This week went well, but we didn't get everything done I had hoped for.
With Christmas coming up, I've been too busy to blog.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Learning Happens in So Many Ways
Today, Rachel traced her name three times, played with her mosaic tiles and did two dot-to-dot activities. She's never done dot-to-dots before and wasn't entirely sure about them.
She also started dismantling her easel, put bells on her ankles and marched around the house, and turned her bear chair over and used it for acrobatics.
She is currently trying to put her inflatable raft on top of a box and sit in it. And....moving on to Lego.
She also started dismantling her easel, put bells on her ankles and marched around the house, and turned her bear chair over and used it for acrobatics.
She is currently trying to put her inflatable raft on top of a box and sit in it. And....moving on to Lego.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Slow Week, but then She Surprises Me
This week has been slow. We've all been tired. David is working long hours and Rachel hasn't been sleeping well, so neither have I.
Needless to say, we've still done some fun activities.
We played Concentration with the images from the Corduroy book. She quickly decided that a linear search was more efficient then turning over two at a time to see if they matched. She would turn one over and then, holding it in one hand, flip the rest over looking for the match. :) I think her parents are programmers and have rubbed off on her.
We also finally got around four days ago to coloring the pattern bears. I colored the words on the first two bears and then she had to pattern match the words to figure out what color the other three bears on a line should be.
Today, we actually made a map using the images from last week's book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. After we made the first one, she wanted to make another map, so I drew pictures of our favorite places at the mall. She drew lines between the different stores as I told her where we were going next.
I also succumbed to letting her have the flat mosaic tiles I had bought her for Christmas. She has way too much coming for Christmas, so I'm going to space some of them out a bit.
She did a couple of the mosaic patterns, matching the tiles to the shapes, and then wanted me to play with her. We took turns ("sharing" as she says). However, she got bored with the patterns and started playing with the shapes and making her own patterns. Fine by me. The only thing I think she can still gain from the printed patterns is combining basic shapes to make more complex shapes. (Which she figured out tonight after dinner and then told David, "You're good at this game" after he successfully combined two tiles to form a larger shape.)
Sitara, one of her playschool teachers, gave me a copy of a "Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings" today. It is supposed to be the basis of all preschools by 2012. It outlines, in a very detailed manner, all the skills they look for at specific levels. It is like the milestones you find on dozens of websites, but much more detailed and lists indicators of the skill. After I review the document, she will sit down with me and we'll go through it and do some assessments of Rachel. She thinks Rachel is advanced in some areas and this should help me figure out what types of activities would be both helpful and fun for her.
Then, the surprise of the day. At dinner tonight, she was messing around because she was tired. She kept taking her carrots and breaking them in half. So, if she wasn't going to eat them, we played counting games with them. Then, we did the basic math problems:
1 + 1 = 2
1 + 2 = 3
3 + 1 = 4
6 + 1 = 7 (She came up with this one. Not my idea.)
2 + 2 = 4
We'd make pile of carrots and then count them. When we were done, she took the pen and paper and started playing "math" explaining how to add things to someone that I couldn't see.
Then, she ate them all. Yay for eating vegetables.
Needless to say, we've still done some fun activities.
We played Concentration with the images from the Corduroy book. She quickly decided that a linear search was more efficient then turning over two at a time to see if they matched. She would turn one over and then, holding it in one hand, flip the rest over looking for the match. :) I think her parents are programmers and have rubbed off on her.
We also finally got around four days ago to coloring the pattern bears. I colored the words on the first two bears and then she had to pattern match the words to figure out what color the other three bears on a line should be.
Today, we actually made a map using the images from last week's book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. After we made the first one, she wanted to make another map, so I drew pictures of our favorite places at the mall. She drew lines between the different stores as I told her where we were going next.
I also succumbed to letting her have the flat mosaic tiles I had bought her for Christmas. She has way too much coming for Christmas, so I'm going to space some of them out a bit.
She did a couple of the mosaic patterns, matching the tiles to the shapes, and then wanted me to play with her. We took turns ("sharing" as she says). However, she got bored with the patterns and started playing with the shapes and making her own patterns. Fine by me. The only thing I think she can still gain from the printed patterns is combining basic shapes to make more complex shapes. (Which she figured out tonight after dinner and then told David, "You're good at this game" after he successfully combined two tiles to form a larger shape.)
Sitara, one of her playschool teachers, gave me a copy of a "Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings" today. It is supposed to be the basis of all preschools by 2012. It outlines, in a very detailed manner, all the skills they look for at specific levels. It is like the milestones you find on dozens of websites, but much more detailed and lists indicators of the skill. After I review the document, she will sit down with me and we'll go through it and do some assessments of Rachel. She thinks Rachel is advanced in some areas and this should help me figure out what types of activities would be both helpful and fun for her.
Then, the surprise of the day. At dinner tonight, she was messing around because she was tired. She kept taking her carrots and breaking them in half. So, if she wasn't going to eat them, we played counting games with them. Then, we did the basic math problems:
1 + 1 = 2
1 + 2 = 3
3 + 1 = 4
6 + 1 = 7 (She came up with this one. Not my idea.)
2 + 2 = 4
We'd make pile of carrots and then count them. When we were done, she took the pen and paper and started playing "math" explaining how to add things to someone that I couldn't see.
Then, she ate them all. Yay for eating vegetables.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
December 4 - 10 Corduroy
Books
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Corduroy's Christmas Surprise by Don Freeman
Activities
Writing
Working on writing her name and stick in pocket like Corduroy
Language Arts
Using the letters in "CORDUROY", we'll search for words in the book that begin with each of the letters of his name.
Math
Counting and adding buttons (which should work well given how much she likes to play in my button box)
Make "beds in a department store" cards with numbers and hide Corduroy
Sorting and Patterns
Sorting buttons
Completing patterns using buttons
Sorting coins and naming them
ScienceCredits for some of the material
Play with flashlight and make shadows on the wall
Memory
Concentration (from Delight website)...make bear cards
Life Skills
She will work on buttoning her own clothes
Make a bear bank to collect money during December. She can then give it to a charity of her choice from (thanks Kelly)
Fine Motor
Cutting out buttons from strips
Art
Make papier mache bank
Color Corduroy coloring sheet
Make puppets? (to re-enact story?)
Real Life Adventures
Take a trip to The Bay
Bank idea came from Delightful Learning
Coloring sheet from Homeschoolshare
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