A Year of Adventures

For the past few year, we were uncertain of where we were  going to live and what we were going to do. We were unsure of a lot of things and because of that uncertainty, we mainly just homeschooled day to day. We took a few trip but not many. We weren't part of any homeschool group because when we lived overseas, homeschooling was nil. I was used to doing it alone.

This year, I wanted it to be different. I told my children that we were going to have a year of adventures. A school year of field trips and nature walks, plays and experiences. So, to ensure that would happen, we joined a homeschool group. This year was definitely off to new start. As long as I have homeschooled, we have never been part of a group. This was going to be new for me as well as my children.

So, a year of adventures and my new homeschool group was going to help me achieve that. One thing that was super difficult was the urge NOT to sign up for everything. I still want to have a solid teaching year. Not ever being part of such group, fighting that urge was extremely hard. I wanted my children to see plays, go to the fire station, join the reading discussion groups, go on nature hikes, do art in the park.....the possibilities were endless with my homeschool group. So, I had to calm down and choose the adventures that we wouldn't normally go on.

So, here we are....in our Year of Adventures. It should be fun. It will definitely be challenging (for me). But it will be an experience that (hopefully) my children won't forget:) Our school year started with an adventure - Hurricane Irma. Not sure that counts though, at least for the kids. So, I hope you will join us and maybe, just maybe, this will encourage you to have your own year of adventures as well. See you soon.

Letter V Interactive Notebook with free printable

Still working on completing my interactive notebooks for the alphabet. Today, you can download the letter V....only 4 more to go! Yay! Here are a few activities that are included.

What begins with V mini books. Cut the flaps and add pictures of words that begin with the letter V.

Vacuum the V dirt piles! Add the dirt piles to the correct vacuums - upper and lower case letter sort game.

Which way are the vans pointing....left or right? Another good skill to know is left and right. Practice this using the van game. Enjoy the printable.

Download the Letter V Interactive Notebook HERE.

Nature Journaling - Week 2 & 3

We were stuck inside during the terrible hurricane Irma so we were unable to work on our nature journals outside. But something amazing happened - when I was walking outside our house, I found a complete butterfly laying in our flower bed. It had already died but it was intact. So we collected the butterfly and decided to learn about it.

We studied the butterfly and found out it was a Gulf Fritilary. J wanted to try to preserve it so we stuck it in the freezer. Well, we lost power after that so I am not sure we preserved it well.

Our journal entries for the week, we learned about porcupines, moles and our butterfly.

Then, we waited for Irma and worked on our journals. We learned about deer as well.

J added a few more pages because the heat was getting to her:) And it was hot! She drew a coyote, mountain lion, and a rex rabbit which she owns. I love that she is really getting into journaling. Now that we finally got our electricity back on....we will be going on our weekly nature hikes. Yay! See you soon.

Riley's Rhymes - Wheels on the Bus

In case you missed the explanation - Riley's Rhymes is a tot school based on rhymes and songs with a focus on colors and shapes. My tot is just about three years old and he asked to do "school" just like his brother and sister. It is a gentle "school" and we do what Riley wants. I do not force him to do it - if he asks, then we will.

Our first unit was Wheels on the Bus - fitting for the first month of school. We took a month to complete it because of hurricane Irma and no electricity for 14 days. But that's okay - we were flexible:) Here are some of the activities that Riley did for our unit.

The Wheels on the Bus unit was based on the song. The focus color was yellow and the focus shape was a circle.

At the beginning of each session, I sang the song while looking at our books. I took this time to point out circles and the color yellow. After a day or two, I noticed him singing the song on his own (loved it:).

My plan was to begin the unit with a new sensory bin. The sensory bin that I had planned was a wagon wheel pasta bin. But I was unable to find the pasta so I made the color yellow sensory bin. I included everything I could find that was yellow - counting bears, blocks, linking blocks, circles etc...

I made some simple 2 part puzzles of circles (included in my download). I laminated them and added magnets to make them easier to assemble. He also had a 3 part bus puzzle that he did. I kept the activities simple as to not overwhelm him and to make it fun.

He was really interested in the lacing bus card (in download). I showed him once how to do it and then let him "sew" away.

He worked on a q-tip painting picture of a circle. He used the bingo markers in the color yellow. He went around and dotted each circle which surprised me. I thought he would get tired of it - nope:)

 He worked on a torn paper bus which will go into his paper bag book pocket. I thought this activity would have been easy but he had some difficulty tearing construction paper. Maybe next time I will have him tear printer paper. He glued not he pieces himself with a large glue stick.

He stacked yellow blocks into a tall tower.

He matched the tire colors using pom pom magnets, a cookie sheet, and my printable.

He painted a bus using the tires of a bus. He wasn't sure about this - he kept asking me to clean off the tires of his bus. He didn't want it dirty.

Here is the beginning of our paper bag book - as you can see where I got the large paper bags (thanks Publix!). All of his crafts will be placed in the pocket of the bag book. They all fit except for the big bus which I will have to fold. You will also notice that I have included extra activities that aren't on my visual schedule. The reason for this is that Riley wanted more than just one activity. So, I had to get creative and add a few items.

Riley's Rhymes - Wheels on the Bus with free printable

I am super excited about a new idea that I have developed for my tot - Riley. He has been feeling left out while I work with J and Kaleb during school. He asked me to do "school" with him. I truly feel like he is too young to start learning the alphabet and I didn't want to push "school" too soon. But I did want to work with him in an intentional way. So, I began Riley's Rhymes - it is a year long program that is based on nursery rhymes and songs.

Each unit for Riley's Rhymes is based on one rhyme or song with a shape and color focus. I have included several activities to enforce the learning and, in the end, they will be combined to create one big paper bag book. Each unit is two to three weeks long (or longer, if you would like) and I only do "school" when Riley asks. I keep all activities in a plastic bin and ready to go, all items included so I am not searching for things when I am working with him.

With each unit, there will be a unit download. It will include some of the games and printables that we used to make it easier for you to plan your own rhyme unit. Our first unit for Riley's Rhymes was The Wheels on the Bus - it seemed appropriate for the start of school. I tried to find age appropriate activities which will vary depending on the child. So when you work your own unit, pick and choose what you think you can use.

Now, before I get angry emails or comments, I do NOT believe that my three year old NEEDS school. I am doing this because of my child interest in wanting to have his own "school" like his brother and sister. My focus is learning fun based on rhymes/songs with practice in colors and shapes.  I am NOT teaching the alphabet or forcing my child to do anything he does not want to do. I am allowing him to take the lead and, if ever, he wants to stop - I will stop.

So, without further ado....my Wheels on the Bus mini unit for Riley's Rhymes.

Each unit is based on two weeks (or more if needed) and has a visual schedule. I planned one activity per day as well as some notebook pages. I am a visual learner so I like the visual schedule. I place each activity into a gallon ziplock bag along with all of the items needed so Riley can pick and go.

I found this activity on pinterest but couldn't find a printable for it, so I made one myself. Using our pom pom magnets, Riley matched the wheels on the bus.

I made a simple game. Riley would roll the die and cover the shape that it landed on. This was a great opportunity to reinforce colors and shapes. We used the pom pom magnets from the previous game.

I made a simple rhyme sheet for the paper bag book. Also, included in this download is a cover for your child to color. I am using the large paper bags that you can get at the grocery store. These are a few of the activities that I have included in my mini unit. Please see Riley's Rhymes Wheels on the Bus in Action to see all of the activities that we did.

Download Wheels on the Bus Mini Unit HERE.

Letter U Interactive Notebook with free printable

Another Wheel School Interactive Notebook done - the letter U. Yay! I am getting to the end of these but only to add new printables to create :) Here are a few activities that are included in the download.

I always start with the letter mini books - what begins with the letter U.

This one is silly - sort the upper and lower case letters into the correct laundry basket. IT was just screaming to use underwear!

An umbrella alphabet review game - a simple and fun way to review the alphabet.

I always try to include a simple math activity for each notebook printable. This one may be somewhat difficult but I think if you use glass beads as counters, you can explain odd and even numbers. If everyone has a pair - it is even. If not, odd. Enjoy the download.

Download Letter U Interactive Notebook HERE.

Letter T Interactive Notebook with free printable

We are up to the letter T and I am making my final count down of the Interactive Notebooks that I have been creating. Here are a few of the activities that are included in my notebook.

Letter T mini books.....what begins with T?

A Letter T puzzle. To make it easier to use, I would laminate and add magnets for a cookie sheet activity.

An upper and lower case letter sort - sort the rubber duckies into the correct tub.

An alphabet review game in the shape of a tree. Review all the letters that you have worked on up to T.

A turtle five frame math activity - practice simple addition problems up to the sum of 5 using turtles on a log. Enjoy the download.

Download Letter T Interactive Notebook HERE.