
Remove labels from jar (soak if needed) and wash and dry
Tear pieces of colored masking tape and adhere to jar in decorative pattern

Seeds

We continued our study on plants by learning about Seeds and Seed Dispersal.
As part of our study we read books, performed a few labs, watched an educational video (see below) and took a nature walk.

Books used in this study:
How a seed grows by Helene J. Jordan
A dandelions life by John Himmelman
From little acorns by Sam Godwin
How plants grow by Angela Royston
How a plant grows by Bobbie Kalman
From Seed to plant by Alan Fowler
One Bean by Anne Rockwell
A seed in need by Sam Godwin
The tiny seed by Eric Carle
(top 5 favorite books in bold)

Lesson Plan/Guides Used:
Plants: Super Science Activities by Ruth M. Young, M.S. Ed
- Is this a seed?
- Making Pictures with seeds
-Where do seeds come from?
-How do seeds grow
How Seeds get here...and there lesson plan
Seed dispersal by animals lesson plan

Here is the video on Seed Dispersal. It was particularly wonderful for us because there is a segment on Sea Beans which ties in to our upcoming beach study so the children could actually hold the sea beans and understand their weight. Of course my kids found the rhino segment to be particularly amusing, if a little bit disgusting.


Thank-you Barb-Harmony Art Mom for sharing the video link.

Lake Okeechobee

As part of our study based on the Young Naturalist's Guide to Florida we took a field trip to Lake Okeechobee. Okeechobee means "big water" in Seminole and it truly is big water-- spanning 730 square miles!

Our half day fishing trip allowed the children to experience both the wildlife and fishing on Lake Okeechobee. Needless to say this was much better than turning to page 10 in our books.

Bear with his first catch of the day

Gman with his first catch of the day

Due to the cold fronts we have had moving through Florida recently the water was unusually cool and the fish weren't really biting. Even so, we had a great time and the kids managed to catch Bluegill, Gar Fish, and Sicklet.

I believe it is important to allow children opportunities to enjoy our natural resources. By doing so I think they will have a stronger appreciation for it, and a willingness to participate in conservation efforts. This is going to be critical for our young people and is one of the reasons why I focus on nature/naturalism in our Science studies.

We look forward to visiting Lake Okeechobee often and perhaps taking up fishing as a family hobby/activity.Pumpkin has a need for speed!

Practical Life

Today Pumpkin was introduced to the Tweezer transfer/color sorting activity purchased here. This exercise assists with pincher grasp, hand/eye coordination, concentration, and color sorting. She loved it so much she wanted to do it twice!

P.E.

Photography by Laura Wootan

In addition to golf lessons, swimming lessons, park days, and daily recess the boys are involved in a weekly sports program (3 hours each week) with other homeschooled children. As our nation struggles with childhood obesity and schools are forced to cut back on recess time and P.E programs, despite recommendations to the contrary, it's actually easy for our family to follow these guidelines which include:

Children should accumulate at least 60 minutes, and up to several hours, of age appropriate physical activity on all, or most days of the week.

Children should participate in several bouts of physical activity lasting 15 minutes or more each day.

Children should participate each day in a variety of age-appropriate physical activities designed to achieve optimal health, wellness, fitness and performance benefits.

Extended periods (periods of two hours or more) of inactivity are discouraged for children, especially during the daytime hours.