Preschool: Nature is All Around Me; Brought to You by D, E and F

Preschool Lesson Plan 2, Theme: Nature, Letters: D, E, F

Today's class was focused on the Earth and all of the nature it holds. The letter D is for Dirt, the E is for Earth and the letter F is for Feather. We discussed with the three three year olds about nature being made up of everything that is not man made. "Something that Mommies and Daddies can't make." How's that sound for a three year old? I actually got a couple laughs with that one. 

We giggled about how we can't make dirt and how funny it would be if we tried and we let the kids ask questions (they didn't have many) and we gave examples of what kind of nature the earth holds. For instance Lorelei brought up nature is when you go hiking. Well, she got that pretty...kind of...close to right. Yes, nature is all around yes and a prime example is when we go hiking!

The kiddos had time to cut, color and write the three letters while gluing feathers and other fun stuff to them. Sheri brought out some brown paper rolls and cut large pieces of "dirt" for the kids to glue other natural objects to. There was green felt for grass, dark brown felt for mud, light blue felt for clouds provided by Jenn and natural objects such as sticks and leaves provided by Sheri. Lorelei and I brought in some handfuls of feathers. 

I only got a shot of Lorelei's project and I have to say she was more interested in dumping the glitter once that came out rather than really focusing on her picture. She has really enjoyed making art lately, but mostly taking it apart. 

Please note throughout the kids very serious crafting faces! They mean business. It's always nice to see the kids taking it seriously.

Sheri read a book about leaves that the kids really enjoyed. After the book and snack time we discussed the seasons with the kids and what happens with the leaves and why they change. 

My goal by the end of the school year is to help Lorelei learn social interaction skills she can use within the years as well giving her a warm and comfortable place to flourish that peaks her interest in learning. I would also like to watch Lorelei and learn about her and what she needs as a person; who she wants to be and what interests her to better equip me for the upcoming years (yes I said me. Is that selfish?). As far as specifics for class I guess you'll have to keep on reading as the year goes on!

Please feel free to comment on any links or activities that you like, have done or may be useful! Thanks for stopping by!

Preschool: My Binoculars Help Me See My A, B, C's

Preschool Lesson Plan 1, Theme: Sky, Letters: A, B, C

The three kiddos coloring, writing and tracing letters A, B, C.

Zeke from A Beautiful Life in front of the kids Preschool Banner they painted during the introduction of preschool.

Lorelei excited to use her Tinker Bell pencils and ruler while coloring in her letter A.

E from A Day's Journal enjoying cutting out her letter B after coloring.

Zeke gluing down his Blue Bird for onto his sky. He was the first to notice the hidden letters by saying "Hey! There's an A on my airplane!"

Enjoying a book read by Sheri from A Day's Journal.

"Round Like a Ball!" All the kiddos including the little guys enjoyed story time.

E, Lorelei and Zeke holding up their projects.

Taking pictures of their projects and I think we lost them.

We weren't so successful with getting all of the little guys together. Do you see Hannah and R looking over at Kiah?

This is what they were looking at and this is the best shot of the three.

The big kids at recess. The girls were picking on Zeke by pushing him on the swing when he really just wanted to be alone in the task. I think he liked it a little bit though.

In all what we did was give them a few moments to get introduced and get the giggles out at first arrival. Second we set up their coloring pages and let them color, cut and trace their letters (first lesson A, B, C). Third we got them started on a little gluing project. I previously cut out the shapes of an airplane, bird and cloud. The airplane had a hidden A and the blue bird had a hidden B while the cloud was in the shape of the C. Next we had snack time followed by a book. When they kids were all done and settled back down from the book Jenn introduced the binocular project. She had felt and toilet paper rolls as well as the fuzzy pipes. (Forgive me I forget what they are called.) The kids glued the felt on and we cut out the access from around the two, side by side toilet paper rolls. Jenn and I cut out some felt shapes for the kids to decorate their binoculars. We attached the fuzzy pipes to keep the felt on since we were going to use them right after gluing. The kids then took them out and ran around outside looking for things in the sky. I think it was a wonderful time and the kids really did enjoy themselves. I can't wait for next week and I know Lorelei is even more excited.

Preschool: Introduction (A Warm Welcome)

So you may or may not have read my debates within the past few months about preschool and whether or not Lorelei was going to go to public school or stay home this year. If you're curious and have yet to read the debates click here for the first debate and here for part 2.

Okay, now that we're ready I'll let you in on what we did for our first day of preschool. Remember we are all moms with the best of intentions and are learning the ropes so be kind. To introduce the kiddos to preschool we let them play for about five minutes so they could get their wiggles out before we sat them down. After a few minutes the kids were more than ready to sit down and paint! 

We got out a banner I put together out of a roll of paper I got off of our easel from home. I simply wrote out the word "Preschool" to introduce them to our upcoming (nine week) lesson plan on letters. We talked about the letters on the banner and associated them with their names. (Our goal is for the kids to learn at their own pace and get the individual attention they need while having a nurturing learning environment.) They picked their letters and paint colors and got to painting.

Lorelei: I swear she enjoyed the painting more than this photo is showing. Too funny, she saw the camera aim her way and she blanked. I was impressed with her painting skills and happy she enjoyed the time with others.

Zeke (Momma from A Beautiful Life): Had a wonderful time mixing the colors! He also knows a lot of letter sounds. I was very impressed.

"E" (Momma from A Day's Journal): Was very polite and painted within the lines. She could also write her name which was very impressive.

The girls stayed the longest. Here they are finishing up the banner. Our goal is to put it up during each class so the kids understand the difference between a play date and school. Let's cross our fingers. 

Recess after snacks (Sheri provided yummy snacks which included peanut butter crackers. Lorelei immediately asked me for some for her house). The kids played Ring Around the Rosie among other games.

It wasn't easy to get all three of kids with their people. I cut out the people and clothes before hand from construction paper. Jenn brought the "google" eyes and the kids decorated. "E" quite enjoyed the activity while I was impressed with Zeke adding the shorts in for the letter A and Lorelei really loves her creative outfits doesn't she.

We have a plan for next week and we will be starting with the theme "Sky" and will introduce the letters A, B, and C with individual associations. We would also like to get a book in next week! Wish us luck. Overall though I think it was a wonderful success. The kids told us their favorite parts, other things they want to learn later and their little brothers and sisters played nicely!

If you have any other ideas or thoughts please share!

Nap Time Debate: Homeschooling vs. Public Schools Part 2

If you have yet to read Homeschooling vs Public Schools the first debate please click here if you're interested in brushing up on some reading.

So here it is September already. I can't even believe how fast this summer has gone. S'mores have been eaten, camp fires have been enjoyed, the beach has given many hours of entertainment and sandy diapers and now it comes down to the decision. Where do I send Lorelei to school this year? What will be the answer for my family with the concerns of education.

First I will tell you that I spoke to Lorelei's preschool teacher the other day. We registered her into Public school back at her open house in early spring for the upcoming school year. Lorelei was not yet potty trained, but on her way. We saw all the other parents signing checks and getting kids ready for their first year of school and we jumped right on that band wagon. Well, jumped too quickly really. Miss Lorelei still refuses to...uhum...doodoo number 2 on the potty. (Sorry bad joke.)

I recently got up the nerve to call the preschool and speak with the teachers at our public school. Basically I was calling to scream for help and tell them I did not want to be "that" parent who sent their child to preschool wetting their chairs and peers while they were there. Could you imagine the poor children going through that or seeing it happen on a daily basis. The trauma they must experience. That and the poor teacher. What a first few weeks, months it must be in the first year preschool rooms. Wooh. These women (and men) need awards for their practice.

The director gave me the advice of just going with it. Take Lorelei out of pull ups completely and let her be free. She will learn. The pull up is after all a diaper the kids can pull up and down. A toilet to carry if you will and they know the difference of underwear and pull ups. Let me tell you. I didn't know what to do. I was calling to back out of preschool for my little girl and they are telling me to forge ahead. What to do what to do?!

After all there has been wonderful communication and discussion with a friend of mine about starting up our own preschool for our girls so we could teach them at their own pace. Watch them learn and be able to help them with specific needs. I feel that would help them get ready for preschool. What's preschool for three year olds anyway...pre-preschool?

So all if this is floating around my head while I'm thinking "Wow. Two and a half hours during Hannah's nap time. That's it. Lorelei would be around other kids, enjoying herself. Let's do it. Should I do it?" The open house for the preschool was days away. Actually, now that I think of it I think it was the next day. I was at a loss. I told the teacher and director thank you and that we would be at the open house. We would attend and hope Lorelei would love it and she would want to finish training. I immediately stopped using pull ups all together. She has stayed dry all night and only has accidents while running to the potty to make it. That and number two. Oh boy, number two. There is an icky story I will spare you the details, but I put down a firm mommy law on that one. No more. Let's just say it involved dirty big girl underwear, my carpet and a small pink potty. Enough said, right.

So here we were, getting ready for a preschool open house. My husband and I had another discussion once again. It came back to the fact that I teach Lorelei and Hannah all day and at many points throughout the week. Was a strict and organized preschool classroom something that Lorelei needed right now? What if I took Lorelei to the classroom for the open house and she loved it, but wouldn't train? What if she loved it and we decided two years was ridiculous? One what if I didn't think of was "what if she loves it and it all works out?"

I e-mailed the teacher the next morning apologizing for the inconvenience and explaining our situation. I wouldn't want to traumatize or push Lorelei into something she is not ready for. After all a group of close friends in a nurturing structured environment sounds pretty darn great to me. We will learn about each other, friends, letters, numbers, games and so many other things. I will feel more comfortable as a mommy to send Lorelei to preschool after knowing she is ready...next year.

So there it is. My inner debate. I worry too much, but I love a lot! I hope my girls will know that when they hit their teen years and undoubtedly hate me. Oh, sad thoughts, but in the end I am doing what I feel is right for my girls and I feel like a small group of kids in an at home environment and learning at their own pace is just right. We are homeschooling this year!

What do you think? Any opinions? Any websites I should check out to prepare myself? Are you already doing it or have done it? Any and all advice and comments are welcome! I hope sharing my debate with you will help you make your decisions or at least let you know you are not the only person out there struggling with the inability to make a decision until the very last minute. Please enjoy your kids. They will be out of the house and having kids of their own before you blink. So I've been told by my mother many times.

If you homeschool or are interested please take a look at my Crafts & Education page and please leave any tips or comments. Thanks!

Nap Time Debate: Homeschooling vs. Public Schools

Swimming, sand, hot sunny days and Popsicles dripping down finger tips. Camping and S'mores all fun summer activities filled with joy and laughter come to an end and the school year vastly approaches. Summer is at it's half way mark and all I can think about is where to send my daughter to school.

She is still working on potty training, though we took her to her first preschool open house back in February or March. Excitement isn't even an accurate description for how Lorelei feels when we walk by the preschool and stop to play on some of the equipment (shhhh, don't tell). She is working hard on potty training, but doesn't seem to have the knack for it as she'd rather be playing right along with her sister, which doesn't quite add up to being ready for preschool.

The girls and I sit together to do endless craft projects, learning letters in work books and cutting out shapes and making puzzles. We do so many learning activities in this house; I even add in learning when we're going for walks or on the beach just by simply asking questions or pointing objects out.

All of this has made me wonder what is best for Lorelei and Hannah in the near future. What is going to be best for my girls? Does homeschooling or Public Schools have the best structure and learning environment for them to flourish and grow?

Homeschooling leaves so many doors open and seems to me to be a much more nurturing environment. It's my responsibility how the day goes and what they have learned by the end of the week. How they view learning and what they learn would be completely up to me. I can send them to summer camp or Library functions or decide to start a homeschooling group for parents and children or I can join a group.

Sending my daughters to a public school offers daily peer interaction and possibilities of ever lasting friendships. Learning from and trusting an adult other than a parent. There are things a public school offers that I simply can't. Learning how to get along with a teacher or peer on a daily basis and coping with their environment; if that may be the case. Odds are in the many years of schooling the children will come across a teacher or peer they just don't understand or get along with.

A child learns to thrive outside the home and learn how to follow their given schedule and earn grades and be admired and seen by peers. It can teach them how to handle a bully or even an assignment they'd rather not participate in.

On the other hand children may feel stifled and left behind their peers if they stay home with their mommy. They may feel uncomfortable in such a fast and structured environment in school.

Are these things I want my children subjected to? Just because it is the norm to attend public school and to learn how to thrive or survive doesn't mean my children need to be subjected to that type of lifestyle. Just as much as keeping my kids home "sounds" like the more nurturing option doesn't mean I need to keep them home with me. After all it takes a village right?

I have so many different arguments on this subject I can't simply decide. Not yet anyway. I'm not sure if I'm the right teacher for my children or have what it takes to guide them into living a happy and fulfilling life as adults. The last thing I want is to look back and think I made selfish decisions. I chose to send them to public school so I didn't have to feel the pressure of their education on my shoulders or I kept them at home with me because I wanted to nurture them and keep them close..too close for their liking.

Expect to see more on this subject in the future as I simply don't have a "winner" for this debate. Both schooling styles seem to be viable solutions to raising children. I hope I can make the right decisions for my children as the years go by. Any advice or opinions, please share!

For some homeschooling information go to http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com. Don't be afraid to look into it yourself. Google it!

For Homeschooling vs. Public Schools Part 2 please click here.

Projects to Do With the Kids

There are the ever most popular and beloved finger paintings, coloring books, water color paintings, crazy shape cutting, and many other basics we can do with our kids, but sometimes it's fun for me to make something special from all the basics or beef them up a bit.

We have used old diaper boxes and made them into baby doll beds and school buses for 'L' so her guys could ride around inside them. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of this escapade but I can explain.

Bus

1. Let the toddler/preschooler apply glue to one side of the diaper box after you folded in or cut off the top flaps yourself.

2. After the side of the box is saturated undoubtedly in glue help apply the choice of color your child chose for their bus. We chose yellow. (Repeat this step until all sides are covered)

3. While the glue is drying help cut out rectangles for shapes. I made long strips out of basic construction paper and let her cut across to make the rectangles. Also make larger shapes for the front window and back windows.

4. Let toddler/preschooler apply glue to the backs of the rectangles and help guide them to where the windows should go. Let them have fun. If one is out of place let it be. It'll still be a bus to them.

5. If you are comfortable with your drawing skills ask your child who they want to drive the bus and ride in the back. Draw faces of animals or family members in the windows. In our case Daddy "drove" the bus and the family as well as many animals rode in back.

6. Add any personal touches like sparkles or stickers if you'd like. This would also work for the people riding the bus if you'd like.

7. Finishing details like dividing the doors with a line and adding handles, lights etc.

Your bus is complete! Let your child enjoy their new homemade toy they had a hand in making.

Baby Doll Bed

1. Using an old diaper box you now have two options. You may cut the corners half way and fold or cut the remaining flaps to make shorter sides or you may later add a pillow to fluff up the middle. We made both beds.

2. Choose the color of the baby doll bed and let your toddler/preschooler apply glue to one side of the box and help apply the paper. Repeat until all sides are covered.

3. Choose stickers, paints, crayons or cut out more shapes and glue to the sides to let your child express themselves.

4. Finish the project with your own personal touch. I added a small beach pillow for the mattress and let her use her old receiving blankets for baby doll blankets.

All done! Let your child enjoy her reward after all of her hard work; the baby doll bed!

Another project we ventured in was a bouquet of roses or daffodils. This was a lot of fun because she got to collect some things from the beach and I used what I had lying around the house.

Fake Flowers in a Vase

1. Choose your vase. You can use an old one you have lying around, a plastic cup or one of your kids cups. I had a plastic, pink vase lying around after receiving it as a gift when 'H' was born.

2. Go to the beach and have fun! You can go to the beach, park, playground or your backyard, but make it fun. Let your child choose all of the fun stuff like rocks or shells to go inside the vase to hold down your small vase.

3. Go home and collect the rest of your supplies. I used bendy straws for the stems but you can use colorful pipe cleaners if you'd like. For the pedals we used baking cups in the traditional size and the small size for tiny cupcakes.

4. Fill your vase with all of your goodies. You may clean whatever you found first if you wish.

5. Mom, poke holes in the center of your baking cups after counting out how many flowers you would like to make. You can double up the baking cups to make numerous pedals or just use one per stem. Let your child decide.

6. Let your child slide the baking cup onto the bendy straw. We cut a bit of the tip off being that it would stick out too far through the flower. The baking cup will stick well to the "bendy" part of the straw if you did not make your center cut too large.

7. Add any personal touches like leaves made from more pipe cleaners or construction paper glued or taped on. My daughter didn't want to make leaves but wanted to add pieces of straw in the bottom with the rocks and shells so more flowers had a chance to grow.

Sit back and take a break. Display your childs beautiful vase of flowers in their room or in the center of your table. 'L's is still in her room to this day.

You can also make maracas out of old water bottles. For little fingers you can use macaroni noodles and let them drop them in. Older kids might like using a funnel and spilling in rice. You can decorate the outside with stickers, paper or even paint. Another favorite is making masks out of paper plates. We enjoy making crowns out of construction paper. I'll even ask 'L' for an animal and I will cut out a frog for instance, but add a construction paper band for a crown. She ran around in this crown until it fell apart. Which in some cases may be very quickly!

I hope you enjoyed some of these ideas. Don't forget to check out more sites like www.babycenter.com or other mommy sites for more projects and check back here for more crafts in the future. You can come up with your own ideas too! Make them kid friendly and they don't need to be gorgeous but they do need to be fun and age appropriate. Enjoy the time with your children.