Walking by the Way

B is for Boat

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our main book of the week was My Blue Boat by Chris Demarest.

Alphabet Art- Bubbly Blue B



Supplies
B Pattern (I used the large capital B)
blue paint & paint brush
bubble wrap
rubber cement

Simon painted the B blue.  After it was dry, I cut it out and covered it in rubber cement.  I put a piece of bubble wrap on top and cut around it to meet the B shape. 

Lessons & Lapbook

Simon stamped the inside of his folder with a sailboat stamp.

I used the lessons from Before Five in a Row and bits of the lapbook from Homeschool Share.  I also used a few of the B printables from the Alphabet Notebook page at Homeschool Share.   This lapbook is pretty simple (and that’s okay!).

We sang LOTS of fun songs during this unit!

Simon’s B book included bananas, books, a baby, a beaver, and a barn.

After Simon painted his blue B, he had extra paint…so I gave him a piece of paper.  He filled it up with "ocean" so I decided to find him a sailboat to paint and add to the sea. 

This painting is a result of one of the lessons from Before Five in a Row.

We also had fun singing and swimming whales through the air.

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Ice Boats!

This is cheap, easy, and loads of fun for your preschooler.  Just get a freezable container, fill it with food colored water, put foil on top, pop a popsicle in, and freeze.    The next day, pop the mold out, add a fun foam sail, and you’ve got an ice boat! 

Book Basket
Baby Beluga (Raffi)
The Wheels on the Bus (Raffi)
Boat Book by Gail Gibbons
Busy Boats by Tony Mitton

Shopping List
~small plastic boat (I gave Simon one as a surprise.  I have pictures of him playing with it in the bath tub, but I didn’t get one that’s postable!)
~sailboat stamp (I found mine at Hobby Lobby with 3 other stamps for .99) & ink pad
~food coloring (ice boats)
~fun foam (ice boats)
~popsicle sticks (ice boats)
~bubble wrap
~rubber cement
~blue paint

The Glorious Flight

While working through the Flight Unit Study, we decided to work in a Five in a Row unit,The Glorious Flight, focusing on Louis Bleriot.  

Field Trip!
We visited a small local airport with our co-op friends.  The pilot did a great job with the kids and answered all of our questions about his job and his plane.

Trying French Foods
 ~Crepes (with homemade strawberry jam and whipped cream!)

~French Doughnuts (we made these together for tea-time)

Lapbook Pictures
We used the lessons from Five in a Row Volume I & the lapbook printables are from Homeschool Share

Learning about Roman Numerals

Elijah wrote, "He was the first to fly across the sea. (1909)  He did not give up."

Elijah loved the descriptive writing lesson.  The inside of the book says…
it is very tasty
shaped like a big chocolate chip
silver wrapper
sweet and smooth

Can you guess what he was describing? 

The count to ten in French printable is from Enchanted Learning.

The flag of France book is a graduated book that has two sections

Fun times with The Glorious Flight!  

Y is for Yellow

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our main book of the week was Yellow Ball by Molly Bang.

Alphabet Art- Yellow Yarn Y



Supplies
Y Pattern (I used the large capital Y)
glue (Aleene’s Tacky Glue is great)
yellow yarn cut into strips

Add glue to the Y.  Let your preschooler add the pieces of yarn to the Y. 

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons from Before Five in a Row and the lapbook from Homeschool Share.  I also used a few of the Y printables from the Alphabet Notebook page at Homeschool Share.  

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Yellow Day!

The boys got up and got dressed in yellow shirts.  We made…

Yellow Breakfast (pancakes with a bit of yellow food coloring)

and Yellow Lunch (scrambled eggs, banana, pineapple juice…a bit weird, I know!)

and did a Yellow Painting

Simon also got a yellow ball to play with.  He even went to sleep with it (just like the boy in the book!).

Book Basket
Beach Ball by Peter Sis
Ducky by Eve Bunting
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

Shopping List
~yellow yarn
~items for Yellow Day! (yellow plates, yellow cups, yellow food items, yellow food coloring, yellow paint, etc.)
~yellow ball (I found mine at Dollar Tree in the summer)

Flying High!

Last week we started Amanda Bennett’s History of Flight unit study.  

One of the weblinks in the study shows you how to make a large hot air balloon out of tissue paper.  I decided that we’d give it a whirl because I knew both boys would go crazy over it! 

Just so you know, this is involved (but worth it!).

Here are parts of our process.

Jason making the pattern.

Simon "helping" with the pattern. 

Elijah working on making the panels (six total).  The original instructions call for 2- 20 x 30 inch pieces of tissue paper for each panel.  I   could only find 20 x 20 inch pieces, so we had to use THREE pieces of tissue for each panel (making the 60 inches).

Six panels complete!

The six panels are stacked and the pattern gets pinned down.  Then you cut around the pattern.  I did this for Elijah.   Actually, Jason and I took over from this point on as it gets somewhat complicated. 

After lots of glue sticking, we have a balloon! 

You can’t just hold the balloon like this; it took two of us to get it going (Jason held it up high by holding the loop on the top with a long stick).   Once it was mostly inflated, though, I got to back up and snap a picture. 

We did three launches and we were able to retrieve the balloon each time.  We hope to find a field to fly it in so we don’t have to worry about power lines or trees. 

The rest of the pictures are self-explanatory! 

J is for Jump

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our main book of the week was Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow.

Alphabet Art- Jolly Jeweled J



Supplies
J Pattern (I used the large capital J)
paint (any color will do)
glue
craft jewels (found in the bead section of Hobby Lobby) or small sequins

Paint the J and let it dry.  Add dots of glue all over it.  Let your student place jewels on the J.  Remember to make the /j/ sound as you work!  When the J was finished, I cut it out and glued it to the front of Simon’s J folder.

*This idea is originally from Alphabet Art.   

Lessons & Lapbook

I didn’t really have any J lessons.   I  used some of Carissa’s printables found here.   I also used some of the J printables from the Alphabet Notebook page at Homeschool Share.   Last summer I added a poem or rhyme to each letter at Homeschool Share.  Don’t forget to learn the rhymes and poems with your little student; they promote literacy. 

We did turn Carissa’s "How Many Monkeys?" pages into an accordion book.  Each monkey is attached to the page with velcro for future matching fun (you could also use magnets).   Just make sure to make the accordion out of something sturdy if you plan to let your student remove the pieces from the pages.

The back of the folder has a pocket with pieces to retell the story.

Let’s Make a Memory ~ Jumping on J!

Sometimes we just need to do something simple (and cheap!).  This week I drew lots of large J’s on the sidewalk and we jumped from J to J. 

Book Basket
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Shopping List
~craft jewels or sequins (for Jolly Jeweled J)
~sidewalk chalk (for J jumping)
~magnet strip or velcro (for the How Many Monkeys book, if desired)

More Writing Fun

Obviously it would be wrong for me to share all of Peggy Kaye’s ideas with you, but I am going to share one more today (and maybe just ONE more in the next few weeks).   If you have a student who needs to push a pencil more (become more fluid with handwriting skills), you really should check out Games for Writing.  If you can’t afford to buy it, try your library!

This is a simple idea.   In fact, it’s so simple I wonder why I didn’t think of it.   Have your student make a list.   Yep, that’s it.   The key is to make it a list that your student finds fun or funny.  

Elijah’s first list was How to Drive Your Mom Crazy.   He thought this was fantastic.  You should’ve heard all the possible scenarios he was contemplating.    For the first time in his life, he didn’t ask how to spell every word!   He figured most of them out on his own and then had a few errors.    Again, he didn’t complain or give me that look (the I’m-surely-going-to-die-if-I-have-to-do-this look). 

Here is the list:

1. Take your clothes off.�
Ah, me son know me well.  Me hate when boys strip down to underwear.  Why they do this?  Me know– they do to drive me crazy!

2. Dump cereal all over the place.

3. Eat a hunk of brownies without asking.

4. Wake her up too early.

5. Take the cushions off the couch.

Here are some more list making ideas I have ready to go for Elijah.

~List Making Ideas (Handwriting Without Tears font)

~List Making Ideas (Primary font)

C is for Carrot

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me

Our main book of the week was The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss.

Alphabet Art – Carrot C

Supplies
C Pattern (I used the large capital C)
orange fun foam
green crayon
glue

Cut small triangles from the orange fun foam.  Let your student glue them on the C.  When finished, draw carrot tops with the green carrot. 

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons from Before Five in a Row.  I am doing this with a handful of the books in the Read to Me & ABC program, but we are saving most of the Before Five in a Row lessons for next year when Simon is four.   I used pieces of the lapbook from Homeschool Share.  You could also used some of the C printables from the Alphabet Notebook page at Homeschool Share.

Simon loved the carrot top observation activity.  I don’t have pictures of the tops growing, but they took off in just a few days!    I remember when Elijah and I did this many years ago…the carrot tops took FOREVER.

Another observation activity we did was the old Queen Anne’s Lace in colored water trick. 

Simon learned that plants drink from the bottom.  This was really helpful, actually.  It helped him understand that he shouldn’t water the tops of the plants in the garden. 

Let’s Make a Memory! ~ Pulling up Carrots!

I have to tell you, I have no clue what letter we are going to focus on from week to week.  I have a general idea of what we will do, but I don’t have things mapped out.  The carrots were ready about the 2nd week of July, so I decided to pull out The Carrot Seed.   If you don’t have any carrots to pick (chances are…you don’t!), you can "plant" some carrots from the grocery store in a sandbox or in the ground and let your student pull them up.   My original idea for Let’s Make a Memory was to make a yummy carrot cake together, so that’s another option.

Book Basket
Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming
Incy by Inch: The Garden Song
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck
How a Seed Grows by Helen Jordan
The Enormous Carrot by Vladimir Vagin

Shopping List
~ingredients for carrot cake
~carrots (if you need some to plant or do the carrot tops)
~food coloring & a carnation (or Queen Anne’s Lace if you can find it)
~orange fun foam (for the alphabet art)

K is for Kitten

Please read the information about Read to Me & ABC here

Read to Me
Our main book of the week was Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone.

Alphabet Art – Kissing K



Supplies
K Pattern  (I used the large capital K)
Lips Stamp & Red Inkpad  OR lipstick

Let your child stamp red lips on the K pattern (or put lipstick on your child and let her kiss the pattern).   Each time Simon stamped the K with the lips we said, "/k/…/k/…kiss!" 

Lessons & Lapbook

I used the lessons & lapbook  for Three Little Kittens from Homeschool Share.  I also used some of the K printables from the Alphabet Notebook page at Homeschool Share.   We only used a portion of what was available from Homeschool Share.  I really want to stick to one file folder per letter this year.  We also had a Koala cut/paste activity from a Kumon book that we put on the back of the folder.

Simon’s favorite part of the unit was washing and hanging his mittens out to dry (they are now safely stored in a plastic bag in his lapbook.    (We soiled them with coffee grounds and jam.)

Simon is singing the song (complete with meows!) as he washes his mittens.

Let’s Make a Memory! ~ Three Little Kittens Lunch
I made Simon a kitten sandwich and purchased (yes, PURCHASED)  a little pie for him, so he could have some pie (insert nursery rhyme music).

I cut a circle from a piece of bread with a large cup then I cut out two triangles for ears.  I "frosted" the bread with some cream cheese.  I added two olive slices for eyes, a cheese triangle nose, and some carrot stick whiskers.   Easy (and yes, cheesy). 

Here is the pie I didn’t get around to making.  It was probably best not to have a full sized pie in the house anyway. 

Let’s Make Another Memory! ~  "Kite" Flying
Just buy a helium balloon and add lots and lots of string so your student can fly it!   A guaranteed hit!

Book Basket
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Keven Henkes
The Little Kitten by Judy Dunn
Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? by Eric Carle
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming

Shopping List
~fun foam (mittens to wash)
~lip stamp & red stamp pad or lipstick (K letter art)
~cream cheese (kitten sandwich)
~black olives
~carrot sticks
~cheese block
~small pie (so your student shall have some pie!)
~helium balloon (best to have daddy bring this home on the day you fly your kite)
~string or yarn (for kite flying)

A Little Bit of Magic

Elijah has been struggling with writing more than a few sentences each day, and I really want to boost his endurance and confidence.  I posted a plea to Facebook yesterday and got some ideas & encouragement.  I also remembered that I had Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye sitting on my shelf (for the past 5 years!) and had never really looked through it.  So, I pulled the book down.  All I have to say…Peggy Kaye is a genius!  

Elijah and I tried one of the games today (in his second workbox).  

You need some titles (I am sharing mine in case you need some on the fly), two pencils, a piece of paper, and a die.   That’s it!

You can randomly select a title (draw one out of a bowl) if you want, but I let Elijah choose one.  He chose "Chocolate for Lunch" (of course!).   I started the game by rolling the die and writing the corresponding number of words on the paper.   Then it was Elijah’s turn to roll and continue the story.   I did not let him write more (or less) than what the die said.    It took us about 45 minutes to write our story.  

This was SO GREAT.   I can not tell you what a good time we had.  Elijah didn’t complain about writing (not ONE time).   We laughed a lot.  He’s funny!   I also had a chance to explain when and why to add end punctuation.    I didn’t correct his upper case letters.  He has a bad habit of writing in ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME.  It drives me crazy, but I wanted this to be fun.   And it was.  It is a memory I will always have.  (The day my son enjoyed writing!)  

Here is our story…

Chocolate for Lunch
One day I thought I should have chocolate for lunch.  I started out with a fat Hershey bar.  Next, I ate a chocolate bunny.  I also gobbled brownies with chocolate ice cream and delicious hot fudge sauce.  For dessert I had chocolate covered pretzels.  The next day I was feeling icky.  I went to the dentist.  He was not happy with me!   The End  :)

Read to Me & ABC

I have finally pulled myself together and am ready to start posting about the preschool "program" I am using with Simon.

What is it?
This is a literature-based introduction to the alphabet curriculum for preschoolers.  Well, it’s not really a curriculum (such stuffy words for such little people don’t really work for me).   I guess it’s more of a collection and organization of ideas.  

My goals are simple.  I want to expose my little guy to great books and introduce him to alphabet sounds while making fun memories together.   I also want him to know that he gets special time with mom each day, too (school time isn’t just for big brother). 

Each week I will choose a good book to go with a letter of the alphabet.  We read the book each day and work on our alphabet notebook, read go-along books, or do some kind of hands-on activity.

Alphabet Notebook
Simon creates one piece of letter art for each letter.  We then paste it to the front of a file folder and fill the inside of the file folder with the other learning activities he does that relate to the literature/letter selection of the week.   All the folders can be stored in a three ring binder. 

You will need 26 regular sized file folders, a three hole punch, and scissors to get started on your alphabet notebook. 

Three hole punch each file folder.

Cut the "extra" part off.
 

Your folder will be ready to add your alphabet art to the outside and your learning activities on the inside.  (pictured below: bubbly blue B)

Book Basket
Each letter of the alphabet has "book basket" suggestions.   These are not necessary but will enhance your time together.  Don’t stress about getting all the books on the list and feel free to substitute with other books you have available to you.   Some of the books were selected because they relate to the main literature selection; other books are on the list because they emphasize the week’s letter.  Ask your student to find the letter in the titles of the books before you read them.  Say the sounds together, too! 

Let’s Make a Memory
I tried to include one fun activity for each week.  Of course, some of the literature units also have fun things to do.  You don’t have to do it all; please don’t try to do it all, but I want to encourage you to try to do one *FUN* activity each week with your student.  You will be blessed with these memories for many, many years.

Simon jumping on the J’s during our J week.

Letter by Letter
I will blog about each Read to Me & ABC week that Simon and I have together including all our pictures and projects (with directions and even a supply list for you).  I will link them on this post using the alphabet below.  I am going to try to stay one month ahead of my readers.  I am on week 6, so I think I can do it!  Just so you know, I am way too random to even think about going in order.

A is for apple (The Apple Pie Tree)
B is for boat (My Blue Boat)
C is for carrot (The Carrot Seed)
D is for dog (Angus Lost)
E is for egg (Humpty Dumpty)
F is for feathers (Feathers for Lunch)
G is for gift (Ask Mr. Bear)
H is for hand (Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb)
I is for instruments (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin)
J is for jump (Five Little Monkeys)
K is for kitten (Three Little Kittens)
L is for Ladybug (The Grouchy Ladybug)
M is for moon (Goodnight Moon)
N is for nap (The Napping House)
O is for ocean and octopus (various books)
P is for pig (If You Give a Pig a Pancake)
Q is for quick (Quick as a Cricket)
R is for rainbow (A Rainbow of My Own)
S is for snow (The Snowy Day)
T is for teddy bear (Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?)
U is for Up! (Great Day for Up!)
V is for vegetables (Growing Vegetable Soup)
W is for water (Mrs. Wishy Washy)
X is for fox  (Oh A-Hunting We Will Go)
Y is for yellow (The Yellow Ball)
Z is for zoo (Goodnight Gorilla)