Week in Review: 2/21/22 - 2/26/22

This week was full, as usual! On Monday, I went to the doctor and found out that I am pregnant. This was very unexpected, and I'm still in shock! Baby Russell #7 is due on October 1. The kids are excited - well, all except Zeke. He is not happy about this news! 

Eli played his last basketball game of the season Friday night, but baseball season begins Monday! Mercie has a tennis match next week, but this week we had to deliver the 29 pizza kits she sold as a fundraiser! Titus also had TKD twice this week, and a belt test next Saturday. He is testing into yellow!

In science the boys and I read about Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They made the planets from modeling clay and we will be putting our solar system models together next week. We've learned quite a few interesting facts about the planets with this Gather 'Round Homeschool unit.

In history we are finishing up the book "Raiders from the Sea." This has been such a interesting book and the boys love listening to it each day! We've also been reading in "A Child's History of the World" about different emperors and kings. We read about the first monks and the contributions to society they made. I love the fact that I learn so much while homeschooling my children.

Silas is still working with decimals in math, and Titus has been introduced to decimals, fractions and percents. They're both doing really great! In grammar, Silas has been reviewing all of the punctuation and capitalization rules and started learning how to make good paragraphs. Titus has also been reviewing the capitalization and punctuation rules and is almost finished with his unit.

Mercie had a few fun experiments this week in her science! She is reviewing a new math program, His Vessel Textbooks Algebra 1. She has completed two lessons so far, and although it's a little harder for her because she hasn't finished Pre-Algebra yet, she said she likes the curriculum better than what she's currently using.

We did school on the couch several days this week since I've been so tired. The boys really enjoyed being in the living room! We may keep doing it this way.

We didn't do any preschool with Zeke this week, but he did find the bag of fine motor tools, pull out the syringe, and ask to do that activity. I gave him so green water and a few silicon ice trays and he played with this for about half an hour!

Mercie has still been bottle feeding our calf, whom she has named Stewie. He's doing great, eating two full bottles a day! We may move up to three bottles.

The boys have been practicing Bible Drill, since our church drill is going to be March 27. They are so goofy as soon as I try to get a picture! Zeke always grabs his Bible and wants to do exactly what his "best friends" (as he calls them) are doing.

How was your week?

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Week in Review: 2/14/22 - 2/18/22

Monday was Valentine's Day! I gave the kids each a little bucket of candy and a funny card. We don't go all out for Valentine's Day. Rod and I exchanged cards and that is about all we do each year. We had a regular school day, too.

Tuesday morning Zeke had speech, so he and I made the hour long trip there and back. He does really well at speech! He goes back all by himself, which is very surprising if you know Zeke. He normally doesn't go anywhere without me! We always stop at Burger King on the way home, and he never lets me forget. Mercie, Silas, and Titus stay home and do schoolwork. Mercie does hers on her own, and Titus and Silas do a math lesson, language lesson, and art lesson.

lesson from Art Achive

Tuesday night Eli had a basketball game, and Titus had Tae Kwon Do. My mother-in-law helps me get Titus to TKD when Eli has games, otherwise I wouldn't be able to swing it.  

Wednesday night we had our Team Kid Valentine Party. The Acteen girls cooked for them, we had a photo booth, I gave a lesson on God's love, and then we played Bible Bingo with conversation hearts. It was a fun, but a bit chaotic, night.

Thursday night was another basketball game about half an hour away, and Titus had TKD again. My mother-in-law took Titus and Silas rode with them, while Mercie, Zeke, and I went to Eli's game. Mercie had her first tennis match scheduled, but it was cancelled due to rain and bad weather predictions. Instead they practiced inside the gym. 

Friday night was yet another basketball game, and now they're in the play-offs. Basketball is almost over and baseball is almost here. There is no real break!

We continued learning about Space with our 'Gather Round Homeschool unit. The boys learned about asteroids, Jupiter, and Saturn this week. They used modeling clay to add to their solar system models.

Silas's Jupiter

They also worked in their student workbooks - five pages a day. They actually enjoy completing these pages, and it doesn't take them long at all.

Titus - 4th grade

Silas - 6th grade

We continued reading in "Raiders from the Sea" which is a really good book so far! The boys never want me to quit reading after the daily chapter. We are also reading in "A Child's History of the World" about different Germanic tribes and the Vikings. 

How was your week?

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The Peaceful Preschool - Letter F

We didn't do as many activities this week as we have been doing, but Zeke still really enjoyed learning the F is for Fish!

Our book this week was Fish is Fish. Zeke used fish stamps to decorate his letters. 

He also sorted fish by type. We used these fish and a sorting tray - this is an old Melissa and Doug tray that works really well as a sorting tray! He had fun with this activity.

I also picked him up this alphabet and number fishing puzzle. He loved it! It's been played with quite a bit lately.

We used the counting cards from The Peaceful Preschool and goldfish to do some counting. He is getting really good at counting to ten. I didn't get a picture of this.

I also made a few worksheets for Zeke to use. He matched fish shapes, put matching fish in the same colored bowls, traced his letters, and counted fish, putting dot stickers with that number on the box.

We also worked on the /f/ sound, which is what he is working on in his speech therapy right now. He has started making the /f/ sound, but hasn't put it with the words yet. So fish is still /i/ since he can't make the /f/ or the /sh/. He built the letters with playdough.

I also put out his wooden Matchimals game. He matched the animals and named them all.

He loves cutting paper, and he is really getting good at being precise! This is such a great fine motor activity as well as keeping him quiet and busy for a good chunk of time.

Next week is G!

Tot School Tuesday - Matching

Matching is similar to sorting, but it's a totally different skill set that can be practiced in many ways. Matching is important for visual discrimination, language building, noticing patterns, and teaching focus.

Zeke loves matching activities. There are so many things you can provide for your child to match:

• colors
• shapes
• animals
• numbers 
• letters
• pictures
• shadows
• sizes
• socks

We do a lot of hands-on matching activities, but I also create plenty of matching worksheets for Zeke to use. He loves cutting and gluing, so I try to incorporate that into his tot school. He loves to match color pictures to their black and white outlines, which is a great visual discrimination skill. We also do shape matching worksheets, color matching worksheets, and shadow matching worksheets. 

Here are few of Zeke's matching activities that he enjoyed.

He is matching farm animals to picture cards I created.

I used a sand sensory tray and some starfish shape cards to make this matching activity.

I used our alphabet flashcards and Learning Resources letters for Zeke to match.

He is matching pom poms to ice cream scoops. This is available in my Etsy shop.

He loves Fruit Loops! He matched the cereal to the same color of the rainbow.

He used dot markers to dot the matching ice cream scoops.

I love these shadow puzzles from Voila! This is a great visual discrimination toy.

He matched his Melissa and Doug wooden cards to flashcards I created.

I love clothespin activities! He matched the clothespins colors to the bear card.

These are just a few of the matching activities Zeke has done. When he was younger, we would do these almost every day. Look around your house for items you can let your child match. Colored bears to pieces of felt? Animals to matching animal print fabric? Cereal to colored paper?

What has your child matched lately? 

Week in Review - 2/7-2/11

Sunday was Mercie's 14th birthday! Saturday I took her to buy a new pair of boots, three pair of jeans, and a new cowgirl hat. We also went out to eat at Cracker Barrel. We had a fun day together! Sunday we had cake and ice cream at our house, and then we went to Rod's grandfather's house because he shares a birthday with Mercie. It was his 90th birthday! We had more cake and ice cream with family.

Tuesday was another busy day. Zeke had speech in the morning, Titus had TKD, and Eli had a basketball game. Mercie had tennis Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We had church Wednesday night, where I teach Bible Drill at 5 and TeamKid at 6. Mercie had Acteens, and she actually taught the lesson! The leader told me she did such a good job and was really prepared. 

With regards to schoolwork, we had a good week! In history the boys and I are reading "Raiders from the Sea" and it's proving to be very interesting so far! We are also reading in "A Child's History of the World" about some of the Roman rulers. They made a juniper leaf crown, and they turned out really nice!

In science, we learned about Earth, Venus, the moon, and Mars. They added to their solar system model by making the planets from modeling clay. I can't wait to get these put together!

We started using Art Achieve to practice drawing. This is available on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. We actually reviewed a membership to this program years ago, so I was excited to see it here! My kids enjoyed it last time, and I can tell they're enjoying it this second go round.

Zeke and I only did a few days of preschool this week, but that's okay! He learned F is for Fish. Here are a few of his activities.

We also have a baby calf that lost its mom, and Mercie and the boys have been bottle feeding it a few times a day. It's a lot of work taking care of a calf! These life skills my kids are learning through experience are so valuable!

How was your week?

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Tot School Tuesday - Sorting

It's Tot School Tuesday, and today I'll be talking about sorting activities. These are some of the first activities I introduced to Zeke when he was around 18 months old, and he still enjoys them at 3 years old!

WHAT IS SORTING? 

Sorting is classifying objects based on their attributes. The most common categories of sorting for toddlers and preschooler are sorting by color, shape, and size. 

WHY IS SORTING IMPORTANT?

When your child sorts they are actually working on beginning math skills. Learning to sort objects is important because your child is comparing similarities and differences in the attributes of objects and grouping like objects together.  

This is also a great visual discrimination exercise! Visual discrimination skills are important skills to have when your child begins learning math and reading. It's important for your child to be able to decide which objects belong in sets. 

WHAT SHOULD MY CHILD SORT?

You can literally sort anything! Household objects are great for sorting activities because it brings real-life into play. Sorting laundry, utensils, or canned goods are all easy ways to work on this skill.

I'm also going to list some ideas for each of the three top sorting categories I mentioned above - color, shape, and size.

SORTING BY COLOR

I provided an empty popsicle mold and craft sticks for Zeke to sort.

This is the first sorting activity Zeke did, and I introduced two colors at a time for him to sort. It did take a few tries before he understood what to do, but it wasn't long before he was sorting the six main colors.

Zeke sorted buttons onto these colored pumpkins available in my Etsy shop.

A few ideas for sorting by color:

• counting bears
• linking cubes
• crayons or markers
• pom-poms
• craft sticks
• toy cars
• buttons

I always provided the same-colored bowls or cups for Zeke to sort items into. You could also use colored paper, felt, or foam for sorting mats. Once they master sorting by color, you can provide a sectioned tray for your child to use.

Zeke sorted bugs into colored paper cups.

SORTING BY SIZE

This is an activity I introduced to Zeke once he was 2 years old. Sorting by size takes a little more critical thinking, but it's a great early math activity! I started out with two sizes - big and small. Now Zeke sorts three or more sizes at a time. This is also a great opportunity to learn some vocabulary - small, medium, large.

Zeke sorted dinosaurs by large and small.

A few ideas for sorting by size:

• plastic animals
• pom-poms
• craft sticks
• rocks
• buttons
• fruit 
• blocks

I usually provide a sectioned tray for Zeke to sort by size. I always put one small object in one section and one large object in another. He could usually figure out what to do without any direction from me.

I used this dividing tray for sorting buttons into three sizes.

SORTING BY SHAPE

We didn't start sorting by shape until Zeke was 2 1/2 years old. I did the same thing that I did with colors - I started with two shapes and gradually added more. This is how Zeke learned all of his shape names.

Contact paper and magformers made a fun activity!

A few ideas for sorting shapes:

• Magformer Magnetic blocks (triangle, square, hexagon)
• buttons 
• legos (rectangle, square)
• foam stickers
• felt pieces cut into shapes
• pattern blocks
• plastic gems
• pieces from a shape-sorter

I made this sorting box from an old box and buttons.

Remember to start out with just two or three categories so your child doesn't get overwhelmed. You can eventually add in more and it will be a fun challenge. Zeke can now sort things by type, like coins or different types of animals. What's the neatest thing your child has sorted?