Posts Tagged ‘workboxes’
Got Candy? (Part 2)
Six more boxes full of sweet fun today!
Box #1
Elijah and I did another graph. We polled friends & family members (via Facebook) to find out their favorite kind of candy.
I printed off all the data for Elijah to compile and chart.
After Elijah finished with his bar graph, I took him to Create A Graph where we made a line graph and a pie graph.
Box #2
Psalm 34:8 copywork
Box #3
Story Problems (with a treat tucked in the box!) You might need to create your own problems to fit your students’ current math level.
Box #4
We read "Circle of Sun" from the Here’s a Little Poem poetry anthology. We discussed list poems, alliteration, repetition (the -ing words), and rhyme. I had Elijah list all the words he could think of that related to candy while I recorded them for him.
After we had a good list, we went to the computer to compose a list poem. I asked him how he wanted to start the poem. I asked him to find words that were similar (referring back to the alliteration, repetition, and rhyme). I asked him what phrases he thought sounded good together. I kept asking questions to make him think about how he wanted to construct the poem. I helped him here and there, but this is mostly his own work.
I helped him group the words together, and here is his finished poem:
Candy
Delicious
Mouth watering
Tooth rotting
Lip-smacking
Melting
Treats
Brown
Dessert
Crunchy
Cherry
Carmel
Candy
Lick-able lemon lollipops
Bubble-blowing gum
The bigger the better
More
MORE
Oh no!
Box #5
Science Experiment #3- Chromatography (color separation)
We only used the brown M&M’s for this.
It worked! The brown separated into a rainbow of colors!
Box #6
Science Experiment #4- Dissolving Hot/Cold
We used boiling water for the hot water. The Milkduds dissolved very quickly! This was a simple (but effective) experiment.
Here are the printables we used today.
Do you need more ideas for Candy School?
~play Candyland
~set up Candy Shop; we will be doing this in the days to come…I am stashing candy away just for this purpose
~Write a story — "Chocolate for Lunch"
~make M&M pancakes for breakfast or lunch
~use M&M’s or Skittles to make an artistic mosaic
~estimate how much candy you have then count it. Figure out how close you were to the actual amount.
~complete more Candy Experiments
~Hang out at Wonka Land
~compare & contrast the amount of sugar in different kinds of candy; graph or chart the information
~review the Food Pyramid and discuss why we should limit sweet treats
~use different candy shapes to make caramel apples with funny faces
~make candy jewelry - for your preschooler, start a pattern for her to finish
If you decide to do candy school at your house, I’d love to hear about it. Please leave a comment or a link!
Happy Candy-Schooling!
Got Candy? (Part 1)
Many of us probably have a stash of candy right about now. Whether it’s from trick-or-treating, a harvest party, or well intending grandparents, we have it…and we need to find something constructive to do with it.
Have you considered Candy School?
Jocelyn posted a link on the Homeschool Share Message boards that got me thinking. If you can use candy for science, why can’t you use it for the other subjects, too?
So, the wheels kept turning; I thought up a few ideas and made a few printables. When I told Elijah we would do candy school for two days, his mouth dropped and his eyes bugged. I think he was sold.
I filled up six workboxes this morning with some candy related fun. Here’s what Elijah found in his boxes.
Box #1
fairy tale book & instructions to read Hansel and Gretel
Box #2
candy graph & candy
Box #3
"If Peas Could Taste Like Candy" poem for copywork. I left one stanza out (the third) because I couldn’t fit all four on the page. Elijah couldn’t stop laughing while copying this one.
Box #4
Hershey Fraction book & a Hershey bar
Boxes #5-#6
candy science experiments
We did these two experiments:
1. Acid Test
2. Sink or Float
After school was over, I let Elijah hang out at Wonka Land– creative fun just waiting to happen.
Tomorrow, I will post Candy School Part 2 along with some additional ideas for you. Here is a little list of books you could include, if you want. I haven’t read them all, so please preview before using.
Books to Read
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Shelia Rae’s Peppermint Stick by Kevin Henkes
Candy Factory Mystery (Boxcar Children)
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Workbox Reading
I have a serious reader on my hands; the only problem is that he wants to read the same genre 90% of the time– mystery books. I decided that I would fill a workbox with books. Some of the books are books he wants to read; some of the books are books I want him to read. He chooses one book each day to read, and he can choose in ANY order he wants, but I’m not refilling the box until it’s empty. Completely empty.
So, this is one box I only have to fill once per week! Works for me! :)
Under the Sea ABCs
My friend emailed this fun idea to me, and I knew Simon would love it!
Supplies
(I put everything in one of Simon’s workboxes)
I was determined not to buy any of the super cute glitter or sequins or confetti at Hobby Lobby. Instead, I kept this craft cheap by raiding the craft closet at home.
~alphabet beads
~lots of sparklies (sequins, glitter, fun beads, confetti, etc.)
~empty water bottle (preferrably without ridges)
~corn syrup
~Aleene’s Tacky Glue
Fill the water bottle with 1/2 corn syrup and 1/2 water
Set all the beads out and have your preschooler find the letters of the alphabet as you call them out; drop them in the bottle one by one
Let your preschooler add sparkly things
Glue the lid on (tight!). Give it a few shakes (it’s so very cool…the picture doesn’t really do it justice)
Now your preschooler can play "I Spy" with the alphabet anytime! What a great thing to throw in a workbox. 
Tot School ~ June 8th
More workboxes. More fun. More memories with my tot!
Simon’s "Sprinkles" Project
I put some contact paper and leftover hole punchings in a workbox. I had to open the contact paper for Simon, but he took over from there and made this "sprinkle" rectangle. He wanted it in Jason’s Father’s Day card (act surpised, honey!), so in it went!
I did the books in a box thing again. This is a series he has loved from the time he was just months old. 
We also love Sandra Boynton. I found most of these at a second hand shop before Elijah was even born! They’ve been loved to death by both boys.
We read Who Said Red? together and then we went on a red hunt all over the house. Simon filled this workbox will all his red finds.
Another easy idea is to fill a box with fun foam scraps (cut into shapes) and let your tot take a glue stick and stick, stick, stick until everything is sticky he has a beautiful picture.
Elijah had a great clay experience this week and Simon wanted to tag along. Here are the eight snakes he made. I think he did great! 
The tadpoles he has been caring for~
Simon never tires of painting
Here he is with his collection of "ships" (spaceships) that he made one day while I was working with big brother.
Elijah’s Goodies
Not everything is fair in life especially when you are 4 years older than your little brother. I notice Elijah eyeing Simon’s workboxes everyday. They are bright, colorful, and scream FUN! Then he looks over at his boxes. Not as bright…not as colorful…not as fun. He’s never complained, but I wanted to spice his day up with a really fun box.
So, I did the unthinkable (for all you healthy mommas out there) and filled a box with the following:
little candybars
small packs of cheese crackers
ring pops
price stickers
small poster board
markers
money
I told Elijah to make a poster for his sweet shop, assign prices to the items, and then Simon and I would visit his store. He was SO excited. He actually got all his other boxes done in record time (and done well); I strategically placed the sweet shop box as the final one for the day.
As we visited the store, I made Elijah do all the math (adding the items, counting back change, etc.). This was fantastic! We even talked about how to greet and treat customers. Elijah eventually swapped me places and I manned the shop while he made his purchase (I still made him do the math!). We have plenty of junk leftover for many more sweet shop adventures in the future. Jason is also planning on making a stop at "Elijah’s Goodies" tonight.
Tot School ~ June 1st
Simon loves the magnet pages from Making Learning Fun. He can use his Do-a-Dot markers on them on one day. Then, on another day, we can put them on a cookie sheet for him to add the magnets.
More doodle-doodle-dots (that what Simon calls them)
dinosaur stamping was a big hit this week
This is a very Montessori-ish game I have from when Elijah was a tot. Simon and I tried to play Feel and Find, but he just isn’t ready, so I modified the game. I told him to close his eyes and pick a piece from the sack then find the puzzle to match it. He loved this. I had an idea later in the week to try to play Feel and Find again but to only put 5 pieces in the sack. We may try next week.
Simon LOVES sounds bingo! He loves it so much that he can set up all four boards and play them at once by himself. I love things he can do indpendently; I just have to put the CD in the player for him. (This is Disovery Toys, but I was lucky to get it for cheap — used from a friend. I am not sure if they still carry this product, but I’ve seen others like it at Rainbow Resource.)
Who knew that a preschooler would love to transfer cotton balls from one dish to another? We have the cheat thingy on the chopsticks (thanks to Noodles & Company!).
An old standby that we’ve had for years- a $1 garage sale find; Lauri shape puzzles
painting with new floppy brushes from Let’s Explore
more painting (he really can’t get enough!)
Simon is doing really well with workboxes of JUST BOOKS. I try to find little collections and make them look attractive. He has been sitting quietly for 15-20 minutes with just books! Hooray! We also do plenty of mom/Simon reading time, too. I believe that reading is one of the most important things I can do with him.
Last week we sorted the animals into big and little. This week I decided to add medium. I put a tub of cars for sorting on his workbox cart, and we worked through this activity together. I plan to do it again as he needs more practice with the size sorting (and he enjoyed finding cars in a workbox).
We played again with some of the Brown Bear things we made last week. We used the puppets for a color matching game. I gave him a partial pack of M&Ms and had him sort the colors to match the animals. This was a HUGE hit (as you can imagine). He keeps asking when we are going to do this again!
The fun continued outside as Simon watered and weeded his garden, dug holes, planted beans, and even fed tadpoles (I don’t have any pictures of this, but these little guys have been a big part of our week!). Simon also discovered the Mourning Dove sitting on her nest and has been quietly watching her a few times each day.
Happy Tot-schooling!
Scrapers & Shaving Cream
For those of you who think I am insane, I am (but this was just TOO much fun). The scrapers are from Let’s Explore.
I sprayed Simon’s name on the table and he took over from there.
Fantastic Fun!
The clean-up was worth it because the activity kept him busy for almost 40 minutes!
Some Workbox Fun for Elijah
Silly Sentences Game
Pattern Blocks
Scrabble Sticker Crosswords
Simon’s Second Day with Workboxes
I love taking pictures of Simon’s busy little hands!
Today’s workboxes included:
1. Brown Bear book
2. Brown Bear puppets made from a printable pages from Kizclub
We pulled these out two at a time and had fun asking the animals what they saw; we also used them to have fun with animal sounds
3. Animal Puzzles
4. Paper & Muffin Tin Crayons
(Elijah and I made these crayons when he was a preschooler!)
5. To the Zoo File Folder Game (he’s been loving this for almost a year now)
6. Window Writing
I found the Wax-O-Glas Crayons at Let’s Explore
7. Bonus Box- Creative Fun
I just gave him a box with a glue stick, some pipe cleaners, google eyes, and alphabet stickers.
He couldn’t figure out how to get the pipe cleaners to stick together, so I twisted two for him.
Meet "Eyeball"
