Teaching the Three R's

I am still trying to find our groove. I have found it hard to implement the Three R's (reading, writing, and arithmetic) with our units. We work on these separately and start off the day with it when the children are most alert and willing to learn.

Every morning we journal. MiMi will draw a picture about something she did the night before or even something she would like to do. She will write a couple of sentences. Bobo will just draw something that he enjoys doing. We also subscribe to Hilights magazine. They have several pictures that they can cut out and make into a story.

Currently, we are learning about the parts of speech.

I just wrote the words on note cards and stuck magnetic tape to the back. Eventually, MiMi will have fun with Adlibs. Anyone remember those?

For Math, I'm simply following Right Start curriculum. I do veer of sometimes. I try to make Friday game time. Last week, we played Bingo.


We did our numbers from 1 to 10 using tally marks, sums, and colored dots. Tomorrow we will play again.

MiMi is into cooking. She loves following a recipe. Before she helps, we do fractions.


I draw out shapes and write the ingredients. She has to divide the shape and fill in the squares to match the amount. She really enjoys doing it and even tries to teach BoBo.

We are slowly, but surely setting our own schedule. Some days we are done with the basics by 11. Other days (like today) we don't even start until 11. That's the beauty of learning at home!

Sight Words (and more pics)

In addition to our vocabulary words, we're also doing sight words. I borrowed a list from here, and I bought some "word strips" which are just heavy duty, lined paper strips. I've written about three words on each, and I cut them out and hung them around our room for easy access/visibility. There are 42 words total, so I'll do two words per unit, and then we'll have reinforcement/review for the additional 10 units.

 

 This is our letter/number/word wall. The very bottom has the alphabet upper and lower case, just above that are numbers 1-10, and on top, our sight words for the year.

Crappy close up :)

This is our "sharing" wall. Within units, the girls can pick things they are proud of, or their favorite part of the lessons, and we'll hang them here. It's an easy way to share with Daddy. I'll feature them on the blog, too.

And finally, the girls! They requested that I take their pic.

Apple Unit (Updated)

This is the first one I've put together, and it's still very much a work in progress.

First, we're going to head to the library and pick out a book about apples (maybe focus on Johnny Appleseed). After we've read the book together, we'll talk about our unit words, and what the book means, find the author and illustrator.

Apple unit words: Apple, Red, Stem, Seed, Sour, Fruit, Tree, Yellow, Green

Before heading out, we're going to create a budget for our apple purchases. Then we'll head to the store and look at all the different kinds of apples, and choose several different kinds within our budget. We'll weigh them together, and write the names down together. Nana will pay for them, staying in budget. (Lesson: Life Skills)

Alternatively, depending on the time of year, we'll find an apple picking farm. We'll visit, and pick our own apples. Talk to the proprietor about planting apple trees, what sort of climate apples like, what sort of bugs/animals like apples, and the different stages of an apples life. Also planning and remaining in the budget. (Lessons: Science, Life Skills)

Once we get home, we're going to practice writing the names of the apples, and finding our unit words in a word search (I have this file, if anyone wants it). For Pia, I have Aa writing sheets and a letter book. We'll also do a craft with apples, cutting out the stem, leaves and apple, and gluing them together. (Lesson: Writing, Spelling)

Then we're going to list the apples, and hop on the computer, to find out where they originally came from. We'll find those places on a map, and talk about what those places are like. (Lesson: Geography)

We'll pick our favorite place of those locations, and research how the apple seed got there, and the history of the area. (Lesson: History)

Next, we'll sort the apples by color, or stem length. We'll count, sort and categorize them. We'll create different patterns and write about our favorite attributes of an apple. (Lesson: Writing, Sorting, Counting, Patterns)

Next, we'll print out charts for the life of an apple seed, and review it (I still can't find what I need - maybe a book). Along with this will be coloring pages and an alphabet connect the dots for apples. Once we've completed learning about the life stages of an apple seed, we'll cut open our first apple and (attempt to) dissect a seed. (Lesson: Science)

Then, we'll take the cut apple, and work on fractions. We'll cut an apple in half, then in quarters, discussing different fractions and combinations. (Lesson: Math)

We'll leave one apple out, and check on it every hour to see what happens when an apple is left out. We'll write about what we see, using descriptive language. We'll record what we think will happen, and later review to see if it's correct. We'll hop back on the internet, to figure out why apples turn brown. (Lesson: Science, Writing, Critical Thinking)

With the remaining apples, we'll get into the kitchen, and create apple sauce. We'll work on measuring, reading a recipe and kitchen safety. We'll also wash all our dirty dishes and enjoy our product! While our sauce is cooking, we'll work on some Apple Math sheets I've created (if you want a copy, let me know!). (Lessons: Math, Life Skills, Reading)