Walking by the Way

L is for Ladybug

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

The book of the week for Letter L is The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.

Alphabet Art- Leafy L

Supplies
L Pattern
brown paint, paintbrush
glue (we used Aileen’s Tacky Glue)
fake leaves

Paint the L and let it dry. Glue the leaves to the L. 

Lessons & Lapbook
Simon mastered his letters and sounds a few months ago, so we are no longer making the letter lapbooks. We will simply stick the letter art pages in his ABC binder to fill in the gaps. 

However, if we were making a lapbook, we would use the Grouchy Ladybug lessons & lapbook as well as the L mini-books from Homeschool Share.

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Leapin’ Lizards!

I gathered up the boys’ plastic lizards and set up three bowls on the table. The goal was to get those lizards to leap into the bowls. 

Simon’s victory pose can only mean one thing. . .

. . .all the lizards are in the bowls! 

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Ladybug Land
I splurged this time and purchased Ladybug Land for Simon. I knew he’d love it, and he really does. He spends time each day observing the little larvae. He can’t wait to see the pupas!

Arrival of the ladybugs!

Learning about the ladybug’s life cycle with these little guys. I picked them up about five years ago at a homeschooling convention. It’s sweet to see Simon learning with the same things Elijah used!

Book Basket
Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen
Is Your Mama a Llama? By Steven Kellogg
The Little Lamb by Judy Dunn
Tawny Scrawny Lion by Kathryn Jackson 

Shopping List
~ fake leaves
~ brown paint
~ glue
~ plastic lizards
~ Ladybug Land

Fall Fun Days

Regular school takes a back seat this week to make room for fall fun!   

I stole our first few fall fun ideas from Nature Detectives.  

Make Like a Squirrel & Gather Nuts 

We found an oak tree and the boys grabbed up dozens of acorns.  I told them to hide them like squirrels do.  We then went on a walk through the park.  Once we were far away from the hiding place, I asked the boys if they could find the acorns.  They did!  

Leaf Crowns

While on our stroll through the wooded park, the boys collected leaves.  I made bands for each of them out of white poster board before we left home, and I took my stapler on our journey.  As they found leaves they loved, I stapled them to their bands.  By the time we returned home, each boy had a nice crown of leaves.   

Fall Funny Faces
I found this idea last year.  We had so much fun that we decided it should be a repeat.  I guess it’s a tradition in the making!

We took a bag with us to the park and we collected all sorts of fall nature:  berries, pine needles, pine cones, leaves, bark, stones, nuts, etc.  When we returned home, we drew some circles with chalk on the sidewalk and made our faces. 

Salt Dough Leaf Prints
This idea came from That Artist Woman; please visit her blog for complete instructions.  We made the dough & prints on one day.  We painted, washed, and sealed them the next.    

A few tips from me to you for this project- don’t buy cheapy cheap thin leaves like I did (.30 a bunch at Family Dollar); they don’t work super well.  I painted some of the outlines of the leaves for Elijah so he wouldn’t be so frustrated (because they were so hard to see).   Don’t use matte finish Modge Podge.   Don’t be afraid to let your preschooler do the brown wash or the Modge Podge part; they can’t mess up! 

Simon helped me mix up the salt dough. 

kneading and rolling

making the prints

painting with fall colors and a brown wash

Simon painted his ALL orange.  Once we got the brown wash on it, it looked fine (the veins popped out).    I hope to add some magnets to the backs and let them don the front of the fridge.  

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
It’s not really fall unless the oven is baking a treat, is it?  

We made the dough on one day.  We made the frosting, baked them, and decorated them the next day.  

Growing Frogs

Simon kept telling me one day that we had a frog in the tadpole pool.  I didn’t believe him.  Finally, he showed it to me!   Simon sat out in the hot sun to play with this little guy.   Unfortunately, he was very good at jumping and hopped away.

Funny Fall Faces

Take your nature walk and collect a shoebox full of stuff (nuts, berries, leaves, grass, seeds, etc.).  Get some sidewalk chalk and draw a circle.  Decorate your funny face! 

This was an easy way to make a good memory and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time. Here are our faces.

Backyard Bird Lap/Notebook

As we rowed Albert, Elijah completed a backyard bird notebook.   We still have one more bird to add, but I thought I would go ahead and post pictures! 

CARDINAL

ROBIN

BLUE JAY

MOURNING DOVE

GOLDFINCH

General Bird Information Page

Many of the printables for this lap ~n~ notebook came from Homeschool Share.
Albert Resoure Page (cardinals)
Backyard Birds Page

The rest of the printables came from Evan-Moor’s Giant Science Resource Book and Enchanted Learning.

Strawberry Pickin’ Time!

"…Jewels of strawberries we didn’t deserve,
Eating our way down.
Till our hands were sticky, and our lips painted,
And over us the hot day fainted…"

Spectacular Maple Seed Show

Last night Elijah and I went for a walk.  We were throwing handfuls of maple seeds in the air (something that delights both of my children).  Watching his face light up gave me an idea.  A big idea for a little boy.    I told Elijah we should come back with a bucket and collect as many seeds as possible.   So, today, we did that.   Once we had the bucket stuffed, we launched the seeds into the air.  My children were dazzled. 

Have fun as you explore God’s great big world with your children,

Spring Thing

We were outside playing a few days ago, and Elijah declared,

I love this kid!  

Spring Poem

This morning while we were walking, I noticed that Elijah kept saying some really cool things about spring.  I told him when we got home that we’d work on putting his words in a poem. 

I gave him prompts such as
I smell spring…
I see spring…
I feel spring…
I hear spring…

He changed the line to I see some spring.  This was hard for me since every word counts in poetry, and it’s best to elminiate (what I call) "wimpy" words, but I decided not to make it in to a battle.   I think, in the end, it worked nicely for him.  

I formed his words (mostly his exact words) in to lines since I think lining is a hard concept to grasp, but I may have him copy the poem in his own handwriting, and that will give us a chance to discuss line and why it is important in poetry (it’s *usually* best to end on a strong word). 

I also added "stealing my brother’s hat" – he was trying to think what to say about the wind, and the wind really did carry Simon’s hat away this morning!   The rest are his words.    I think tea time with poetry is really paying off!  He included so many images without any prompting from me!

God Made Spring
by Elijah

I hear some spring
birds
singing like an opera
in the sky

If you decide to do this exercise with your own students, please post and leave me a note in the comments, so I can read their spring poems (Elijah would love that).

Super Simple Nature Journal

We’re going to go E-A-S-Y this year with the nature journal.   With young children, it’s more about getting outside and exploring than it is recording.   It will be an educational experience; you don’t have to try to create one.  (I’m talking to myself in case you are wondering!)   The journal is not necessary.   BUT  I think this is so very simple that I want to share.

Take pictures.   Have your student pick one picture each week and print it.
Give your student letter stickers and a date stamp.
Slip it in to a page protector and smile because you-are-done. 

No more lugging the backpack (with pens, colored pencils, and the kitchen sink) outside.
No more meltdowns because…"Mom!  I can’t draw a squirrel like that!  But I want to!" 

Welcome to super simple nature journaling.   Yay!