Creating a Circle Time Board

As part of our morning routine during kindergarten/preschool, we would fill in dates on a calendar, look at our art picture of the week (from Artistic Pursuits) and memorize a Scripture verse. I transferred this to our bulletin board eventually and it became a mini-circle time.  The girls enjoyed this morning ritual, and the routine of it got us all into "school" mode.

As we're beginning first grade / kindergarten, I've decided to take our circle time routine to the next level! I got quite a bit of inspiration for it from Jolanthe over at Homeschool Creations (And quite a bit of material from her free printables!). It took a while for me to figure out exactly what I wanted to include and what wasn't necessary for us at this time.

Once I came up with what our circle time should cover, then it was time to create! I went to Wal-Mart, bought a $8 display board (which my 6yo promptly cracked once I got home - aargh!) and some velcro stickers, then went to work. It took a while to get my layout set, but I'm pretty happy with it overall! It includes:

• Scripture memory poster (We're doing Psalm 1, per Sonlight's suggestion)
• Daily weather chart (from Homeschool Creations)
• A spot for our weekly art study picture
•  Skip-counting facts to review (again, from Jolanthe's site)
• Days we've been in school (Jolanthe yet again - this is to help my girls get a better grasp on 1s, 10s, 100s, etc)
• A spot for the poster we're going to make each week for our unit study based on From Akebu to Zapotec (Another Sonlight curriculum resource)
• Our Chinese vocabulary flashcards
• A spot for my girls to display one of their pictures from the week (they like to show off their work!)

And that's it! Anyone else do circle time? I'd love to see pics and hear more about how you've implemented this type of school routine. 

FIAR: Storm in the Night

Well, the end of my planned school year is upon us. To fill in the time between now and when we start Sonlight, I've decided to do some Five in a Row units, mainly inspired by the incredible creativity of Angela over at Kinderdays. As I looked long and hard to find ideas to to fit my girls' interests and learning level, I thought I might as well share it with all of you.

Day One:

• Read Storm in the Night
• What are the girls afraid of? Talk about, then memorize Psalm 27:1 and paste in lapbook.
• Art: Leaf through the book together and point out the blue darkness contrasted with the white raindrops. Paint different shades of blue on watercolor paper. After it dries, use white chalk to make raindrops.
• Science: Read Like a Hundred Drums & Thunder & Lightning
• Do the Lightning Experiment and the Thunder experiment
• Put the Thunder and Lightning minibook in the lapbook and have the girls tell me what causes it.

Day Two:

• Read Storm in the Night again. This time, look at the expressions on everyone’s face. What does each expression signify?
• Art: Read Walter Was Worried - Then draw our own expressions and put in lapbook.
• Science: Read Flash, Crash Thunder & Roll.
• Talk about what we should do during a thunderstorm, whether inside or out. Put our answers in minibook (on harddrive)
• Using a fan, talk about the different levels of wind.
• Make a weathervane to measure from which way the wind blows
• Go fly a kite!

Day Three:

• Read Storm in the Night. This time have the girls listen for words they don’t know the meaning of. Then we’ll write them in their book, along with a definition!
• Read The Cloud Book by DePaola.
• Make a Cloud art book: http://amy-fun4kids.blogspot.com/2009/02/weather-clouds-and-rain.html
• Talk about the age difference between Thomas and his Grandfather. What is the age difference between the girls and various adults they know? Make a minibook, and use the abacus to record the results!
• Cut out and add this aging pictures to lapbook
• Play Weather Match Three

Sonlight Core 1: Week 3

Another week of hands-on activities. Post a link to your own blog here if you're also doing Sonlight Core 1.

Peoples of the World

• Create a Batik shirt
• Look at pictures of coiled pots, then make our own!

From Akebu to Zapotec

• Locate Bhutan on the map.
• Color a picture of Bhutan’s flag to add to Bropka poster.
• Do the “Where are the Himalyans” minibook (From homeschoolshare.com)
• Show picture of plateaus farms. Then use legos build our own. Take pic and add to poster. 

World of Animals

• Watch video of bees dancing
• Read The Jungle Grapevine 
• Watch video of Baby Animals
• Read Even an Ostrich Builds a Nest
• Provide the different materials that different birds use to make nests (cotton, twigs, leaves, rocks, mud, grass) Have the girls try to put a nest together using nothing but the materials and a little mud “glue”. Birds are pretty amazing! While they work, ask them questions 4-6 from activity sheets.
• Another nest craft from Chocolate Muffin Tree

 

Get Free Scholastic Books

This is an exciting deal - I love free books. Go to the Learn & Earn site, then have your child complete several Scholastic activity sheets. Send them in with the redemption form, and you'll receive up to 5 free books. The activities (at least for the 5-6 year olds) look easy, so it's not a complicated process. Enjoy!

Sonlight Core 1: Week 2

Here's the list of hands-on activities we're going to do for week 2. Please e-mail me or leave a comment if you have any further suggestions!

Peoples of the World:

• Read Now We Can Have a Wedding
• Talk about what foods looked good, what foods looked bad.
• From sheets bought at Goodwill, dress up in sarongs, saris and turbans. Take pictures and put in Notebook.
• Paint our faces or coloring book faces, then take pictures! 

World of Animals

• Watch Lights, Camera & Highspeed Action
• Read Hungry Animals
• Place your animal cutouts from the story onto different colored squares. Start with any animal and then put what animal you think would hunt it in the square next to it or place an animal you think it would hunt in the square before it. Do all animals eat other animals (carnivores)? Do all animals eat plants (herbivores)? Do some animals eat both (omnivores)? Now, try putting the animals into three columns according to what kind of food they eat!
• Animals senses: Hearing - Play "What Is This Sound?" and "Guess Who I Am?"
• Senses: Bug eyesight - Make a mosaic picture to illustrate how bugs see

Gardening Unit: Days 4-6

It's been a busy two weeks, so I haven't had time to get the last half of our plants & gardens unit study up. Finally, here it is:

Day Four:

• Circle Time: Look at lapbook and review what we’ve learned so far.
• Read Pumpkin Town and What Kinds of Seeds are These
• Look at pictures of various plants and have the girls circle the stems (flowering plant, herb, cactus, vine)
• Do both “Why Plants Have Stems” experiment (Evan-Moor book)
• Do the “4 Ways Seeds Travel” minibook from HSS
• Explosion: Tear or cut up pieces of scrap paper to make confetti (seeds).  Place the tiny pieces in a lunch bag or baggy or balloon.  Now hold the end of the bag almost closed and blow air into the bottom.  Hold the end closed so that the air doesn't escape.  Now pop the bag.  What happened to the seeds?
• Flying: Make a Whirlygig to show how some seeds travel
• Floating: Put sunflower seeds in water and watch them float!
• People & Animals: Put on an old pair of socks, then walk in burr seeds next door. Notice how they stick on!

Day Five:

• Circle Time: Look at 2 new flower pictures (find ones that are native to NC) and 2 new tree pictures.
• Read I Am a Leaf and A B Cedar: An Alphabet of Trees  and Leaves
• Fill out lab record from yesterday’s experiments (Evan-Moor book)
• Gather leaves from outdoors. Bring them inside and compare them. How are they different? How are they the same? Do some leaf rubbings and put in lapbook. If possible, identify the tree from which they came.
• Draw a plant with green leaves for logbook and write what the purpose of a leaf is!
• Make a seed mosaic with extra seeds. Show pics to give them ideas!

Day Six:

• Go on a nature scavenger hunt at a local park or nature preserve. Bring along a field guide and identify trees, flowers and other plants encountered. For extra fun, bring your digital camera to take pictures. Later, incorporate those picture into lapbook. 

Gardening Unit: Days 1-3

This week we've been doing a garden/plant unit study that I devised with the help of Evan-Moor's Learning About Plants (Grades K-1).  This is the first time I've attempted to do a unit study where everything wasn't already planned out and I've been very pleased with the results so far. It's been incredibly fun and the girls have been learning a lot. Plus, it's been a nice break from our normal school routine...a break I needed! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures as my husband requisitioned the camera for his own use this week.

Here's some of our activities, though I'm withholding the ones that came directly from the Evan-Moor book. (Which, BTW, is totally worth the purchase price. It's packed FULL of great lesson ideas, activities and read-aloud suggestions. It's been a good fit for my 4 & 5 (almost 6) year old, though some of the writing has been a bit much for Sweetness (the 4yo). I just have her dictate the answers to me or help her write something simple.)


Day 1:

• Circle Time: Look at pictures of state tree and state flower. Work on address song.
• Read Pearl’s First Prize Plant & The Rabbit in the Garden
• Learn about characteristics of living things
• Decorate terra-cotta plant holders to use for planting their personal flowers

Day 2:

• Circle Time: Look at pictures of state flower and state tree. Work on last name song.
• Read Sunflower (FR) and Flowers
• Look at a picture of a flower. What are the different parts? See how many the girls can name (flower, stem, leaves & roots).
• Now dissect a Lily. Point out the 4 parts of the bloom (Petal, Stamen, Pistil & Sepal).  

Day 3:

•  Circle Time: Look at state flower & tree pics. Then see if they can describe from memory.
• Read One Bean and Paddington Bear in the Garden
• Examine roots from different outside plants.  Have the girls draw pictures of the roots and put in lapbook.
• Plant beans in clear plastic cup and watch them grow! (EMP-K; Use page 32)
• Fill pots with dirt and plant seeds.
• Make some Coffee filter flowers

Extras:

Parts of a Flower craft 

Review plant part names by playing Make a Salad