Learning the alphabet...beginning with their name.

 

It's so important to begin learning the alphabet with something that is meaningful.  Yes, I use the HWT's order of alphabet for teaching children how to correctly form their letters.  And I use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lesson's  order for teaching the children how to read.  But what do I do with 3 year olds who are not ready for any formal learning of the alphabet?  I start with something that is MOST meaningful.  Their name!

 

At the supper table last night, Great Grandma (who had been away for a week and a half) was over for supper and was wondering what T. does when the other children are here.  So I just commented that he has his "school work" to do.  So we got talking about his name work he did last week...

 He told us without looking at any of his work, this was just a conversation at the table..."T, R....there are two Ts...at the end" holding up both pointer fingers.  He needed me to air write the E and the N and remind him what the E was but he got the rest of it.  I'm not quite sure whether he really knew the answer when Daddy asked "So what does that all spell?"  but I'm quite pleased with what he has already progressed in!

 

First off I should say that we also do a "tracing" name sheet each day.

 He matches the letter tile/manipulative and I trace the name with him.  With my young ones, I always trace hand over hand with them.  Doing this helps them get the correct letter formation engrained early!  The large blank area is a place to try to write it down himself. At this point he doesn't do much but he has moved beyond scribbling to creating somewhat of a closed circle!

And on this day, Mom was a bit slow in getting to him when he was ready and he decided to trace the letters himself!  :-)

  

  Below is an activity we did throughout last week.  It's simply a letter of his name created with 1" circles in Print Shop.  I added some block letters that he and I traced together while saying the word above them, emphasizing the beginning letter sound.

 

Since we've already worked with the letters in his name and posted it up on the wall...

 

I decided to give him a gluing activity that included the foam letters of his name and some big, medium, small shapes.  I was curious if he'd

1) recognize the letters as ones being in his name. 

2) Glue them in order.

There it is! :-) Obviously he wasn't interested in the letters of his name.  LOL (Whew!  I wasn't really ready to move onto the next step yet!)  However, he was very interested in gluing in circles-or the very least, closing up lines.  Very interested in that actually...

During his name writing practice he had that whole bottom section covered with lines that connected.  I think it was close to 3 minutes he spent on the bottom section, carefully drawing lines.  :-)  But what I wanted to share in this picture was the baby sock on his hand.  Perfect eraser for toddlers.  :-)  I use plastic page protectors and dry erase markers quite frequently.  This way he can actually erase his work himself, which is half of the fun ya know! 

 

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One other activity we did every day last week were our 12 piece alphabet puzzles.  I know I've posted about those before.  We purchased ours from Lakeshore Learning.  I had a gut feeling he could do these but I never really had time to find out for sure.  So I knew I'd have a bit more time on Monday (and had it again on Tues.) so I put out the T puzzle on Monday.

 

I needed to help him with almost all of it.

Tuesday...

I needed to help him get it started.

 

Wednesday 

 Letter E, all by himself!  And I couldn't really get a good picture because EVERY time he got a piece he threw up his arms and half yelled, "I did it!"  "I did another one!"  :-)  We had a smile-y morning that morning!

 

 So, Thursday he got the letter N and then back to T on Friday.  All's well!  He now can officially complete a 12 piece jigsaw puzzle all by himself!

 

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Hope you all have a lovely week!

Preschool Tray Activities

This was purchased through Discount School Supply..."mobile art rack".  Works perfect for what we need it for! 

 

So, as been mentioned, we are taking the tray route with T.  This allows him to work independently, for the most part.  It went very well the first day and then he began to get picky.  This week we started fresh and I taken the attitude with him that the time after our group lesson and before we have snack and get outside is "school time" for him.  His "school work" is to go from the top tray to the bottom tray.  So, that keeps him busy in the kitchen, at the table, so he is not distraction to the older students and he's also there where I can interact with him a bit more.  He did great these last two days!  It's not a big deal if he doesn't do everything on the cart.  I just move up what he didn't do to the top for the next day.  :-) 

 

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For my own sake...we are doing activities that are not "new".  :-)  A lot of neat ideas on Pinterest but I really don't have time to prep for another child.  I'm giving myself a month or so.  And it's just fine for him since he was too young to remember doing any of the preschool work we did in years past so they are "new" to him.  We are not following a specific theme either.  Each day we work on something in the alphabet (his name at the moment), something with shapes, colors, numbers, fine motor/puzzle, writing explorations, art and sensory.  Unfortunately, I was unable to slip in picture taking very much that first week...and I didn't do very good in the 2nd week, especially with T. but now that things are evening out, perhaps I'll get more.  :-)

 

Spotting Numbers

These are great for preschoolers who are working on number recognition.  The goal was to put a chip on the numeral that match the large numeral.  Using magnetic chips add a well-liked component and they can wave the magnetic wand over top to "erase" their boards.  I know I have uploaded pictures of children doing this because it's often a favorite for the children and as the teacher it's a great activity...but I'm not sure if I ever uploaded the actual document so here it is...Spotting Numbers.

 

Love the idea of these shapes.  Very strong magnetic surface.  You can purchase them at Lakeshore Learning, Jumbo Magnetic Design Shapes.  They have a nice stand-up magnetic dry-erase board just for the shapes but we lack space so we just use our fridge. :-)  The only downfall is that the colored paper on top peels off easily.  :-(  So not so durable.  We've had these for quite awhile but they've only held up as they have because they were never put out for "free choice".  It was always a planned activity...so less "abuse".  However, they have had them in the local libraries and you can soon see that they aren't so visually appealing after much use. They are such a favorite with the kiddos though!  Great for teaching shapes, colors, add an art component and for older students, beginning fractions.

 

Here's an activity that did not go as planned!  I should have predicted it though.  :-)

I had a plastic shape sorter that I got from a garage sale that cracked soon after I got it.  So I've had the shapes hanging around here because I couldn't part with something that could be used for some odd activity.  :-)  Then I thought, playdough, these have all textured prints of the shape on the top.  We'll make prints on playdough.  Hmmm, yes.  Well, it turned into "measurement" activity.  Ha!  How much playdough can we shove inside this shape?  Yes, they were hollow.  That would have been really cool if the playdough came out in the shape but, it didn't...and it just made more work for me on a day I really really really didn't need more work.  :-P  Oh well, even after how many years working with toddlers/preschoolers...I still "live and learn".  LOL  However, we will do this again, when I can be there to "explore" with him.  The textures are pretty cool!

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And finally!  I took the time to start up a new blog for my school-agers...

Schooling At Home Happenings

I find blogging a great way to evaluate how the day/week/month went.  It allows me to go through snapshots I've taken and really, in essence, it's a stress reliever.  :-)  So as busy as I am, I do hope to post in both places at least once a week.

 

School Year 2012-2013 has started!

Wow!  We are into our second week and boy oh boy are we a busy crew! 

 

This year the situation in the home is a bit different.  Instead of preschoolers filling this home we have school-agers.  Some being homeschooled and others schooling from home.  :-)  We hope that the homeschooled children will be accepted into the visual charter academy but if they don't get in this year, they will get in next year with sibling priority.

 

I do plan to start a blog with activities here and there that are being done with the school-agers.  Finding time is the issue!  :-)  I'm going to try to keep this one for preschool learning.  My youngest son is 3 years old and he is my only preschooler this year but we'll post every once in awhile.  :-)

 

So what has T. been doing this week?  He's been trying to figure out where his place is in the group of 6 children.  Right now we are trying to figure out just what we are doing :-P and so he's been "on his own" in the mornings.  Meaning, I'm not sitting with him and working with him at this time.  We are incorporating that wonderful tray cart that I purchased at the beginning of the school year last year. 

He sits with us and interacts as much as possible with our group morning lessons (calendar notebook and history/social studies, art/music, story time).  When we move on from that, 3 of the students and myself move into the kitchen and that signals T. to go get his cart and bring it into the kitchen.  :-)

 

The first day he was with us (2nd day of school) was awesome...he went from the top tray to the bottom tray and our morning went very smoothly.  He's getting picky now.  :-)  So I'll have to consider what I'm placing on the trays.  I did have a lovely plan to do activities following Nursery Rhymes this year with him but...well, that went out the window with how much planning and prep I have to do with the other kids.  So, we'll continue as we are for now.

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These are his buddies for this school year...

T. 3 yrs., L.-1st grade, C. and E-2nd grade, W.-3rd grade, A- 4th grade.

Anyone need some volunteer hours?  LOL

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W. is so kind to him.  She's has a mothering spirit about her and doesn't like it when he's not happy.  We'll see how it goes, there is a possibility he'll interfere with how much of her tasks she gets done in the morning.  :-)  Right now though, he needs that additional "mothering" since mom is busy busy so I'm letting it go with verbal reminders to get her work done.  Here's a picture from today...

Isn't that sweet?  That story was part of her tasks today, she was working on Story Elements and had chosen The Lorax.  She was able to complete the Story Elements page correctly so...either she's very familiar with the story (a big possibility) or she was able to get out of the reading what needed even with a 3 year old interrupting, pointing to pictures, and talking. 

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Will let this be all for today...just wanted to let you know that I'm back. :-)  I'll be sharing T.'s "favorite" trays the next time I have a few moments. 

 

A quick post about summer blogging....

Been awhile since I've done any blogging.  As some already know, there are changes for the next school year.   Instead of preschool/child care I'll be homeschooling preschool as well as early-upper elementary students.  My goal this summer was to go through my back files and post what I could of preschool activities but so far there has been minimal time as I've been trying to get my mind around homeschooling and curriculum for multiple children.  We had hoped to enroll in MVCA (Michigan Visual Charter Academy) but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.  Maybe for next year.  But in the mean time....busy busy busy trying to figure out just how I want to do this.  I will be keeping up this Preschool Learning blog come fall...as I'll have a 3 year old here.  Not really sure I'll have much time for it this summer.  But I do plan to start a school-age blog in the fall as well.  I find that blogging is a great way to document what's been going on.  I've gone back and looked at different themes/dates/activities multiple times since starting to blog...so it's been a great help personally.  And in the meantime, maybe another parent/teacher can find something useful also.  :-)

Have happy summer days!

Nature Prints

Nature Prints

Well, I was SUPPOSE to be cleaning house but couldn't help myself, I had to go outside and explore too!  :-P  Oh well, the house can be cleaned tonight (actually can be done quicker when the kids are in bed anyway). Actually, going outside was two fold...1) got me out of cleaning and 2) I could tell they were going to quickly lose interest because they haven't quite relearned about this "exploration".  So I went out and started verbalizing my thoughts and finding materials they haven't used yet.  Talked about how things didn't quite turn out for me and what I was going to do about it (this was mainly for the first grader who tends to do something and doesn't think it's perfect so he cries-pouts and refuses to finish the project...so teaching how to "make the best of it" without a lecture.  :-))  I also showed by example that really, paint on our hands really isn't a big deal, and it can be part of the fun.

"Oh, well, I was going to make a hand print holding flowers but that print did NOT turn out.  Hmmm, guess I'll mix those colors together to make a new background."  :-)

"Check out these new plants I found to print!"  (I made a point to go beyond 2 feet from our painting area and went on a "scavenger hunt".) 

Here A. printed a bunch of rocks then sat for awhile and then asked for the paint brushes.  Absolutely!  One of my goals is for them to think and explore and ask for materials.  More often than not they'll get them.  Unfortunately, we do not have a space to put materials at their level to get on their own so they have to ask.  Some day I'd like a space for art materials that can be within children's reach.  However, in the mean time I would like them to relearn how to be comfortable in asking for materials that will help in their creative outlet.

After printing many items, he then took a leaf and smeared them around and then printed white leaves.  Neat!

The end opinion:  "That was fun!" 

School-Age Center Rotation

I have the privilege to be home in the summer with my kiddos.  This summer I don't even have other kiddos with us.  So what to do?  :-)  Today we had a lovely day.  Actually after our morning I had 2 out of 3 children take a nap.  And the third one I found out fell asleep in the reading tent.  Ha!

After piano, Tae Kwon Do, groceries/shopping, appointments, library...we really only have about 2 days out of the week that we aren't "doing anything".  I find that I really do need to have some sort of activity planned though on these days to help our days go smoother.  Last night they voted a center rotation.  This is where I set up several 'centers' and they can rotate through them and it usually takes about an hour.

Computer

My kids are always wanting to be at the computer.  It's limited here, ESPECIALLY during the school year.  They use the computers in their class, at the lab and watch way more movies/TV than necessary.  Multiple times I've walked into the first grade classroom to see Sponge Bob on the TV.  Hello?!   Anyway...you can guess my opinion of that!  This was a refurbished computer that we set up as a "kids computer" and it's in our kitchen.  Hopefully by next school year we'll figure out why our wireless Internet is not working with this particular computer and get it fixed.  I do suggest the computer the children use the most be in an easily supervised spot, especially if you have Internet hook up.  But even if not...I find that time can go by quite quickly and you forget how long they've actually been on the computer if they are out of sight.  The kids' favorite CDs are JumpStart and Magic School Bus.  We were trying a series of CDs I've had for years from Manay.  There were several activities on the math and science CD but they really only enjoyed the Math Scrabble.  We actually purchased this game recently and so it has renewed interest.  I'm sure we'll slip the actual game in soon! 

S'Math, from Lakeshore Learning

Science Tray

  We did this with the preschoolers back in February.  You can read that post (Fizzing Trays) here.  Differences for the school-agers:  They were able to color their own vinegar and use as much or as little of the baking soda/vinegar as they'd like.  Allowing the kids to explore on their own with minimal "interference" from mom is...well, yes, it's a little bit more messy but on the other hand, school-agers have a bit more control and ability to clean up their mess!  I use trays often.  It makes clean up so much easier!

I control the activity a bit with a toddler, as you can see below.  I didn't have him pour his own vinegar or add the colors.  I prepared the tray of colored vinegar for him.  As usually, he ended up spending more time mixing the colors.  :-D

Playdough Measuring

Less is often better I've learned.  :-)  I remember when I use to put the whole playdough tub out (yes, I still do on occasion) but when I want something specific explored with, less IS better.  Our goal this summer is to relearn how to explore a specific topic and also to build stamina.  Because they have not had the opportunity to truly explore, they really do not know how to progress on their own.  They want me to tell them what to do.  They quickly move from one area to the next without truly getting anything from the activity.  It'll take time but we'll get there.  :-)

 After 1st grade, the children really do not use clay or playdough anymore in school.  Isn't that sad?   Today I set out two types of scales.  Slipping in some learning here.  :-)  Weight...sometimes the weight of an object is called its mass.  Today we explored with oz. and lbs.  My unstated goal for the 1st grader was to realize that the weight stays the same even though the shape changes.  (As long as no part of the playdough falls off!) 

Reading Tent 

Seems like every time the children want to do this, it isn't the right time.  It takes time and patience to pull all the chairs out and find all the suitable bedding that will work with the tent.  This was C.'s idea for today.  He wanted a tent with flashlights to read.  And lo and behold we were at the library yesterday and got a bunch of "new" books to read.  Love that C. is now at the 3rd grade level and into chapter books.  :-)  A.'s at the 6th grade level and I'm finding it difficult to find books that are at his level in reading as well as social/emotional development.  However, we don't worry about AR during the summer.  Our summer goal is to read for the fun of it.  :-)  I think AR sometimes hinders this. 

Fans!

We recently went on a field trip to the Wilderness Trails Zoo in Birch Run, MI and our group each chose a paper fan souvenir.  I could tell they were pretty cheap so I encouraged our kiddos to keep theirs to use for our religious convention...which can be a bit warm at times.  :-)  So, I pulled them out so we could see how they were made and then we created our own for every day play. 

Materials:

9"x12" construction paper

markers

1.5"x10" cardboard/cardstock

tape   

I didn't get pictures of every step but these are the main two steps.   Encourage them to decorate the construction paper...both sides if they wish.  Then accordian fold the paper.  Then our own kids chose colored cardstock instead of cardboard and cut a 1 1/2"x10" strip, using a ruler and pencil to mark and a paper cutter.  They folded it half, lengthwise over the bottom of their fan.  They then decided that it was too long for their fan so trimmed it.  Then they stapled it and wrapped packing tape around the bottom.  Seem pretty durable compared to other fans we've made in the past.  :-)

Oh, and we started into our goal of reading ALL of our picture books!  LOL Wonder if we'll actually get through them all before summer is out.

Shiny Pennies

We have a "piggy bank" of pennies that get used frequently.  Not a pig...but a huge baby bottle bank.  :-)  At the toddler and young preschool age, they love to sit there with a bowl of pennies and slip them in the top of the bank.  Great fine motor!  The older kids sort, skip count, stack, use them in their play (they love to haul pennies in the trucks), and so on.

My older kiddos decided they wanted to sort and clean them this past weekend.  Well, we've tried this before and did not have luck.  We only made them worse as many of them have this white coating on them from the last time we tried this.  :-) 

This time we had a bit more luck...it really kept them interested because they could see an instant change in the pennies.  The picture below is actually less than a minute in the mixture.  I'm sure it would have gotten shinier but they wanted to get a picture of it like that.  Unfortunately, the picture doesn't show the contrast as much as it does in person.

The lovely smelling mixture is...

3Tbs of vinegar to 2 tsp of salt

We ended up doing quite a bit more, using this ratio, to fill a tray and do more pennies than what would fit in a cup.  Made it easier to watch the instant change also!

So what's up here at Play 'n' Learn?  We are officially on summer break!  And we are looking forward to a change for the fall.  Though I'm not sure we are going to be placed at MVCA, which is our first choice (there wasn't many seats available and there were a LOT of application this year), I feel that we will continue this thought of homeschooling in the fall.  Quite a bit of excitement there!  Stay tuned!  :-)