Happy Heart Day

clipart from Chuck E.

Happy Valentine's Day! May your day be filled with family, friends, and love - and maybe some chocolate. 

Book of the Week - The Mitten

Our book of the week is the Mitten by Jan Brett. This has been a family favorite since the first generation of kids came through. (We are working on our second generation) This week's activities are based on my tot bag for The Mitten which you can read about here.

Kaleb started by coloring the animals that went into the mitten with markers.

We played hide the snowball under the mittens. He wasn't exactly thrilled with that game. He just wanted to play with the mittens.

Kaleb practiced fine motor skills by clipping clothespins onto a clothesline that I hung.

This was Kaleb's favorite activity - magnetic puzzles. There is just something about magnets that he loves. He was pretty good with matching up the colors.

I gave him the mitten bag and he explored the animals from the story. Each time he pulled one out, we would talk about the name and if it made a sound.

His favorite animal was the mouse, of course since his lovey is a mouse.

After he explored the animals in the mitten, he matched them to the animal cards that I printed. Another activity that he loved was acting out the story with the animals. While we were reading the story, he would place each animal into the mitten bag. After the mouse was placed in the bag, the bear would sneeze and shake all of the animals from the mitten onto Kaleb's head. He thought that was so funny! Sorry no picture, I had to use both my hands for that one.

 

I am a visual person so I created a Mitten Unit page complete with freebies around the web. The age of the activities range from tot to kindergarten. Maybe this will help you work on your own Mitten unit. You can download the document here.

Tot Tuesday

Kaleb has found a new love - glue. Recently, when I was working with J during our Art Friday, I needed something to occupy Kaleb. I gave him a glue stick and some scrap paper. This was the best - he glued everything down that he could and had a blast doing it!

I covered the table with paper just in case he got too excited with the glue. But this was the best activity for him. It is good when there is a project that I can't let him participate in but he still feels like he is part of the action. Glue - who knew?

Kaleb's masterpiece, he could be the next Picasso! I might need to get some more glue.

Big Sis

   I heart these.

Sonlight Week 19

This week was difficult to work due to older DD and husband were home on winter break. I find it doesn't take much to interrupt our school day. We did, however, work through the distractions to get it done. Here are a few things we did.

We learned about Jonah and the value of obeying and discipline. J is working in her Bible book.

We spent some time learning the sight word said. J is working on her mini sight word book from Scholastic.

She worked on a wort sort.

J also worked on a mini sight word reader called The Animals Said by the Convenient Teacher.

She practiced her sight words by stamping and writing them.

After our reading lesson, J copies a sentence from her story. I have been working with her writing. I want her to use the words she knows to create her own sentences. She has been doing well with this, a work in progress. (I love the face!)

J was playing with her animals this week and she noticed that she had most of the animals that were characters in the book - The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting.  So she commandeered my table and played through the book, complete with the pirates! (our only problem was trying to tape two llamas together for the pushme-pullyou) I love when she makes these connections to the stories we read! Thanks Sonlight.

Well, not too many pictures this week but I was just happy we finished our week. Hope your week was full of fun. See you next week.

Our Learning Wall

I am a visual learner. In my classroom, I always had colorful charts and diagrams up for the kids. Every inch of my walls were covered with learning materials and kids' artwork and writing. Our homeschool "classroom" is upstairs in our apartment which lacks the wall space I would cover with learning charts and maps. So I created a small version of a learning wall for J. I add any items that I feel that J needs for a quick reference while working. I thought I would share with you our learning wall and perhaps, you will be encouraged to create your own wall.

Our learning wall/ceiling includes a number line, the days of the week, the months of the year, shapes, money, tally rhyme, number writing rhymes. I have color words, an alphabet chart, right and left hands, how J's name is written correctly.

You can add skip counting charts, basically anything that would help your child. This is a quick reference wall and it definitely helps. J uses it often. We review the days of the week and months of the year every day as part of our math/calendar time. Here are some great links so you can create your own learning wall. Hope these help.

Links

Nicole Johnson has a free writing card with vocabulary, colors, shapes, good for reference if you don't want to devote a whole wall to a learning resource. 

Hallie Martin has another desk plate with several concepts.

Confessions of a Homeschooler has some calendar time printables.

Alphabet Chart

Ready for School has a cute chart with sweet pictures.

Tricia Lyday has a free chart with a polka dot theme.

KinderKids has another free chart.

Mindy Sumens has a freebie that you can print in color or black and white.

Maria Manroe and Kellie Bollman also have cute charts as well.

Cathy's Collection has a cute set of letter writing rhymes for correct formation of letters. 

Diagraphs and Blends charts

Kelli Bollman has a free chart posted on her TPT store.

Julie Van Alst has a freebie chart as well.

Wild About Teaching has a free chart - the one I have hanging up.

DK Coleman has cute penguin version of blends that could be used as a review game.

Rome's Readers has a word family chart that will probably make it to my wall as soon as we learn them.

Calendar charts

Days of the Week

Tea Lea has days of the week with a gingham border.

Angie Amos has a free set of mini days of the week cards.

Teaching Preschoolers has the printable I used on my wall.

Julia Rother has a cute set with polka dots.

Jessica Mashburn has a cute doodle version that are all most color free,

Months of the Year

Apple Girl Amber has a free monthly calendar set.

First Grade Charades has months of the year calendar cards.

Number Rhymes

Stephanie Gabos has number rhyme posters that you could print 2 to a page for smaller learning spaces.

Teacher Sarah has number rhyme cards with cute illustrations. I may print these and add them to my wall.

Mrs. Leeby has even and odd owl charts for learning even and odd numbers.

Number Lines

Hope King has a cute number line with old time records. 

From the Pond has adorable cupcake number cards.

Teacher's File Cabinet has a math resource page with lots of learning.

Fishyrobb has another math resource sheet.

Mr. Printables has the printable number line that I used for my wall as well as a cute alligator one.

Colors

Linda Hemry has a desk tag which has left/right/ alphabet, colors

Latoya Reed has color flashcards to print for your wall.

Imaginative Teacher has a cute color poster on an artist palette.

Evelyn Riveria has a file folder based color chart.

Heidi Raki has simple colored words for your wall.

Lauren C. has crayons (these are so cute).

Money

Clutter Free Classroom has a money reference chart.

Angela Haas has a money anchor chart.

Kinder Learning Garden has a coin and dollar chart.

Tot Tuesday

Kaleb has recently become particular about his shirts. He loves to play in water, any chance he can get. If he gets his shirt wet, though, he has to change it right away. He does NOT like a wet shirt. He will come to me and complain about his shirt. I will tell him to go get another shirt. He then runs into the bedroom and returns with 6 different shirts that he pulled from his drawers. I ask him which one he wants to wear and he will hand me one....

I will put one on and he will hand me another...and another...and another until he has all of the 6 shirts physically on.

He ends of looking like a line backer or even the Hunchback! But he insists on wearing all of the shirts he brings me. I guess he couldn't make up his mind.

You can actually see all of his shirts in the picture. He can barely move his arms! I just hope I don't have to do this with his pants!