Friday, January 29, 2010
Earth Activities
Ideas for teaching about the layers of the earth . This would make a fantastic centre activity
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Keeping it all organized
Mini Alphabet Magnetic Letters
Science Centres
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Never Ending Learning with Sonlight
I read the K Core with Zebra 2 years ago but we were new to homeschooling and we never did anything extra with the books we just read and discussed. Then we discovered FIAR and Homeschoolshare and realized that you could do more than just read a book and discuss it. You can lapbook it, you can go on rabbit trails, you can go where ever the book and child leads you, so we started to do the same with some of the Sonlight books. That is where this blog came from a place to compile the ideas we have used or seen that go with FIAR and Sonlight and now we are adapting them to the workbox.
Today in Australia is Australia Day. We went to the local park and spent a few hours participating in the local celebrations and then came home - forget school for the day, its a public holiday. But looking around Duckie has decided to redo her appalling copywork from yesterday (yes I said she had to redo it but today?), Zebra has pulled off the shelf 'Living Long Ago' and is busy hunting through the recycling box so she can make something from the book, Duckie read the book after her and then went off to make herself a tent for her dolls ... the list goes on.
The Usborne book of Living Long Ago would have to be one of the girls favourite books along with the Bernstein Bears Science Book (that one is falling apart). I do wonder how many of these books will actually survive until I am blessed with Grandchildren some are pulled off the shelf so often to re-read! Is there a law against hiding books from your children just so the books survive!
Sewing Finger Puppets
Monday, January 25, 2010
these 2 sites are worth a look at.
Worksheet Works.com is a make your own worksheet so you are able to make the sheet exactly for your child.
Amazing Handwriting Worksheets - a free handwriting worksheet maker - It prints up well (the ones I have tried)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fun and Workboxes
Let me try to explain. I have just re-read Sue's book and found no mention of fun boxes just for the sake of having fun. She does mention fun teaching, fun work, fun and interesting materials.
Here is my conclusion we need to be thinking very carefully what we are putting in the workboxes and why. Are we just filling the work with worksheets or activities to fill in time? If so why?
"The philosophy of the Workbox System is to provide:
1 Structure
2 A firm foundation in discipline
3 A clear and visual presentation of their curriculum
4 A way to present expectations for their curriculum in a clear and logical way
5 Fun and interesting materials
6 Important educational repetition
7 An expectation of greater independence"
Friday, January 22, 2010
Cutting with Scissors
More printables here at kinderprintables
Create your own cutting worksheets here
Otherwise just draw lines with a ruler and cut along them.
WorksheetWorks.com allows you to make your own worksheets for practising cutting with scissors - you can make them as complicated or as easy as you like.
More ideas:
- cut playdough
- cut up straws to then thread and make necklaces
- use the cut paper to make paper chains
- cut up a magazine picture and then use it as a puzzle
- cut up magazines
For those who want a more challenging project - fold the paper and make cuts to make a paper snowflake.
This is a Developmental Activity Idea from Sonlight K
Button Sorting
Compound Word File Folder game
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Australia Day Resources
Listen to the Australian National Anthem here
Australian Timeline from Downunder Literature
History of Australia Day in more detail
Maps of Australia here at A to Z Teacher stuff and here
Lots of Aussie things here at Teacher Planet
Australia craft ideas for younger children here at first school
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sonlight K Introduction to World Cultures
Please do not be overwhelmed by all the extra things we have added (we don't do them all ) Plus I am adding extra to make K books work for older children as I am doing 4, 5, 7 and 9 year olds together to make it easier for me :0 Some of the girls are doing these stories for the second time so we are going into more depth, if you are using K with younger children some of these activites may not work for you.
Bible
Copywork pages to match 'Sing the word from A to Z' can be downloaded from here
If you are looking for Lapbooks or other younger children's activities to go along with your bible Stories look at Bible Story Printables or look at Christian Preschool Printables or little blots
Lots of free Notebooking Pages for Bible can be found here at NotebookingPages.com if you are wanting to add to your bible studies.
Language and Thinking for Young Children by Ruth Beechick & Jeannie Nelson. All my links for this book are here (This book should probably be in Language Arts K, but I have listed it here too.)
History and Geography
Free history timeline and other notebooking pages here at NotbookingPages.com
Usborne Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia (New)
I Heard Good New Today (New)
Living Long Ago
This article has some good ideas on eating your way around the world. There are some ideas given as you read Living Long Ago but it wouldn't be hard to find and add more if you want to.
Wild Places
Read-Alouds
Hero Tales (This book is not in the 2010 Core K)
Free Missionary Notebooking Pages are here at NotebookingPages.com There are some blank ones that would be perfect to record what ever you wanted to about the missionaries you studied.
Gladys Aylward
*For more info on foot binding read here I decided not to show this to my children as it made me feel sick but at least I can now explain to the girls how it was done.
I have been unable to find a DVD of 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' but from the reviews I have read the story line seems to stick closely to real life.
*Looking for images of Gladys for notebooking? Do a search for "gladys aylward pictures"
*Notebooking pages I made for Gladys Aylward here and here
*Hands of a Child has a lapbook called 'Christian Missionaries to Know ' item 1096 which includes both Gladys Aylward and George Muller along with others. (I was lucky enough to get this as a freebie at one stage and so we may use it as we read the book)
*Currclick has a freebie this week only for a mini unit study on Gladys Aylward.
The Apple and the Arrow
Lapbook here at Homeschool Share. There is SOOOO much here.
Here are all the things we did plus more when we read this book.
The Boxcar Children
Dolphin Adventures
Dolphin Treasures
Family Under the Bridge
Five True Dog Stories
A Grain of Rice
The House at Pooh Corner
The Hundred Dresses
In Grandma's Attic
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
Johnny Appleseed
The light at Tern Rock
The Llama Who had no Pajama
Mary on Horseback
My Father's Dragon
The girls have loved this book each time we have read it. So far we have read it twice and Zebra has lapbooked it twice (her choice!). There are 2 more books in this series Elmer and the Dragon and The dragons of Blueland. I would like to get these books but so far have not found them. The first time we read the book and lapbooked it I had to make all the bits for it. Now there is a fantastic lapbook at HSS, we used this the second time. Free lapbook at Homeschool Share
Lapbook example @ Walking by the Way.
The Real Mother Goose
Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You book
The Story about Ping
The Story of Dr Dolittle
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Twenty and Ten
Capyboppy
Developmental Activities
week 2 - sorting buttons
week 3 - cutting with scissors
week 4 - Painting with string
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sonlight LA K
Keep checking back during the year as we slowly add to these resources.
Resources we use for the year
Sandpaper Letters (I used the letter sheets from here) and cut them out of sandpaper and stuck them onto another sheet of cardboard. Confessions of a Homeschooler has lacing cards that would be possible to use to make sandpaper letters
(I teach the Upper and Lower case letters together by name and the sounds (phoneme) in a box so we learn all the grapheme (spelling choices) for this sound at the same time. We have a lot of fun with our THRASS chart.) If you want to learn more about what this is. Look here
Find the letter worksheets from BeginningReading.com I will print these up and laminate them and add them to the Letter Folder I am collecting for each letter so next child round I am all organized :)
Make a calender using the blank calender here This is the second year we have used this calender and the girls really like having their own calenders. They cross of a day each day and so keep track of the year.
Note to self - while this calender has been working ok for the older girls, I think the younger girls could do with more calender learning. On my to do list is make a calender board like this one here @ Our World Wide Classroom which is based on this one here @ 1+1+1=1
Favourite Websites for overall Language Arts activities are:
Hubbards Cupboard (check out the abc stations for activities that could easily be adapted for workboxes
ChildCareLand look under free printables. This site has a wealth of extra ideas for workboxes and so simple.
Weekly Letter Page or Alphabet Album
Sonlight has you make a letter page each week. Instead of doing that how about making a photo book? The Photo and idea is from Let's Explore
She has a new Let's Explore Blog here. You could allow your child to take photos and add to the book (and tick off technology for that day!)
Week 1 Letter Ff activities
My Letter Ff Worksheet
Lots of extra activities to do at Confessions of a Homeschooler. I don't do them all but they are good for ideas and extra games to add to the workbox Letter F activities here.
From No Time for Flash Cards - Letter Ff
Week 2 Letter Bb Activities
My Letter Bb Worksheet (note this worksheet contains 'lamb' & 'thumb' which really belong in the "m" sound box. If you don't want to explain this use this one Letter Bb worksheet edit. I didn't realise I had added these until we used it this morning!
Confessions of a Homeschooler - Letter Bb activities
From Walking by the way comes B is for boat
No Time for Flash Cards - Letter Bb
Letter Bb Fun Bag activities from Home Grown Hearts
Lots of fun Bb Activities at Delightful Learning
Language and Thinking Alphabet - we will be using the THRASS alphabet rap song and printed alphabet sheet. Bunny will be able to listen to it on the ipod and follow along on the sheet. This will be a daily workbox activity. You could copy any favourite alphabet song to CD or ipod and allow your child to listen to it independently as a workbox activity - a fun way to learn the alphabet letter names.
Day 3 Activity - Write an Invitation
There are some really nice letter writing papers for downloading here. They are printable letter and envelope in one.
Now would also be a good time to introduce a workbox activity for writing letters. Honey at Sonflower Schoolhouse has one ready to download and go. Letter Writing for the Workboxes (Scroll down the page it is no 67)
Day 4 Activity - Story Sequencing
3 Bears Story pictures printed from Sparkle box . I already have a felt board set for this story I made when I was working in Childcare so I will be offering the option of either or both on different days as a fun workbox activity.
The 3 bear bingo set also from sparkle box will make a good working with sibling fun workbox.
My Sequencing Cards for 3 Bears Activity - use if your child needs pictures to help them.
There are some really cute printables at Kidzclub.com for the three bears. They would make a good book bag activity for the three bears story.
Week 3 Letter Mm Activities
My letter Mm Worksheet
Letter M Fun From Confessions of a Homeschooler
Day 2 Activity - Cornmeal Letters.
I did this activity last time we did K with the last child but I ended up with worms getting into my cornmeal (not nice) so this time I am going to use sand - as soon as I can find a nice box. I want THIS ONE. How nice to write in orange sand and see a beautiful blue with each letter.
Week 4 Letter Tt Activities
My Letter Tt Worksheet (This week there were so many words on the THRASS chart that contained T that the worksheet is 2 pages (print double sided if you want) I actually prefer it this way as it looks like a real THRASS chart - I might have to redo the others!)
Turtle fun for the Letter T from Confessions of a Homeschooler
Day 2 Activities - 3-D Letters
You can download playdough alphabet cards from Childcareland. Scroll down the page until you come to the photo and download.
Day 3 Activities - Bean Bag Game
Make some bean bags (if you don't already have some. Easy instructions here. This would be a good sewing project for children.
Week 5 Letter Rr Activities
Lots of Rainbow fun from Confessions of a Homeschooler.
Sonlight LA 2
Reader Book List
The Beginner's Bible
Surprises
Pompeii: Buried Alive!
Owl at Home
Frog and Toad are Friends
Mouse Tales
Greg's Microscope
Hill of Fire
Frog and Toad all Year
Daniel's Duck
Amelia Bedelia
Nate the Great
Frog and Toad Together
The Big Balloon Race
The Fire Cat
The Sword in the Tree
Wagon Wheels
The Titanic: Lost ... And Found
(Spelling) Word cards for first 4 weeks here
Week 1
(Spelling/Phonics) Compound Words File Folder game (game to use instead of the Activity)
(Writing Activity sheet) Worksheet for child to use when brainstorming and using Descriptive Words here
Week 2
Zebra really struggled with the spelling words this week. There were just too many long words for her to deal with.
**NOTE** (Added 14/4/10) We have persisted until week 5 with the spelling words but are giving up on the Sonlight spelling words part of LA2 for the moment so will not be adding anymore spelling activities. I don't have the finances at the moment to add in either the Explode the code or the Wordly Wise books. Instead we will be doing our own spelling activities based around the THRASS chart.
(Writing Activity Sheet) Verbs. There are lots of activities listed in this squidoo lens on Verbs.
(Writing Assignment) Worksheet for Like What? Assignment here
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
(Writing Assignment/Activity Sheet) Book Report - I made 2 sheets to go with this activity either a plain worksheet for use with the three little pigs story (here) or an Accordion Book report
Week 6
(Writing Activity) Journal Entry. Some ideas to make a beautiful journal that your child will treasure
(Writing Activity) Self-Assessment. Worksheet here
Week 7
Week 8
(Writing Activity) Communication. If you are wanting more information on the history of communication check out Wikipedia History of Communication scroll down until you get to 'history of telecommunication'
(Writing Assignment) Address book: Create an address book here are some quick and easy ways to make an address book - calendersquick, Kaboose, Donna Young and more Donna Young here
And my favourite: Correspondence a princess/prince mission. This lapbook would be perfect for teaching your child communication (topics include - How to use a phone and safety, How to write a letter, Personal address and phone book, email etiquette, and much more) for the princesses and for the princes
Week 9
Week 10
Tot School Week 1
She loves the felt map this was meant to be a waiting station activity but if she enjoys it who really cares :)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Waiting Station #4
Planning for the new year
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Felt Crown Pattern
Gardening
This was something we always did when we visited my grandma. She would collect sand from the river out the back of the property and we would then put it into old margarine containers or foam meat trays, dampen it and then "plant" it with plants from the garden. They never lasted for long but we had lots of fun making it. These gardens look more longer lasting. Could lead to a unit study on Bonsai if the child was really interested in miniature gardens.
This would also make a good go along when reading Milly-Molly-Mandy as from memory in one of the books Milly-Molly-Mandy and Billy Blunt make a miniature garden to show at the show.