Walking by the Way

Story Study Lapbook

I borrowed this book from a friend. Elijah wanted to lapbook it, so we decided to create a simple story study to go with it.

This lapbook includes: Bible Verses about Contentment accordion, A Circular Story wheel, Fairy Tale Detective mini-book, Contentment matchbook, I Am Thankful For list, flap book with questions, a book review (on the back) and a venn diagram comparing this story to "The Fisherman and His Wife" 

This book is an excellent starting point for discussions about needs/wants, contentment, complaining, and greed.

I will upload this lapbook to Homeschool Share in October so others can use it too!

V is for Vegetables

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our book of the week was Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert.

Alphabet Art- Valentine V

Supplies
V Pattern
cut up valentine cards
glue

Glue the card pieces to the V and you’ll have your Valentine V!

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons and lapbook from Homeschool Share. We also colored and glued some of the V printables from the Alphabet Notebook to the back of the lapbook (not pictured).  

Simon’s garden journal was cute. He told me what to write: 
I planted little seeds. Then it sprouted. Then it became a plant. It is going to have very huge squash on it. I am going to share it and eat it.

Here is a little greenhouse I found at a book sale (yes, I find the strangest things at book sales!).

You can recreate this idea with a plastic bag. You could even use some cardboard to make a frame for the greenhouse. 

You simply tuck a wet paper towel and a few seeds inside the house. Radish seeds are great because they sprout so fast. We’ve actually use this multiple times with different seeds.

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Cooking Vegetable Soup

First, we headed out to the garden to grab some of our home grown vegetables. Then I peeled and chopped and sliced and diced until we had tons of veggies. 

We started with garlic, onion, and olive oil. After it cooked Simon added the broth. 

And lots of veggies (celery, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and cabbage)!

Book Basket
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming
Stone Soup (any version)

Shopping List
~ ingredients for vegetable soup
~ seeds
~ plastic bag & paper towel (to create your own green house)

A Change of Pace

I’ve never helped a child make a complete lapbook in one day.
I’ve never lapbooked with two children at the same time.
And. . . I’ve never lapbooked with girls.

Well, now I’ve done all those things (at once)!

.

The entire morning was a whirlwind of glitter, giggles, and glue. The pink crayons got a workout!

We started off our time together by reading Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. After our reading, we dove right in to the lapbooks using the templates at Homeschool Share. 

Each lapbook is made of two file folders.

Girlie #1’s Lapbook 

Girlie #2’s Lapbook

The front of the lapbooks had the girls’ names in glitter (why yes, I am CRAZY!) The lapbacks are pictured below:

We had so much fun! Hopefully, we can do this again!

S is for Snow

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Simon winging a snow angel.

Our book of the week was Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats.  

Alphabet Art- Shiny Silver S

Supplies
S Pattern
Aluminum Foil

Cut squares of foil out and let your preschooler glue them to the S to make it super, shiny, and silver! 

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons for The Snowy Day from Before Five in a Row and some of the lapbook printables from Homeschool Share.  

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Shaving Cream Snow

shaving cream + one table + no shirt = one happy kid!

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Painting Snow

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Spraying Snow

I filled Simon’s spray bottle with some water and food coloring.  He loved this and brought me his spray bottle every time he went out to play in the snow.

Book Basket
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Hat by Jan Brett
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
Snow by Uri Shulevitz
Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett
All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt
Snowbears by Martin Waddell
Snow is Falling by Franklyn M. Branley
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

Shopping List
~shaving cream
~ tempera paint
~ food colors
~ spray bottle
~ aluminum foil

H is for Hand

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our book of the week was Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins.

Alphabet Art- Hairy, Hairy H!

Supplies
H Pattern
Glue
Fur (I found this at Hobby Lobby) – cut into three strips to fit the H.

Add glue to the H and pat down the fur.

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons and lapbook from Homeschool Share.  I also used a few pieces from the H portion of the Alphabet Notebook.
 

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Hand Art
We did a few fall hand arts (the tree and the bat) because we completed this letter back in October or November.  You can search for various hand art projects to meet your seasonal need.  The fish would work anytime! 

We started with a partially painted fish bowl, but we decided to just go ahead and paint the entire thing.  :)

Book Basket
My Hands by Aliki
Curious Geroge by H.A. Rey
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen

Shopping List
~craft fur
~tempera paint
~small beans (for fish aquarium)
~google eyes (for fish and bat)
~white pony beads (for bubbles in fish aquarium)

Wizard of Oz Lapbook

I’m back.  I think.  I won’t bore you with details, but I’ve had some physical issues to work through.   I’ve been on the upswing for a few months!    Hopefully, I can get back to blogging.  :)  

Here is Elijah’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz lapbook from I’m-not-sure-when.    We started it as a read aloud, but he finished the last few chapters alone.  His great grandma gave him the next two books (Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz) for Christmas.  Since then, I’ve purchased quite a few more Oz books.   He loves them!

Most of the minit books are found at Homeschool Share.  Elijah also added a few of his own ideas (with a little help from me).    We also added some Wizard of Oz stickers (by Dover).  

Madeline ~ FIAR Style

We’ve used Five in a Row from the beginning of our homeschooling journey.  We started with Before Five in a Row when Elijah was 2 (almost 3).   We’ve been through most of Volumes I-III and part of Volume IV.    This is our fifth year with our FIAR based homeschooling co-op, and we are back in Volume I.   Here is a week with FIAR from my family to yours!  :)

All of the minit books listed are from HSS.

Monday at Co-op
Started off strong at co-op; we split our larger group into two small groups for the activities today and it really seemed to cut down on the chaos.  

First, the kids learned about the Eiffel tower and worked in teams to create vanilla cream wafter replicas.  

We also met Marcus, a volunteer EMT and ambulance driver.  He gave us the full scoop on being an EMT and showed them the equipment it takes to do the job.  They also got a tour of the ambulance; all the kids were very curious and listened intently to Marcus the entire time.

The Rest of the Week
~read Madeline again each day (except Friday)

Social Studies
~read Madeline Says Merci and discussed manners; completed go-along minit books 
~read Children Just Like Me (pg. 32, Rachel from France)
~fixed French Toast (with French bread) & listened to Teach Me French
~completed France component for lapbook
~made Eiffel Tower from Legos

Language Arts
~discussed the literary elements lesson & completed the Rhyme Time minit book

Applied Math
~discussed symmetry & looked through illustrations; completed symmetry minit books

Science

 ~started human body project; added brain, heart, kidneys, bladder, spleen, pancreas, gallbladder, and bones (this project is on-going!
~started reading Usborne’s First Encyclopedia of the Human Body (this will also be on-going)
~watched The Magic School Bus Human Body DVD
~discussed body systems from Giant Science Resource Book 
~Elijah read lots of go-along books:
What Makes You Ill? (Usborne)
Your Body (Usborne Beginners)
Your Insides by Joanna Cole
You Can’t See Your Bones with Your Binoculars
You Can’t Taste a Pickle with Your Ear

Art
~drew a picture of Madeline
~completed architecture lesson and the Tour de France minit book
~discussed illustrations and art lesson about color
~colored Eiffel towers (one monochromatic and one full color palette)

Completed Madeline Lapbook

Front Cover
 

Inside View

Inside Rhyme Time 

Inside Body Systems (many print-outs from Evan-Moor’s Giant Science Resource Book).  

We had a few minit books that went with Madeline Says Merci.   

Tour de France accordion book (shows all the famous places shown throughout Madeline)


This lapbook is one file folder glued inside another.  

The inside file folder 



Inside "Is it Monochromatic?" 


These were symmetry cards; we chose not to cut them out and just tri-folded instead.

Cover of France book


Inside France book

Inside Eiffel Tower Creations…

Preschool Activity Bags in a Snap!

Did you know there are some preschool bag ideas at Homeschool Share? Check out the Workboxables Page under Preschool to find these four ideas that can easily be stored in gallon sized ziploc bags.  

1.  Number Wheel
Match the numbered clothespins to the corresponding circle sections. 

2.  Animal Match Grid

Note:  I added magnets to the backs of each animal and have Simon put his main board on a cookie sheet.  It helps keep things from sliding around and getting messed up so easily.  

3.  ABC Fishing
Use the fishing pole to pick up a fish and find it’s home on the board. 

4.  Homemade Stickers

Make the stickers according to the Homeschool Share directions.  Add some crayons and paper to a ziploc bag and stick the stickers in.  Your preschooler with have fun coloring and sticking! 

If the preschooler ain’t happy…ain’t nobody happy.   Keep them busy and save your sanity with preschool activity bags!  

 

N is for Nap

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our main book of the week was The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood.  

Alphabet Art- Newspaper N

Supplies

N Pattern (I used the large capital N)
glue
paintbrush
newspaper cut into squares; you could even cut N’s or N shapes from the newspaper to paste on the N

This was simple.  Simon painted some glue on the N and stuck a piece of n-n-n-newspaper down. 

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons and lapbook from Homeschool Share.  I also used the N printables from the Alphabet Notebook page at Homeschool Share.  

We had such a fun time learning the sleeping songs!  :)

The pocket on the back holds Napping House Story Props and the sequencing characters from the lessons at HSS.

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Pounding Nails!

This might be Simon’s favorite let’s make a memory thing EVER.  He did this every day for two weeks and has frequently asked for it during his school time.

Let’s Make Another Memory ~ Noodle Necklaces!

First, we made some colored pasta.

Next, Simon strung the pasta on string. 

Then, he had his very own noodle necklace!  

Book Basket
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
Sleep is for Everyone by Paul Showers
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann 
All the Pretty Little Horses by Linda Saport
The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman
Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern
The Nose Book by Al Perkins

Shopping List
~pasta
~food coloring
~string, yarn, pipe cleaner, etc.
~rubbing alcohol
~board
~nails (I purchased small nails)
~small hammer

A is for Apple

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our main book of the week was The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall. 

Alphabet Art- Apple A

Supplies
A Pattern (I used the large capital A)
glue
red pompoms (I wanted smaller ones, but I had to go with what I had on hand)
green crayon

Glue on red pompoms and add some leaves and a stem with the crayon. A simple tactile apple-d A for your preschooler to enjoy! 

Lessons & Lapbook

I used some of the lessons and lapbook from Homeschool Share and printables from the Alphabet Notebook.  I also made an Apple Tree Math Mat for the back of the file folder.  You can find it here. 

Simon stamped As on the apple

The pocket holds the pieces for the math mat on back.

Instead of putting the sequence strips in a pocket, I glued each one down to the file folder.  I added velcro to make it a game that can be played over and over again. 

Simon loved the math mat!  :)

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Silly Face Caramel Apples

Here is a simple recipe for Caramel Apples if you haven’t made them before. You can make really yummy apples (think white chocolate drizzle and chopped nuts) or you can make really fun apples.  We opted for funny faces using an assortment of candy.  

Book Basket
Ten Apples up on Top by Theo LeSieg
The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins

Shopping List
~apples
~1 bag of caramels (14 oz)
~popsicle sticks
~candies (lifesavers, m&ms, pull & peel twizzlers) if you want to make faces on your apples
~red paint
~red pompoms