We're Studying the Ocean

We're tying up some loose ends here in our homeschool. L is on track to finish up his first grade work in the next week or so, which is amazing, really, when I consider how much time I've spent sick this year. We'll take maybe a week off, and then dive into second grade, with V doing some preschool work as well.

In the meantime, we've started a unit on the ocean, which may take up the better part of the summer. We're landlocked, here in north Texas, but we've planned some field trips to the aquarium, the fish store, and maybe a fish market.

Our kitchen renovation is at that horrible stage where we have stuff all over the house, so I've moved us to the back porch for school, until the kitchen is done, or it gets too hot to tolerate, whichever comes first. (We have finally gotten the cabinets ordered, and we're hoping to finish up in the next month or so.)

I put up some ocean themed fabric over the windows for fun, and set up a little activity center with shells and shell identification books, among other things.

Ocean activity center.

Since we don't have a real beach, we fabricated a pretend one, shown here, with seashells and sand toys.

Sand box "beach."

We're relying heavily on the awesome DK Eyewitness books and movies, as well as another great DVD series which I'll be reviewing shortly.

As usual, Pinterest is bursting with cool ocean themed ideas. (You can check out my ocean themed Pinterest board here.)

Cleaning Supplies for a Four Year Old

I mentioned several posts ago that 4 year old V had become my little helper around the house.

I was recently inspired to put together a little cleaning basket for her and her brother, after browsing through a Montessori catalog. I knew they'd love having "their own" things to clean with, and although the Montessori materials are always lovely to look at, I figured I could come up with something serviceable for a lot less cash.

I ended up picking up most of the supplies at the dollar store.

Preschooler's cleaning basket.

Our basket includes the following items:
Spray bottles, filled mostly with water, and a little Dr Bronner's soap.
Several microfiber towels
A Squeegee (possibly her favorite tool)
Several microfiber dusters

We also have a child sized broom and dust pan.

L is still a pretty reluctant cleaner, but V is now volunteering to clean the kitchen table and the windows.(Score one for mom, since it had been uh, a while since I cleaned the windows.) She also sweeps with me every day.

She's feeling very proud of her contributions, and is learning real life skills. I've been guilty at times of underestimating what little kids could really do, but I stand corrected.

V is 4, and She's Doing Chores

Parenting and child development books will tell you that little ones just love to help out around the house.

L has always been the exception to this rule. Even as a little guy, he was decidedly uninterested. Now, at nearly 7, he does help a little, but not without lots of proverbial sticks and carrots, (punishments and rewards.) I've chalked it up to his personality, and possibly his ADHD. He doesn't seem to notice messiness, and at times he's sort of a whirling tornado of sloppiness. We're working with him, but I don't believe he'll ever love housework.

Imagine my surprise when V began to show a genuine interest in helping around the house a few months ago. It started with folding wash rags, and wiping the kitchen table occasionally, and has progressed considerably.

She's now able to fold wash cloths, dish towels, hand towels, cloth napkins, hankies, etc. She also helps put away a lot of the laundry. She can wipe down and set the table, and has started putting her dishes away after meals. She loves to sweep.

It does take much more time to have a 4 year old do anything, but as time goes on, she's getting more efficient at everything. She's also very proud of her contributions.

I've been lavishing her with praise, and making sure daddy does as well. I look forward to a day when the kids are able to help significantly with the housework. (You know, since they do make approximately 80% of the messes.) I'm also really adamant about turning out young adults who know how to do things like basic cooking, cleaning, and laundry.

Do your kiddos do chores? Are they happy little helpers like V, or more reluctant workers like L? Got any great chore related tips to share?

Easter Sensory Bin

Easter themed sensory bin.

I put together a new Easter themed sensory bin for V, even though it's a bit early.

Instead of my usual method of dyeing rice, (food coloring and alcohol,) I used the Kool-Aid dyeing method described in this post at Teach Preschool. I used pink lemonade Kool-Aid, and it resulted in a soft pretty pink color that smelled slightly fruity. (Also, in case you're wondering, the color didn't rub off on our hands.)

I included several packages of Easter themed Erasers, (currently available in the Dollar Spot at Target,) some bunny finger puppets, small plastic eggs, and tiny baskets, (from Hobby Lobby,) and some little Easter themed mazes, (from Dollar Tree.) 


There are several ways to play with this bin. The items in it could be sorted by color or type, or V can just do what she usually does, which is make up some sort of imaginative story about the bunny family's adventures.

V never seems to get tired of playing with these little bins, whether they're super simple like this one, or more elaborate, like some of the other's I've made.

TOS Review: Before Five in a Row

I'm really excited to be a part of the TOS Review Crew this year. I'll be sharing our experiences with you throughout the year, as we try out various products and curriculum aimed at homeschoolers. 

If you homeschool, you've almost certainly heard of Five in a Row, (FIAR.) What you may not know, is that the same company also has a preschool curriculum, called Before Five in a Row. I got to try it out with V, who's three and a half.

Before Five in a Row, (called BFIAR here on out,) is a preschool curriculum, aimed at children aged 2-4. It retails for $35.00 through the Rainbow Resource Center, which is the official retailer for this company.

The curriculum is based around 24 classic children's books, (which you'll need to buy separately, although you'll likely have a few of them around your house already. I did. At any rate, your library will almost certainly have these titles on hand.)

The first section of the book is broken down into 24 units (one for each book,) each lasting 5 days. The backbone of the curriculum consists of reading the same book for five consecutive days. Along with the book, you'll be doing a variety of other activities, including age appropriate discussion of art, science activities, and reading related verses from the Bible.

The second half of the book is filled with enriching (and fun,) activities to do with your preschooler. Some of these are pretty standard suggestions, others are things you may not have considered. I thought this this section was a great resource. Sometimes, when you're cooking for, cleaning up after, and trying to keep your preschooler from giving the dog a hair cut, it's hard to remember to just have fun with them. This book includes lots of ideas for just that.

Here are some of my favorite aspects of the program:

It requires very little prep work. This is a big deal if you have older children who are using a more planning intensive curriculum. It would also be a huge plus if you had any younger children in the house who keep you hopping. There are only so many hours in the day, right?

The BFIAR curriculum is infinitely reusable. There aren't any consumable components to it. Even if you decide to buy all the accompanying books, it's a one time investment for however many children you have.

It's gentle, perfect for little ones. This curriculum would be great for little ones who are anxious to get started having school like their older siblings, or parents who are looking to gradually ease their preschoolers into doing "school." It's not a rigorous, worksheets and flashcards program. There's no emphasis on phonics, etc. The emphasis is on enjoying good books, appreciating different kinds of art, appreciating, and making connections in the world around you, and practical application of scriptures.

It's based around really good books. These are books that you'll actually enjoy reading over and over.

V has enjoyed working on this program with me. She likes having what she calls "baby school," and enjoys the one on one time with mommy. At three and a half, the's on the older end of the recommended age range. Perhaps it's because she's spent such a lot of time eavesdropping on L's school, but some of the activities and discussions seem a little simple for her. I think it would have been a perfect fit for her about a year ago.

I'd recommend this product for "relaxed" homeschooling families, or those that are interested in the "living books," sort of learning. You can view a sample of the included activities here, to get a feel for how the curriculum might fit into your family.

I really liked it.

 FIAR sells several other products, for a whole range of ages. Here are some quick links to their other products, if you'd like to know more:

Five in a Row (Ages 4-8)
Beyond Five in a Row (Ages 8-12)
Above and Beyond Five in a Row (Ages 12+)

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, in order to facilitate a review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are my own.

Ladybug Week

Ladybug display.

We're starting off a unit on insects by learning about ladybugs, and I thought I'd share some of the resources we're using, and activities we're doing. (L is still doing his HOD curriculum, also, in case you were wondering.)

Ladybug sensory bin.

Our sensory bin this week is pretty simple. It consists of red rice, large and small lady bugs, tweezers, and magnifying glasses. V has been having a blast "catching" the ladybugs, and making up little stories about "mommy ladybug," and her "babies."

Our "science center" display.

On our little science center, we've got pictures of ladybugs, a magnifying glass, and a homemade bug box filled with models of the ladybug life cycle, (as seen below.) Get the how to for the bug box here.

Ladybug math.

We've been doing some ladybug math, using the buggy addition and subtraction boards found here, and some ladybug gummy candy from Dollar Tree.

I've set up a tweezing activity for the kids, using the little bug catching kits from Dollar Tree, and pom poms. The kids are to remove the red and black pom poms from the bug jar with the tweezers, and sort them into small baskets.

I also picked up a red rubber ball from the dollar store, and drew black dots all over it with a sharpie. We're using it to practice catching and throwing. (You may or may not remember that L has SPD, and has some motor delays.Things are actually coming along wonderfully in that department, by the way.)

We've been using components from this I is for Insects packet. The kids are especially enjoying the activity cards. Actually, so am I. Their interpretations of the activities are hysterical.

V is enjoying the preschool pack from here, and L has been working on some of the Grouchy Ladybug lapbooking components from homeschool share.

My bug themed Pinterest board is exploding with more fun ladybug ideas, some of which we'll be exploring as time and interest permits.

Let's Explore Art Kit

Christmas is getting closer, as evidenced by the massive amount of Christmas decor at my local Hobby Lobby. 

I'm trying to think of stuff to give to the kids this year that has real play value. I've come up with several little "kits" that I'm going to put together for the kids that I think they'll have fun with.

The first one is an art kit, for 3 year old V. I'm posting about it now, while school supplies are dirt cheap. The whole thing cost a couple of bucks, at the current prices. V loves artsy craftsy stuff, and she loves to make messes. Although we have most of these supplies here at the house anyway, I figured she'd like having her own supplies to use as she wishes. (Want to use a whole container of glitter on your collage? Sure, why not?)

The contents are pretty self explanatory, but here's a list anyway:

Crayons

Colored pencils

Scissors

Glue and glue sticks

Glitter Glue

Glitter

Beads and laces

Stamps

Feathers

Sequins

Index cards

Food Coloring (For shaving cream painting and color mixing in the bath tub.)

Anyone else dreaming about Christmas during this heatwave?

Pond Sensory Bin

The kids have been having fun with our pond sensory bin.

Pond sensory bin.

We've used it with and without water. The kids obviously prefer it with water, but even with such a minute amount, my little ones make a pretty big mess. (I've been making them play with the water on the patio.)

Even without water, it's pretty cool.

The contents are as follows:
*blue and clear glass marbles from Dollar Tree
* white "water lilies" from Dollar Tree
*Craft foam lily pads
*Rubber duckies from the $1 section at Michael's
*Rubber frogs from Dollar Tree
*Teeny plastic frogs, turtles, fish from my local party supply store

Easiest Puppets Ever

I whipped up a couple of pond themed puppets for three year old V, who loves to carry on silly dialogue. They'd also be great helping kids retell their favorite stories.

The wooden characters were .67 each at Hobby Lobby, and they had lots of themes. This may become a regular addition to our unit studies. (Shhh, but I'm thinking of making V some kind of puppet theater for Christmas, too.)

Popsicle Stick Puzzles

I've seen endless incarnations of this project in teaching  books and on the web, but I finally sat down and made a couple to go with our pond theme.

I'm almost embarrassed to show my "artwork" to anyone, since it looks like the kids made 'em, but I will.

Turtle stick puzzle.

These are quick to make, and a little more challenging to put together than they look. They require only popsicle sticks, permanent markers, and tape to hold the sicks in place while you're drawing on them. They're an easy way to add a hands on element to whatever you're learning about.

Stick puzzle- a frog eating a fly.

Pond Theme Resources (Tons of 'em)

We're starting a pond theme here, and it seems like the timing is just right, because the web is exploding with great pond related ideas and resources.

Our pond themed "center."

(Totally an aside, but I picked up this wooden shelf for $5 at Goodwill last week, and it's just what I was looking for to house our little "center". It's low enough for the kids to access, on wheels, so I can move it as needed, and although it's in pretty good shape, it will be easy to repaint when I get around to it.)

I pulled out our frog and duck Beanie Babies, as well as a large, blue piece of fabric (to use for pretend play), and put together a sensory bin, which I'll be posting about seperately. I found a frog themed puzzle at Dollar Tree, and had a whole set of frog themed math games I found at Goodwill a while back.

Green poster board lilypads will be used to "jump like a frog," "fly like a dragonfly," "swim like a duck," "inch like a snail," and "creep like a turtle," around our pretend pond/living room. Three year old V just eats that sort of thing up.

I forked over 5o cents at the grocery store vending machine, to buy a sticky alien (I really just wanted a sticky hand, but couldn't find one. I figured that would make a pretty neat illustration of a frog's sticky tongue.)

We're planning on visiting a local pet store to check out the frogs and turtles, visit a nearby creek/pond to look for wildlife to photograph, and/or draw, and go on a frog hunt in our back yard at night.

I'm digging out some of my old scrapbook punches, (frogs, dragonflies, ducks, etc,) to use for fine motor practice, and collage materials.

We'll be digging out the old Leap Frog videos to watch again. I know, it's a little bit of a stretch, but they're technically about frogs, and V is  just about the right age for them.

I used elements from the following sites to help plan our activities:

Make a transforming felt frog, from the NWF.

Pond theme from 2 Teaching Mommies.

In the Pond theme, from Totally Tots.

Free frog activities from Kids Soup.

Frog life cycle lesson plan from Wikki Stix.

Frog Life Cycle Craft from DLTK.

Lesson plans, printables, and tons of info at Save the Frogs.

For lots of other web resources, check out my pond themed board on Pinterest.

We'll also be using the following books and resources:



Disclosure: The widget above contains affiliate links.

Okra Painting

It's been up to a hundred and five degrees here lately. Our poor little garden is being sorely neglected. Other than turning the hose on and off, it's pretty much been left to it's own devices. I just can't make myself get out in the heat.

Garden veggies.

Miraculously, the garden is still turning out a handful of nice veggies every day or so. The picture above shows a day's haul. All in all, not to bad, except what were we going to do with two pods of okra?

Okra painting.

How about paint with them?

As usual, V had a blast with this, and L declined to participate in something so messy. The okra makes a pretty, flower shaped design, which V enjoyed "stamping" with.

Okra stamped gift bags.

I stamped some little paper lunch sacks to use for Christmas cookies, etc, later this year.

Make Something Pretty (And a Mess...)

V loves to get messy. When I saw this tutorial for marbled paper at Tot School, I knew we had to try it out. (Tip: You can pick up the shaving cream and the food coloring at Dollar Tree.)

Mess.

We had a blast, and made a ginormous mess.

More mess.

It was a fun, open ended activity, which actually turned out a really pretty end result. We'll be using the paper later to make bookmarks, cards, and maybe wrapping paper.

Three year old V's finished products.

A few of my finished pages. 

Bird Themed Sensory Bin

We're starting a unit on birds here, and I put together a little sensory bin, mainly for 2 year old V. The filler is sunflower seed bird feed. I picked up the little nest and the wooden eggs at Hobby Lobby. They had neat little birds constructed of real feathers and styrofoam, but I know my (rough) kids would break them. I settled on these little plush duck cat toys. Throughout the month, I'm going to add other things to it to maintain interest: feathers, other birds, smaller eggs, maybe some felt or pipe cleaner worms.

Christmas Cards from the Kids

This morning the kids made their own Christmas cards to give to their favorite people.

5 year old L's cards.

Nearly 3 year old V's cards. (A self portrait, and a monster and a heart, in case you were wondering.)

I'm going to let them dictate the messages to me. I'm sure they'll be interesting. ;)

These were easy and fun for the kids to do, and what grandparent wouldn't be smitten with them?

Week in Review: Pumpkins

Our theme this week was pumpkins.

The picture above shows some of our pumpkin activities for the week: lacing, pumpkin counters, orange play doh and pumpkin cookie cutters, an eye spy bottle, a home made letter matching game, and a baby pumpkin.

I saw this post at ABC and 123, and used their idea to make the letter matching game. I did the alphabet in order, and also several words like "pumpkin," and "orange." Both kids enjoyed playing this throughout the week. (I picked up the magnetic wooden letters at Dollar Tree, in case you don't already have some.)

This set of fall themed lacing cards from Scholastic has been been included in several themes lately. Last year, L wouldn't have been able to do them at all. They're too easy for him now, (although still a challenge for V.) I'm thinking I may get some plastic canvas for L to start sewing on, to up the difficulty factor.

The kids love any excuse to play with play doh, and enjoyed making play doh pumpkins.

There were several pumpkin related activities we didn't get around to this week. We're currently operating as a one car family, and due to my lack of planning, (oops,) we didn't have several supplies. We'll just do them later in the month.

Although not pumpkin related, I finally got around to implementing this awesome idea, so my WordWorld obsessed kids could "build words."

Another non pumpkin themed activity the kids loved was the Cheese Its alphabet board from The Activity Mom.

We also did our usual mishmash of workbooks, handwriting practice, and so on. I'm having a hard time finding workbooks that suit L, all of a sudden. The kindergarten ones seem too easy, and the first grade ones seem too hard.

By the way, since you're here reading about pumpkins, go check out this great post full of pumpkin related activities from Welcome To Our Wonderland.

Below you'll find some of the books we enjoyed this week.

Fall Tweezing Activity for Fine Motor Skills

Here's a super quick, super easy fall themed tweezing activity we're been working on this week. The brown pom poms represent "dirt," and the orange ones represent "pumpkins." The object is to "pick pumpkins from the pumpkin patch."

Tweezing activity shown here, along with some of our other fall activities.

(This isn't L's favorite sort of activity, but by incorporating a few minutes here and there of this sort of practice, his fine motor skills have really been improving by leaps and bounds.)

Fall Themed Sensory Bin

Here's our newest sensory bin.

The theme for this one is fall. I picked up the package of fabric leaves at Dollar Tree, and while they were initially pretty crunched up, a few minutes with the iron on on a low setting left them looking much better. The little plastic acorns and pumpkins also came from Dollar Tree. (I picked up several packages of each, and will additionally using them as math manipulatives this month.)
I added some Little People and Little People animals we already had, and there you go, a little farm in the fall.
The kids can search for the acorns and pumpkins, pretend to rain leaves down on the "farm," or just free play with it.

Solar System Sensory Bin

To go along with this month's Space theme, I put together this sensory bin for the kids.

I referred to a poster we have of the solar system to come up with rough approximations of the sun, the moon, and the planets in Fimo clay. "Space" is represented here with black marbles. They're cold and smooth to the touch.

Finally, I was brainstorming about how to come up with some astronauts and space shuttles, when I found a pack of space themed erasers at my local Dollar Tree. Perfect!

Easy Sensory Bins for Little Ones

The kids are still really into the sensory bins I've set up for them. For this week's WFMW post, I thought I'd show and tell about a few of the ones they've been playing with recently.





First off, there's this one, filled with dried split peas, Playmobil toys, and teeny plastic animals. It's fun to find all of the animals, or just to set up a little farm. The peas feel neat to run your hands through. This has been one of V's favorite variations of this idea so far.



This one is a bit more challenging. The idea here is to go on a "treasure hunt," and find all the polished stones from among the mixed beans. It's harder than it looks. (I used my old childhood rock collection for this one. If you didn't have rocks, you could also do something similar with beads.)

Cheap, easy, unplugged ways to entertain the kids works for me. For more WFMW posts, check out www.wearethatfamily.com.

Linked to Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts.