Another week gone by! Gee the weeks seem to be flying by already. We had our homeschooling playgroup on this week (it's on fortnightly) and we went to the art gallery. The kids had a ball together and there were quite a few new people there which was great. It's funny now, because I organise the playgroup and also because we are all newish to homeschooling, people think that I am a bit of an expert on it all! Ben and I were laughing about it - because really I'm not that much more knowledgable than they are! Quite a few have been asking me about curriculums and styles lately. I really haven't even thought about it that much - I do know that I don't really want to waste my money on buying a curriculum now that might not even suit when the time comes! Anyway, I did a bit of searching on the net and came across, this page - A to Z Home's Cool - Kindergarteners. There are some great articles and ideas for homeschooling kindergarteners/pre-schoolers.
So on to our week's learning!
This week was the Letter D week.
~* Handwriting practice and the letter D worksheets/colouring in/dot to dot. I think Liam is getting a bit bored of these or maybe I just picked the wrong time?
~* Playgroup at the Art Gallery. There was a special exhibit on with lots of activities for the kids. They always love the events that the Art Gallery puts on - lots of imaginative and creative things to do. There were craft activities where they did rubbings with crayons and then made little people out of foam shapes (Ewan's favourite activity!), there was an interactive music exhibit - the boys loved this, they also got to draw a picture on a postcard and then post it in a special post box that was located on top of a mountain of pillows! This was a big favourite for the boys who love anything where they are active. We got to watch a performance of the Haka, learnt how to do it and then performed it - Liam sat through the whole thing until the end when he got up and started dancing with everyone! I was so proud of him - he has always been an observer especially when it involved things like singing or dancing so that was a big achievement for him - just goes to show that they will do things in their own time.
~* We went to watch a basketball game one night. Liam is really enjoying going along to watch the games now and gets right into all the cheering. He is picking up a lot about the rules and how the game is played. He knows when to chant "Defence" and when things aren't going so well. Ewan is still not that excited about it but I'm sure it won't take long for him to join in!
~* We went on lots of outings this week! We met up with friends on Thursday for playgroup in the park. There is a big spider web there to climb on and also a sandpit. Both boys had a ball playing there and were covered in sand by the end of the day. There weren't any older kids there with us but Liam managed to find other kids to play with and he was mixing with everyone. Definately no socialisation problems there!!
~* Friday was a public holiday so we took a trip to the beach. It was a fantastic day and a great spot - a lake on one side and the sea on the other! We paddled around in the lake for ages and the boys built sandcastles. Ewan loved the lake where it was nice and calm, and Liam was in heaven in the surf with the waves crashing around him. We had to keep calling Liam back because he kept moving further and further out into the waves. He was laughing and smiling the whole time - even when he got dumped by the waves! We got to talk about (and hold!) crabs and saw lots of parachuters and helicopters too. We're already talking about when we can go back. This morning at breakfast we asked the boys what they wanted to do today and Liam said "Well we can go back to the beach!".
~* We made dreamcatchers yesterday. Realised too late though that it really wasn't an activity that they could do so well by themselves - it was difficult for them to thread the beads with the string we used and then it needed lots of knots tied in too that they couldn't manage. They love them though and are quite happy with the idea behind them - that they will catch the bad dreams and only let good dreams through to them. They've moved into their own room together these last few weeks and Liam has talked about having bad dreams. So it might be just what he needs to change his thinking about it. Fingers crossed anyway!
~* Almost forgot the gardening! The boys helped me rake up the grass clippings, bury our food scraps in the garden, water and pick tomotoes. They are really enjoying the garden - despite not having a lot of things in there and very little water!
Sunday 28 January 2007
Thursday 25 January 2007
Week Three - January 15 - 21
Well another topsy turvey week - I have had a bit of PMS and the boys always seem to pick up on it and get extra clingy the week before my period is due! Didn't help either that Ben had a lot of work stuff on this weekend so I didn't get much time to myself.
This week was the letter C week.
~* We did the usual colouring sheets and drawing the letter C. The boys are really enjoying the colouring sheets. Liam will usually draw a few of the featured letters while doing the sheet too which is a bonus.
~* We finally started our alphabet book - I had been meaning to do this for the last couple of weeks. We did pages for letters A, B, and C. We went through the junk mail and newspaper together and cut out pictures of things that started with each letter, then glued them into the book, and I wrote the name of each thing beside it. This took ages but the boys enjoyed it - Ewan had a ball practising cutting with the scissors.
~* Being letter C week, we had to bake cakes this week! We made a chocolate cake and also an upside down cake to use up our fresh plums, banana, and pineapple. It was delicious!
~* We visited our friends, Annie, Matt, and Adam. The boys got to have a splash around in their pool which they loved. Liam started asking to go to swimming lessons again after this. We can't afford it right now, so instead Ben took each boy to the pool individually on Sunday for a swimming lesson. Liam was so excited walking home from the pool - he loved it - so we will definately keep doing that.
~* We had playgroup in the park with friends on Thursday.
~* The boys got to go shopping with their pocket money. The boys were given some Christmas money from their Great Grandparents - I kept some for educational things and they each got $5 to add to their money boxes. With that money, Liam had reached his goal of $11 so he wanted to buy what he'd been saving for straight away - a Star Wars toy. Ewan decided on a small car and a helicopter, while Liam chose to buy Obi Wan Kenobi.
~* Being C week, we were also inspired to do a bit of cleaning! The boys were actually really good with it this week and it didn't take too much nagging to get things done. They stripped the bed together and loaded the sheets into the washing machine one day - they love doing this for some reason! Another day we also rearranged their beds and moved them in together into another room. So now we have a "toy room" for them that we are still setting up and organising.
This week was the letter C week.
~* We did the usual colouring sheets and drawing the letter C. The boys are really enjoying the colouring sheets. Liam will usually draw a few of the featured letters while doing the sheet too which is a bonus.
~* We finally started our alphabet book - I had been meaning to do this for the last couple of weeks. We did pages for letters A, B, and C. We went through the junk mail and newspaper together and cut out pictures of things that started with each letter, then glued them into the book, and I wrote the name of each thing beside it. This took ages but the boys enjoyed it - Ewan had a ball practising cutting with the scissors.
~* Being letter C week, we had to bake cakes this week! We made a chocolate cake and also an upside down cake to use up our fresh plums, banana, and pineapple. It was delicious!
~* We visited our friends, Annie, Matt, and Adam. The boys got to have a splash around in their pool which they loved. Liam started asking to go to swimming lessons again after this. We can't afford it right now, so instead Ben took each boy to the pool individually on Sunday for a swimming lesson. Liam was so excited walking home from the pool - he loved it - so we will definately keep doing that.
~* We had playgroup in the park with friends on Thursday.
~* The boys got to go shopping with their pocket money. The boys were given some Christmas money from their Great Grandparents - I kept some for educational things and they each got $5 to add to their money boxes. With that money, Liam had reached his goal of $11 so he wanted to buy what he'd been saving for straight away - a Star Wars toy. Ewan decided on a small car and a helicopter, while Liam chose to buy Obi Wan Kenobi.
~* Being C week, we were also inspired to do a bit of cleaning! The boys were actually really good with it this week and it didn't take too much nagging to get things done. They stripped the bed together and loaded the sheets into the washing machine one day - they love doing this for some reason! Another day we also rearranged their beds and moved them in together into another room. So now we have a "toy room" for them that we are still setting up and organising.
Saturday 13 January 2007
Week Two - January 8 - 14
This week was a little all over the place. Everyone was feeling grumpy - mum and dad included! It's so hard to keep up the energy levels and motivation when you're down! We pulled ourselves out of the blues by the end of the week so feeling a lot better about everything at the moment. It's so hard to feel ok about having a bad week at the moment - especially with everyone asking about what we're doing in terms of Home Ed and how will I stay sane!
So anyway, I feel like we haven't accomplished much this week but when I scratch the surface we've actually done quite a bit - I just wasn't looking beyond the not so nice bits!
This week was the letter B week.
~* We did B b colouring sheets and tracing sheets. The boys also did some tracing in a tray filled with rice.
~* We talked a lot about words that start with B and played little games - looking for things that start with B in the backyard/front yard etc. Liam suprised me a couple of times by pulling out things like "building site" and "bushes" - so he's definately getting the hang of it and learning the sounds that go with the letters.
~* We had a B party on Wednesday night with our guess of honour being daddy - his name is Ben. The boys made placemats with a letter B on each one. They set the table and a table decoration out of blocks. Our Boba Fett (from Star Wars) toy was also put on the table - a very important B object in this house - the boys LOVE Star Wars!!
~* Just by pure coincidence, our homeschooling playgroup went to the beach this week! The kids had a ball collecting shells, building sand castles, investigating jelly fish and having running races.
~* Liam and Ewan did some worksheets - dot to dot, tracing lines and then cutting along them with scissors. This was something I really wanted to work on, with Liam in particular for his fine motor skills. He has improved a lot already - and it's only been two weeks! Liam has been really enjoying it so I'm printing out some more fun sheets from Donna Young.
~* Along the same lines for fine motor skills, the boys did some craft pinning sequins into styrofoam balls. They saw the one I made for their cousin, Charlotte for Christmas and have been itching to have a go. We made these as presents for Ben, to give him on our B party night. The boys found it quite challenging but really enjoyed it.
~* Cooking - we made anzac biscuits. The boys helped with the measuring and then pressing the biscuits down with the back of a fork after I had rolled the balls. They tried rolling the balls but the mixture just kept crumbling in their hands. Following on from this, yesterday after we did the tracing letters in trays with rice, I made up another tray with red lentils in it. I gave the boys a measuring cup each and they practiced scooping up the rice/lentils and pouring them into tins and jars. They really enjoyed it and I was happy that they had a chance to practice it - when we were cooking they kept having trouble getting a full cup and then there was a lot of spillage as they poured into the mixing bowl too. So I think we will have to do some more of this because it will be very useful when we're cooking.
~* Bottle/Jar Play. I have a collection of bottles and jars that I made up last week (forgot to mention it in last week's post!). The boys practiced sorting the lids and screwing them on the right jars last week. This week we used them to look at sizes and estimating capacity. I got the boys (mostly Liam!) to line up the jars from biggest to smallest. We then filled a jar with water, filled up the one we thought was the biggest and then filled the others up with the water from that one to work out the right order. They loved doing this. Once we'd done that, we took the tray with the water outside and the boys went around the garden, finding objects to test whether they floated or sank.
~* We had more running races and walked to the park for fun on the swings. They are both loving running races at the moment. We did heaps last week and it looks like we will be doing lots for a while. I mixed it up a bit the other day with me calling out different styles as they were running - stamp like an elephant, run like an emu, tip toe, etc. Very fun!
~* Ben talked about money this morning and they sorted through their pocket money. Each boy has two boxes - one labelled Spending and the other Saving. Each week we give them a dollar each as pocket money. Today, Ben did a tally up of how much money they had in each box and the boys talked about what they wanted to save for. Liam wants a Star Wars figure and a remote control racing car. Ben wrote down how much he needed for each item and then drew a little graph that Liam can colour in each time he adds to his boxes and can see how he is progressing toward each one. Ewan doesn't really have much of an idea about it all and doesn't really want anything. Liam told him he should buy a racing car too so that they can have races - he just agrees with everything Liam says!
So anyway, I feel like we haven't accomplished much this week but when I scratch the surface we've actually done quite a bit - I just wasn't looking beyond the not so nice bits!
This week was the letter B week.
~* We did B b colouring sheets and tracing sheets. The boys also did some tracing in a tray filled with rice.
~* We talked a lot about words that start with B and played little games - looking for things that start with B in the backyard/front yard etc. Liam suprised me a couple of times by pulling out things like "building site" and "bushes" - so he's definately getting the hang of it and learning the sounds that go with the letters.
~* We had a B party on Wednesday night with our guess of honour being daddy - his name is Ben. The boys made placemats with a letter B on each one. They set the table and a table decoration out of blocks. Our Boba Fett (from Star Wars) toy was also put on the table - a very important B object in this house - the boys LOVE Star Wars!!
~* Just by pure coincidence, our homeschooling playgroup went to the beach this week! The kids had a ball collecting shells, building sand castles, investigating jelly fish and having running races.
~* Liam and Ewan did some worksheets - dot to dot, tracing lines and then cutting along them with scissors. This was something I really wanted to work on, with Liam in particular for his fine motor skills. He has improved a lot already - and it's only been two weeks! Liam has been really enjoying it so I'm printing out some more fun sheets from Donna Young.
~* Along the same lines for fine motor skills, the boys did some craft pinning sequins into styrofoam balls. They saw the one I made for their cousin, Charlotte for Christmas and have been itching to have a go. We made these as presents for Ben, to give him on our B party night. The boys found it quite challenging but really enjoyed it.
~* Cooking - we made anzac biscuits. The boys helped with the measuring and then pressing the biscuits down with the back of a fork after I had rolled the balls. They tried rolling the balls but the mixture just kept crumbling in their hands. Following on from this, yesterday after we did the tracing letters in trays with rice, I made up another tray with red lentils in it. I gave the boys a measuring cup each and they practiced scooping up the rice/lentils and pouring them into tins and jars. They really enjoyed it and I was happy that they had a chance to practice it - when we were cooking they kept having trouble getting a full cup and then there was a lot of spillage as they poured into the mixing bowl too. So I think we will have to do some more of this because it will be very useful when we're cooking.
~* Bottle/Jar Play. I have a collection of bottles and jars that I made up last week (forgot to mention it in last week's post!). The boys practiced sorting the lids and screwing them on the right jars last week. This week we used them to look at sizes and estimating capacity. I got the boys (mostly Liam!) to line up the jars from biggest to smallest. We then filled a jar with water, filled up the one we thought was the biggest and then filled the others up with the water from that one to work out the right order. They loved doing this. Once we'd done that, we took the tray with the water outside and the boys went around the garden, finding objects to test whether they floated or sank.
~* We had more running races and walked to the park for fun on the swings. They are both loving running races at the moment. We did heaps last week and it looks like we will be doing lots for a while. I mixed it up a bit the other day with me calling out different styles as they were running - stamp like an elephant, run like an emu, tip toe, etc. Very fun!
~* Ben talked about money this morning and they sorted through their pocket money. Each boy has two boxes - one labelled Spending and the other Saving. Each week we give them a dollar each as pocket money. Today, Ben did a tally up of how much money they had in each box and the boys talked about what they wanted to save for. Liam wants a Star Wars figure and a remote control racing car. Ben wrote down how much he needed for each item and then drew a little graph that Liam can colour in each time he adds to his boxes and can see how he is progressing toward each one. Ewan doesn't really have much of an idea about it all and doesn't really want anything. Liam told him he should buy a racing car too so that they can have races - he just agrees with everything Liam says!
Monday 8 January 2007
Week One - January 1 - 7
Once we were over the New Year's Day festivities and Daddy going back to work, things all fell into place and we had a great week.
This week was the letter A week.
~* Colouring pages with the letter A and words/pictures beginning with the letter A
~* Practiced writing the letter A a on the chalkboard and paper. Ewan suprised us by doing a couple of great lowercase As.
~* Went on a letter A treasure hunt - took a laundry basket through the house and filled it with objects that started with the letter A.
~* Baked an apple pie. Liam made the pastry for the base and top - Ewan missed out because he was sleeping. Liam tried to peel the apples but cut two of his fingers with a peeler early on so wasn't interested in doing any more after that!
~* We also made pasta - fettucine - from scratch with the pasta machine we got for Christmas - the boys loved it so will have to make that a regular activity.
~* Liam started asking about glass and bullet proof glass. We did a search on the net to find out what it was made of and our conversation went from that to talking about JFK, world leaders, assassination (their cars would have bullet proof glass), decision making and the fact that some people won't agree with their decisions, wars and problem solving - ways we can sort out our disagreements other than fighting/wars. Certainly gave us a lot of food for thought!
~* We met up with friends for playgroup at the park. The boys were very happy to catch up with their friends after a break over Christmas.
This week was the letter A week.
~* Colouring pages with the letter A and words/pictures beginning with the letter A
~* Practiced writing the letter A a on the chalkboard and paper. Ewan suprised us by doing a couple of great lowercase As.
~* Went on a letter A treasure hunt - took a laundry basket through the house and filled it with objects that started with the letter A.
~* Baked an apple pie. Liam made the pastry for the base and top - Ewan missed out because he was sleeping. Liam tried to peel the apples but cut two of his fingers with a peeler early on so wasn't interested in doing any more after that!
~* We also made pasta - fettucine - from scratch with the pasta machine we got for Christmas - the boys loved it so will have to make that a regular activity.
~* Liam started asking about glass and bullet proof glass. We did a search on the net to find out what it was made of and our conversation went from that to talking about JFK, world leaders, assassination (their cars would have bullet proof glass), decision making and the fact that some people won't agree with their decisions, wars and problem solving - ways we can sort out our disagreements other than fighting/wars. Certainly gave us a lot of food for thought!
~* We met up with friends for playgroup at the park. The boys were very happy to catch up with their friends after a break over Christmas.
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