Our Cup of Tea

Geography Travels: Arizona

2012-01-21T18:02:00.002-06:00

My parents, sister, and I vacationed in Arizona back in 1996. We fit a lot into one week, and Arizona is definitely unforgettable. One reason we chose Arizona to study is that Isaac’s grandpa lives there. We’ve never been there as a family, but a trip to Arizona is in our plans this year!

Here’s where our geography travels took us:

Week 1

Located Arizona on our US map and colored it in; discussed capital and major cities.

Began reading Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry

Listened to “Southern Border of the United States Song” (Geography Songs)

Notebook page (Homeschool Creations)

Discussed the Five C’s (copper, cattle, cotton, citrus, climate) of Arizona’s economy

Geography from A to Z: desert, plateau, forest, gorge, river, canyon, butte, mesa, badlands

Map page (Enchanted Learning)

Flag page (Apples 4 the Teacher)

State songs: “Arizona” and “Arizona March Song”

Discussed turquoise and other minerals found in AZ

YouTube videos

I Love You, Arizona (YouTube video with beautiful photos—the song is actually titled “Arizona” and is one of the state songs)

Turquoise Mining (YouTube)

Turquoise Buffalo Indian Jewelry (YouTube)

Began Famous People chart (see THIS webpage): We discussed Cochise, Geronimo, Sandra Day O’Connor, and John McCain

Desert study and books: Deserts by Gail Gibbons, All About Deserts, and A Living Desert

Desert Museum Kids page (webpage about Sonoran Desert)

Sonoran Desert Fact Sheets for Sonoran Desert animals (Desert Museum Kids Page)

YouTube videos

Sonoran Desert

Sonoran Desert Wildlife

Draw-Write-Now Book 3, pages 42-43

Week 2

Discussed these natural wonders of Arizona: Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Monument Valley, Meteor Crater, Glen Canyon, Superstition Mountains, and Canyon de Chelly

YouTube videos

Petrified Forest National Park

The Majesty of Monument Valley

Meteor Crater Arizona

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Canyon de Chelly

Links

Grand Canyon Skywalk page

Grand Canyon facts

Wonders of the World: Grand Canyon

Painted a picture of the Grand Canyon (idea from Deep Space Sparkle via Montessori Tidbits)

Discussed plants & animals of Arizona and labeled pictures for notebook: cactus wren, ringtail, Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake, Gila monster, prairie dog, coyote, javelina (peccary), horned lizard, jaguar, desert bighorn sheep, black-tailed jackrabbit, roadrunner, saguaro cactus, cholla, prickly pear, yucca, ocotillo bush, mesquite, Palo Verdo tree

Read Story of Echo the Bat (from NASA)

Read: The Three Javelinas and Alejandro’s Gift

Javelina (YouTube video)

Discussed Native Americans in AZ: Hopi, Navajo, Apache

Draw-Write-Now Book 3, pages 24-25

Played some Apache Games (Arizona pdf from Musings of Me—I can’t seem to find the link to the pdf…hopefully it’s there somewhere)

Other attractions: Tombstone, London Bridge, Hoover Dam, Wigwam Motel

YouTube videos

Around London Bridge in Lake Havasu City

Hoover Dam & Lake Mead

We also made Navajo Fry Bread (American Grub, p. 15)

Other blogs with Arizona studies

Musings of Me

Get Down and Get Your Hands Dirty

Montessori Tidbits

Links to websites about Arizona

Arizona Kids Page (Arizona Governor)

Arizona Secretary of State Kids Page

Enchanted Learning

How to make a bolo tie (from TLC Family--we never got around to this one)

I’m linking this post to “History and Geography” at All Things Beautiful.

Geography Studies: California

2012-01-20T14:23:00.002-06:00

Being a rather large and well-known state, California was a definite choice for our US studies. I’ve never been to California myself, but I know a lot of Californians. Here’s what we did for our California unit:

Week 1

Located California on our US map and colored it in; discussed capital and major cities.

Sang “Western Border of the United States” (Geography Songs)

Notebook page (Homeschool Creations)

Flag page (Apples 4 the Teacher)

Wednesday: Geography from A to Z: desert, beach, coast, mountains

Map page (Enchanted Learning)

Discussed Sierra Nevada Mountains, Death Valley, and Mohave Desert; and we watched some YouTube videos, but I don’t have the links for them (sorry!).

Discussed earthquakes and read the book …if You Lived at the Time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake

We did watch some YouTube videos on the 1906 and 1989 San Francisco earthquakes, but I forgot to bookmark the ones we watched, so I don’t have any links.

Learned the song “California Here I Come” (I sang this song and did a little dance routine with classmates in our 5th grade musical, so it brought back fond memories.)

Discussed Hollywood

Week 2

Famous People: Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Sally Ride, Ansel Adams, Shirley Temple, Robert Frost, Jeff Gordon, George Lucas (click on links for interesting websites)

YouTube video links

The Humor of Ronald Reagan

Reagan at Brandenburg Gate

Nixon Resignation

Good Ship Lollipop (Shirley Temple)

First American Woman in Space (Sally Ride)

Ansel Adams, Photographer

Jeff Gordon Wins at Phoenix

George Lucas

Stopping by woods on a snowy evening (Robert Frost)

Isaac did a report on the Golden Gate Bridge (webpage HERE)

YouTube video on Golden Gate Bridge

Discussed San Francisco, cable cars (YouTube Videos HERE, HERE, and HERE)

Discussed California National Parks and watched YouTube videos:

The Coolest Stuff on the Planet: Yosemite National Park

Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park

Tallest tree found in Redwood National Park

Unusual Beauty of Joshua Tree National Park

Channel Islands National Park

Read some Native American folktales: The Origin of Yosemite and How El Capitan Grew

Discussed Gold Rush (Click on that link for and interesting webpage and The Elephant, PBS Kids, and Onsite Adventures for more!)

YouTube video on the Gold Rush

Discussed missions (particularly San Juan Capistrano), Read book Song of the Swallows and a guidebook on San Juan Capistrano, where the story takes place.

YouTube video on early missions

Check out these California unit studies by other bloggers!

Get Down and Get Your Hands Dirty

Musings of Me

Montessori Tidbits

Adventures in Mommydom

Geography Travels: Montana

2012-01-20T07:56:00.003-06:00

Here’s another geography unit from last school year, when Isaac was in 4th grade. After this state, I have Arizona, California, Alaska, and Hawaii to blog about...nearly done! We didn’t cover all 50 states…only 17, mostly chosen by Isaac. I wanted to do a good study of each state we chose, and 50 is a lot to cover in one school year. This year, both Isaac and Moriah are doing 2-week unit studies of different countries around the world. We’re halfway through the school year, so hopefully I can get to those soon.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to visit Montana. I used to hang calendar pictures of Glacier National Park on my closet door. I have yet to visit this beautiful state, but Isaac and I really enjoyed studying it in geography. Here’s what we did:

Week 1

Located Montana on a map; discussed name. Located capital and major cities.

Colored Montana’s flag (Apples for the Teacher)

Listen to Northern Border United States Song

Notebooking page (from Homeschool Creations)

Read from Geography from A to Z: mountain range, tableland prairie, plateau, peak, valley, river, badlands, buttes, glacier

Map page (from Enchanted Learning)

Discussed Glacier National Park (and viewed photos—click on link), read “A day in the life of a Park Ranger in Glacier National Park,” watched videos (see links below) and wrote a page on what he thought his day would be like as a park ranger.

Glacier National Park DVD part 1 (video footage with nice music). There are 3 parts to this video on YouTube; you can find links to the other 2 parts after watching part 1.

Discussed glaciers (science):

Surfnetkids has several links to glacier pages for kids.

Youtube video “Melting Glaciers in Glacier National Park” (I personally don’t believe in man-made global warming/climate change, but this is a good video showing the effects of climate change on the glaciers, and I felt it was a fair presentation).

Week 2

Began Famous People Chart: daredevil Evel Knievel, actor Gary Cooper, artist Charles M. Russell, and paleontologist John R. Horner.

Watched YouTube videos on Evel Knievel’s daredevil motorcycle jumps at Caesar’s Palace (unsuccessful) and Kings Island, Ohio (successful).

Watched YouTube video: High Noon trailer (Gary Cooper).

Music: Montana (state song)—YouTube video with tune HERE.

Learned song “My Home’s in Montana” (YouTube video)

Art Appreciation: Discussed western artist Charles M. Russell; Isaac chose his favorite Russell painting and did a page on why he liked it. (webpage on Sid Richardson Museum—Russell collection)

Watched YouTube videos on C.M. Russell HERE (discussion of Russell) and HERE (the second one is a song about Russell with a slide show of his paintings).

Discussed dinosaurs in Montana (Montanakids page) and watched YouTube video “Montana: Land of dinosaurs”.

Draw-Write-Now, Book 3, eagle and mountains

Viewed Montana animals webpage (from Montanakids website)

Not long after we studied Montana, a blogger friend from Montana sent us a package, full of Montana postcards, brochures, and other goodies. What a blessing that was! The kids were absolutely thrilled!

2011 Reading Goal--Done!

2011-12-31T16:41:00.000-06:00

Here in England, we have about an hour and a half until 2012, and I just completed my reading goal for 2011. When I was younger, I was a big reader, but in later years I found that I was spending so much time on the internet that I wasn't reading much at all. Because I want to be a reading example to my kids, I decided to take on a few reading challenges I saw on a blog about a year ago. The first goal was to read 100 books, and the second was to read 25 award-winning children's books. I decided that the 25 award books could be part of my 100, and the books could include children's book awards in both America and England. All 100 of my books had to be chapter books (I could read well over 100 if they were picture books). I so enjoyed completing this goal, that I'm going to do it again in 2012! Only this time, I'm going to make my challenge a bit different, though it will still be 100 books. Isaac is definitely a reader, too, which is good; otherwise, I would probably find him playing Mario games on the Wii a lot more than he should.

If you are at all interested in seeing what I read, click HERE (I keep a running list on my other blog). Keep in mind, however, that just because I read a book does not necessarily mean I liked it or approve of it. Most of them I loved, though!

I'm sure a lot of you have had goals you wanted to complete in a year. I had a photography goal--at least one photo a day and post them weekly on my other blog. However, even though I do take a LOT of photographs, that one got left behind. One thing I regret is not having a Bible reading goal. Maybe that's another good one for 2012. How about the 100-book reading challenge? Is anyone up for joining me?

Tot School: Weeks 8-13

2011-12-13T13:11:00.002-06:00

Okay, it seems I’m down to doing monthly Tot School posts instead of weekly! For some reason, I’m having a hard time keeping up with my blog this school year. Anyway, here’s a run-down of some things Gabriela did from the end of October through most of November.

Tutti Frutti game—This is a really simple matching game but gives practice telling colors and fruits.

Outdoor Time—When the weather was still mild enough to play outside, Gabriela decided to collect sticks in a bucket. She was very proud of herself!

Apple Theme—We worked on this theme for awhile. I got some nice printables from 2 Teaching Mommies.

While doing the above counting apple seeds activity, Gabriela took the “7” card and ran over to Isaac’s workboxes and matched it to the “7” on his box. She was quite pleased at her cleverness (as was I).

Field Trip to Plas Newydd in North Wales—This trip included a tour of the house (and a detailed study of a huge mural painted by British artist Rex Whistler), a walk around the grounds, a playground, and a Punch and Judy puppet show.

Dalmatian Dominoes—I just let her play with them however she wanted.

Puzzles! For 3 weeks or more, Gabriela played with lots of puzzles. She didn’t want to quit, so I kept challenging her with more difficult puzzles. We began with LAURI puzzles, which all 3 of my children have enjoyed over the years. Then we progressed to 24-pc puzzles and finally to 60-pc puzzles. Initially I helped her with the 60-pc puzzles, but since she wanted to do them over and over again each day, it didn’t take her long until she was able to put them together completely by herself.

The LAURI puzzles she did includes: a cat with kittens, cars, butterflies, tugboat, dump truck, train, and airplane.

Games: Chutes and Ladders, Connect 4, and Honey Bee Tree

Letter E Activities

Fall Sensory Tub—You can read more about it HERE.

Playing with tiny pumpkins and sorting them by color

Wedgits! This has been a long-time favorite of all my kids. One of these days, I’d like to expand, as we have only a 15-piece basic set and the cards.

Letter F Activities

Pumpkin and Turkey Pick Sort

Our Thanksgiving 5-a-Day books (which I never got around to posting about):

We did read other Thanksgiving stories, too, but those are the 5 I read each day all week—books with good rhymes and repetition. She listened to the 10 Fat Turkeys book on CD.

I’m linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Christmas Sensory Tub

2011-12-13T04:55:00.003-06:00

Last year, I used tinsel as a base for our Christmas sensory tub. To date, that post has been my most popular blog post! Despite all the views I had, Gabriela actually didn’t care for that tub at all. This year, I decided to change it up a bit, and she really likes this one! Hurray!

This year’s sensory tub is composed of:

Rice—I used food coloring to color some of the rice red and green, and I left the rest white. I love it—it reminds me of sprinkles on Christmas cookies!

Foam stickers—Candy canes, gingerbread people and houses, reindeer, and Christmas trees

Mini Christmas bows

Mini Christmas ornaments

Mini bells (I tried jingle bells, but of course the rice kept getting stuck inside)

3 robins (European robin—big Christmas symbol here)

Pieces of tinsel—red, green and gold

A pompom reindeer pin

A gold-painted pinecone ornament

A scented candle (it’s cinnamon—I really would love peppermint or cookie scented, but I don’t have time to search for one—you have to go to the right places to find a good selection of small scented candles here)

The first time I presented this tub to Gabriela, she got tired of it really quickly, so I decided to add something for her to do.

Additions: Wooden scoop and plastic red flower cups

I'm linking this post to "More Sensory Tub Ideas" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Amazing Gingerbread Links!

2011-12-08T08:20:00.000-06:00

Do you like my gingerbread girl?

Get your own! | More Flash Toys from TheoWorlds.com

Via Pinterest, I ran across this post from Technology Rocks: Seriously. Follow the link to that blog, and you'll get several links to online gingerbread decorating fun and even some gingerbread printables, ideas, and other websites. If you're doing a gingerbread unit, you must check out this post!

Fall Sensory Tub

2011-11-29T18:20:00.006-06:00

I was a bit reluctant to blog about this tub. First of all, Gabriela didn’t like it. Secondly, the acorns caused problems. Because I used real acorns, I can’t cover the tub; otherwise, it gets moisture inside and starts smelling musty. I’m not going to keep this one for long. However, it looks pretty (I think), and maybe this idea could be used in different ways. I probably should have stayed with last year’s fall tub—it smells nicer anyway. If I end up using acorns again, I will probably keep them in an open tub and add in different objects, such as a toy squirrel. Let me know if you have any ideas for using acorns in a sensory tub! When Gabriela did play with the tub, she enjoyed putting acorns in little tins and pretending they were pies.

This tub contains:

Acorns

Silk leaves

Corn, acorn, and gourd beaded decorations

Fall-theme cookie cutters

Felt pumpkins and gourds

A scented candle

Later, after I had already posted this, I came up with an addition that made Gabriela happier. I added a small stuffed squirrel, and the leaves, acorns, pumpkins, and gourds became food (in the small pie tins) for the squirrel.

I'm linking this post to "More Sensory Tub Ideas" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Tot School Week 7

2011-10-28T13:46:00.004-05:00

Alpaca Farm: We began week 7 with a fun field trip. Because Isaac and Moriah had just studied Peru, I arranged a visit to a nearby alpaca farm. They had pygmy goats, rabbits, micro pigs, dogs, chickens, and a duck, as well as over 20 alpacas. How fun!

Apple Sensory Tub: Gabriela kept pretending to “feed the pigs” with the peas, so finally I rounded up all the pigs (and a few chickens…and a few border collies) from our farm set and put in the sensory tub for her. She loves the additions!

Rainbow Aquadraw—Always a favorite!

We began our apple unit this week!

1. Apple Count & Clip—I found this free printable at 2 Teaching Mommies. I laminated the cards, cut them apart, and punched a hole in the top of each, because one of these days I’m going to find those rings I have somewhere in the house! We haven’t really worked on number recognition, so I was surprised that Gabriela knew several of them. I’m going to do more activities like this! She liked clipping the clothespins on the cards.

2. Applesauce Making—She loves cooking with Daddy, and she also loves eating apple peels!

Ballet—Using DVDs.

Field Trip to Woolsthorpe Manor--birthplace and home of Sir Isaac Newton (and really cool discovery centre in one of the outbuildings)

Human Sundial:

Famous apple tree:

Discovery Centre:

I’m linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Tot School: Weeks 5-6

2011-10-28T12:48:00.004-05:00

Gabriela has reached the point where she wants to play more than “do school.” This is perfectly okay, in my opinion. Play time is very important at this age, and I won’t cheat her of it. As a result, however, we are doing less in Tot School. The good thing is that if I let her play for awhile, she’ll eventually come and tell me, “I want to do school now.” Even if I did have perfectly wonderful school plans for Gabriela this year, I’m allowing myself to relax and let her be a little girl. She’s only 4 (only JUST 4) anyway. I’m not going to pressure myself into forcing school upon her just so I can blog about it and show how smart she is ; ). Anyway…enough about that. I’ll show you what we did week 5. Week 6 she had a birthday, and I mostly let her play with her new toys. So…I’ll post her birthday pictures and show you what she got!

Week 5

Letter C Activities:

Geometric Blocks and Making Pizza:

Playing with conkers:

Field Trip to TechniQuest Science Discovery Centre (one day a month they do a special program just for homeschoolers):

In addition to all the hand-on stuff, we also got to go inside a large inflatable planetarium. Very cool place!

LAURI stacking pegs:

Apple Sensory Tub: You can read more about this month’s sensory tub HERE.

Coloring Time (and a cute photo of my princess):

Hi-Q game: Mostly she just took the pegs in and out.

Mein buntes Turmchen-spiel: Yeah. I don’t know how this game is supposed to be played…the instructions are not in English.

Week 6

Letter D Activities:

We made letters out of the purplinker, but then she decided it was a crown. Matching letter D’s (right).

Playing with a magnetic Sudoku set—we lined up numbers from 1-9.

She practiced writing her name:

Play-dough letters: I rolled out the pieces, and she pieced them together to make letters A-D.

Happy 4th Birthday, Gabriela!!!

Wooden Chocolate Cutting Cake (I’m loving wooden toys), Littlest Pet Shop toy, and Princess dress-up set:

Wooden toaster set from ELC. She also got a Rapunzel doll (her favorite movie is Tangled).

Wooden cake stand with wooden desserts—so cute! Also, a London bus (with little people) from ELC.

I’m linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Moriah's 2nd Grade Reading Log

2011-10-27T14:18:00.010-05:00

I just realized today that I've kept up reading logs for Isaac last year and this, and yet I've neglected to do the same with Moriah. I trust Isaac to read on his own, but Moriah needs to read aloud to me since she's still learning. She reads aloud daily from her reading book, but I haven't had her read any extra books up until now. Anyway, this post will be a reading log for Moriah--a place to record all the books she reads this year. I will add to the list throughout the year, as she reads each new book. My only rules for Moriah is that she may not read books that are obviously for toddlers (like simple board books or books which have only a few large-print words on each page). Although she's in 2nd grade and definitely able to read at that level, she's not very confident and needs practice. I'm happy to allow her to include 1st-grade level books in this list; however, I hope to be able to encourage her to read longer and higher-level books as the year progresses. One more note: The books on this list were chosen by Moriah. They are not books required for school.

Moriah's 2nd Grade Reading Log (2011-2012):

1. The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss)
2. I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (Dr. Seuss)
3. The Foot Book (Dr. Seuss), hmmm maybe this one was too easy...
4. Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss)
5. Dr. Seuss's ABC (Dr. Seuss)
6. Fox in Socks (Dr. Seuss)
7. Robert the Rose Horse (Joan Heilbroner)
8. A Turkey for Thanksgiving (Eve Bunting)
9. Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (Dr. Seuss)
10. Frog and Toad All Year (Arnold Lobel)
11. Little Runner of the Longhouse (Betty Baker)

Apple Sensory Tub

2011-10-10T16:48:00.003-05:00

I love this sensory tub! I got the idea from Pink and Green Mama, and even though mine is a little different, I take no credit for coming up with this idea. I thought hers was so beautiful that I had to try making a similar one. Gabriela loves it, too!

What our apple sensory tub contains:

Dried green split peas
2 wooden cups to hold “apples”
Various size pompoms (red, yellow, and a few pale green)
Miniature wooden broom, bucket, and ladder from our dollhouse
Plastic apples from a set of fruit & veggie math counters
Cinnamon sticks
Felt board, apple trees, apples, buckets of apples, and ladders from a farm felt set
Larger plastic apple
Metal pail (with pears pictured on it)
Small wooden scoop

Here are some close-up photos:

Gabriela tried all sorts of things with this tub. She immediately made use of the scoop but also picked up peas by the handfuls. They feel so lovely to run your fingers through! She used the cinnamon sticks to “stir” the peas. Later she put the ladder on the side of the tub for one of her little dolls to climb (didn’t get a picture). She did a lot of scooping and pouring, mostly with the peas. The apples were a bit ignored, as was the felt set. However, they make the tub look pretty and colorful, and maybe she’ll play with them next time.

I’m linking this post to “Sensory Tubs” at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Tot School: Weeks 4

2011-10-09T18:08:00.004-05:00

I’m just a wee bit behind in blogging. We just finished week 5 of school, so I’ll try to post that one soon. Here’s what we did week 4:

Ocean Stuff (last week of ocean theme)

Melissa & Doug Pattern blocks: We did more than just the fish, but that was sort of the focus.

Fish Counters: I’ve had these two-color fish counters for years—they came with a math manipulative set. The tin fish bank came from a charity shop. I had her roll the die and count that many fish to put into the slot.

These mats came with the two-sided fish math manipulative kit I have. We played games with them, and she had some imaginative fun with them, too.

We also looked at an ocean book together.

I got this Ocean Roll & Graph and dice pictures from 2 Teaching Mommies. I put the dice pictures in a photo stacking block (like Education Cubes…which I still haven’t joined yet but WILL soon!) We first did this activity with the 2-color fish counters, and then we tried it with the whale erasers (which fit much better).

Toilet Paper Roll Octopus (from Craft Day). We used bingo dabbers for the spots. I didn’t really follow the directions, or I might have thought to shorten the roll.

Ocean Songs: We sang quite a few ocean-themed songs that I collected about 6 years ago. I’m not sure where I got them all, but here are the two main sources I used, both with lots of great ocean songs: Everything Preschool and Perpetual Preschool.

Gabriela’s favorite ocean song was found at Perpetual Preschool. It’s not titled, and I had to make up my own tune, but the words are (except I added the word “little,” which fit better with my tune):

All the little fish are swimming in the water,

Swimming in the water, swimming in the water.

All the little fish are swimming in the water,

Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, POP!

The hand motions are: You put your hands together to make a fish and move your “fish” in a swimming motion. When you get to the last line, you make a circle with your hands and move them upwards (for bubbles) and then clap your hands together for the “pop.”

Handprint Fish: This idea comes from Handprint and Footprint Art. I didn’t have blue or green paint on hand, so we used bingo daubers for the bubbles and sea plants.

We’ve had a lot of fun with the ocean theme. I found a lot of my ideas on Pinterest, various blogs, or just by searching through things I already had. Most of these I’ve already mentioned in this post and the past 2 Tot School posts. Another good source for preschool activities (which are just as good for Tot School) is Squidoo (Ocean Theme).

Other things we did this week:

Cutting practice with play dough—I found this idea on Pinterest…the website is OT Mom Learning Activities, which has several tips on teaching your child to use scissors. Gabriela loved doing this!

She enjoyed stacking and lining up the pieces after she cut them. This kept her occupied for quite awhile!

Field Trip to Biddulph Grange Gardens—A rare, sunny day in October! We made the most of it by visiting one of our favorite English gardens.

I’m linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Family Fitness Time Giveaway

2011-10-04T09:04:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned in previous posts how difficult I find doing P.E. in homeschool. Well, I must tell you about a wonderful giveaway over at Confessions of a Homeschooler! She recently reviewed what looks like a perfect P.E. program for homeschool. It's called Family Time Fitness. You have to go read her review. This program looks amazing...and easy...and FUN! They are offering two of their Core Curriculum and workbooks Vol 1-4 in this giveaway, so visit Confessions of a Homeschool to enter. You can enter through October 7.

Tot School: Week 3

2011-09-25T13:03:00.005-05:00

I haven’t kept up with my Tot School plans at all! We didn’t get much done this week, and I didn’t take photos of everything we did. I’m allowed an off-week, right?

Ocean Theme

We’re still on our ocean theme unit—one more week after this, and I think I’ll be able to bring it to a close. There are so many great ocean-themed activities to do!

This is a tin bank I found at a charity shop. It has fish all over it, a hinged lid, and a tiny padlock with key. It would be so Montessori-like to have her work on the little padlock and key (which was one thing I really liked about it), but unlocking it is difficult even for ME! She did try.

I printed off a lot of fish clip-art on a page, laminated the page, and cut the fish apart to make fish counters. I began by letting Gabriela put them into the coin slot. Then, we practiced counting the fish as she put them in the slot (I had 10 of one kind of fish, 9 of another, 8 of another, and so on, down to 1).

Ocean animal 3-part cards (from 1+1+1=1):

Tweezing whale erasers (continued from last week)

Letter C Activities

As with the first 2 weeks, Gabriela played with a basket of letter C’s that I collected from amongst all my Tot School supplies. She also practiced writing the letter “C” in salt and on the magnetic drawing board. We have also been making letters out of the purplinker!

We didn’t use the C rubber ink stamp this week, but Gabriela did stamp Cs in her playdough.

Practical Life Skills—helping Daddy make pancakes!

I'm linking this post to "Tot School" at 1+1+1=1.

Geography Travels: Oklahoma

2011-09-25T12:14:00.003-05:00

I grew up in Oklahoma (1st-6th grades), and to this day I still have a place in my heart for this wonderful state. I remember studying Oklahoma history in 4th grade, and getting to take part in my school’s Oklahoma land run re-enactment that year still remains one of my most favorite school memories. It’s something students below 4th grade eagerly looked forward to. Anyway, enough reminiscing…here’s what we did in our Oklahoma unit (last school year—I’m playing catch-up):

Week 1

Located Oklahoma on a map and discussed the capital and major cities.

Listened to the Middle United States Song (Geography Songs)

Discussed what the name “Oklahoma” means and did a notebook page (Homeschool Creations):

Looked up these geography terms in the book Geography from A to Z: mountains, plains, canyons, mesas, prairies, rivers, forests

Discussed what a “panhandle” is and did a map page (Enchanted Learning):

Flag page (Apples 4 the Teacher), website on flag

Listened to the state song (from the movie Oklahoma!):

Discussed the dust bowl, and read the book Angels in the Dust by Margot Theis Raven. I enjoyed telling Isaac about my own dust storm experience. In six years of living in Oklahoma, I remember it happening only once. I was at school, and I remember we couldn’t go outside for recess. It really was quite amazing to watch! We watched some videos about the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, which was, of course, far more severe.

Here are a few more links to Dust Bowl videos on YouTube:

The Dust Bowl: A Story of Survival

Oklahoma Family Resilience in the Face of Overwhelming Odds (the story of one family)

Dust Bowl Refugee (a song written by Woody Guthrie)

Week 2

Famous People Chart (Oklahoma had so many that we had to do two pages): Discussed the following famous singers from Oklahoma and added them to our chart: Garth Brooks, Woody Guthrie, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Patti Page, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill

Link: YouTube video on Woody Guthrie (DiscoverOklahoma)

Began reading Where the Red Fern Grows, a classic story that takes place in the Oklahoma Ozarks. I loved this story as a child, and Isaac loved it as well. He cried at the end—the only time I’ve ever seen a book affect him like that.

More famous people from Oklahoma: Will Rogers, Wiley Post, Paul Harvey, Ron Howard, Mickey Mantle, Jim Thorpe, Thomas Stafford (astronaut)

Links to YouTube videos we watched:

1935 Newsreel on tragic deaths of Will Roger and Wiley Post (1935 Newsreel)

Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story

Clip from the Andy Griffith Show: “Opie and the Spoiled Kid” (Ron Howard)

Mickey Mantle: In His Own Words

Jim Thorpe, The World’s Greatest Athlete: Official Trailer

Tom Stafford Tribute, Part 1 and Part 2 (separate links)

Discussed Native Americans, the Trail of Tears, and the 5 civilized tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole)

Creek Indian Fact Sheet (website about Muskogee Creeks)

Discussed oil and oil wells, the Chisholm Trail, and cowboys

Chisholm Trail Cattle Drive 2007 (YouTube link)

At the end of our studies, we discussed and re-enacted the Oklahoma Land Run (of 1889). Trying to do an “Oklahoma land run” with only 3 children in a really small back garden (yard), with a trampoline covering the middle third of the garden, in England…well, it just wasn’t the same. However, the kids still enjoyed it! And luckily, we had good weather for the great event.

Ready to start:

Off they go!

Staking their claims:

They used a toy shopping trolley for a covered wagon (when I was in 4th grade, my dad turned my red wagon into a “covered wagon”…it was pretty cool), and I packed a snack (popcorn) inside for them to picnic on:

Filing their “claims”

I'm linking this post to "History and Geography" at All Things Beautiful!

Tot School: Week 2

2011-09-24T19:26:00.004-05:00

Letter B Activities

Ocean Theme (continued from last week)

“Sea Urchins” with Crab chopsticks:

(Idea first seen at Playing House)

Tweezing and counting whale erasers:

Ocean sensory tub:

Ocean stick puppets (found at First Palette)

On Pinterest, I found a link to an adorable ocean animal video to show Gabriela: You can watch it HERE.

Miscellaneous Activities

Magnetic Draw—Her drawing has really improved. Here’s the cat she drew:

Playdough (spice-scented):

Love the Welsh hat!

This week, we listened to Beethoven and looked at a book of Van Gogh art:

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Activities (continued from last week)

Playing peek-a-boo:

“Catching Butterflies” using Elefun game:

I’ll be linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Geography Travels: Texas

2011-09-24T16:44:00.003-05:00

I’m just trying to catch up on last year’s geography travels. Here’s our unit on Texas!

We began by locating Texas on a map, finding its capital and major cities, and listening to the Southern Border United States Song (Geography Songs).

We put together a notebook page (Homeschool Creations).

Using Geography from A to Z, we discussed river, plains, gulf, prairie, steppe, hills, plateau, valley, desert, canyon, mountains, swamp, forest, and coast

We did a map page (Enchanted Learning)

We discussed Texas Regions using THIS website

I allowed Isaac to come up with his own idea for making the flag of Texas, and he chose to paint it (print-out from Apples for the Teacher)

We also discussed the six flags in Texan history (using The Six National Flags of Texas website). I made a matching game to help him learn the different flags and countries that claimed Texas.

We discussed Texas bluebonnets, and Isaac made a Q-tip painting (click link for photos of bluebonnets):

According to the American Grub cookbook, chili is the state dish, so of course we had some chili!

Week 2

Famous People from Texas…

Just a quick note, since I haven’t said it before: Whenever we put together a list of famous people from a state, we count those who were born there as well as those who lived there for any length of time. I should also mention that we do not include every famous person that’s from a state. I choose from various famous people lists I find online, and I base my choices on several things: 1) whether or not I’ve heard of the person myself, 2) the importance of the person in history (sorry, I personally find US presidents to be more important than movie stars), and 3) whether or not I personally admire the person (I always include presidents whether I admire them or not). Therefore, I do choose actors and singers that I personally like or that I feel are extremely famous (even if I don’t like them). If I’m desperate to find a famous person from a particular state, sometimes I will choose people I don’t really admire. When possible, I also include athletes, artists, inventors, scientists, politicians and more—as long as I know who they are. Anyway, that’s how I choose who to cover. So, please forgive me if I leave out someone you think is important. : )

We began filling in our chart with US Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Here’s the White House page on George W. Bush. You can click on the other presidents to read more about them.

YouTube videos on some of the presidents (I think we watched some for the others, but I can’t find them).

We discussed Texas history, and Isaac did a page on the Alamo. We also looked at this website about the Alamo. You can find more links for Texas history HERE.

Learned about Longhorn cattle HERE and HERE.

Texas songs and Gene Autry. Let me tell you…there are LOADS of songs about Texas! Just google “songs about Texas,” and you’ll find a list. We listened to several on YouTube. We also added Gene Autry (the “Singing Cowboy”) to our Famous People chart.

This one has low-quality volume—I chose it for the video, but you can find other videos with the same song:

I had to include this one, because it’s the most well-known Gene Autry song to ME! I grew up with it. : )

Here’s the Texas State Song:

I could put on a lot more videos of Texas songs, but it’s just too many. Here’s a list of songs, instead (all linked to YouTube videos):

Marty Robbins—Ballad of the Alamo

Johnny Cash—Remember the Alamo

Yellow Rose of Texas

Marty Robbins—El Paso

George Strait—Amarillo By Morning

Glen Campbell—Galveston

Jason Aldean—Amarillo Sky

Tanya Tucker—San Antonio Stroll

Here’s another version of Deep in the Heart of Texas (better sound)

Learned about the armor-plated armadillo and read the books Armadillo Rodeo (Jan Brett) and The Armadillo From Amarillo (Lynne Cherry).

We concluded our Texas study by discussing NASA (see link below) and Dallas Cowboys. We also mentioned Sandra Day O’Connor, although we apparently forgot to add her to our chart.

Space Center Houston

Houston, We Have a Problem

More Texas Info Websites:

Texas SenateKids

Apples for the Teacher

Texas coloring pages HERE

I'm linking this post to "History and Geography" at All Things Beautiful.

Road Trip Across Texas

1st Grade Update, Part 2

2011-09-24T09:15:00.002-05:00

Long time coming (especially since Moriah is in 2nd grade now), but here it is! I’m mostly doing this for record-keeping purposes—like a photo journal of what we did.

December 2010

Playing with pattern blocks:

Decorating our “school” Christmas tree/Portraying Mary in church nativity (had to crop out Joseph):

Button Math:

Projects relating to science, history, and literature:

Melty Snowman cookie and art she made at the Christmas Ark (kids’ holiday club at a church):

Playing Pick and Draw / Christmas tree playdough:

Making Gingerbread People

My Christmas Sweetie:

January 2011

Car Math:

Lake District trip:

Leaf science demonstration:

Calendar Time with our new pocket chart:

Making an English flag:

Other history and science projects:

Reading Charlotte’s Web together:

Trip to the park:

Working on phonics (Explode the Code):

Making ice cream:

Sorting food items by weight:

February 2011

Field Trip to MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry):

Paper Weaving:

Field Trip to Quarry Bank Mill:

Handwriting:

Art Project:

Math with Playing Cards:

World Countries (got this at Target):

Geography--Model of river running into lake:

Graphing Buttons:

Sudbury Hall & Museum of Childhood field trip:

Following a scent trail:

My Girl:

Ocean Sensory Tub

2011-09-24T06:19:00.003-05:00

I’ve seen lots of great ocean sensory tubs online (mostly thanks to Pinterest), including the ones at these blogs:

My ocean tub ideas came partly from some of those ideas and partly from seeing what I had on hand. Here’s our ocean tub as it looked when I first put it together:

Our tub includes:

Blue fish aquarium rock

Plastic palm trees from other play sets

Lots of seashells (some found, some bought)

Sea glass that we found at a beach

Plastic tube of sea animals (bought at a pound store)

Sun & Sand Yankee Candle (for a nice “beach” scent)

A few small clear plastic (almost glass-like) dolphins and shells I bought in London

I later added this sea turtle that I found at a charity shop (it has a bead maze on the back):

Here’s Gabriela playing with it. I don’t think I have a picture, but Isaac turned the candle into a sandy island with palm trees—it was pretty cool.

After a week of Gabriela playing with the tub this way, I decided to try it with water the next week. All 3 of the kids loved this. Unfortunately, it was too chilly to take it outdoors (I had hoped for a beautiful September), so I put it in the kitchen with beach towels spread on the floor. Adding the water made this sensory the tub the one Gabriela has played with the most! For additional fun, we added a small fish net.

Results of adding water to this tub?

1. SHE loved it!

2. MOM did NOT enjoy cleaning it!

After just a few days, the water started looking yucky (of course). It took no small amount of time to dump out the water and clean everything up. I decided not to add water again…too much work for this mom! Now I remember why I do not keep fish for pets!! Ah, well, it was worth doing once—just for Gabriela’s enjoyment!

I'm linking this post to "Sensory Tub Ideas" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Tot School 2011-12 Week 1

2011-09-24T05:01:00.005-05:00

The first week of school went well, even though I didn’t get to everything I wanted to do. I’ve been wanting to do an ocean theme for some time, so I did that, along with doing letter A activities and a few Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? activities.

Ocean Theme:

1. Goldfish Grid Game—I made my own grid, using a fishbowl clipart I found on Clker.com. Using goldfish crackers and our jumbo dice, Gabriela rolled the numbers, counted the spots, and counted out enough fish to place in bowls. She did this until it was full, and then she ate them of course! When she rolls a larger number, we place the number of goldfish on the dice dots to help her count out the correct number.

2. Examining Sea Shells—She’s not really into this like I thought she would be…but then, they don’t really smell very nice. She does enjoy finding them on the beach when we go!

3. Tracing Pages—I got these from 2 Teaching Mommies. You can download their entire pack of ocean printables for free! I really can’t laminate everything I print, so I put these pages in a plastic page extender. That way Gabriela can use them over and over again.

4. Measuring with Goldfish Crackers—This is another printable from 2 Teaching Mommies. The idea is to measure sea animals using goldfish crackers.

5. Ocean Cutting Practice—This came from 1+1+1=1. Gabriela cut and colored the pictures.

6. Ocean Sensory Tub—Click HERE to see my separate post on this tub.

7. Ocean felt sets—I got these Betty Lukens felt sets several years ago. For our ocean unit, I used the Jonah & the Whale set to tell Gabriela that Bible story. I also used pieces from the Creation set and the Ocean & Accessories set and let her play with all of them for some ocean felt fun!

8. Magnetic fishing set—Always a favorite!

9. Go Fish game—Gabriela doesn’t yet understand the concept of the game, so I simply laid out one of each set and then let her draw from my hand and match them. The next day, we did the same thing, only she laid out the sets in rows.

That’s it for this week’s ocean unit. I am continuing the unit next week, so stay tuned for more ocean fun!

Letter A Activities

1. Letter A Stamping

2. Letter A Basket—I enjoy collecting various letters. I have puzzle pieces, magnets, letter beads, Scrabble tiles, cutters, cloth letters, and bulletin board letters. The big A on black paper was made from very old (vintage) wallpaper samples—I made a whole set years ago when I co-taught kindergarten. Gabriela enjoys running her finger over it. It’s almost like having the sandpaper letters (which I wish I had), because they all have a bit of texture.

3. Letter A Matching game—I made these a few years ago, using a variety of A’s from Google Images.

4. Salt Tray—I’ve always wanted to try this, and I finally found a good tray to use. Gabriela LOVES using this tray. She was so proud of herself for making the letter A in the salt, and she repeated it several times. Later she amused herself by making faces in the salt.

5. Playdough—Gabriela used Letter A cutters to stamp this playdough with.

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

Felt Weather Bear--Other than reading the book daily, we didn’t really do many activities with it. I really struggle finding time to do activities with Gabriela while I’m trying to homeschool my older two. I’ll probably continue this unit next week. The only activity we got to (and one she could do on her own) was our Felt Weather Bear set.

Holland Puzzle—This didn’t fit in with any theme, but I pulled it out for Gabriela to use because it’s new! We visited Holland a week before school started, and I found this lovely wooden peg puzzle at the market in Gouda.

Field Trip to Attingham Park:

I’m linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Isaac's Reading Log--5th Grade

2011-09-07T12:16:00.022-05:00

Last year, for our records, I kept a log here of every book Isaac read. I counted chapter books and a few longer, higher-grade level picture books. During 4th grade, Isaac read 71 books. During our 7-week summer break, he read 10 more, for a total of 81 books in one year. I'm so proud of him! If you're interested in what Isaac read in 4th grade, you can view his 4th Grade Reading List by clicking on that link.

I'm starting a new post for Isaac's 5th grade reading log. Throughout the year, I will add to the list as he completes each book he reads. We've only finished 3 days of school, and he's already finished 3 books; however, 2 of those were started during summer break. This list will include books Isaac is required to read for school, as well as books he reads on his own.

5th Grade Reading Log: 2011-12

1. The Mystery of the Vanished Prince (Enid Blyton)
2. Five Have Plenty of Fun (Enid Blyton)
3. Magic Tree House: Adventure on the Amazon (Mary Pope Osborne)
4. The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage (Enid Blyton)
5. The Boxcar Children: The Ghost Ship Mystery (Gertrude Chandler Warner)
6. The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk (Donald J. Sobol)
7. Brighty of the Grand Canyon (Marguerite Henry)
8. Farmer Boy (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
9. The Borrowers (Mary Norton)
10. The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)
11. The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)
12. Stormy, Misty's Foal (Marguerite Henry)
13. Escape to Liechtenstein (Ed Dunlop)
14. Mik-Shrok (Gloria Repp)
15. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (Ellen MacGregor)
16. Red Sails to Capri (Ann Weil)
17. Amos Fortune, Free Man (Elizabeth Yates)
18. The Mountain of Adventure (Enid Blyton)
19. Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
20. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O'Brien)
21. The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
22. Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
23. Why the Whales Came (Michael Morpurgo)
24. Born to Run (Michael Morpurgo)
25. The Invisible Friend (Lois Walfrid Johnson)
26. Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz)
27. The Adventures of King Midas (Lynne Reid Banks)
28. The Life of Leonardo da Vinci (Susie Hodge)
29. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater)

Charity Shop Finds

2011-09-06T04:00:00.002-05:00

Here are my latest finds (sorry, I don’t remember all the prices—it’s been too long since I’ve posted):

1. Sturdy coin box with coin slot and lid—I’m currently keeping my spare change in this, but I’ll probably use it in a Tot School activity as well. (75p)

2. Hans Andersen: His Classic Fairy Tales book—I was happy to find this book because we’re going to be doing a unit on Denmark this coming school year, and Hans Andersen was from Denmark.

3. Three little houses—The girls love these tiny houses. Two of them are identical, but we don’t mind that. I bought them with the idea of using them in our fairy garden, but I think they’ll come in handy for lots of fun imaginative play. (£1 for all 3)

4. Lemon and lime containers—I love finding things that have multiple uses. I could store lemon and lime slices in them (the rare times we buy them), and I can also use them in Tot School (like with a fruit theme).

5. Tongs—I’ve been wanting some of these for Tot School activities.

6. Octopus-clam toy—This has a button you push to open it. It’s good for fine-motor skills and also fits in with the ocean theme I’m planning for Tot School.

7. Small Ping Pong set—Yes, this is difficult to play on. It’s not the same as having a real ping pong table…which we wouldn’t have space for anyway. Maybe with lots of practice, we’ll all get the hang of playing on a small table. Anyway, I thought the kids would enjoy it, and they do! Maybe we can use it during P.E. time.

8. Enid Blyton book for Isaac (3 stories in one book)

9. Set of 3 nice shells—for our ocean theme unit

10. Tiny stuffed animals for our continent boxes—it was Isaac who found these and made the suggestion!

11. Tutti Frutti game—This would have worked great with our fruit theme unit.

12. Books—The Giving Tree book came with a CD.

13. Wooden post box with slot and opening door. It didn’t come with anything else, which is fine because we already have a different post box set. I’m planning to use this one for something else…possibly for writing each other little notes...or a classroom postbox…we’ll see! (£1)

14. Jelly shoes for Gabriela. She really needed some summer shoes (even though I found these in the middle of August). But for only 75p, and being a perfect fit, it was a bargain…and Gabriela loves them.

15. Small basket (50p)

16. Secret Seven book for Isaac (50p)

17. Fruit Lotto game (in French) (50p)—Can’t believe how many “fruit” items I found AFTER I had already done a fruit theme unit with Gabriela!

Tot School: End of Year!

2011-09-05T15:16:00.003-05:00

It’s been way too long since I’ve done a Tot School post. After Easter, I was focused on preparing for my parents’ long-anticipated visit, so I did very little blog posting. In fact, I did far less Tot School planning than normal. Gabriela spent a lot more time than usual just playing or watching videos. Not ideal, I admit, but that’s the way it happened. I did manage to fit in some things, so this post will include a variety of activities Gabriela did the last few months of school. We just started our new school year today, so hopefully I’ll be able to begin posting Tot School stuff again!

Joining Isaac for his “Oklahoma Land Run” (yes…in England)

Learning to ride a tricycle—she doesn’t have it down yet…we need to practice more, but the weather here doesn’t cooperate.

Rainbow Aqua Draw and Woodkins dolls—2 of her favorite toys!

Candy Land—her favorite game!

Littlest Pet Shop toys—another favorite.

I began doing “5 a Day Books” with Gabriela. You can read more about it at The Imagination Tree, and you can see my posts on our 5 a Day books HERE.

Grandparent Time—This was the highlight of our year! My parents finally came to visit us in England. Here’s Grandma reading to Gabriela:

Of course we took my parents all over the country. I won’t show you pictures of each place, but we visited the Lake District, North Wales (Conwy, Bodnant Gardens, Caernarfon Castle, Beaumaris), Chester, London, Oxford, White Cliffs of Dover, and Stonehenge.

Playground time

Some more tot trays:

This is a 3D Tic-tac-toe game…oh, I’m sorry, I mean naughts and crosses! Anyway, Gabriela enjoyed stacking them on the pegs and putting them on her fingers! Then she turned over the board and made it a table.

Turtle lacing board—She didn’t last long with this.

Loves playdough!

Thomas the Tank Engine lift the flap book

Fairy garden and garden sensory tub (see THIS post):

Tweezering spiky balls (whatever they’re called)—Isaac set up this tray.

Nature bowl and magnifying glass—another of Isaac’s ideas.

Another visit to the Lake District:

My sweet baby!

I’m linking this post to “Tot School” at 1+1+1=1.

Thoughts on Schooling My Youngest

2011-09-01T07:44:00.002-05:00

The big question I’ve been asking myself all year is what to do with Gabriela this school year and next. Sometimes it’s hard for me to balance out what is best for my child and the expectations I and others put on my child. Not that anyone has said anything, but I guess I worry too much about how I appear as a mom and teacher. Dumb me. I do have to kick myself sometimes. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the issue.

Maybe I should explain a bit about the dilemma I had. I’m from America where children start kindergarten at age 5. However, I live in England where children start reception (which is equivalent to kindergarten) at age 4. This really shouldn’t be an issue. As a homeschooling mom, I can decide when my child is ready for “formal” schooling. I guess I just worry so much about how other people view my homeschooling that I’m always trying to make sure that my children aren’t “behind.”

Although I’ve received very few negative remarks about my children being homeschooled, I’m all too aware that there are a lot of people out there who are quick to judge and criticize homeschoolers (and yes, I know of homeschoolers who are also quick to judge and criticize parents who don’t homeschool). I’m very particular about keeping my kids at grade level or higher so that I won’t have to face that criticism. If I’m honest, I really want to be able to tell people, “Look how well my kids are doing academically. Isn’t homeschooling is great?!” To some of you, that may sound horrible, but maybe there are some who will identify with my feelings. The good thing is that I do recognize the dangers of caving into those expectations and pushing my children too much. Even though those thoughts are always with me, I do try to put my children’s needs ahead of my fears.

When we first moved to England, Isaac was 3, and Moriah was a baby. When I found out about kids starting regular school at age 4, I didn’t worry too much about it. Because Isaac’s birthday is in September, and because he seemed very ready, I began kindergarten with him at age 4, almost 5. This put him on the same level as kids his age in England, but a year ahead of kids his age in America. When Moriah turned 4 (her birthday is in July), I just couldn’t see starting her in kindergarten. She had only just turned 4. I know I did what was best for Moriah—she wasn’t ready for kindergarten at 4. She is a year behind kids her age here in England, but she’s right on level with kids her age in the US.

Now, here’s Gabriela about to turn 4 in October. I had thought that I would do preschool with her this year and begin kindergarten with her next year (at age 4 but turning 5 a month and a half after starting school). Because her birthday is early in the school year, I thought it would be okay. I worried what people here would think. If I wait, she’ll be a year behind kids here, just like Moriah, but she’ll be older than Moriah was when I started her. Why should that even bother me? In France, kids don’t start formal schooling until age 6! I’ve never agreed with starting kids at age 4 anyway. It’s far too early, in my opinion, especially if they’re not ready. I’m pretty sure at this point that Gabriela won’t be ready to start school that young. She has plenty of time—why rush?

After looking at all the curriculum I had planned to use with Gabriela this year, I realized that it was going to be way too much for her. Even in kindergarten or reception in regular schools, children spend at least half of the day just playing. What Gabriela really needs is just a little “school” time, plenty of storytime, and lots of playtime (and she still takes naps). Even if the learning is fun, why should I spend all day trying to fit everything in? It would stress us both out.

Because this post is already long, I’ll do a separate post on what I am planning to do with Gabriela this year. Basically, I’m going to continue with Tot School but with some changes of course.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for listening to me share my thoughts on this. It feels good now to know what I’m doing and that I’m doing what’s best for Gabriela. I feel like I can actually relax now. Whew!

Our Curriculum Choices 2011-12

2011-08-27T12:51:00.007-05:00

This is a post that I’ve put off for awhile because I’ve only just now finalized all my choices and finished my ordering. Just a note on these curriculum lists—not everything will be done daily! Anyway, here’s what I’m planning for this year:

Isaac (5th grade)

Math: Teaching Textbooks 5

Reading: Drawn Into the Heart of Reading (using the following literature selections):

Biography—The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk (Donald J. Sobol)

Adventure—Escape to Liechtenstein (Ed Dunlop)

Historical Fiction—Amos Fortune, Free Man (Elizabeth Yates)

Fantasy—Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O’Brien)

Mystery—The Invisible Friend (Lois Walfrid Johnson)

Folk Tales—Knights, Kings and Conquerors: 20 Stories from British History (Geraldine McCaughrean)

Nonfiction—Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 4 (Lindstrom and McHugh, eds)

Humor—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)

Realistic Fiction—Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome)

Language: Learning Language Arts Through Literature (The Purple Book), Language Lessons for the Elementary Child 2 (finishing from last year), English Grammar and Stories with Cartoons for Young Children, and various Mad Libs books.

Writing: WriteShop Primary C

Vocabulary: Vocabulary Cartoons and Rummy Roots game

Bible: Discover 4 Yourself Series: Lord, Teach Me to Pray for Kids, Wrong Way, Jonah!, Bible Prophecy for Kids (Rev. 1-7), and A Sneak Peek into the Future (Rev. 8-22)

Spelling: All About Spelling, levels 3 and 4

Thinking Skills: Building Thinking Skills, Level 2 and various games

Science: Apologia: Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (only the flying insects section, to finish from last year), Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day and Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology.

History: Story of the World, Volume 3: Early Modern Times. Also, we’ll complete History Pockets: Native Americans, which we never finished last year.

Geography: I teach geography units in a similar style to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations. I come up with my own lesson plans, which I don’t mind since geography is my favorite subject. However, the ideas I include in my plans aren’t always my own. I get a lot of my ideas (and printables) from other websites and blogs. I chose a list of countries from those mentioned in our history program. This year, I’m planning 2-week long units on the following countries and 1 continent:

Canada, Haiti, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Iran, Mongolia, Burma (Myanmar), Korea, Angola, South Africa, Antarctica.

In my plans, I try to use literature, YouTube videos, notebook pages, art or craft projects, music, food, maps, drawing, resource books, websites, science projects, games and sometimes lapbooks.

Storytime: Read-aloud classics. Here’s our list of books we plan to read through this year, if possible (though I may add or subtract some):

Anne of Green Gables
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Heidi
Around the World in 80 Days
Treasure Island (Junior version)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Extracurricular Rotation 1: I’m not sure how I’m going to work this, but I’m planning to rotate these subjects by school quarter (we’ll see how it goes):

Art Appreciation & Handicrafts—Study paintings (M), reproduce paintings (Tu), do handicrafts (W), study architecture (Th), Art Appreciation notebook (inc. architecture)(F)

Music I—Composers, using A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers

Art—Drawing Textbook

Music II—Piano (4 weeks), recorder (4 weeks), singing (with Singing Made Easy) (Fridays)

Extracurricular Rotation 2:

Physical Education—Various activities and games (I do plan to include some daily exercise for the whole year)

Typing—Continue with Typing Instructor PC/CD

Health & Safety—Website SuperKids Nutrition and possibly others

Technology—Coming up with my own plans

Moriah (2nd grade)

Morning Seatwork: Spectrum Test Practice, Grade 2

Reading: Helping Hands and Happy Hearts (Reading to Learn series)

Math: Singapore Math: Primary Mathematics 2A and 2B

Spelling: All About Spelling. Right now, Moriah is in the middle of level 2, so we’ll work up as far as we can this year, up through level 4 if possible.

Phonics: Explode the Code (books 4 and 5)

Language Arts Rotation:

Handwriting: Pictures in Cursive Primer (M/W)

Language: My own plans (Tu/Th)

Writing: Journaling (Fridays)

Poetry: Poems for Memorization (daily)

Rotation (Science/Thinking Skills):

Science: Our Father’s World and nature study (M/W/F)

Thinking Skills: MindWare brainteaser books: Analogies, Venn Perplexors, Logic Links, and various games (Tu/Th)

Bible: Grapevine Studies Stick-Figuring Through the Bible: New Testament Overview, Beginner level and Seeds Family Worship, Volumes 2 and 4

History: Story of the World, Volume 3: Early Modern Times (along with Isaac)

Geography: Same as Isaac (see above)

Storytime: I’ll read aloud books from 9 genres:

Biography—Squanto: Friend of Pilgrims (Clyde Robert Bulla)

Adventure—Sword in the Tree (Clyde Robert Bulla)

Historical Fiction—Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Fantasy—Rabbit Hill (Robert Lawson)

Mystery—The Railway Children (E. Nesbit)

Nonfiction—If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon (E. Levine)

Humor—A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond)

Realistic Fiction—Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)

Folktales—Dick Whittington and His Cat (retold by Eva Moore)

Rotation (Electives):

Music: I may do Moriah’s music along with Isaac. We have a keyboard now, so I’m planning to give her beginning piano lessons. We’ll also do singing, using the program Singing Made Easy. I’ll probably do some stuff on composers, music appreciation, and musical instruments as well.

P.E.: With Isaac

Spanish: Teach Them Spanish, grade 1 (if we finish that, we’ll go on to grade 2)

Life Skills: Life Skills for Kids

Art: Joseph the Canada Goose, Little Annie’s Art Book of Etiquette and Good Manners, and Draw-Write Now books. May also do some Art Appreciation.

Gabriela—Preschool/Tot School

I’m not really sure where I’m going with Gabriela yet. She won’t be 4 until October. In the US, age 4 is preschool, and in the UK, age 4 is Reception (Kindergarten). In either case, Gabriela would turn 4 too late to be enrolled in school if I had her in public schools. So, this is a case of “wait and see what she’s ready for.” In some ways, I feel she’ll be ready for preschool, but in other ways I feel she still needs Tot School. I’ll figure out at the end of the school year whether I feel she’s ready for Kindergarten. With Isaac and Moriah, I used the program Early Education at Home for Preschool. With Gabriela I’m planning to use that program along with Tot School trays/Montessori activities AND Before Five in a Row…sort of. I don’t actually have the book BFIAR, and I don’t plan to purchase it because it’s hard to get in the UK and expensive (not to mention that some of the required story books are out of print). However, I like the idea behind it, and I have several of the books. So, I’m going to come up with my own activities for those books and cover one a week. I may even add some different books, if it goes well. For Montessori activities, I use the book Teach Me to Do it Myself, by Maja Pitamic, as well as several Montessori blogs I follow online. The Early Education at Home book covers the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and various theme units. To supplement the alphabet section, I’ll be using the Letter of the Week preschool curriculum from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler. For Math, I also use Math Play! and Singapore Math: Earlybird Pre-School Mathematics. I have lots of early learning math manipulatives, too.

When I get Gabriela’s preschool plans finalized, I’ll do a separate post!

5 a Day Books: Week 9

2011-07-27T09:01:00.005-05:00

We read these 5 books last week:

1. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s My Favorite Things (illustrated by Renée Graef)—The Sound of Music has always been one of my favorite movies, so when I found this book in a Scholastic book order (several years ago), I had to buy it. The illustrations are beautifully done, and they fit the words perfectly. I mostly sang it to Gabriela, and she was very attentive and smiled at all the pictures, so I know she loved it as much as me! The last day we read it, I showed Gabriela the part of the movie where Maria and the children sing this song. She ended up watching most of the movie with me!

2. Zin! Zin! Zin a Violin (by Lloyd Moss)—This is a Caldecott Honor Book (awarded for illustrations); however, the illustrations are not what I like about this book (they’re brightly colored, but not my style). What I like is the musical teaching it gives and also the rhymes—the whole book is a poem. Ten different orchestra instruments are presented. Beginning with one (a trombone) and adding one more instrument each turn of the page until you have ten, the author tells what each number of instruments is called. For example, two instruments make a duo, while eight instruments form an octet. Gabriela didn’t really understand all that, but she did enjoy counting the instruments each time we turned the page. Oh, and she also liked the cats in the pictures…of course.

3. I Won’t Share! (by Hans Wilhelm)—Isaac picked this book out for Gabriela, and it was her favorite this week. It’s a very simple story about a dog who doesn’t want to share his toy at first, but then he realizes it’s more fun to share. By the end of the week, Gabriela had it memorized and was able to tell ME the story!

4. Hop on Pop (by Dr. Seuss)—I have so many Dr. Seuss books, and they’re all perfect for the 5 a Day Book challenge. I like that this book is full of simple rhymes, and the pictures are always funny. Gabriela enjoyed finishing each line for me. Today, she pointed to the picture on the cover and said, “They’re not supposed to hop on pop!”

5. Fox on a Box (by Phil Roxbee Cox)—This week I threw in another Usborne book (they’re just so awesome). Just like the Dr. Seuss books, these Usborne phonics readers are perfect for 5 a Day. This book also has the small yellow duck to find on every page, which Gabriela never gets tired of doing. With fold-out pages, cute illustrations, and lots of rhyming, I can’t say enough about Usborne’s books for smaller children.

I'm linking this post to "5 a Day Books" at The Imagination Tree.

5 a Day Books: Weeks 7 and 8

2011-07-18T06:00:00.004-05:00

The past few weeks have been VERY busy, and I didn’t end up posting week 7’s books, so I’m posting the last 2 weeks’ books together in this post.

Week 7 Books: For our week 7 books, I went with a 4th of July/patriotic theme. I chose the books I had at hand, and they weren’t necessarily the best choices to read to a 3-year-old, but I think she was okay with them…not excited, but okay. Here’s what we read:

1. America the Beautiful (Scholastic, pub.)

2. My Country ‘Tis of Thee (Scholastic, pub.)

3. The Pledge of Allegiance (Scholastic, pub.)

4. Parade (Donald Crews)

5. Captain Cat (Syd Hoff)

The first 2 books are simply the lyrics to patriotic songs. The first day, I actually sang the books to Gabriela. I tried just to read them the other days, but she insisted on me singing them. I also know how to sing The Pledge of Allegiance. The problem with using these books for the 5 a Day challenge is that they contain long words which Gabriela doesn’t understand. Although I don’t think it’s too early to introduce her to the songs and the pledge, since they’re part of our American heritage, she didn’t get into them as much. She did enjoy the singing and the beautiful photos.

Parade is more in line with the 5 a Day idea. It’s very simple for a young child. Donald Crews also wrote Freight Train, which I used a few weeks ago, and Sail Away, which I did for week 8 (as you’ll see below).

As I was looking through possible books to read, Gabriela saw Captain Cat and wanted me to read it to her. I mentioned a few weeks ago, with Drummer Hoff, that Gabriela wasn’t really into a military sort of book. Even though Captain Cat takes place in the army, she really enjoyed it simply because it had a cat!

Week 8 Books: When I went to my book shelves to choose the 5 for this week, I didn’t necessarily have a theme in mind, but that’s what I ended up with. The books this week were related to transportation. Gabriela LOVED them! I can’t even tell you which was her favorite—she was thrilled with all of them.

1. Go, Dog, Go! (P.D. Eastman)—We love this book! Written in a Dr. Seuss style, this book has lots of repeated and rhyming words. You can use this book for counting, colors, opposites, prepositions, sizes, and more. Gabriela can “read” several parts all by herself.

2. Sail Away (Donald Crews)—This is the third Donald Crews book we’ve read since starting the 5 a Day challenge. Gabriela really liked reading the “putt, putt, putt” parts.

3. Terrific Trains (Tony Mitton and Ant Parker)—This rhyming book has so much rhythm that you could almost rap it! It tells all about trains, which Gabriela likes.

4. Peek-a-Boo! Boats ()—This is a pop-up book about different kinds of boats. In each pop-up, you can peek through windows to see inside the boat. Each page tells about the boat and gives you things to hunt for inside the boat. I bought this book here in England.

5. The Train to Glasgow (Wilma Horsbrugh)—This rhyming story is a cumulative poem, written in the style of The House That Jack Built and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Gabriela especially liked the fact that the train looks like Thomas…only without a face.

I’m linking this post to “5 a Day Books” at The Imagination Tree.

Garden Sensory Tub and Fairy Garden

2011-07-06T09:37:00.003-05:00

I’ve finally had the opportunity to make a new sensory tub—the garden one most people do in the spring. Also, I took the opportunity to fix up a sort of fairy garden for the girls. This is an idea I’ve seen on several websites and blogs, and I’ve been wanting to make one. This post will cover both of these garden ideas.

Sensory Tub: We are somewhat late on our garden sensory tub; however, our spring was not really warm enough to make this tub, which really needs to be used outdoors. In fact, we’ve only had a few summer days that were warm and dry enough for outdoor play! I was waiting for a day when we didn’t have company, weren’t traveling, and had decent weather. Therefore, the tub most of you sensory tub people did in the spring, we are doing now! Now I’m just hoping that we’ll have enough nice days for Gabriela to enjoy it!

This tub contains: potting soil, 2 pinwheels, several wooden flower shapes, a variety of toy bugs, lizards, and frogs, 2 mini flower pots, a variety of fake flowers, and child-size garden trowel and hand fork

Gabriela loves this tub and begs for it, so hopefully the weather will cooperate. Otherwise, I guess I could have her play in the kitchen and sweep up any mess…

Fairy Garden: I didn’t have the extra money to buy a huge planter, so I used the biggest we already had to make our fairy garden. Greg had already planted sunflowers in it, but he said we could use it. While it doesn’t look exactly like I had envisioned it, the kids love it! In fact, I just gave the kids some things to use, and they made it. Isaac put in the stones, and Moriah brought out some extra stuff to use. It ended up looking really cute, and even though they used things I wouldn’t have, it’s really about THEM using THEIR creativity, so I let them create the garden themselves. I think they did a great job, and I’m going to be on the look-out at charity shops for things they can use in the future if they want.

Here are a few other blogs I found that feature fairy gardens (I’ll add to the list if I find more):

Let the Children Play

Pink and Green Mama

I’m linking this post to “Sensory Tubs” at Our Worldwide Classroom.

5 a Day Books: Week 6

2011-07-06T05:03:00.004-05:00

Our 5 a Day books for this week are:

1. Little Cloud (by Eric Carle)—A simple story about a little cloud and all the shapes it changes into. Gabriela really liked this one.

2. Red Light, Green Light (by Margaret Wise Brown)—I love this book because it has a lot of repetition, wonderful illustrations, and because Gabriela now knows that red means stop and green means go. The pictures, though not overly colorful, are still really lovely (in my opinion). Gabriela loved looking at the pictures and finding the horse, dog, cat, and mouse. She liked pointing out the traffic light in each picture, and she “read” a lot of the story herself after the first few days.

3. Put Me in the Zoo (by Robert Lopshire)—I grew up with this book, and it was one of my favorites as a child. Gabriela loved it, too. Every time we read it, she had to point out that the main character looked sad or mad in a few of the pictures. She noticed a lot of details in the pictures and was able to connect them to what I was reading. The book reads much like a Dr. Seuss book, so there is a lot of rhyme and repetition. In fact, it was part of a series of books called “Beginner Books,” which was co-founded by Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat himself is hidden on a page in this book, which Gabriela always likes to find. Gabriela found this book very easy to read along with me.

4. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (by Laura Numeroff)—This was probably Gabriela’s favorite this week. I didn’t notice until one of my older kids pointed it out, but the little mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is cleverly placed in a few of the pictures. Of course it’s a very cute story, just like all of Numeroff’s books!

5. Drummer Hoff (by Barbara Emberley)—I chose this book because of its repetition and rhyme. I really like the pictures, too. In fact, it won the 1968 Caldecott Medal for its illustrations. However, I think this was Gabriela’s least favorite. Maybe it’s because the military theme is not her thing. The last few days I read it, as soon as I picked it up, she’d say, “I don’t like this one!” That said, once I would begin reading it, she seemed to enjoy it. She liked finishing some of the lines for me. For instance, I’d read “Major Scott brought…” She’d finish, “the shot!” She also always remembered that Sergeant Chowder brought the powder. Each section ends with, “but Drummer Hoff fired it off!” which she liked to say for me. The last page shows the abandoned cannon with flowers all around it and birds building a nest in it. She always likes to point out the spider on it, too. So, although a boy might enjoy this book more, Gabriela still did really well with finishing lines and noticing things in the pictures.

I’m linking this post to “5 a Day Books” at The Imagination Tree.

Field Trip Chronicles: Three Cities

2011-06-29T13:58:00.004-05:00

This is my second post about the places we visited when my parents were here. This time I’m writing about the cities of Chester, London, and Oxford. We didn’t visit them on consecutive days, but I wanted to post about them together. It was fun showing my parents Chester and London, but Oxford was new for the kids and me, and I loved it!

Chester

I’m including Snugbury’s (a dairy farm ice cream shop)because we stopped there for ice cream on the way to Chester. Their ice cream is pretty awesome, so of course we had to take my parents! We also got to see piglets.

Okay, here’s our day in Chester (we visited the Chester Cathedral, Roman walls, Roman Gardens, Roman amphitheatre, the River Dee, and the town centre):

London

We did London in one day, and my only regret is running out of time to show my parents St. Paul’s Cathedral. We still got to see a lot, though. The weather was rainy on and off all day, but we only got really wet at Buckingham Palace. We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament, the London Eye (didn’t ride it, but it’s the first time I had been on that side of the river), Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. We’ve seen the Tower Bridge several times, but this was the first time we had seen the draw-bridge (bascule bridge) go up, so that was interesting.

Oxford

On our way back from the south part of England, we stopped in Oxford. Greg had been there once before, but the kids and I never had. I can’t tell you the names of all the places, but the buildings are amazing. It was pretty cool to think that I was walking where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (two of my favorite authors) once walked. We missed riding a double-decker bus in London, so my parents were pleased to get to ride one in Oxford.

That’s it for this post. The next one will be about our travels to North Wales!

5 a Day Books: Week 5

2011-06-28T08:40:00.004-05:00

Here’s Gabriela’s 5 a Day book list for this past week:

1. Jamberry (by Bruce Degen)—I love this book! The illustrations are so colorful and show great imagination, and the rhyming is terrific, too. This book is perfect if you’re doing a unit on fruit or berries. Out of the 5 books I chose this week, this is the only one I brought from America.

2. Hairy Maclary’s Bone (by Lynley Dodd)—Although I’ve seen Hairy Maclary books at the local library, I never had checked one out. A friend recently recommended them, and I just happened to find one at a charity shop a few weeks ago. Written by an author from New Zealand, they’re very popular here in England, and I can see why. The illustrations and rhymes are very appealing to children. The stories are simple, and there is a lot of repetition. Apparently there is a whole series of Hairy Maclary books, so I will be on the lookout for more!

3. Guess How Much I Love You (by Sam McBratney)—This is a simple, yet lovely little story—great for bedtime!

4. Dear Zoo (by Rod Campbell) —I have the board book version of this story, but it’s very worn, so I was happy to find the larger paperback version (in perfect condition) at a charity shop recently. This book is enormously popular in the UK. It has flaps to lift to see the various animals, and it has a lot of repetition. It’s a very cute book for small children.

5. Tip Tip Dig Dig (Emma Garcia)—Gabriela was given this book at one of her development check appointments (whatever they’re called). It’s very simple, with lots of repetition. It features different construction-related vehicles, each a different color, and they work together to build an adventure playground.

Gabriela loved all of these books and really interacted with the storytelling.

I’m linking this post to “5 a Day Books” at The Imagination Tree. Go there to see what others are reading to their small children and also to read more about the 5 a Day Challenge!

Field Trip Chronicles: Lake District

2011-06-26T11:33:00.002-05:00

When my parents were here, we basically spent 2 1/2 weeks taking the kids on field trips…okay, so we were taking my parents sight-seeing, but it all counts as educational field trips for the kids…who otherwise did not do school while their grandparents were here! Here’s part 1 of our travels (3 days):

The Lake District—This trip included mountain drives, walks, climbing, an ancient stone circle, water play, picnics, imaginary play, science, exploration, wading, a slate mine (just the outside of it), gingerbread sampling, Wordsworth’s grave, playgrounds, Beatrix Potter’s house, fish and chips, and strolling around the towns of Ambleside and Grasmere.

Langdale Pikes

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Ashness Bridge to Watendlath

Borrowdale, Bowder Stone, Honister Pass

Grasmere, Hill Top, Ambleside

I love this picture because Isaac was sliding down VERY slowly on his feet, and he yelled over to me, “Look, Mom! I’m a glacier!”

Happy Birthday…to me

2011-06-25T06:03:00.002-05:00

Normally I wouldn't announce my birthday on my blog, but I turned 40 today...yikes! Everyone over 40 who reads my blog...feel free to encourage me!

No, I don't really like the idea of being 40. My husband will be 40 next year, and it doesn't bother him at all. I guess it's because 40 is just that much closer to 50, and time seems to be going by faster and faster the older I get. But anyway, I have so much to be thankful for. I have 3 wonderful children and a happy marriage. I'm glad that my kids are still young...at least right now at this moment. Most people my age have teenagers and young adults already. I'm thankful for each minute I have to spend with my children, and I wouldn't trade this day, this time I have right now, for any earlier time when I was young. I'm on an adventure--living in another country, homeschooling my kids, getting to experience so many wonderful memories. So I'm not really complaining. My life is wonderful, even though I'm 40. : ) And I expect my adventure to continue at least another 40 years!

Charity Shop Bargains—Lots!

2011-06-24T13:03:00.003-05:00

When my parents recently visited, they wanted to visit some charity shops (they love yard sales just like me). It had been quite some time since I had been able to go, and with some extra money given to me, we hit all my favorite charity shops in the area, and I found all kinds of good bargains! Mind you, they’re not always yard sale prices, but they’re still WAY cheaper than buying new.

Books

My book “finds” ranged from 20 pence to 2 pounds each in price. Thankfully, most of them were on the cheaper side of that range, and the more costly ones were worth it.

I found Handa’s Surprise before my parents came, but I had never mentioned it in a blog post. Actually, I already had this book, but this one came with a nice DVD with two different Handa stories on it!

Isaac loves mystery books by Enid Blyton, and we found quite a few that he didn’t have! He’s already finished a few of them.

I found several other good books as well, including a few favorites I had checked out of the library before.

Games

I’m a game person, and I find it about as hard to resist games as I do books. Here’s what I found (50 pence-3 pounds):

Cloister Games—a set of medieval game boards. This would have come in handy when Isaac studied the Middle Ages last year; in fact, we played a few of these on paper.

Crosstrack—a strategy-based game. This one was missing the orange set of tiles, but they’re not really needed for 2 or 3 people to play.

Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Mein buntes Turmchen-spiel (My Colorful…something…the online translator didn’t pick up that last word). I’m assuming this is a German game—everything is written in German only, so I’ll have to attempt to translate the instructions somehow. It’s a game, but it will make a perfect Tot School activity.

The second is Picture Perfect, a drawing game similar to Pictionary, only the drawers don’t know what they’re drawing! They have to follow the leader’s drawing directions and then guess what it is. I thought this would be a nice game for our family night.

Thought Exchange—This is a thinking skills game.

The Peter Rabbit Radish Board Game—I like games that go with stories. In our kindergarten, we read Beatrix Potter stories, and the kids have visited her house several times up in the Lake District. This game will be nice when Gabriela reaches kindergarten, but hopefully they’ll all enjoy playing it.

Mini Master Mind—I have the larger version back in the US, and it used to be one of my favorites when I was growing up. It’s a good logic game.

Runaround is another game that’s perfect for our family night. In this game, players have to search specified rooms of the house to find objects beginning with a certain letter or having a particular quality.

The second item in this photo (Print Box: Storytime) is not a game--it’s a set of rubber stamps.

Magnetic Fridge Sudoku—I’ll eventually teach Isaac how to play Sudoku, but I thought I could use these magnetic boards and numbers in Tot School, too.

Fish can—Not a game, but the photo fit nicely next to the other one. This is a small tin can with a hinged lid and a tiny padlock with key. Because I’m planning an ocean unit for Tot School later this summer, I thought it would be perfect for that. Padlocks and keys is something I’ve been wanting to use as an activity for Gabriela, but I’ve yet to see how she handles this tiny one. If she doesn’t manage it, I’ll have to hunt for some larger ones next time I have some spare cash.

Various other goodies

In this picture:

1. An index card box, which is something I had been needing.

2. A wooden treasure chest-shaped jewelry box. My mom has a box almost just like this one. I used to love playing with it when I was little. Currently I’m using it as a prize box for a particular goal I’m trying to accomplish with Gabriela. But, I also want the kids to enjoy using it during imaginative play, and maybe I can use it in a Tot School activity.

3. A set of juggling balls. No, I don’t juggle, but maybe one of us can learn. They can be used for lots of other activities, too.

4. A wooden lacing turtle.

In this picture:

1. Three Dimensional Noughts & Crosses (what we call Tic-Tac-Toe in the US)—I bought these for Gabriela to play with in Tot School, since it involves stacking pegs.

2. Famous Five story on tape—for Isaac, since he likes Enid Blyton books.

3. Brain Busters—This one is about Isaac’s grade level, or will be soon.

4. Thomas the Tank Engine wallet—For Gabriela, because she loves Thomas, and she loves wallets.

5. Dog Top Trumps—This one is a card game. Isaac really likes Top Trumps game—he also has one with race cars. I got him this one because he really likes dogs.

In this picture:

1. Small wooden scoop (perfect for tot tray activities)

2. Heart-shaped bead rope (Valentine’s Day activity for counting and/or cutting)

3. VeggieTales Esther VHS—I have this in the US but didn’t have it here.

And more!

A stuffed Elmer toy. I like to get stuffed storybook character toys when I find them. Nice for the kids to hold while listening to the story!

I grab Geomag and Magnetix sets when I can find them cheap—to add to Isaac’s collection. This one includes panels.

DVD on northern animals—perfect when studying different countries.

Wooden drying rack—a toy from ELC here in England. I love finding ELC toys at charity shops, because they’re educational, high-quality, and sometimes pricey. I thought this would make a nice Tot School activity. It comes with pegs, so Gabriela can practice washing small clothing items and hanging them up to dry! I still have to put it together. It came with all the parts except the Allen wrench/hex key used to get the screws in. None of ours fit, so I’ll have to find one the right size or else buy different screws.

Small metal tool box—It didn’t come with any tools, but I can get some for it. : )

Small sea turtle toy—this is for an ocean sensory tub I’ll be making Gabriela in the next month or two.

That’s it this time! (And probably for awhile—I’m all spent out). I’m linking this post to “Garage Sale Treasures” at My Life on a Taffy Pull. No, my bargains weren’t exactly found at garage or yard sales, but I live in England. Garage and yard sales are rare, so I get my “fix” from charity shops…so this will have to count. : )

5 a Day Books, Week 4

2011-06-21T08:21:00.005-05:00

I’m back after a long break! My parents visited England for the first time since we’ve lived here (which is 6 years), and they stayed nearly 3 weeks. Instead of regular school, the kids have spent some quality time with the grandparents, and we’ve travelled all over the country. Now that we’re back to a normal schedule, I’ll try to catch up on my blog.

We began reading these 5 books before my parents came, but I spent an extra week on them since we had a long break.

1. Where’s Curly? (by Heather Amery)—I love Usborne books, especially the Farmyard Tales. If you’ve never had any Usborne books, I highly recommend them! One thing that really makes the Farmyard Tales series special is that each page has a little yellow duck for kids to find. Where’s Curly? is a flap book, making it even more fun for children. Also, the illustrations are quite adorable.

2. Cookie’s Week (by Cindy Ward)—This simple but cute story goes through the days of the week, with Cookie (the cat) getting into some sort of trouble each day. Gabriela really got into this one—she knew Cookie was being naughty!

3. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (by Simms Taback)—There are so many different versions of this story, but I like this one because of the cut-outs on each page, showing what animals are now inside the old lady, and also because of the detailed and funny illustrations and the extra bits of information. This book won a Caldecott Honor for its illustrations.

4. Over in the Meadow: A Counting Rhyme (by Louise Voce)—I chose this book for the rhyming. It’s also good for counting practice!

5. Hickory, Dickory, Dock (by Robin Muller)—I first saw this version of the well-known nursery rhyme when I was substituting for a preschool aide several years ago. The teacher had a read-along tape to go along with the book—the voices and music were really cool. I was able to buy the book from a Scholastic book order, but I wish I could find the tape (or CD). Anyway, the rhymes are wonderful, and the illustrations are amazing. I really love this book! Gabriela did, too. : )

I’m linking this post to “5 a Day Books” at The Imagination Tree. Several of the “5 a Day” participants have chosen Eric Carle books this past week, due to his birthday, which happens to be the same as mine! (I didn’t know that before.) Anyway, happy reading!

In Case You Wondered...

2011-06-04T17:07:00.000-05:00

where I am...

My parents are visiting us in England for 3 weeks, so I won't be posting anything until after mid-June. They've been here for a week so far, so I really haven't been on the internet much. I haven't even done Tot School since Easter, because I was super busy cleaning and organizing my house in preparation. The other 2 did school of course, but it was a light schedule. Anyway, my parents were supposed to have arrived on a Thursday, but two of their flights were cancelled because of severe storms in the midwest US. They weren't able to get another flight until 2 days later, but we were so excited when they finally arrived! We've lived here 6 years, and this is the first time I've managed to talk them into coming for a visit. We had planned a trip to Germany with my parents for next week, but the e.coli outbreak there kind of put a stop to that plan. It wasn't the only factor in deciding not to go, but it kind of helped. While that was a bit of a disappointment, we've already made new plans for places to travel within the UK. My kids, by the way, are on a 3-week school holiday (no, we're not on summer vacation yet). Or you could say that they're just taking 3 weeks of field trips! Anyway, we're having a fabulous time with my parents. I'll get back to my blog sometime after their visit is over.

5 a Day Books: Week 3

2011-05-24T05:15:00.006-05:00

Here are our book choices for week 3. We’re having so much fun with this!

1. Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr—I wish I had the Brown Bear, Brown Bear… book, but in all my huge collection of children’s books, I’m missing that one. I buy most of my books used, and it just hasn’t turned up. When I saw Panda Bear, Panda Bear at a library book sale, I snatched it up quickly! It features endangered animals, and I always enjoy Eric Carle illustrations. After a few days, Gabriela was taking turns reading with me. For example, if I read, “I see a macaroni penguin strutting by me,” then I turned the page, and she quoted, “Macaroni penguin, macaroni penguin, what do you see?”

2. Catch Me, Catch Me!—This Thomas the Tank Engine story was another one of Isaac’s favorites when he was Gabriela’s age. I chose it partly because Gabriela also loves Thomas, and also because it’s a rhyming book with lots of repetition. She really enjoyed “reading” this book with me.

3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss—I don’t know if you’ve ever read this book aloud, but it makes me tired. I almost decided against this one because just the thought of having to read it aloud for 5 days in a row (plus extra times she begged me to read it again) did not appeal to me. However, it is a great 5 a Day book, and I knew Gabriela would like it. After the first few days of reading it, I realized that I didn’t mind reading it so many times once Gabriela got actively involved with it. Her delight in the story made it more fun to read aloud.

4. Buzz Said the Bee by Wendy Cheyette Lewison—This is a simple and humorous book with a lot of rhyming words and repetitive phrases. Gabriela loved this one. The illustrations are really cute.

5. Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen—This cute story has rhyming and repetition, and asks the question, “Do you know who sank the boat?” every few pages. Gabriela loved this book, but after I read it to her the first time, she then knew the answer to the question. Therefore, she chose to interrupt me throughout all the subsequent readings to inform me who sank the boat. A few times, she almost sounded annoyed because I insisted on reading each line, and she already KNEW the answer! However, she still begged for the book each day.

I'm linking this post to "5 a Day Books" at The Imagination Tree.

5-a-Day Books: Week 2

2011-05-17T04:14:00.004-05:00

Gabriela is loving this 5 a Day Book thing! She actually goes around the house quoting from these books. Today (which is now week 3 with new books), she was quoting from Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car, which I read last week. It was so cute! Here’s what we read last week:

1. Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg—This is a popular rhyming book here in England. What makes it fun, aside from the rhyming, is the “I Spy” feature and also the fact that it includes traditional storybook characters such as Cinderella, Tom Thumb, Jack and Jill, the Three Bears, and more.

2. Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli—We have 3 copies of this book, so each of our children has his/her own. This was not intentional—all 3 books were gifts at different times. Anyway, this was one of Isaac’s top favorites when he was a tot—I read it to him a LOT. Gabriela enjoyed it this week, and she also read along with me. She could quote most of the story by the end of the week. It’s a sweet bedtime story, and Gabriela happens to be a lot like Biscuit when it comes to bedtime!

3. The Three Little Kittens illustrated by —This well-known nursery rhyme has lots of repetition and is perfect for the 5 a Day Books. I like the pictures in this version.

4. Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car by John Burningham—This is another popular British book. This one is about a boy and a girl and several farm animals who all want to take a ride with Mr. Gumpy. When it starts raining and they get stuck in mud, they all give reasons why they can’t get out and push. In the end, they all have to help get the car unstuck, and then the sun comes out. Typical English weather…

5. If You Go Walking in Tiger Wood by Alan Durant—I got this book here in England. I like the cut-outs in the pages showing hiding animals. It’s also a nice rhyming book and very interactive—very fun to read with tots.

I’m linking this post to 5 a Day Books at The Imagination Tree. Doing this challenge has been so rewarding. Won’t you join us? Click HERE for details.

5-a-Day Books: Week 1

2011-05-06T12:51:00.009-05:00

I recently read about 5-a-Day books, first from Delivering Grace and then from Our Worldwide Classroom, and I love the idea! I have a passion for children’s books, and I have a very large collection (both American and British favorites) here in England. I am planning to do some Five in a Row style stuff with Gabriela next year. I don’t have the manual, and I don’t have several of the books, so I’ll probably come up with my own stuff. But anyway, this is similar, so I thought I’d give it a try. A thorough explanation of 5-a-Day books and the link-up can be found at The Imagination Tree.

Basically what you do is choose 5 short picture books to read throughout one week, with at least a few of them having rhyming text or repeated refrain. They should be simple and appealing. You read all 5 books aloud to your child everyday during that week. You choose 5 new books each week. Reading the same set of books every day helps the child to memorize, retell, and join in the storytelling, among other benefits. I should mention that this is an early childhood idea, so the focus is on smaller children.

This is my first week participating in 5-a-Day reading. In this post, I’ll describe the books we read this past week, and then I’ll tell you how it worked for us. If you follow the link to The Imagination Tree, you can look at all the other linked-up posts to read about the different books people are choosing to read with their younger children. Some participants are already on week 3 or 4, so be sure to check out the links each week. The Imagination Tree’s week 2 is HERE and week 3 HERE. Some mothers keep their 5 books in a nice basket…I need to find something like that. In my photo, the books are on the rug!

Our choices for Week 1:

1. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Eileen Christelow)—I love this version of the popular children’s rhyme. The illustrations are soft but humorous and very appealing. This is actually Gabriela’s favorite of the 5 I chose. I was sure she’d like the kitten or train book best, but I was wrong! Five Little Monkeys, if you’re not familiar with it, is a count-down rhyme with lots of repetition. Every time I read, “The mama called the doctor. The doctor said…,” Gabriela shouts out, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” She really is starting to memorize the story, and she never gets tired of it. This is why I’m loving the 5-a-day idea. Even my older kids like this book, especially the twist at the end where the mama…well, I won’t spoil it for you!

2. The Foot Book (Dr. Seuss)—I think Dr. Seuss books are perfect for the 5-a-day reading. The Foot Book is another great example of a rhyming book, and it contains several examples of opposites as well. Gabriela likes the illustrations, and this is one she picked up yesterday and tried to read to herself. I was amazed at how much of it she remembered (after only 2 days), and the lines she didn’t remember she just made up, based on the pictures.

3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle)—This was always a favorite in our house…and I mean my house when I was a child! In fact, this is the copy I had when I was little…it’s very old, ha! What I love about Eric Carle books is that they’re often interactive or sensory. In this one, the caterpillar eats through several kinds of fruit (always eating one more than the day before) during a week, but on Saturday, he eats through junk food and gets a tummy ache. There’s a real hole in every food he eats through. At the end, he turns into a butterfly (of course). This book would be perfect for a unit on insects, fruit, nutrition, life cycles, or counting.

4. Kitten’s Adventure (Michele Coxon)—This is a book I bought here in England. In fact, I have 3 other cat books written by this author. My favorite thing about her books is the beautiful illustrations! This particular books is a very simple “Where are…?” book. Gabriela enjoys pointing out things on each page.

5. Freight Train (Donald Crews)—I have this book memorized. Seriously, I can read it with my eyes shut! It was Isaac’s favorite when he was 2-3, so it got a lot of use with him! I chose it partly because Gabriela loves trains and partly because of the simple rhythm of the words and the bright illustrations. Gabriela enjoys counting all the cars as we read through it.

Gabriela and I both have really enjoyed reading these books each day this week. Not only is it enjoyable, but I can see the results already. She’s learning the stories and observing the illustrations more. I also believe doing this is increasing her love of books. Maybe that sounds funny to say when this is the first week we’ve done it, but it really seems likes she’s getting more interested in books than before we tried this.

What books do you like reading with your smaller children? If you’re not reading aloud as much as you’d like to, I challenge you to try the 5-a-Day book idea!

I’m linking this post to "5 a Day Books" at The Imagination Tree.