Homeschool Highlights ~ 8.15.11

-- Geography & Cultures --

I got this set of multicultural wooden children from oriental trading and paired it with our newest book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. If your child is not a part of this program, sign them up!! Both Caleb & Julie are signed up and each of them will receive a new book every month until they are 5 years old!!! I absolutely LOVE these books and most of them have become my kids' favorites!

 -- Imaginative Play --

Winkin', Blinkin' & Nod =)

after reading about Winkin', Blinkin' & Nod they had to re-create the story with this tub, a stick, some tape and a blanky! :)

-- Pinching Pennies --

This Montessori activity works on Pincer grasp & coin recognition show child how to use 2 fingers & thumb to pick up penny and move them from one dish to another.

 

-- Sorting & Tracing --

This activity let them sort glass beads as well as trace and color in the colors we were working with. This was Julie's work which was surprising because hers is usually nothing but straight lines all the way across a page! It's neat to see how bringing in different objects for them to study and explore can help develop their "creativity" =)

  

Everything set up for the next day's lessons =) 

 -- Color Paddles --

They love playing with the color paddles... from looking out the window, to bath time or while playing in the sensory bin, the color paddles are always a big hit! I got a whole set of  18 Color Paddles for $5 from Oriental Trading.

-- Marshmallow Shapes -- 

We made shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks. Of course, the kids had to sneak a few but it was a great lesson because then they wanted to build and didn't have as many marshmallows as they needed ;o)

Caleb built a "house"

Braden's "Ladder"

Julie Counting =)

Hard at work!!! =)

-- More Catapult --

Caleb finished his catapult he was building and we tested it out the other night!! Here he is searching for something small and not-too-dangerous...

First up? Punkin' head!!! =)

  

In Caleb-speak: "Yeah-ah!"

Next was his Lightening McQueen Squinky :)

  

They both LOVED watching things fly! :)

New Montessori & Sensory Activities

So I made a trip to dollar tree (the tree part is super important!) tonight and hit the jackpot! We also made a trip to Home Depot to check out prices on mdf, plywood, tubs and lights! I think Bray and I may take on making a sensory and light table for the little ones this weekend! =) Here are a few activities I put together after tonight's shopping trip.

-- Sorting --

 These were Luau themed necklaces that I cut up and the kids will be instructed to sort out the different colored pieces into the matching cup. They have a clothespin to try to pick the pieces up with, and I also put a spoon on the placemat for each of them to use as well. The best part about this activity is the little tinkling sound the pieces make. The purple bowl on the left has a few other whole necklaces they can wear or they can shake & listen as they do the activity.

{all pics can be viewed at full size if you click on the image}

-- Guessing Game --

This activity is located in the top two bins here.

I filled 16 balloons with 8 different textured items. Each balloon has a matching texture that is not the same color. The idea is to have the child identify what is in the balloon by touch, and for them to try to find the matching textured balloons. On advice of another blogger, I put all of the contents in balloons into clear containers so the child could identify what he was feeling. I plan to put only the balloons out first and let them try to guess the textures without seeing the items inside first. Then I'll bring out the items for them to see/feel/touch and match with their balloons.

big oval shaped glass bead, pony beads, black flat stones, hair gel, weird J shaped glass beads, 

popcorn, coarse sea salt & brown rice =)

 -- Portable Light Table --

I got the tall shot glasses at the dollar tree tonight, too. These are also the same necklaces from the sorting activity posted earlier. This is basically a sterlite container turned upside down. I put foil on the lid and around the sides of the container. The only clear part is the very bottom {which is the top}. The kids can play with translucent materials or scoop & pour rice and beans. I want to make a more permanent verson by converting our train table ~ but that is another trip to home depot {with a truck!} ;o)

 -- Color Sorting --

Sorting Pony beads by color. I got the relish tray at DT tonight, too. The pony beads are leftovers from making our bead bars. =) I put 1 color of each bead in each partition to get them started.

-- Bead Bars --

These are the Montessori-style bead bars I made with pony beads & white chenille stems. The colors are not exact with the authentic Montessori bead bars, but they will work for us! :)

I put one full set onto a straight chenille stem so they could be held in the hand & used as a counter.