I cannot believe the difference in these kids from last year! I had so much fun doing school with them this week. It's like they turned into little PEOPLE over the summer. Last year was mostly about providing them with cool learning experiences amidst a great deal of crisis management. But this year, their attention spans are much longer, they are starting to think critically, and they can DO some really cool stuff without so much help or frustration. It's really exciting to see.
Day 1:
We started with the calendar. They all know the days of the week now (thanks to the nifty 7 Days song). We are still working on the months...
We read about Abraham and Sarah wanting a baby, and used the felt board to help tell the story...sorry I forgot to snap pics of that part.
Next we traced our tactile H and 4...
And we built 4's and H's out of sticks. This was HARD for them...we will have to keep this one in mind for later. The challenge is good for them!
Next we used our bodies to make an H and a 4. I had to laugh...the boys looked at me like I was nuts when I told them they had to figure our how to make an H on their own using their bodies. Addison (in her typical style) took charge and told them where to lay so they could make the letter. She is her mother's daughter :)
Next I got out the white boards and we practiced writing our names. This was more challenging than I expected it to be. The boys were pretty uninterested, and Addison practically melted down because hers wasn't PERFECT. She is such a perfectionist that she gets herself really worked up sometimes...we are working on it.
To work on our fine motor skills, I gave each child a piece of scratch-art paper. Addison LOVES this stuff so I figured it would be a good way to practice holding a pencil (stylus) and practice drawing shapes and letters.
A sun...
And a circle...
Noah made a lot of lines to see where the colors changed, and he wrote his name.
Then I got out our set of
Cuisenaire Rods. I asked the kids to choose two colors and make a pattern.
Not sure why this picture won't flip...but Jack did a really good job with his pattern :)
Then we moved on to three colors. This was harder...
And then I asked to them to see what else they could make. Addison was working on an arrow...
Noah made a square.
Jack was kinda done with the blocks by this point :)
Then for some gross motor skills, I got out our EZ steppers. These were FUN! The kids did great stomping around the house, and taking turns. Addison needed a little reminder about what it means to be patient.
Day 2:
We started with our usual calendar and Bible story, and then I had the kids practice making H's and 4's using the sticks again, since it was so hard for them last time. It went much better today. Then we moved over to the coffee table where I had plates with all the letters in their names mixed up. I used a bit of that gummy tack stuff on the back of each plate, and the kids had to find the letters of their names, and put them in the right order on the wall. I modified the idea from something I say
HERE on Pinterest...
Poor Addison's name is Looooong...
Next we got ready for snack. Only this time, the kids had to make snack themselves. It was a sorting/counting activity to make their own trail mix. Here's how I set it up...
Oh man...this one won't flip either...
Anyway, I wrote numbers 6-11 in the bottom of muffin tins. Then I put bowls of trail mix ingredients in the center of the table. The bowls were each labeled with a corresponding number. The kids had to find the bowl with a 6 and count 6 of that ingredient into their muffin tin with a 6 inside. They did a GREAT job concentrating and counting, but it was VERY apparent that they don't recognize numerals AT ALL. I think they have 1-5 down pretty well, but these numbers were a total mystery! At least we know what we need to work on!
Then I gave each child a zip-lock and they carefully put all their ingredients in the bag and gave it a good shake. They were VERY excited to eat this snack!
Just a side note: We have found that the kids LOVE having their snack during story time. So if you are having trouble getting your kids to sit through a story, this works great...even for our squirrely 2 year-olds!
After snack we worked our fine motor skills using
wikki stix and some shape templates that I found
HERE via Pinterest.
The kids had to use the Wikki Stix to outline the shapes on their paper. This was tricky for them...the boys lost interest pretty quickly, but I think it was good practice for them to figure out how to mold the sticks while trying to get it to stick to the paper. I will definitely use these for future lessons.
Finally, we did a little science experiment involving chromatography...that is the separation of colors. I found this experiment
HERE via Pinterest...
To start, the kids drew a circle around the center of a coffee filter. The marker can't be washable or permanent...so it's got to be a plain old water based variety.
Next, we folded the filter in half twice to make a cone. Then we set the cone in a glass with a little water in the bottom. As the water travels through the marker line, the colors bleed and separate and you can see which individual colors were used to make the one we started with.
You can see Noah's black like turned into a variety of blues and purples. This was pretty cool!
The kids did a great job staying focused and following directions this week. Great job everyone!!
