Week In Review - My Birthday Week

School Stuff

I finally started my 4 year old on pre-K stuff.  I am making up my own things but I am using Teach Me To Do It Myself - for some Montessori based things and with a few add ins.  I set up a space for him.  It isn't wonderfully organized or beautiful to look at but it works.  We do the five categories from the book and add in other things.



Developing the senses - we did the suggested activity.  We used different types of sandpaper and compared rough and smooth squares.

Language Development - Enjoying Word Play - I have this huge nursery rhyhm book that my mom gave me.  She used to read it to us.  I read out of that to him this week.  He loved this page - the giant.

He also wanted to "read" his Bible story book himself and tell me about it.

Numeracy Skills - sorting into sets.  He did not really want to do this activity as it was laid out.  There was some coercing involved.  He wanted to try a few things with the stuff in the basket and so I let him.  

He wanted to take the objects and place them in his sister's doll house.  He did three objects on every floor.  I figured that was sorting.

We also did the Animal ABC's from 1+1+1=1.  I just printed out a few pages.  I'm starting with C and then each week we will do the rest of the letters of his name.  Here he didn't want to make a snake to make the "C" but put play dough dots on it.  Whatever.

He surprised me with this one.  He seems to be able to count well and mostly in his head.  I asked him what shapes I needed and he immediately said, "We need 5 yellow ones and 5 triangles."

 We did an "A" because that is all I had printed out and its in his name too.

Practical life - teeth brushing.  Of course Montessori has it on a tray but I just decided to do it where we would do it - the bathroom.  Now he can unscrew the lid and put his own toothpaste on.

 This day he "read" more of his Bible books.

He sorted his sandpaper into "smooth" and "rough" piles.

 He cut and pasted his "C" craft.

 We are working on proper scissor holding.

I tried calling out numbers and he would put little mounds of play dough on the numbers I called out.

This is a link game I got for free at a salvage place.  He really liked it.

Then we ended the time with Starfall.  He really likes this number game although it is above his skill.

At first he did not want to do his learning time but tonight he asked to do it tomorrow.  I only do one hour in the afternoons and I try to have it planned out so we can hop from one thing to another and I give him my undivided attention for an hour.

The older ones continued on as usual.  Here they are helping me make a timeline of the oldest for our History lesson.

 I bought a new art curriculum - the lessons are on DVD!  I just have to get the stuff ready and help them.  Love it!  We made models of rollercoasters and the boys actually liked it.

For our co-op this week we made models of the earth (edible) for science.

 Then we did another art lesson - water colors and then weaving which will be next week.  They didn't hate it - mostly because I kept it short.  They aren't art lovers you know.

Then each family (there are two of us) picked out five items that represent something about our family and then we buried them and the other family had to uncover them and guess things about our family.  They all seemed to like this one.  It was for history.

Then later we went home and ate our edible models of the earth.

I don't do a lot with my girl since she goes to actual Montessori school half days but we do some things.  She really still likes the sensory bin and we do some reinforcement of what she is learning at school.

She did spend an evening reading us books from the library.  I mean more making up stories to go along with the pictures and acting as the teacher and making us raise our hands (it was all too familiar).

This little tot did some things too - mostly messed things up but I helped her with this - and yes I watched her closely and didn't let her put these in her mouth.

Life Stuff

It was kind of a crazy week due to some outside forces and so I was drained a little emotionally but my family was great and pulled me through.  We had fun despite it all.

 I babysat my friend's kids.  She has lots of girls and they like to work in the garden.  It was a good trade off.

Oh and it was my birthday last week so some friends and I went out to the Cheesecake Factory and this girl - I love her.  She was messing up her hair to show us how long it was.  She told me she cancelled her hair cut for me.  I took this picture of her looking like Wolverine.

My husband took me out to eat while my mom watched our kids and I got to choose where we went.  I chose Chicago's pizza and then he let me look around  Lakeshore Learning, The Container Store and Home Goods.  I'm simple folks.

The Container store

 And he bought me this book.  It is different but cool and it proves how well he knows me.

 And that was a peak into our week.  How was your week?