All About Me - Part 2

The All About Me theme finally came to an end on Friday. It's not that I did not like it but I enjoy being creative with my themes and I had a hard time developing this one for both Adrian and Zahavah. Here is a sample of a few more activities my preschooler did during the All About Me week.

Language & Literacy - Portraits of Family Members

Guess Who? - Adrian truly enjoyed this one and wanted to repeat the activity several times. I basically spread the four pictures in front of him and told him I was thinking of someone who was pictured there. I then told him things like, "this person is sitting", "this person has short hair", "this person has green eyes", and so on until he was down to only one picture (he'd turn face down the people that obviously didn't fit my description) or had guessed. I made sure, while choosing the pictures, that I had two people standing, two wearing white shirts, and so on to make it more challenging.

Fine Motor Art - Dot to dot a matchstick boy

Fine Motor Art - Gluing beans on top of a dot to dot drawing

Dot to Dot Beany Boy - As you can see, my son still has trouble with his pencil grip so fine motor activities are encouraged everyday. I first drew a dot to dot matchstick boy for him and then had him draw lines on top to connect the dots. He tried hard but didn't really "connect" the dots. After that, I had him put a line of liquid glue on the lines he drew (a bit at a time so it wouldn't dry before the beans were glued in). Finally, he had to pick with his fingers the red beans and put them in the glue. He enjoyed the activity but didn't like having his fingers full of glue. :)

Physical Development - Body die

Body die - The biggest hit this week. It looks terrible but both A & Z loved it. Adrian actually requested the die EVERYDAY! I took a 4 x 4 x 4 box and stuck (rather quickly I must admit), various body parts on it (one per face). Adrian would then throw the die and do an action involving the body part he rolled. For example; he'd clap his hands, stamp his feet, rub his tummy, comb his hair, jump, etc. I would tell him as a prompt; "with my feet, I can..." and he'd finish the sentence and do the action (e.g. "With my feet, I can kick") Z used the cube too but when it'd land on a body part, she had to show me the body part pictured only. Her fun was more into the throwing than the pointing...

Language & literacy - Body Parts Bingo

Body Parts Bingo - A well loved activity too. It was a bit tough for Adrian to figure out some of the pictures though but with help, he managed (prints yours for free via www.bogglesworldesl.com). His favorite thing was actually the goggly eyes used for chips. You may want to introduce the goggly eyes before if you plan on using them as well!

Math - Sorting goggly eyes

Sorting Eyes - An adored activity. Seeing how A loved the eyes during the bingo games, I thought I'd make a math activity out of it. As such I presented him a bunch of goggly eyes to first sort by color (my bag had six colors). Later, he sorted them by size (this bag contained about 8 sizes).  He did it over and over and over again. 

Language and Literacy - Body Part Recognition

Adrian has known his body parts for the longest time but I thought it would be nice to revise them in a fun way and to "add" a few to his vocabulary. To do this, I gathered some stickers and would ask him to put a sticker on the body part I called. At first, it was easy and then, I progressed with parts that are not mentioned as often such as "wrist", "calf", "ankle", and such. Adrian thought it was such fun that he asked for more parts to be called until the stickers stuck no more. 

Not pictured but also well loved this week was the mega bloks tower Adrian was requested to build. The challenge was to build it as tall as he is. He did it proudly but not without having it tumble a couple of times...which made him laugh hysterically.

All About Me for Preschoolers - Part 1

It's finally time for back to school and I must say my little Adrian was quite excited when I mentioned it. As he hasn't started in his "real school" yet, homeschooling his baby sister has been slightly delayed for now. 

This Week's Theme: All About Me

Math - Eye Color Graphing

-Eye Color Graphing was done using pictures of family members I showed him on the computer. The grid was printed from abc-teach.com. They have lots of of different grids for graphing and are free to print.

Physical Development / Outdoor Play - Variation of Twister

-Twister Game Variation. I personally called the colors for Adrian to touch with his hands and feet to make it more manageable. Painted Paper Plates could have been used but since we played outside, I chose to use Lakeshore Learning Materials' Balance & Flexibility Kit Domes which are quite sturdy. 

Art - Handprints & Footprints

-Handprints & Footprints. After setting out the washable tempera paint and foam paintbrush, I let Adrian paint his own hand and make a print and then let him do the same for his foot. He really liked it and suggested that we make more prints with other colors later this week...

 

Science -History - Family Tree

-Adrian knows his grandparents but does not see them very often as we live abroad a lot. I thought it would be fun to include them in this activity but I also thought it might make Adrian understand that that although I am his mom, I also have a mom and a dad! :) I helped him through the tree for placement of the pictures.

I must say that I forgot to bring out my trays today so the materials were not organized the way they usually are but truth is...it'll only get better as the year goes by...well hopefully! :)

Theme Development

Cherries, strawberries and yellow plums...

what a bounty growing in our yard!

The end of August is near and I am now working very hard to plan all the activities that will take place in September. In order to do this, I brainstorm a lot at night and jot down the ideas that come to mind when I think of the theme I'm working on, as well as words that remind me of the theme. I also refer to some books I have here as well as several blogs and websites. Above all, I try to find activities in each of the subjects chosen for this school year, make sure I have some books linking to the theme as well as songs. It can prove difficult sometimes, but it's worth the try. Start of the school year here is planned for September 4.

French Inlcuded

Frontenac Castle, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada;

my hometown, my wedding backdrop...and the reason I speak French as a first language

I sometimes feel quite ashamed I do not speak French to my kids exclusively. You see, French is my first language. One would think that it would be natural for me to speak French at home and as my parents do not speak English extremely well, it would make sense for me to speak it with my children...but I don't. It wasn't always this way. When Adrian was first born, I worried he would pick on my slight French accent when I spoke English and so I spoke French with him all the time. Although children are not supposed to confuse languages, it sure looked like he did. In between his daddy speaking English, me French and the entire country Danish, my son did not speak one word until he was 18 months old and moved to the U.S. Panicked, I consulted our pediatrician who hinted at an all-English environment for him. From that day on, I spoke very little French around him except for singing songs and reading a few books. I figured speaking one language would be better than none. Fast forward 3 years later and the guilt has kicked in. Especially when my parents visit. Even more when I go back home to Quebec and see my extended family and friends. I used to wonder why my husband did not speak Korean (his mom was born in Korea) and now I realized that my kids' future spouse may wonder the same...

It is my intention to immerse both Adrian and Zahavah in the French language every afternoon during the week (after Z is up from her nap). I am planning on speaking French exclusively until my husband arrives but I also plan on including the thematics so they can both learn words as well. I'll also include French songs and French books related to the theme we are currently working on. Above all, I'll try to make it fun and help them learn the language!

Daily Schedule

Although they love one another, Zahavah and Adrian will probably be happy

 to have their own separate school slot with me

Having two children to homeschool means a daily schedule has to be established to make things run smoothly. To be honest, my two kids seem to thrive best when they know what to expect anyway so they'll be happy to see a timetable has been set. So far, it is only a tentative schedule because things may change. Zahavah is still insisting on napping twice a day and I will be trying to have her merge her two naps into one bigger nap after lunchtime is over. If all goes well, here is what our daily rhythm should look like starting in September.

Homeschool Schedule 2012-2013

Mornings 9:00-11:30 : Tot School

Afternoons 1:00-3:00 : Preschool

Such a split between tot school and preschool is made possible by our local German Montessori Preschool. Though I will be homeschooling Adrian in the afternoon, he will be attending an all-German  preschool every morning. This will allow for Zahavah to have all my attention in the mornings and as she naps during the afternoon, my attention will shift to Adrian. 

Adrian's Thematics

Adrian giving a new coat to Lightning McQueen; 

Adrian loves Disney's Cars.

When I sit down to chose themes for an entire school year, I always try to take in consideration the child's interests (for Adrian, trains and cars are absolutely his favorites). It always makes school more fun and inviting for them. That being said, I also consider what kids usually would learn if they were in a "real school". It's always nice to broaden a child's interests and add new words to their voculabulary. 

Adrian's Thematics for School Year 2012-2013

September:

All About me

Farm

Fall

Apples

October:

Pets

Trains

Leaves

Halloween

November:
The Far West
In the Woods
Thanksgiving
Harvest Time


December:
Robots
 Christmas (3 weeks)


January:
Transportation (minus trains)
Space Exploration
In the Kitchen
Wintertime


February:
Mardi Gras
Valentine's Day
Colors
Fairy tales, Magic and Fantasy


March:
At the Zoo
Candy
St. Patrick's
Easter


April:
Construction Zone
Earth Day
Springtime
By the Pond


May:
Weather
Dinosaurs
Occupations
Circus


June:
Pirates
Bugs
Summertime
In the Garden


July:
Independence Day
By the Seashore

I am aiming for one theme per week. It's a good rate to keep the interest up and it's just long enough to have enough material to present. Adrian being a preschooler, themes may change/be adapted during the school year to fit his current interests. That's the beauty of homeschooling!

Zahavah's Thematics

Zahavah loves reading about zoo animals and as such the theme "At The Zoo" 

was added to her thematics for this school year.

I hesitated before picking out themes for Zahavah's school year. After all, a toddler does not quite register that there is a theme going on through the day/week I thought. Still, having thematics can help establish a curriculum filled with activities and as such, I decided to use themes this year. My choices were based on basic concepts such as letters and numbers, the seasons and their holidays as well as themes I knew she'd enjoy.

Zahavah's Themes for School Year 2012-2013

September: 

Body Parts & By the Seashore

October: 

Shapes & Halloween

November: 

Colors & Thanksgiving

December: 

Pets & Christmas

January: 

Clothing & At the Zoo

February: 

In the Kitchen & Valentine's Day

March: 

Vehicles & Easter

April: 

On the farm & Springtime

May: 

Alphabet & Bugs

June: 

Numbers & Summertime

July: 

Independence Day & Picnics & Camping

As you can see, I've chosen only two themes per month...which means Zahavah and I will be exploring   each theme for approximately two weeks. At this point, I do believe it will be enough. Zahavah is still young and needs a lot of unstructured play as well, but I am willing to adjust, shall we fall short of concepts to explore.