Afterschooling: Weekly Wrap Up #4

My children went back to school this week. The joy of sleeping in for the past two weeks didn't affect them one bit. They were ready to go back, I love how they enjoy school! We were able to still do some work at home. I have to admit this is my favorite part of my day. Listening about their day, and sharing some quality time while working, and playing together. Our arrangement with school and working at home fits my family so perfectly.

                                                               DJ

Enjoying the Magic Treehouse series. This is where most of his time has been spent. DJ started reading the Revolutionary War on Wednesday Sunday night and finished reading it last night. DJ has been reading the companion book as well.  After reading the companion book he says he will be ready for Civil War on Sunday.

                                                             
The boy loves maps he could look at them all day. That is exactly what he does whether creating his own maps or working with the continent puzzle maps.

                        Using a map legend to find places on the map.

                                                           
                                            Creating a map of his room.

                                                                                          
                                             Working with  the Knobless Cylinders.

                                                                         
                                                              Ken
Ken is her name and botany is her game. Ken received some gifts for Christmas that has inspired her to want to know more about plants.

                                               
 Ken created this observational journal so she could record her findings.

The subjects of her observations are the Hydrodome plant and a Strawberry plant.

 

                                                       
             Learning about the land of the State of Michigan reading this book.

                                   Working with landforms.

Fraction circles .

  Ken found a new book series this week and enjoyed reading this book. Ken finished this book last night and can't wait to do a book report when she comes home from school so she will be able to reflect on what she has read.
       

                                                                  
                                                       Michelle

Michelle has been working hard this week on putting these two science projects together.

                Solar energy house model. It came with a hand held generator.

                                                              Wind turbine.

                                                                       
   It was a great week despite having to get back into a more structured routine. The Three Musketeers continue to wrap me around their little fingers. They are hard workers and  I vibe off of their positive energy!

    Thank you so much for the nice comments and taking the time to read what we have been doing this week.
                         Enjoy your weekend!!

We Got Mail! (StArt)

This week we have been learning about the job of a Mail Carrier. We read How it Happens at the Post Office by Dawn Federick. The book is really wordy for the preschool child but the illustrations are fantastic. We browsed through the book and discussed the various machines and people that involved in getting the mail to our homes. The children enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit of information. I think this book does a great job of getting the childrens' interest in the process of mail and is the best book I came across explaining what happens at the post office if you can't actually take a field trip there.

                                                        The cover.

  The supplies. Looking back on the photos I realized I didn't take the pictures I wanted to show the step by step process of their craft.

                               Pictures of community helpers they colored and cut.

                                               The back of the cards.

       The mail bag. The child laces the bag and then I staple the blue ribbon.

                                                                         

                                                       At  Work

    To see more projects inspired by stories done by children please visit StArt hosted by A Mommy's Adventures
                                                                           

Meet Addy: American Girl

   We found this awesome book browsing in Barnes & Nobles. I don't understand how we missed it! Ken is so in love with the book Meet Addy. Meet Addy is a part of the American Girl series written by Connie Porter.  The setting takes place in 1864 during the time of the Civil War. Addy is a courageous girl, smart, strong growing up during the civil war. I don't know what all the criteria is to label a book a "living history book", but this book is bringing the times during the Civil War and slavery alive for my little girl. Ken dosen't want to put this book down for one second. This is the first book ever that Ken requested on her own if she can write a book report when she is finished. The book is recommended for children ages 8 and up.
                                                                  The cover.

  Inside the first pages of the book are pictures of Addy's family tree and the characters in the story that play their roles in history during this time.

There are five chapters in this book, but five more books that tell about Addy's experiences. Ken has read up to chapter three. So far Addy has let us in on what her life is like working on the plantation as a slave girl, the pain of being separated from her father and brother who were both sold in slavery because the Master could no longer afford to feed and clothe them, now Addy and her mother are planning to escape.

To get a better understanding of the labor that Addy had to endure the author describes in detail how Addy had to carry loads of things throughout her work day, sometimes she carried things on top of her head. To bring it closer to home Ken walked the line with an empty basket on top of her head. When we added things to the basket it wasn't easy.

                                                          
 Ken continues to practice walking the line with her basket and adding a few items along the way. She wants to be able to walk the line with items in the basket, on top of her hand, and carry a bucket of water at the same time. Ken wants to really connect with Addy.

The American Girl Series starts back in time at 1764 with a girl named Kaya and the books go through to a little after 1974. I know they just came out with a new book in the past week. Ken has already decided what her next time in American history will be. I have to admit I can't wait to find out what happens next with Addy and her momma. Ken and I agreed that we will read this book  together.

 Come and share your adventures in time and space at HIstory/Geography exchange hosted by Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn

Say It Two Ways (Toddler Activities)

The toddlers count all day long!! They count when they are walking down the stairs, they count when it is time to receive snack, they count when it is time to clean up. They are very good at at counting and all of them at one point through out the day claim the leader of their count game.  I am trying to incorporate some of their activities to promote more of this counting thing that they are doing without them noticing it. It is clear to me that sometimes when I get excited about them knowing something I go overboard and then they are turned off by it. Yes sometimes less is good.  When I discovered a few of them knew some of the letter sounds I started calling them for lessons. They quickly stopped their interest. They love to learn by observing too. I stopped that right away and they are continuing to learn their sounds indirectly through observing their peers.  I know that T.V. in the classroom isn't a montessori thing, but I found something that is working quite well for the toddlers here. The toddlers scream in delight and sit quickly when they notice that I am going to finally turn the T.V on, they are anxiously waiting for their final work of the day.

 We are all loving learning Spanish using the program Speak Spanish by Your Baby Can. Don't let the word baby fool you . All of the children love to watch this progam for the fifteen minutes that we do. The program comes with one music cd and two dvds. One of the dvds' introduce the child to the new words. The other dvd is music videos. Right now we are learning our numbers in spanish.

 The program also comes with 100 flashcards. Here are some of the counting cards. The front of the card the child points and counts the object.

  Here is the back of the card. The children have been working on matching the number with the word. They are good at this.

                                  They are loving this new book in their book basket.

                                           A picture of the inside of the book.

    They are loving this puzzle as well, and use their spanish independently while completing it.

 A  new work on their shelves. This work is used to show what medium is. They are proficient with illustrating what is big or small.  They love spooning so I think this is going to be a big hit.

                                                                              

Montessori Works

We had small numbers for school last week. The children that were in attendance came ready to learn!

                                           
                                               Making footprints of animals with play doh.

                                                                       Pink tower.

                                                                  Alphabet puzzle.

                                                        Brown stairs and Pink tower.

                                                                             

Painting Snowflakes.

                                                       Dry pouring with funnel.

                                                               
                                                           Matching Sandpaper letters.

New works on the shelves (Practical Life)

Icicle work. The child uses the eyedropper to put that many drops of water on the icicles.

    Make a snowflake. Child uses their fingers to transfer the marbles onto the suction cups.

  Snowman work. Using the learner chopsticks the child transfers the pom poms into the snowmen.

 Locks and Keys. The child must find the matching lock and key. Lots of wrist turning here.

How We Spent Our Last Week Of Vacation 2010

Well we had fun our last week of this year. The Three Musketeers return to school this upcoming Monday. Here are some pictures of how they spent their week. It may seem a bit strange to some that my kids are still working but they love consistency and structure, and when they still see me working they follow.

                                               Sorting rocks.

                                           Browsing for books at the library.

                               Creating the map of Europe using map puzzle pieces.

                                                     Sewing a hand puppet.

                                          Washing his socks!!

                                          Experimenting with magnetism.

                                                 Weaving.

                                              Brown stairs and Pink tower work.

                                                  Completing the human body puzzle.

                                                   Exploring crystals.

                                            Enjoying dinner out on the town.

                                                     Celebrating the New Year.

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year's Celebration !!