Tot Play: A Learning Journey

Sonrisas Spanish Curriculum - Color Theme

2012-02-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

PLEASE do not use the pictures or content on this blog without prior permission - the photos are my own and are copyrighted. PLEASE provide a link back to my blog if you found something useful or when referring to this content. The use of small items requires close parent or teacher supervision at ALL times. Thank you and enjoy your visit!

Sali de Paseo

As many of you know, we are currently reviewing the Level 1 Sonrisas Spanish Curriculum and we really try to make time for this class because of Alyssa's interest level and enjoyment with learning Spanish. Although, recently we took a break due to her injury. We also place learning a second language of high priority or importance for her education. I am still playing catch-up so this is an old post that I have recently edited. We did several supplemental activities for lesson 3 while we waited for our interlibrary loan books.

Greetings and Roll Call
This is a little awkward since we don't have any other students in our class. I play a game and act goofy with Alyssa. It can be played like "Hide and Seek." I ask where Alyssa is in Spanish and she responds, "Aqui!" She raises her hands and pops out of hiding (if she is even hiding ... sometimes she is so anxious to start the lesson ... that she is sitting on the floor waiting for me). She has learned to raise her hand as if attendance was being taken.

Circle Time and Calendar
We always start Spanish listening to the songs on their wonderful CD's. Most of the songs we are using are on the Sonrisas CD. The tunes are very catchy and make you want to dance (at least that's what it does for us). The words are very easy to learn! Don't forget you can hear samples at their website. We also review the games and role play activities from the previous lessons. The new theme game introduced was called, "El juego de colores." This activity can be used in a classroom or with just one student. The movement keeps the students active. They learn what the action words mean by performing the movements during the game. You can also incorporate new vocabulary in this lesson that will be used in the future (Lesson 11: La Ropa). The students will quickly recognize their colors and the game changes daily based on the circumstances and what they are wearing. You will understand once you read the manual. I have plans to add on to this activity next time we play the game. This game was a refreshing change from our usual color game. We have been playing a Spanish version of "I Spy" with Alyssa for a couple years now. It is super easy for her now since we have been playing "I Spy" for so long. We take turns so that she has the opportunity to trick me. I can always tell what object or color she is describing because she glances in that direction.

Art Time

The first art activity in my opinion best compliments a different book listed in the manual (Oso Pardo ... Oso Pardo). We did the same activity but I searched the internet for a different template to match the book we read, Sali de Paseo. I found a horse outline at Activity Village and let her practice cutting strips of paper for the project to work on her fine motor and scissor skills. Another horse template can be found at First School. Then, she glued the colored bits of paper on the horse telling me the color of each piece in Spanish. She also wanted to label the picture with the correct Spanish term. She quizzed daddy's knowledge of Spanish colors when he came home from work using her picture. Check out her art work!

Story Time
We read a book titled, Sali de Paseo by Sue Williams. Oh ... how I love this book! I only wish I could own it in Spanish. It would be much easier to complete this curriculum in a timely manner had I bought the books from the company ahead of time. The waiting time for interlibrary loans can take weeks (and possibly a month or so). If I owned the books, then I would repeat activities with Alyssa. The activities I create or plan to create can be done over and over again to gain familiarity with the concepts. However, our homeschool funds do not allow for that expense in the budget. Sonrisas Spanish has a online bookstore in which the curriculum books are sold. Check out the website if you decide you want to purchase individual titles used throughout the curriculum. Several of the picture books the company has chosen have amazing illustrations with repetitive, predictable language. This is definitely one of those books! Many of you will be familiar with this book as is the case with several other books used with this curriculum. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the literature selections. The authors encourage you to ask questions while you are reading about previously learned and new concepts. We always review previously learned Spanish terms and concepts.

Supplemental Activities (NOT part of Sonrisas)
As I have said before Sonrisas focuses on communication or oral language development in regards to acquiring the new language. Alyssa's has an interest in the written form and also in reading Spanish so occasionally I will add-on activities that incorporate writing and reading Spanish. She seems to understand it better when she can see the word in Spanish too. I will also add-on other activities I feel would be appropriate for the theme. I apologize for lack of photos - it is difficult at times to photograph EVERYTHING we do. Some days we just enjoy the activities instead of worrying about photography.

1.) Farm Animal Retell
Montessori Mama created an I Went Walking Story Basket activity that inspired me. We used plastic toy farm animals to retell the story events using the Spanish version of the book. We also used farm animal puppets however, in both cases the farm animals obviously did not match the colors in the book but Alyssa was still able to complete the activity. She would let me know when the colors were different and then she would tell me the

correct Spanish color. There are resources on the internet that sell products for this popular book. But, we used what we had on hand that day. We used the farm animal puppets from Oriental Trading but I do not think the ones we bought are available anymore. You could also purchase or make a felt character set. Teacher Express sells a decent felt set online if you aren't willing to make it. If you make or find printables you could also make a retell necklace by hole punching the character cards. The child would sequence and lace the character cards on a string using Spanish terminology. This activity is similar to the Brown Bear, Brown Bear necklace found at Hubbard's Cupboard - her activity was done in English.

2.) Predictions and Farm Animal Vocabulary
The book has great visual clues in which a child can predict what will happen next. Alyssa would look at the illustration and I would ask her in Spanish to predict what animal might be next. We also discussed color terminology and animal noises. We also used the book as an opportunity to discuss farm animal vocabulary in Spanish of course. These links may be helpful with pronunciation of farm animals and colors.

3.) I Went Walking Mini Book
You and your child can go for a walk outside, on a farm, or at a petting zoo. You could discuss in Spanish what you see using the predictable language of the book as a guide. After the walk, your child could create a mini book titled,"Yo Veo." Hubbard Cupboard has a GREAT example of a mini book you could create if you took a walk around the homeschool room or classroom. We attended a birthday party at the petting zoo so we did this activity while visiting ... we never did have time to create our mini book. We started making toilet paper binoculars until I remembered she was given real binoculars for her birthday a year ago. We took those instead of creating a pair, but it would have been more fun to create them. DLTK and Almost Unschoolers show two different ways to make binoculars for your walk. You could even have them color the binoculars different colors and review Spanish color terms.

4.) What's Missing?
I found another great activity that I used with Alyssa during Spanish class at the Eight Little Monkeys blog. We played the "What's Missing" game scroll down to read about it in English. I just translated my words in Spanish and required Alyssa to respond in Spanish. The idea is to remove one or two of the animals and the child tells you which animal is missing and the color of the animal. We used printables from a paid subscription website and printed them out on construction paper using the colors from the book. We also tried playing this game with our plastic animals and puppets.

5.) Predictable Chart and Sentence Illustrations
I used to use a lot of Predictable Charts when I taught. You can create a predictable chart with your children using the Spanish terminology. Alyssa and I wrote sentences in Spanish on chart paper. Then, I let her pick two sentences to write on sentence strips. She cut between words, mixed up the words face down, and placed them in the correct order. Then, she glued them on paper and created an illustration for her sentence. If you do all of the sentences from the chart you can create a book (kind of like a class book but it would be one made by one child).

6.) Pocket Chart Matching and Sequencing

I put together a quick activity to supplement our lesson for the day. I wrote all the farm animal names and colors read in the book on index cards in Spanish. Then, I made a copy of a farm animal sheet from our Itty Bitty Bookworm Bo Year 1 CD. Alyssa's job was to think about the story and what color the farm animals were in Spanish. She matched the correct colors to the farm animal pictures. This activity was done very quickly and independently. Then, we took them down and her job was to match them but this time the animals needed to be in the correct sequence as to when they appeared in the story. In the end, the words were sorted into two groups on the pocket chart. She was able to read the categorical words in Spanish vertically (farm animals and colors) or horizontally the way she would see it written in a Spanish book. This activity was a huge success with her. She even found a pointer and read the words for her daddy. Alyssa may color the pictures the correct color later as another activity after reading the book again.

We are having so much fun with this curriculum!!! I just can't help myself from thinking about and creating additional activities even though they are DEFINITELY NOT needed. The curriculum itself is wonderful and complete in my opinion. I love the fact that art, music, and literature are integrated. Alyssa's pronunciation is improving and her knowledge of Spanish vocabulary terms is increasing. Spanish remains one of her favorite subjects - thanks to Sonrisas Spanish curriculum!!!!!

Thanks a bunch,

Tracey M.

I FINALLY joined Pinterest!

2012-01-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to join Pinterest for quite some time now and I finally took the time to join today. I am so excited about organizing all the awesome activities that I find online ... I only wish I had time to create them all. I spend so much time searching the internet and couldn't manage to keep track of the ideas in an organized manner. I can already say that I LOVE Pinterest and this may be just what I need to get this part of my life organized. If you haven't joined or heard about it - check it out soon! I have so many little post-its around my desk with website information. Hopefully, this will be the way for me to organize everything that interests me in one spot. Time to throw away all these distracting and cluttering notes! Hey, that means I can also delete several bookmark folders on my Mac too. I just started pinning but please follow me and check back often. Thank you to Carisa at 1+1+1=1 for introducing Pinterest to me.

Montessori Print Shop Birthday Bash Celebration Fourth Giveaway

2012-01-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

Helle everyone! As I have mentioned in previous posts this week, Montessori Print Shop is celebrating their 8th birthday by having a huge giveaway celebration. The prizes are a must for ANY classroom or homeschool environment (ha ... at least that is my opinion).
I have been waiting for this giveaway to be posted ALL week. It is by far the best one in my opinion. Montessori Print Shop is giving away their Pink Blue Green Language Series Bundle and the DELUXE CD ROM COLLECTION. You can read about this giveaway and see links to the other three giveaways here. I would LOVE to have access to their materials any time I needed them. It would be very convenient to own the CD ROM and I know that we would definitely use the materials. Alyssa and I use Montessori Print Shop materials to supplement her current curriculum. We BOTH absolutely LOVE the materials! Please stop by their store to see what they offer - they may just have the perfect item you have been looking for to supplement a lesson. If you want advanced notice of sales, giveaways, and coupon codes be sure to sign up for their newsletter. They also have a blog and FREE resources. The Frog Nomenclature Cards and Book are really neat and will be used during Alyssa frog unit. I adore their nomenclature sets and love to use them during Science lessons. I only wish I owned them all. LOL!
Oh wow! I just noticed they have O'Keeffe Art Cards. Alyssa and I just completed an art lesson in our Artistic Pursuits curriculum and the picture study was one of Georgia O'Keeffe's artworks. I have to go print that set off now. She will be thrilled to use them and see other works of art by the artist. Gotta go! Good luck!
Thank you,
Tracey

Montessori Print Shop Birthday Bash Celebration Third Giveaway

2012-01-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

Montessori Print Shop is celebrating their 8th Birthday Bash and they are giving away some amazing resources. I use several of their items with Alyssa and she can't get enough of them. The third giveaway is for the popular Montessori At Home e-book and it includes the Montessori At Home Materials Bundle from Montessori Print Shop. I would love to get my hands on this book and the materials to compliment it. The book is full of great teaching ideas and activities. Have you seen what Montessori Print Shop has created to go along with the book? If not, you should hop on over to check out all the materials. They are also including their awesome World Maps Bundle and the Land and Water Forms Bundle. This set is extremely useful for geography studies. Click here to see the third part of their giveaway celebration. Here is a direct link to their store items. Enjoy browsing and thinking about how their materials could supplement your curriculum or in some cases actually be your curriculum for particular subjects.
Thank you for reading,
Tracey

Cast Difficulties and Slow Down ... Thankful for a Boca Beth Surprise

2012-01-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone - I have been meaning to post but we have been very busy with school and trying to get this house back in order after the holidays. Just a little side note to let you know what we have been up to lately. We were preparing for Alyssa's birthday party in November so that kept me busy for over a month beforehand ... well for people who know me ... it was actually longer than a month because I plan so far ahead. Let's just say that I have already started planning for two birthday themes for her NEXT birthday. This year we threw her a Wizard of Oz 4th birthday party. I wish I had the time to blog about it and post pictures. I LOVED planning for it and gathering ideas for every possible detail I could think of related to the story. My favorite parts to plan were the games and goody bags. Even though several things didn't turn out quite as planned ... the children still had loads of fun (as far as we know). Unfortunately, Alyssa was in a cast for her birthday party. What happened you say???

As you can see in the pictures below, Alyssa's arm was at first in a sling. Right before her party ... during the last five minutes of gymnastics class ... she hurt her wrist badly. The coach said that she fell into the ball pit and might have twisted it the wrong way. Alyssa says that when a little girl tried to help her out of the pit ... she heard her wrist pop. There is always the possibility that she hurt it on an activity before the ball pit. We were watching from the loft above but we noticed that she was favoring her arm. She started crying a lot and the crying got LOUDER and LOUDER so we immediately took her to the hospital for x-rays. A cast was put on her arm after several days wearing a sling. The first day she told me, "Mommy, I'm done with this thing." Then, she tried to take it off. It was a very trying time for us all and it made school time a bit more difficult than usual. She lost some confidence because she was unable to do things the same way as before the cast so we SLOWED school down quite a bit during this time. There were days that school was not done especially in the beginning. Then, of course Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays distracted us from our curriculum. We were still doing school but it was more Christ-centered and seasonal activities.
I plan on getting back into the blogging world very soon. I am starting the year off with several product and curriculum reviews. I am currently attempting to start up a blog carnival. I REALLY want to get it up and going so I would appreciate any help (see previous post). I have a lot to learn before it can actually launch. I am super excited and I hope that I am able to figure things out.
One thing I wanted to do awhile back was say thank you to Boca Beth and Itsy Bitsy Learners. Alyssa and I were VERY thankful back in November when our Boca Beth package arrived. What GREAT timing! Alyssa kept herself busy with the package during her cast time. We won a giveaway at Itsy Bisty Learners and our family was blessed with a Boca Beth backpack learning set. Alyssa opened the items and started playing with them immediately. The package included a Boca Beth puppet, pink maraca, "I Love Animals" DVD, My First Songs CD, and an activity book. Alyssa asked me to put in the DVD as I was baking and freezing Thanksgiving and Christmas goodies. Luckily, I had my camera close by and snapped a few pictures of her opening the package and watching the DVD. We sang the songs on the CD several times the night it arrived and many times for days after its arrival. I am so glad that it arrived when it did. Here are a few pictures of her - she was in a sling at this point. The purple cast followed shortly after these photos were taken.
Please take the time to check out the Boca Beth website and blog. She has FREE bilingual resources and you can sign up for her newsletter which is full of tips for teaching Spanish. I receive it and we enjoy reading and trying the ideas presented in the newsletter titled, "Boca Beth Buzz." Her website offers FREE shipping ALL the time!

Hope to hear from you soon!
Tracey

Montessori Print Shop Giveaway #2 This Week

2012-01-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bloggers! I just wanted to let you know that Montessori Print Shop posted the 2nd part of their 8th Birthday Bash Giveaway. The set includes a Geometry Bundle and Animals Bundle #2.
The geometry bundle which would get used extensively in our house during math lessons looks pretty awesome! I especially adore their 3-part cards for the geometric shapes. Alyssa and I have been talking about the characteristics or features of shapes and this set has several very beneficial activities and materials to supplement any Math curriculum.
I am happy to say that they are also including Animals Bundle #2 to the giveaway. The set includes 2 sets of neat dinosaur cards which I would LOVE to use during our upcoming dinosaur unit. They also have several activity sets that are used for sorting or classifying. The real life images used are very clear.
Both of these bundles are GREAT supplements for Math and Science. I would absolutely LOVE to get my hands on ALL of their materials. I am definitely a huge fan of their products. If you haven't already done so ... hop on over to their website. This part of the giveaway started on January 20th and ends January 27th. Don't forget to check out their products in their store.
P.S. I think that the 3rd part of the giveaway will be posted tomorrow!!!
Good Luck,
Tracey

Happy 8th Birthday Montessori Print Shop!!!!

2012-01-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I absolutely LOVE the materials at Montessori Print Shop. Well ... they are celebrating their 8th birthday with a birthday bash giveaway. I am hesitant to share because honestly I would like to win. You can read about their birthday celebration and giveaways here. They are giving away 8 prizes (2 prizes each day) and the fun has already started so head on over to check it out! I only wish I was lucky enough to win birthday gift #1. It is a Deluxe CD Rom Collection with ALL 1, 077 files on two discs. I can't tell you how many times I have signed up to win this collection. They have way too many wonderful files to list here so if you have never been to their store before prepare to be amazed! Here is the link to the first giveaway which includes the four Primary Montessori Teaching Manuals and the Zoology Nomenclature Card Bundle. Good luck to you all!!!!
Tracey

Blog Carnival Information Requested

2012-01-19T09:49:00.000-08:00

I am VERY interested in creating a blog carnival but do not know how to go about doing so. I am also interested in learning how to create a free blog carnival logo or a blog button since my funds are limited. If you have any helpful information or knowledge on these topics, please contact me as soon as possible at tlmswt2000(at)msn(dot)com. I am hoping to launch a new blog carnival soon!
Thankfully yours,
Tracey

Montessori Materials

2011-11-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

I was looking into purchasing a few Mathematics Montessori items. Can anyone recommend a good, honest company with quality materials?
Thanks a bunch,
Tracey

Alyssa's All About Spelling Updates

2011-09-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

Alyssa turns 4 in November! Yikes ... where did the time go?
Please do not use pictures or content without permission.

All About Spelling (Level 1)

Alyssa is doing very well with the All About Spelling Curriculum. I read somewhere that you can move onto the second lesson even though the student has NOT mastered Lesson 1 sounds, so ... that is exactly what we did. Alyssa struggles with the pronunciation of the /c/, /k/, /ck/, and /ch/ sounds. Notice that all of these letters share the same sound for at least one of their sounds. She can tell me associated words for each letter or sounds so we moved on and will continue to review them as we go. I think a lot of it has to do with her age right now. We just finished lesson 10 today. My plan was to take it slow but Alyssa had another other plans. She is zipping through the lessons without any hesitation. I was planning on doing it every day except for now that she is enrolled in gymnastics on Tuesdays and dance on Wednesdays - those two days are shot and schoolwork is limited. We live at least 30-45 minutes away from both locations. We make use of our nights and days that daddy works when she is motivated to do more. We just started taking the spelling tests and Alyssa has written all the words correctly so far and continues to spell them correctly each day we review. Her handwriting looks pretty good in my opinion ... actually my family and friends say it is better than mine. So sad! I watch as she writes the words to make sure she is forming the letters correctly. If she were to have any problems with letter formation, then I would write them on an anecdotal record that I have ready. For some odd reason, she started wrote her "f" backwards one day. She found her mistake and now checks to make sure she is writing it correctly. I have noticed that she is a bit of a perfectionist. She gets frustrated when things aren't "perfect" or "right" even though whatever is bothering her looks GREAT. I have told her from the beginning that it is okay to make mistakes and that they are learning opportunities. She wrote sentences for the last two tests using two of the spelling words. She writes the sentence herself starting with a capital and punctuates at the end. So far, punctuation marks have been correct. In fact, now that I am thinking about it ... she has decided that for EVERY word she will dictate a sentence during tile work. This can make lessons a bit longer than they are supposed to be. Not to mention she also likes to do some sort of physical activity while spelling the word (hop tile to tile, dribble a ball, cheer spell, hop backwards, etc.). These are just a few of the activities that she has created on her own as we work. She has been enjoying All About Spelling. Today I asked her what her favorite part was and she said, "My favorite part is the spelling test. What's yours?" I will post a pic or two of her spelling work but I am not sure you'll be able to see it. I always let her choose a sticker when she gets them all correct along with a little treat.

*I had to remove two photos because I didn't realize Alyssa wrote her entire name on the paper. Oh and this is not my first choice for handwriting paper but it is all that we have so we are making it work.

I usually link up at Preschool Corner and 1+1+1=1. Check the links to see what other families are doing this week.
Thank you for visiting and I hope to hear from you soon!
God bless,
Tracey M.

Expressing Feelings

2011-09-19T01:31:00.000-07:00

Excuses ... Excuses

Today is a catch-up day. We have been traveling to see a family member in the hospital and we have been a bit preoccupied with how she is doing. Then, each of us became sick. Alyssa had nose issues (runny and stuffy), Jeff came down with a cold, and I had a migraine that lasted several LONG days. We also started several reorganization projects and had to help daddy pack for his two week long vacation. So, my blogging adventures were set aside temporarily. Not to mention MANY other exciting things have been happening around here ... things that constantly distract me.

Sonrisas Spanish Lesson 2: Hola y Adios

We FINALLY received a few of my interlibrary loan items so we were able to move forward with our Spanish lessons. I must say ... I didn't realize how long it would take for interlibrary loan requests. Several of the books I really wanted were not available. While Alyssa and I waited we did additional Spanish activities I created around the themes Sonrisas presents in their curriculum.

My plan is to also teach sign language (ASL) using the thematic units introduced in the Sonrisas Spanish Curriculum (if and when possible). I would like to expose Alyssa to more than one language this year. We are thoroughly enjoying the Spanish lessons and of course we had yet another GREAT lesson! The activities seem to engage her attention and I know that she is having loads of fun. She still asks to do school every day and prays before bed that we can do even MORE school the next day. Her favorite curriculums at this point I believe are Sonrisas Spanish and My Father's World K.

Teacher Manual
The teacher manual has been such a great resource and guide for me. The format is easily read and well organized. I love the structure of the lessons and how the lessons aren't so detailed that you want to set the book aside. The manual tells you exactly what you need to be teaching that day in a concise way. It also states the vocabulary terms and phrases to use throughout your lesson. The art lesson is on a separate page which helps when presenting the lesson (using the guide). Their format also gives me some sort of structure for Spanish lessons or activities that I have created. I just change out the book and art activities. I often will add in other subjects as well.

Calendar
We listen to songs during both calendar and circle time. Alyssa has learned the words for the Spanish songs that we use consistently. I never did end up writing the lyrics on sentence strips like I originally thought about doing. I think what helped was that in my free time I listened to the CD and at times glanced at the lyrics in the manual to help me. Then, I taught her the correct words as we sang the songs. In the beginning the songs were still new to us but we are both becoming more familiar with them. She dances like a maniac to the songs! Sometimes, I have to remind her to sing. She is doing much better with calendar time. She can respond in a complete sentence as to what the day and month is for that lesson. I also ask her in Spanish what the day is today, yesterday, and tomorrow. I do remind her to speak in Spanish only. We also create a pattern with our calendar pieces and she predicts what number and picture (in Spanish) will be on the next calendar piece. We were already doing this during regular calendar time. I teach her the vocabulary for the calendar pieces ahead of time so that she will be able to respond appropriately. She LOVES predicting the numbers, colors, or objects that will be next. I will have to get an updated picture of our calendar soon.

Circle Time
We have been using a different ball to play the Me llamo game. Alyssa was having a difficult time catching the smaller hacky sack ball so we started using a huge exercise ball. We will continue to play by using smaller balls each time until she is comfortable with catching the larger ones. This also helps her work on eye-hand coordination. We have been known to bounce the ball back and forth during the Me llamo game. We also make sure we practice both overhand and underhand tosses for some extra PE skills.

We found a cute girl puppet for a dollar at Michael's a year or two ago. We use if during the hola y adios role play activity. Alyssa adores the puppet. She has blonde hair and is extremely friendly not to mention very curious and talkative. I often sneak her in during lessons. Alyssa likes to play games with her and teach her new vocabulary words. She is so giddy when I bring her out - it's so funny. Her name is Ana.

Story Time

I REALLY think I have a problem ... an addiction LOL! I enjoy searching for and thinking about ways I could add in more activities to compliment the already amazing Sonrisas lessons. This is one of those distractions I was telling you about. You can find more feelings activities below listed under supplemental activities. We were unable to find the original book listed in the manual, however the book Cuando Estoy was recommended was recommended by the company. Alyssa's father joined us for the reading of this book. The book is very basic and was easy to read in Spanish. Alyssa attempted to read parts of it aloud.

Art
Alyssa has been intrigued with Spanish lately. She wrote the Spanish words hola and adios on the art activity for this lesson. She learned additional vocabulary during this lesson too. The cutting was a bit of a challenge for her but she INSISTED on doing it herself. The manual has more information about this activity ... I am trying not to give out too much information.

Home Report
Alyssa comprehends and is able to use the terms hola and adios appropriately which was a review for her. However, now she can also respond in a complete sentence to the question, "Como estas?" I bet you can guess what her response is most of the time. That's right - she is usually happy.

Supplemental Feelings Activities (not part of Sonrisas)
I printed the Childcareland Feeling Faces to create stick puppets as props for Lesson 2. I did not add the English translation to the sticks as shown in her video. I will eventually add the Spanish vocabulary terms to the sticks.
We use them in several ways:
1.) Sing the song Buenos Dias (Track #2). We add additional verses to the song and replace words with different feelings or emotions. There are several instrumental parts in the song where these verses are added and then obviously at the end of the song.
2.) Several times throughout the day I ask Alyssa in Spanish "How are you?" I show her the puppets and she says,"si or no." Then, she uses a complete sentence to tell me how she feels at that moment. I try to have them on hand so that I can catch her different emotions. I still ask her if the puppets are not available.
3.) Once the Spanish words are added we will use it as a quick matching game (match puppet to emotion or feeling word).
4.) We flipped the puppet sticks face down on the table and turned one over at a time (took turns). After flipping a face over and stating what it was in Spanish, we proceeded with acting out the feelings.
5.) I saw a feelings paper plate activity in a Mailbox magazine while browsing teacher resources at a nearby education store. I do not know which one is was because I never bought the item. Different facial expressions were created with eye and mouth clip art. I am sure you could create Spanish expression cards and place them in a pile face down. The child could flip over the card, say the expression in Spanish, and create the paper plate face according to the feeling. This could also become a drawing activity.
*NOTE: The last three activities could also be done in English.

I will be linking this activity up at Preschool Corner and 1+1+1=1. Click on the links to find out what others did this week. I hope to hear from you soon.
God bless,
Tracey

2011-08-08T03:15:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Buyers Coop

Homeschooling's
#1 Way to Save

Howdy! I hope you are all having a great day! I just recently posted our curriculum choices for this year so if you are interested in seeing what we are using click on the curriculum link above.

I have to tell you about one way that I save money on Alyssa's curriculum. I came across this website one day called the Homeschool Buyers Coop. Even though I was hesitant at first to create a FREE account because it was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard of before ... I did after contacting the co-op with several questions. I don't regret making the decision to join. I highly recommend you participate and become a member in this co-op opportunity. My family and I have personally benefited from our membership. I can't tell you how much money they have saved me just this year. The cost for curriculum was much lower than the retail prices so I had the chance to purchase a variety of curriculum within our school budget. Alyssa will be exposed to different teaching methods and can learn in many ways. I am soooo grateful to Brett Walter and his co-workers for dedicating their time to this project. It's WONDERFUL!

This is how it works: School districts have purchasing power when buying curriculum and homeschooling families DO NOT since we buy items as individuals. Brett has created a homeschool co-op so that homeschooling families can also have access to affordable curriculum reasonably priced with discounts ... DEEP discounts at times. Membership to this co-op gives us even more purchasing power! So why not join and then let the world know!!! LOL!

The Homeschool Buyer Co-op is a free homeschooling organization for both new and veteran homeschoolers. Co-op membership is free and confidential, and entitles homeschooling families to discounts from hundreds of educational suppliers. The Co-op also sponsors "Group Buys" for curriculum packages that can save homerschooling families lots of money. On the site you'll find lots of free information, such as databases of free curriculum, field trips, and educational contests and scholarships.

Click here for more information.

Free Membership Includes:
Exclusive Discounts from Suppliers
Group Buy Discounts
Free Homeschool ID Cards
Free Homeschool Resources
Free Classifieds
Smart Points and the Reward Center

You can find out how to earn Smart Points and what you can do with them by clicking the links above. Make sure you read all the terms so that you understand the process well. I purchased my husband's promotion books through a company listed under the Smart Points Get Em' tab - scroll down to the bottom. I was awarded Smart Points and they were used for a recent Art purchase. I definitely plan on utilizing this feature around Christmas time. Last year I purchased most of my gifts online ... because I just don't like crowed areas and the seasonal shopping attitudes. This year I can do the same thing and receive Smart Points for purchasing items from popular shops I already use.

You REALLY SHOULD check it out soon! Right now, they have some pretty amazing deals including but not limited to:
1.) Rosetta Stone until August 11th, 2011
2.) Family Time Fitness until Aug. 29th, 2011.
3.) Little Passports until August 17th, 2011
4.) ABC Teach August 29th, 2011
5.) Math Mammoth until August 22nd, 2011
6.) IXL Math
7.) Let's Go Learn DORA and DOMA
8.) Atelier Art until August 2nd, 2011
9.) Intellego Unit Studies K-8th Grade
10.) Discovery Education Plus
11.) Teacher File Box until August 31st, 2011
12.) Explode the Code Online
13.) Click N Read Phonics (Lifetime)
14.) Home School in the Woods

Others offers posted include companies such as BJU Press, Alpha Omega, Brain Pop, Critical Thinking Company, Simply Music, Door Posts, etc. You know that you are already drooling - so just go and see what I mean for yourself. Click on the logo or link above. It doesn't hurt to look ... mull it over and decide for yourself but if your interested in one of the time sensitive discounts above join before the deals end. There is no guarantee that deals will be back at another time. Certain curriculum offers have expiration dates while others are ongoing (for now).
Possible Offers Coming Soon
1.) Reading Eggs
This deal will be super sweet and save you a bundle! Alyssa absolutely LOVES this website. She enjoys earning eggs and their cute critters. I purchased my subscription from the actual company in February. I wish I had known this deal was coming! I can't transfer or extend Alyssa's progress or subscription otherwise I would jump on this deal in a heart beat. I tried the two week trial to see if Alyssa would be interested in this program ... and she was.

2.) Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett
They are currently working on an agreement to launch this one in possibly a couple of weeks. Be on the look out!

Those programs are just the ones that I am interested in ... YOU should see if they have any deals listed for your child's age group.

After we purchased Rosetta Stone for the family we used those Smart Points and ones I had saved up from previous purchases to buy Meet the Masters. This may not be available anymore but you can always ask the HSBC or make a curriculum suggestion to them. I make suggestions all the time! I only paid a service fee of $1.95 for their time and service to set-up the account. Meet the Masters is a 3 year online art curriculum and I am super excited about trying it with Alyssa. We have made several other purchases from the HSBC including the Right Start Math curriculum and Explode the Code online to name a few. Alyssa enjoys the online Explode the Code subscription and I can track her progress to learn how to meet her needs better. We both love the math program and I am happy to say that she is not stuck doing seat work all day. The math curriculum teaches mental math and we play lots of games to practice concepts. I am blessed to have found this co-op. It was easy, secure, and safe! I hope to one day purchase Discovery Education Plus from them ... but just can't afford it right now.

Disclosure: I will earn Smart Points if you join through my blog ... that gives us the opportunity to purchase additional curriculum for Alyssa next year. You are also awarded 100 points just for joining. So if you decide to think it over please return and join through my links. I would really appreciate it and of course there is no obligation to join. I won't know who joined and who didn't unless you personally tell me. Thank you so so much! Have a great day!

Thank you,
Tracey M.

Curriculum 2011-2012

2011-08-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Eclectic Curriculum Choices

This year I wanted to participate in the Not Back To School Blog Hop hosted by Heart of a Matter. This is the week that everyone posts curriculum choices for the year. I love hearing about curriculum choices and I really enjoy seeing how different people organize their school materials. Yes, I am also a curriculum junkie and I am completely addicted to teaching and the learning process. My curriculum choices are very eclectic - curriculum choices were made based on Alyssa's abilities, interests, and learning style.

I have been racking my brain for a couple months (well, it has been longer than that) trying to decide how I want to organize our school time, how to organize the classroom, and what curriculum I should use with Alyssa. I have been making purchases and looking for deals for over two years. I have FINALLY made some choices. Several of you will probably think I am CRAZY, but I am following Alyssa's interests and abilities. Please do not judge me. I would NEVER EVER force learning on my daughter nor am I in a rush. I am sure that things will change over the year so things are not set in stone - these are tentative curriculum choices. We will probably eliminate curriculum - I will adjust things as we go because I always plan too much. We will also continue using the workbox system by Sue Patrick to organize her subjects. It works well for us and has since Alyssa was 15 months old. I will be putting one subject in each container for her to complete.

All About Alyssa

Right now as I type this, Alyssa is 3 years and 8 months old. She absolutely LOVES school and literally begs for school on a daily basis. She would do it ALL day if I let her. I am serious! She is an avid reader. She loves everything reading, singing, dancing, art, math, etc! I believe her favorite subject right now has to be either Reading or Spanish. She is currently reading Aesop's Fables by Sheila Carroll and Reading Literature: The Primer by Harriette Taylor Treadwell (Yesterday's Classics). These two books are read by her almost every night. Her favorite story from the Primer is "The Pancake." I love the way she reads it and hope one day to record it. Daddy had the pleasure of hearing it last night.

So here are our choices for this year ...

Reading

1.) Horizons K Reading and Phonics ... so far too easy ... hoping it will challenge her soon so that she doesn't get bored with it. I also didn't realize it was so workbook intensive. She is in the phase where she likes worksheets, so we are good for now. I place the worksheets in sheet protectors and use things like bingo chips and wikki sticks to give it some flare. I am still on the search for an appropriate curriculum for her - no luck yet! She adores the little readers. We snuggle up in a bean bag chair. I have her look at the title and picture to predict what the story might be about. Then, she reads the story for the day. There are currently no comprehension questions but I always make up a few and she does well with them. I have been adding in activities here and there to compliment the lessons to make it more hands-on.

2.) Itty Bitty Bookworm (Literature-Based Author Study)
We will try to study one author per month instead of the two listed to make it last longer and for a more in depth study. This is the Year 3 Bo curriculum. I waited and purchased during one of their BOGO offers.
3.) Reading A-Z
4.) Read Alouds (Book Lists Available Online)
MFW Kindergarten Literature Collection

    Sonlight Read Aloud Book List (Core A)
   Living Books Curriculum Book List K
   EpiKardia K
Simply Charlotte Mason
5.) DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read)
6.) DORA Reading Assessment

Sight Words
Note: Since she can already read most of the sight words ... her goal this year is to learn how to also spell them and use them in context.
1.) Rainbow Words (more on this later)

She has already learned to spell the first color level of words and has received her reward. The second color level is just as easy so I am sure she will complete that one soon. I plan to purchase the second level upon completion of Level 1.

Other Sight Word Resources:

1.) You Can Read from 1+1+1=1

2.) Ready2Read from Moffatt Girls
3.) Spell City
4.) Sight Word Games and Activities
*I would love to purchase Heidi Songs Sing and Spell!

Phonics

1.) Explode the Code Book 1
I have a feeling she will zip through this book since she uses their online program. She passed their pretest in the book with flying colors. She is currently working on Lesson 6. She reads the directions to me and completes the pages without help. I do supervise and watch for correct letter formation so that bad habits are not formed early. We place the worksheets in the Crayola Activity Center (used a Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon to purchase).

2.) Explode the Code ONLINE (K-4)
She is about to start book two online.
Other Phonics Resources:

1.) AlphaPhonics

2.) Frontline Phonics
*I wish I could try Rocket Phonics.

Spelling
1.) All About Spelling Level 1
She knows most of the sounds represented in Lesson 1 and we are currently working through Lesson 4 to assess letter formation. We play lots of games to help her learn the letter sounds represented in the AAS lesson and we use a lot of hands-on activities from HWOT to practice letter formation.

2.) Rainbow Words (see above ... more on this later)
3.) Spell City

Handwriting

1.) Handwriting Without Tears K Letters and Sounds (M, W, F)

2.) Handwriting Without Tears Get Set For School Pre-K (T, Th)
I believe Alyssa can already write almost all of the letters both capital and lowercase so I think she will zip through both of these levels if we consistently use them)

Vocabulary
1.) Sentence School (HWOT - 3X per week)
2.) Wordly Wise K (daily)

Grammar

1.) Grammar Tunes (McGraw-Hill Reading and Language Arts)

2.) Grammar Tales (books)
3.) Sentence School (HWOT)
4.) Morning Message
5.) First Language Lessons Year 1 (Focus on Nouns/Poems)
My hope is to find games and activities that compliment the
lessons taught. Any suggestions?
6.) Homeschool Creations Poems for FLL

Poetry

Poetry Binder

1.) K-1 Poetry Notebook created by Busy Teacher Printables
2.) Homeschool Creations Poems for FLL
3.) MFW K Theme Related or Seasonal Poems

Poetry Basket

2.) Idea borrowed from My Montessori Journey

Tentative Daily Poetry Activities
Mondays - Pocket Chart Choral or Shared Reading
Tuesday - Highlighting Work
Wednesday - Cut Apart Envelope Work
Thursday - Retell with props
Friday - Share with Daddy (read or memorize)

Math

1.) Right Start Math Level A (M, T, W)

2.) Math U See Primer (Th, F, Sat. or Sun.)

3.) Calendar Time (Spanish and English)
4.) DOMA Math Assessment

Other Supplemental Math Resources:

1.) Math Mammoth Complete Curriculum or Light Blue Series
2.) Saxon, Mathematics Their Way, EB Singapore
3.) Math Tub Exploration and Discovery
4.) Math Games, Center Activities, and Gross Motor Acitivities
5.) School Bell's Number Tubs

Bible (History and Science) - parts of each curriculum

1.) My Father's World K (M, W, F ... Science Animal Units)

2.) Weaver Interlock (T, Th, Sat./Sun.)
3.) Little Hands to Heaven (supplement or morning devotional)

Nature Study
1.) Nature Walks and/or Hunts
2.) Research and Living Books
3.) Anna Comstock Nature Book
4.) Handbook of Nature Study for Young Children
5.) Charlotte Mason Nature Study or Ambleside Nature Study
6.) Nature Narration, Journaling, or Scrapbooking

Holiday Study (9 Historic American Holidays)
I Love America Volume 1

Spanish (M, W, F)

1.) Sonrisas Spanish School Curriculum
This curriculum was recently updated and released in July. I have been blogging and posting pictures about our experiences with this curriculum. See posts here. Check it out!
2.) Thursday Bilingual Story Time at Library
3.) The Complete Book of Starter Spanish (Pre-K-1) and The Complete Book of Spanish (Grades 1-2).

Other Spanish Resources:

1.) Little Pim (DVD 5) We won this last year from their blog!

2.) Spanish Champs Level 1 - may use after or at the same time as Sonrisas (not sure yet).

3.) Muzzy (Alyssa likes this ...)
4.) Rosetta Stone Latin America
She will sit in while her father learns Spanish for his job. We found a deal at the HSBC - it continues until I think Aug. 11th.
5.) Mango Languages
This is a FREE online program available through our library (Check to see if yours has it or Rosetta to save money! This may
also be listed under computer or Accountable Kids ticket time.

Sign Language Resources (T, Th, S.)

1.) Signing Time Classroom Edition - Unbelievable Ebay deal!

Other Sign Language Resources:

1.) Wee Signs (ABC, Nursery Rhymes, Colors, Numbers, Animals)
OMG! I was at our local teacher store searching through their
60% off piles and I found three Wee Signs DVDs!

2.) Starfall Alphabet Sign Language

3.) Born 2 Sign

4.) Sign Language Wall Charts (in binder) and Books

5.) ASL Sign Language File Folder Game

Centers (on days off or whenever time allows)
1.) Fine Motor Skills - Montessori Methods and 1+1+1=1
2.) Math Games
3.) Reading Games
4.) Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, Fluency, and Comprehension

Computer Time (limit 30 minutes per day)
1.) Explode the Code Phonics (M, W, F) Book Two
2.) Reading Eggs (T, Th, S/Sun.) First round almost finished!
3.) Click n' Read Phonics (lifetime subscription) Please mention
my name Tracey Masters and they will pay a small referral fee so that I can eventually purchase Click and Spell. Sorry I had to ask.

4.) Starfall (FREE sections)

5.) Mango Languages (FREE - any and all languages)

Art
Creative Art (T, Th.)
1.) Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book 1
2.) Atelier Level 1 Module A, B, C

Theater, Museums, and Galleries
1.) Magik Theater Productions and Guides (plays on stage)
So far she has only seen Pinkalicious, but the plan is to purchase a family membership in August to save money in the long run.
2.) Field Trips

Art Appreciation and Picture Study
1.) Meet the Masters (3 Year Access)
2.) Child-Sized Masterpieces (AKA Mommy, It's a Renoire)
3.) Come Look With Me Series

Music (W, Sat. or Sun.)
1.) Music for Little Mozarts
2.) Music Made Easy - Guitar Alpha Omega
3.) Pfeiffer Music Curriculum K-6 (lesson once a month)???
4.) Introduction to Classical Music with Art (Part of MFW K)
*I would love Kinderbach or the Pianimals curriculums!
Note: I am super excited! I made curriculum purchases with the credit card and then paid my hubby for it out of the school budget. When we use our TOYRUS credit card we earn cash coupons back. I have been saving them up for months. Last night, they had 20% off all musical instruments so I took all 8 of my cash back coupons ($80) in to buy my daughter a keyboard for lessons for the first curriculum listed and eventually to use with Kinderbach once we can afford it. We got it for FREE! I love it when things like that happen.

Physical Education (M, F, plus daily outdoor activities)
1.) The P.E. Challenged Mom (Activities and Sport Study)
2.) Family Time Fitness Core and Workbooks K 1-4
3.) Learning in Motion K, 1: Teaching LA and Math through Movement (found these both 50% at our Education Station)
4.) PE Connections by Thomas M. Fleming
5.) Ready-to-Use P.E. Activities (K-2) By Joanne M. Landy
6.) Swimming (Daddy is trying to teach her how to swim)
7.) Gymnastics OR Dance
*NOTE: The first two are on sale for a limited time now at CurrClick!!!! Family Time Fitness is also on sale at the HSBC this month only.

Typing - Considering Read, Write, and Type or Word Qwerty by Talking Fingers for use at a later time. What did you think?

Library Options (1X - 2X per week)
Choices depending on our schedule that week
1.) Canyon Lake Preschool Storytime (W)
2.) New Braunfels Storytime (T)
3.) Bulverde Storytime (M)
4.) New Braunfels Bilingual Storytime (Th) or
5.) Bulverde Bilingual Story Time (Th)

Chore Chart (Teaching Responsibilities ... Save Spend Donate)
1.) Accountable Kids ( I think they also give referral fees)
I really wanted to purchase this new and personalized, but when I found it on Ebay for a GREAT deal I couldn't pass it up. We may personalize it later. My daughter has been completing her chores off and on depending on how many tickets she already has on the board. She has been pretty consistent with it so far. She uses the tickets she earns after scripture time, after school, as a break from school, or before bed. I really just watch her and see how she is doing. We do not have the full system in play yet. More later!

You might also like Confessions of a Homeschooler's Chore Chart

Homeschool Creations Chore Chart.

Nap

Ha ... ha ... ha ... I wish - That's so funny! This girl NEVER wants to nap and really never did when she was a baby. She has quiet time which is a time when she reads or plays with her other toys.

Now, if I only I could find a weekly lesson plan (planner) that works for me. Satori Smiles recommended Homeschool Skedtrack on her blog. I like the fact that it has an automated scheduling feature that enables you to easily reschedule everything once a lesson is missed. I also LOVE her blog! I might try that?????? Suggestions?

I plan to link up at the Not Back To School Blog Hop hosted by Heart of a Matter, Preschool Corner, and 1+1+1=1.

I hope to hear from you soon!!!!

Thank you,

Tracey M.

Pick and Draw Spanish Art

2011-07-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Please do not use the pictures or content on this blog without prior permission - the photos are my own. Please provide a link back to my blog if you found something useful or when referring to this content. The use of small items requires close parent or teacher supervision at ALL times. Thank you and enjoy your visit!

Sonrisas Spanish School Curriculum

I most likely won't be blogging on a daily basis about our experiences with this curriculum, but I wanted to share with you an art or shall I say ... drawing activity that we did yesterday.

Calendar and Circle Time

The second day using Sonrisas Spanish School Curriculum went well again. Alyssa gets SO excited when she sees me place the Sonrisas CD in the player. She grabs the sombrero and maracas and gets herself ready to dance. Alyssa also danced with Ana (the girl puppet). We focused on the recommended songs in the manual for the first lesson. Alyssa's favorite song was track #4 "Cabeza, hombros, piernas, pies." Don't forget to listen to their sample songs. We played several songs over and over again because she LOVES dancing and singing. She is also trying to memorize or learn the words to the songs. The tunes are very catchy! We played the same "Me llamo" game and made it a bit sillier using the puppet who was causing a whole lotta trouble. Alyssa was laughing so hard at the puppet. She already knew the appropriate response to the Lesson 1 question. We decided not to choose Spanish names this year. I think we will save that activity for next year when we repeat the curriculum.

Ideas and Suggestions

1.) You could use different size balls and different colored balls to play the game using the appropriate Spanish terms (pequeno, grande, azul, rojo, etc.) before throwing and asking the name game question. Please remember that I haven't figured out how to type with accent marks.

Story Time

We read the story again and I asked her a few comprehension questions in addition to questions about the pictures in Spanish. It was a bit hard for her to understand some of the questions, so I really had to simplify how I asked them. At times I needed to respond or answer for her in Spanish. We also read the book I told you about the other day A mi manera just for fun.

Art Time

This art activity is not part of the Sonrisas Spanish School curriculum - this is one of my own ideas using other available resources. I wanted a game that reviewed the facial features in Spanish. I remembered a game we owned and hadn't played in awhile. Alyssa and I use to play the game Pick and Draw all the time. However, I wanted to do another art activity so I decided to put a twist on this game. I used my photo blocks and Spanish body part Education Cube inserts cards to create a new game. Education Cubes is a member only subscription website, but it is well worth the price I paid for it. I added in a stack of cards for ears that I had drawn. At first, I used a colored dot die that was already prepared from a previous math lesson, but then I remembered that there were Spanish color word card inserts too. I used the ones with the color words typed in the actual color. Next time we will use the black and white inserts since Alyssa already knows her colors in Spanish too. I printed and cut the color word set and Alyssa played the game again. We extended the activity by naming and labeling the character she had drawn in Spanish. One of the characters was named after her and the other after her grandfather. This was so much fun and I am sure we will play the game again to review color and facial terms in Spanish.

On another note, the Pick and Draw game cards are in English - you could replace the top card and make Spanish cards to avoid translation. I wanted to assess Alyssa's knowledge so as she rolled the Spanish body part die she was responsible for figuring out which card to flip over. She knew what all of the words meant in English and it was almost like it was second nature to her. The pictures at the bottom are using Education Cube inserts for both of the dice.

P.S. I love the picture where she is pointing to her ears and saying las orejas.

Click here to read about our experience with the first lesson using the Sonrisas Spanish curriculum.

Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

I will be linking this activity on the Education Cubes Show and tell carnival.

Visit the Show and Tell to get and share Education Cube ideas!

I will also link this activity on the blogs Preschool Corner and 1+1+1=1.

Thanks a bunch,

Tracey M.

First Day Using Sonrisas Spanish School Curriculum

2011-07-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

Alyssa's Background Information

Alyssa is 3 years and 8 months old. She is an eager learner. She is reading at a first or second grade level if not higher (not formally tested yet). She LOVES learning new languages. She is currently trying to learn Spanish and Sign Language. She enjoys reading, music, dancing, singing and drawing (really any and all art projects) just like many or most other children. Sonrisas Spanish School curriculum includes all of the mentioned items above - it just makes sense for us to review this curriculum.

Review Disclosure

This curriculum was donated to our classroom at no cost in exchange for an honest review on my blog. The review will be posted upon completion of this curriculum unless the company requests differently. The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by anyone. I will be occasionally posting about our experiences with this curriculum so please check back often to hear what I have to say.

Day One Sonrisas Spanish School
Curriculum Information

Our first day using Sonrisas Spanish School curriculum was a BIG hit today! Sonrisa means "smile" and Brooks and Blue Lindner have worked hard to organize a curriculum with content that will make your children or students smile. They want foreign language learning and acquisition to be fun! I know Alyssa has been smiling ... in fact as I was typing this earlier today, I heard her upstairs singing today's songs and dancing with her daddy. I have a baby monitor turned on so I can hear everything happening when I am not in the room. Sonrisas is a standards-based Spanish curricula for preschool or elementary students in pre-k through 6th grade. We are reviewing the first level which is primarily for pre-k and kindergarten. The curriculum can also be used for older students depending on their previous exposure to the language. This curriculum is meant to be repeated and used for two years. Repetition of concepts is very important in language learning as we all know. The curriculum can be used in preschools, daycares, elementary schools, as extra-curricular or after school programs, as a supplement to any program, and with homeschooling families or coops. I must also say that the organization and format of the lesson plans can be easily followed and are pleasant on the eyes. The creators of this curriculum also incorporate Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences into their lessons and activities (you can read about it in their manual or here at their blog). What more can you ask for - right?

Previous Knowledge

Alyssa still remembers Spanish vocabulary that I taught her a long time ago which has been reinforced continuously through the use of games and activities. She has already been exposed to the colors, numbers, months, and days of the week along with several other vocabulary words. Today's concepts were a review for her but she REALLY enjoyed EVERYTHING!

Scope and Sequence

Click on the link to see the Scope and Sequence with samples for Level 1. After viewing the scope and sequence, if anyone has any resources including games, activities, charts, visuals, etc. that could be used in conjunction with this curriculum please let me know. I have a membership to Education Cube Inserts and plan on using their resources for games and activities. I hope to post ideas soon! If you are also a member check back later to see how I use the inserts.

Lesson One

Props Used:

1.) A Girl Puppet (for reading and games)

2.) Maracas (music activities)

3.) Sombrero (time for Spanish/other activities)

4.) Train whistle: Days of the Week Song

5.) Pointers and funny glasses for calendar chart reading

6.) Small Pocket Chart from Target with the calendar phrases:

Hoy es ...

Ayer fue ...

Manana sera

NOTES:

a.) I cannot get my computer to type Spanish accents so please ignore the spelling accent errors.

b.) This is a bit advanced for her now, but as the lessons progress I think she will catch on quickly.

c.) The Spanish charts below are posted near our school Calendar time area.

7.) Calendar Charts: Days of the Week, Months of the Year, and Colors

NOTES

a.) I actually plan on changing the days of the week chart hopefully sooner than later. I am looking for a colorful train template with the Days of the Week in Spanish (Sparkle Box has an editable train template - but I am having a hard time with the file. Twinkl also has an editable train template but I cannot get it to work either. Please help someone! If anyone can get this to work I would LOVE a copy of the files with the train carriages starting with Monday and the engine smoke having the words Los Dias de La Semana (with accent marks of course). Thank you! This would become our new Days of the Week chart or visual for Spanish class. Any other link suggestions or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Company Suggestion: You could also create colorful calendar charts and visuals to assist educator during Circle Time.
b.) I do teach Alyssa the other Spanish words for orange, pink, and brown.
c.) I wish that the Days of the Week chart seen above started with Monday instead of Sunday.

d.) I will add on a number, season, and weather chart of some sort soon (most likely from Sparkle Box Language Resources or from a Twinkl). I was recently reading Julie's blog, The Adventures of Bear. She posted a math activity using materials from the Twinkl website. After exploring their website, I found Spanish resources available too. Thank you Julie for posting this helpful resource on your blog!

Routine

We are planning on using this curriculum 2-3 times per week for 30 to 60 minutes depending on the lessons. It is important with any curriculum to develop a consistent routine and Brooks and Blue encourage you to do the same thing for your Spanish lessons. I will be working hard to provide a consistent routine for Alyssa. We actually lost track of time because we were enjoying the lesson so much. Therefore, I am not sure how long our lesson actually lasted today. I will have to pay more attention to that in the future. I plan on following the format as mentioned in the manual even if we do an extra day a week. For example, I will continue Lesson 1 on Wednesday. But, then I will start Lesson 2 on Friday and finish it on Monday. I am planning on doing Spanish on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless otherwise noted. Hopefully, all will go as planned. If not, I will change Spanish lessons to Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Greetings and Roll Call

I walked in the classroom wearing my sombrero yelling Hola in a very excited voice! Alyssa immediately wanted her own sombrero (this was to let her know it was time for Spanish class). I told Alyssa good afternoon in Spanish and we shook hands. We then discussed who was present (Alyssa, mommy, and the dogs) and who was not present (daddy). She ended up taking off the sombrero because it bothered her neck - I may cut off the ties or not tie it at all. I actually took mine off too after all the singing and dancing because my head was sweating. LOL! This was just an idea I read about somewhere on a Spanish teacher's blog. The sombreros were found at Hobby Lobby.

Calendar and Circle Time

At this time Alyssa is learning calendar concepts while participating in songs and playing games. Everything is done orally to improve communication and language acquisition. The curriculum encourages you to speak Spanish 90% of the time (thank goodness I have a degree in Spanish - I am not fluent ... but it does help). She LOVED dancing to the songs on the CD's and her favorite song so far is track # 6 on the Sonrisas CD. We added in the maracas and moved are hips side to side when singing "Cha, Cha, Cha." We chose several songs from both of the CD's and we used the props above to make learning more enjoyable and active. Another favorite song of hers was track #2 on the Sonrisas CD. Click on the links below to hear song samples on the CD's: Sonrisas CD or Canciones Culturales. We did the recommended game and I encouraged Alyssa to back up each time we threw the ball to each other asking the appropriate lesson question. We were practicing distance throwing and catching skills at the same time (we sat and stood up).

Thoughts and Ideas: We also brought the puppet in at this time to play the game. Another thing that you could do is lay out family photos and toss the ball on the photos. Your child can say the family member's name using different voices or intonations with the phrase Me Llamo ... (the child acts as if they are the person in the photo speaking). You could do the same thing with story character dolls or pictures (any doll for that matter).

NOTES

1.) I definitely need to spend time learning the lyrics to the songs ahead of time so that it will be easier for me to teach them to Alyssa during Circle Time.

2.) It might help if I wrote the lyrics to the songs in Spanish on pocket chart sentence strips to familiarize ourselves with the words. This will serve as a guide for us both in the beginning.

Company Suggestion: Create a big book with song lyrics as part of the curriculum price.

3.) Typing the season and weather poems for the student to see as I read aloud may also be helpful when learning this information. I will also use weather and season visuals when reciting the poems. See Sparkle Box and Twinkl resources above. I have another website with resources but have to look up the information before posting it here.

Company Suggestion: Add a FREE special linked website for curriculum users containing resources made specifically to accompany the lessons. The enlarged weather and season poems or song lyrics could be added to this section. Additionally, the calendar concept visuals could be added.

4.) I need to teach Alyssa how to blow the train whistle without covering it with her entire mouth.

5.) She uses the charts during calendar song time (with and without special pointers). She is dancing in the second picture.

Story Time

Unfortunately, I will be using the library and the interlibrary loan exchange to obtain necessary books for story time because I cannot afford the books at this time (although it would be awesome to eventually have a library of Spanish books). One of our libraries charges for this service and I was happy to find out that the library closest to us does not. This may slow down our lessons since we might have to wait for books to become available. I will use other Spanish resources or activities to fill in the wait time. I will also keep my eyes open at our Half Price Bookstore. We have already spent the bulk of our curriculum money on previous purchases. Although I do highly recommend making it easy on yourself if you can afford it by purchasing the storybook set available through the Sonrisas Spanish School website. I checked out the first two books from our local library ... then I realized that the book for lesson one was not the correct book (it was by the same author and the cover looked very similar however the title was A mi manera (My Way): A Margaret and Margarita story. I was VERY LUCKY and found the correct book at Half Price Bookstore for an extremely reasonable price. I contacted the company for a second book recommendation for lesson two since I was unable to get the book. I found the second recommendation at the library.

We snuggled up in the bean bag chair. I introduced the book for the week and we read it first for enjoyment since she seemed to be so intrigued by the book. She did repeat several of the key vocabulary words in the book. I will ask questions in Spanish during the next reading since there is only one book suggestion for this lesson. Here is a picture of Alyssa engaged in the book after story time. She was reading the English parts and apparently "the puppet" from our game activity was trying to read the Spanish parts. She did very well reading both - LOL!

NOTES

1.) I would love more than one book suggestion for the first two lessons. Most lessons have more than one book recommendation.

Art Time

Alyssa completed her self-portrait and labeled it on her own. She used the white board to learn how to label the portrait. I modeled how to draw a self-portrait on the white board and labeled my picture (I jumped the gun before I realized that was part of the next lesson). She already knows the parts of the face so as she drew her picture she was telling me the Spanish words for her facial features. Her handwriting is looking better every day. She was in a hurry to label it because daddy was on his way home and she wanted to show it to him. There are several pictures below of the self-portrait activity.

NOTES

1.) I am not sure what we will do for art on Wednesday since Alyssa completed the first and second day art activities during the first lesson. There is no other suggestions listed, but I might come up with an additional activity. We'll see!

2.) Company Suggestion: In regards to using Spanish 90% of the time it may be helpful to include Spanish vocabulary phrases or signs for art projects online as a FREE resource accessible to educators and parents.

P.S. I love that she added a heart and a belly button to her drawing. She learned how to draw people from the Handwriting Without Tears Curriculum (Mat Man Lesson). I noticed later that she was missing arms so I will ask her in Spanish if she has arms during the next lesson and we'll see if she adds them or not. She originally labeled her picture with her name in pink and then added the complete sentence after viewing my model on the board. I am not sure why she drew her hair black and brown but she told me that the pink was her pony tails. Her pony tail holders were white.

NOTES

1.) I should have given her a mirror so that she could see her reflection and draw what she sees.

Good-Bye

We had to say our good-byes in Spanish although Alyssa did not want to stop the lesson. We ended the lesson by giving each other a high five! Then, Daddy came home and it was Alyssa's turn to be the teacher!

Homeschool Connection (Home Report)

This was so much fun! Alyssa shared her work with daddy. She actually made him go through most of the lesson (including songs and calendar time). Talk about keeping him involved! I am surprised she did not have him create his own art project (although that may happen later at some point). Her daddy was so happy to see her learning Spanish and having fun while doing it. He is also thankful and appreciative for the opportunity to review this curriculum. Learning a second language is top on our list of educational goals. Jeff, my husband, also wants to learn Spanish so I think this may become a routine for us if he is not too tired after a long day's work at the fire station or at the construction site. He did have a hard time with us not using English during lessons with him, but he saw that Alyssa caught on very quickly so maybe that will encourage him to do the same. He kept asking me for translations ... I continued to speak in Spanish and began using gestures or drawings to communicate with him. I wish I actually had taken some pictures of him participating. It was so cute! Alyssa made him wear the sombrero and hold the maracas. She tried to get him up to dance but he was exhausted.

Homeschool Families

Homeschooling families can also choose to use this curriculum to teach their students or family Spanish. Click on the link above to see why. Here is the link to the FREE lesson plan for the first lesson if you would like to try it with your child. It doesn't include calendar time activities. See what you think and let me know in the comment section. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts soon!

More Information

For more information about this curriculum visit any of the links above or click on the Facts and Questions. Don't forget to sign-up for their newsletter or if you have any other questions please contact them. Let them know that you heard about their curriculum from my blog. Don't forget to check out their blog too!

Please check back later to hear more about our experiences with this curriculum. I hope to hear from you soon!

Thank you,

Tracey M.

Sonrisas Spanish School Arrived Today!!!!!

2011-07-13T00:22:00.000-07:00

It's here! The newly released version of the Sonrisas Spanish School Level 1 Curriculum for preschoolers and kindergarteners has arrived in our mailbox today. I was given the opportunity to use and review this curriculum with Alyssa. Alyssa and other young children are at the prime age for learning a second language ... having such a natural ability to learn new languages. I have a Spanish degree ... even though I am not 100% fluent ... I want to give her the gift of being bilingual by adding a foreign language program to our curriculum. She is a very eager learner and has already caught on to what little I have taught her over the years. She is fascinated with the language and communicates in Spanish at times already. I wanted to motivate her with meaningful activities so that she can appreciate the language and communicate freely. The package arrived yesterday and I have already started digging into and reading the teacher's manual in preparation for our new journey. Please stay posted to hear more about our experiences with this curriculum. I plan on keeping you informed. This curriculum includes music, art, and literature activities along with other activities that seems to encourage movement and communication.
Tracey

Library Reading Program

2011-07-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

Alyssa participated in the local library's summer reading program. She really wanted to win the bike for her age group (Bike #1). She independently read aloud for an hour not too long ago and wouldn't come down for breakfast until she read all the books that she picked out for the day. She constantly read every chance she got ... she worked so so hard. She talked about the bike with the ANGEL backpack every single day!

I am proud to say that SHE ACTUALLY WON!!! I was so happy for her ... I cried! I think I was the only parent that cried. LOL! Now, she can finally learn how to ride a bike. She has been telling everyone that she read lots and lots of books to win it. I am glad that she understands why she received the bike. She set a goal and reached it!

Thank you Canyon Lake Pilot Club for donating 10 bikes to the library for this program! We all appreciate it!

2011-07-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is 3 years and 7 months old

We don't do school time every single day at this point, but here are a few things we are doing. I plan to start VERY soon whether I am organized or not ... I have realized that I am the type to organize and reorganize over and over again. It will be a project that I am constantly working on and trying to improve as the year progresses. I tend to have too many organizational ideas and cannot afford to put it all together as planned due to finances.

Language Arts

Alyssa independently read Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett the other day. She continues to read MANY books on her own. I am so proud of her ... she struggled with a few words in the book which is to be expected at her age. She still has a LOVE for reading and enjoys school time. Still begs! She spent a whole hour reading aloud when she woke up this morning. She is participating in a summer reading program at the local library. They are giving bikes away to children that read the most. Unfortunately the documentation is limited ... so I am hoping parents will be honest. Alyssa wants the bike with the Barbie backpack on it ... she describes it to me on a daily basis. She has known the basic sounds for all the letters for quite some time now. We are currently working on additional sounds. She has mastered many including the sounds for the letter "y." Her handwriting has improved and she enjoys writing short sentences on her whiteboard. Last night she wrote, "I Love mommy, and Daddy, and dogs."It was so cute! She has also been writing sentences that contain her sight words or word family words. She continues to use the whiteboard to write the numbers 1 through 20. She stops at 20 for some reason even though she knows more numbers exist. I noticed the other day that she was explaining how to write the numbers as she wrote them on the board ... apparently she is playing teacher and I am the student. I LOVE it! Reading sight words seems to be pretty easy for her so we have been focusing on how to spell them.

Math

She has been exploring all of my math manipulatives. She seems to be intrigued with learning addition lately. We are also playing lots of math games. She loves Dice in Dice Addition! I placed two die in a spill-proof paint container. She shakes the container and looks at the bottom to add the two numbers. She uses her abacus when she needs help solving problems.

I know that we do more but I just wanted to touch base with my readers.

I made the choice to start using curriculums to cut down on planning time and time spent on the computer researching ideas and themes. I have made some recent purchases via Ebay. I am currently preparing for the new school year. Alyssa and I have already tried several lessons from different curriculums and she is doing well with what I bought. I have some reservations, but will continue using them as long as she is interested and enjoying it. I hope to post our curriculum choices soon. I am also supposed to be receiving a Spanish curriculum to review in July.

Speaking of reviews, I have been writing and editing my "candid" review for Time 4 Learning. So many things have happened since we started our trial month ... I am late posting it. My niece from New York visited me for a week, my husband went to the ER room after a ceiling fell on him while putting out a fire, and then he broke a tooth while eating dinner ... on the SAME day. During our trial, Alyssa was sick and we left for a week long vacation.

I better start preparing lunch. I hope you are all doing well and would LOVE to hear from you. Have a GREAT day!

Tracey

Independent Reading

2011-05-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is 3 years and 5 months

Independent Reading Update

Alyssa is reading quite well now. We are currently on the search for an age appropriate curriculum that meets her reading needs (phonics, literature-based, etc.) She is reading many first and second grade books with ease. She still eagerly awaits school time. Any recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated? I look forward to hearing about your experiences with available products. I have been spending too many hours researching online and would love to hear your opinions at this point. The picture below is an old one of her reading one of the same books listed below. I didn't take any photos today.

DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) usually lasts 15-20 minutes, but today Alyssa sat and read for a longer period of time.

She read the following books independently:

1.) Mouse Tales written by Arnold Lobel

2.) Mouse Soup written by Arnold Lobel

3.) Frog and Toad Are Friends also written by Arnold Lobel

4.) The Pigeon Wants a Puppy written by Mo Willems

5.) The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories (three stories)

6.) Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I hope to hear from you soon!

Tracey

Montessori Print Shop - Another Amazing Giveaway!

2011-01-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

Montessori Print Shop has started off the New Year with a bang ... with ANOTHER amazing giveaway!!!!! This has got to be one of my favorite websites! This time they will be giving away TWO, not one, but TWO (did you hear me say 2) Deluxe CD ROMS (winners will be randomly chosen). This is an EXTREMELY GRACIOUS giveaway! You have got to go check out the website to see samples of what is included on the CD if you win this AWESOME gift. The CD ROM includes the ENTIRE COLLECTION of Montessori PDF materials on their website and if I am not mistaken ALL of the NEW product releases too. It also includes the instructions on how to use the products AND ... the four teaching manuals. If you are not familiar with the Montessori teaching method - this will help you out TREMENDOUSLY and get you started on the right foot. Don't wait any longer to check this giveaway out ... go to Montessori Print Shop to learn more about it. I am sure that their products will impress you and if you don't win ... the prices are pretty reasonable you may find something you need or want to use with your child or in the classroom. This giveaway ends soon so act fast - the winners will be posted on January 17th. I am so excited about this giveaway!!!!!!!!!!! Spread the word ... well, maybe not because it lessens are chances. Just kidding! Please tell everyone you know about this giveaway. Two LUCKY families will be BLESSED this New Year!!!!
All can enter!
God Bless You All and Good Luck!
P.S. PLEASE WISH ME LUCK! This giveaway would do wonders for Alyssa and I. I know ... but I had to ask. LOL!
Yours truly,
Tracey

Montessori Print Shop Giveaway Day 2

2010-12-10T00:31:00.000-08:00

I hope you didn't miss out on Day 1 of this giveaway, but if you did that's okay there are many chances to win other prizes. It is Day 2 of the Montessori Print Shop 12 Days Giveaways. Today they are giving away Two Montessori Teacher Training Manuals (Language and Math). This particular giveaway starts today and ends on Saturday, December 11th. One winner will be randomly chosen. Please check out the Montessori Print Shop Giveaway blog post for more information on how to enter. They have more giveaways coming so head on over to see what's happening this month!
Happy Holidays and Good Luck,
Tracey

2010-12-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

   This week has been interesting for us! I have been trying to win a kitchen for my niece and nephew ALL week but haven't had any luck yet. I REALLY wanted to do something special for them. I guess I will keep trying as long as the opportunities arise.
   We are still doing preschool (tot school) but I haven't figured out what I am going to do about not being able to post our weekly adventures without pictures. I feel like photos really make a blog.
   Anyways, we may be getting an offer on our house tomorrow. It has been on the market for almost a year and a half (with few viewings). This means that the rest of this month might be spent organizing and packing. We are VERY grateful that we have an interested buyer and hopeful that they will make a reasonable offer. Please pray for us. We know that if they are the right buyers then God will make it happen when the time is right. This is the first year that we have most of our Christmas shopping done ahead of time ... we started to wrap presents ... and the tree is decorated. Funny how things work! The couple asked us if we could be out before Christmas. If it is meant to be then yes, but we have a lot of STUFF that I need to organize and go through before a move. I just got done telling my husband that this was going to be our big project for the next two months. Oh and of course we have no plan as to where we would stay right now.
   I hope you are all doing well!
Happy Holidays,
Tracey M.

Melissa and Doug Doll House Giveaway!

2010-12-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

Wow! I have found several AWESOME giveaways this month. 'Tis the season to be GIVING!
Here is one I came across today:
Win a Multi-Level Solid Wood Dollhouse from Melissa and Doug at the Mom Spotted Blog. This giveaway ends 12.14 so act soon if you haven't already done so. Since I can no longer post pictures on my blog due to photo storage capacity - check out the following link to the Melissa and Doug website to see what it looks like. Your daughter will LOVE this one - I know Alyssa would.

Montessori Print Shop Just Posted the BEST Giveaway!!!

2010-12-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Montessori Print Shop has done it again! This time they have an awesome giveaway called the 12 Days Giveaways. That's right! I hate to share the news with you because obviously it decreases my chances, but this is the time of the year we are supposed to be thinking about others. I definitely want my readers to be aware of this wonderful gift.
Each day they will post a giveaway on their blog for 12 days. The fun started TODAY so you better go check it out soon so you don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. The first giveaway ends December 10th so you'll need to work fast. But, they will be posting more so check often. If you haven't ever used their products they are amazing!
Good Luck, Tracey M.

2010-12-05T01:21:00.000-08:00

Go Graham Go has posted a giveaway for a Melissa and Doug Play Kitchen from Gummy Lump. I wish I could post pictures but since I am no longer allowed to post pictures due to storage space ... head on over to her blog and check the kitchen out. It is AWESOME! Hurry because this giveaway ends 12/7/10.
This is the third giveaway that I have entered in hopes to win a kitchen for my niece and nephew. Wish me luck! I wish I could afford to buy it for them on my own, but that is not the case.
Best of Luck, Tracey

Another Great Giveaway!

2010-12-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Mom Spotted has posted a giveaway for an awesome Step 2 Fresh Market Kitchen (value is close to $200). I checked out the Step 2 website today and it looks like the kitchen MAY also be on sale right now if you decide to purchase instead of having your try at the giveaway (may expire any time). PLEASE check this giveaway out - just click on the Mom Spotted link above. Check it out soon because the giveaway ends on December 6th. I am trying to win this as a Christmas gift for my niece and nephew!!!! Wish me luck!

2010-12-02T01:18:00.000-08:00

HELLO ... GUESS WHAT I FOUND

I am hesitant to tell you about a special giveaway I came across today, but it is the right thing to do.

There is a GREAT giveaway at Gummy Lump!

They are giving away a Melissa and Doug Play Kitchen. Your child will enjoy playing with this awesome kitchen for hours. I even want to play with it. It has a stove, fridge, oven, freezer, microwave, and sink. They also currently have other special offers that I took advantage of today (may end any time). Hurry and check this giveaway out soon because it ends 12/2/10. That is tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck and maybe your family will be blessed with this amazing gift!

Pumpkins: Week Two

2010-11-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

More Pumpkin Activities
(Some Halloween Activities)

You can find Week One Pumpkin Activities here.

We got more done this week than I ever imagined considering the fact that I was trying to get ready for her birthday bash. However, I ran into a HUGE problem. I guess I reached my max storage of photos through Yahoo (for my blog). I am not sure what I am going to do now. Any suggestions? I don't see a delete button and then if I do find a delete photo button - will it delete the photo from my blog?? I wasn't aware that I had a limit on how many photos I could upload otherwise I would have been more selective. They had an offer to purchase storage space, but I do not want to waste funds on that. So I am obviously missing a ton of photos for this week's blog - CRAZY huh. I like blogging with photos so I am not sure if I will have a post for next week unless I figure something out. Does your blog do that? What other FREE blogs are out there without photo storage limits??? I may have to start a new blog ... might be a good idea anyways.

One of my absolute favorite websites (I was supposed to tell you about this website last month during our "All About Me Unit") is Shari Sloane's Kids Count 1234. She is an amazing K teacher with LOTS of FREE printables that can be easily adjusted for different levels. I adapt them and use them with Alyssa - she'll turn three this week. Please check out her website and let me know if you found something you could use!

Books Read
The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs
P is for Pumpkin: God's Harvest Alphabet by Kathy Jo Wargin
It's Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall
Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherton
The Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden byGeorge Levenson
From Seed to Pumpkin
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? byMargaret McNamara
How Things Grow by Nancy Buss
The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton
The Stubborn Pumpkin by Laura Geringer
Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night by Anne Rockwell
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
Pumpkin Soup! by Helen Cooper
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Pumpkin Day! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Patty's Pumpkin Patch by Teri Sloat
The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
The Three Friends and the Pumpkins by Tomie dePaola
Where is Baby's Pumpkin by Karen Katz
I like Pumpkins by Jerry Smath
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
The Pumpkin Man by Judith Moffatt
Pick a Pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox
Harriet's Halloween Candy by Nancy Carlson
All About Holidays by Kathleen Kain
Picnic at Mudstock Meadow by Patricia Polacco
The Three Bears' Halloween by Kathy Duval

Language Arts

Pumpkin Make a Word

Seven letters were placed in the pocket chart. Alyssa was asked if she could spell a word (any word) using the letters. She spelled pumpkin as the first word. Then, we talked about how she could spell other words with the letters in the word pumpkin. She made the words "pump," "kin," "up," and "in." I showed her how to make other words that weren't as obvious.

There Was An Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything
Story Sequencing Sticks (LOVE THIS IDEA!)

Making Learning Fun had a neat activity for sequencing story events. I printed and laminated the printable. Then, I cut them apart and added velcro to the pieces. I added the velcro to the paint stick. I introduced the book and new vocabulary to Alyssa. Then, she did a picture walk and predicted the story events based on the pictures. We read the book aloud. The second reading she used the pieces to sequence the story as I read it aloud. The third day she sequenced the story events while doing a retell of the story. I hope that Making Learning Fun creates more activities like this! It was a great hands-on way to sequence story events and my daughter enjoyed the activity.
I have a little container that holds reading supplies that we use on a daily basis during our read alouds. One of the items are the green Nonfiction and Fiction cards as seen below. We also have cards for the parts of a book. They are both from Mailbox books I own.

-ump Word Family (Onset and Rime)

Donna Whyte's Smartie Zone has a beginning and end activity. I printed the mat and cut out just the -ump word family for the ending (rime). Then, I gave Alyssa pocket chart letters that she could use to build words in that word family. She read each word aloud after building it.

Pocket Chart -ump Word Building

I gave Alyssa several -ump word family cards and we placed them in the pocket chart. I also gave her onsets to add to the beginning. She created and read new words made. We discussed the meaning of any new words (vocabulary opportunity).

Positional Words: Pumpkin and Wagon

I gave Alyssa a wagon full of fall leaves and a pumpkin. She placed the pumpkin in the correct spot based on the positional terms used. For example, I would say Alyssa place the pumpkin in front of, behind, above, under, in, out, next to the wagon and so forth. This was a review activity for her.

Pumpkin ABC File Folder Game

The file folder game came from Childcareland. First, Alyssa matched the uppercase letters to the file folder game and then she matched the lowercase letters to the capital letters.

Reader: Pumpkin Life Cycle Book

Alyssa sequenced the life cycle of a pumpkin and used the pictures to create a book. The life cycle book came from Montessori Print Shop.

Reader: Five Little Pumpkins

I gave her the pages from the book at DLTK to place in order before stapling. She also colored the book pages from Making Learning Fun. Then, we assembled the book together and she read it again.

Writing

My Pumpkin is ... Predictable Chart

I gave her a small pumpkin and asked her to describe or tell me about it. I wrote down her sentences on chart paper. We discussed how a sentence starts with a capital letter and that a telling or describing sentence ends with a period. She had some GREAT sentences, but I can't upload anymore pictures.

Pumpkin Journal

I asked Alyssa to draw and label a pumpkin in her journal. She did a great job spelling pumpkin on her own. I also wrote the word pumpkin on the page and she insisted on writing it again. No pic -see reason at top of blog.

Pumpkin Story Dictation

I placed several items including a pumpkin in a bag. She pulled them out one at a time and told me a story. At first she only retold my story, but then she started being creative. I started writing them in a journal so that I can see her progress ins storytelling.

Poetry

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

We reread last week's poem this week. I also cut the poem up into sentences for her to sequence.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pocket Chart Poem

I really wanted to add orange dots underneath each word in the poem as seen at Montessori Journey. But, I think my sentence strips are smaller than hers, because the dots were hanging of the sentence strip. She uses the dots as tracking guides for students reading the poem. They point to each word or dot as they read the poem. Anyways, I wrote the poem on sentence strips and here are a few activities that we did using the poem which was found here:

1.) We were going to do the I read, we read, and then you read. But, she beat me to the pocket chart and started reading the whole thing on her own (she has never seen or read this poem before). She did a GREAT job reading it on her own. She asked me to read it to her after she finished.

2.) I gave her wooden pumpkins so that she could identify the word pumpkin, cover it with a pumpkin, and then count how many times the word was in the poem.

3.) Then, we used the pumpkins again to cover rhyming words in the poem.

StoryTelling

Mystery Bag Riddle

I read aloud a riddle I made last year. She guessed what was inside the bag and pulled it out to see if she was correct.

Music/Songs:

See last week's songs here!

The new song we used this week was from 1+1+1=1 (We All Fall Down).

"Mr. Pumpkin"
(Tune: "Where is Thumpkin")

"Pumpkins"
(Tune: "Mary Had a Little Lamb")

Math

Days of the Week Sequencing

The days of the week cards are from Childcareland. She placed them in order while singing the days of the week song.

Pumpkin Number Cards and Pumpkin Counters

(With Even and Odd Sort)

First, Alyssa placed the pumpkin number cards in numerical order from 1-20. Then, she put them in a pile on the table. I placed two wagons in front of her with the words "even" and "odd" on them. She looked at the number card and identified the number. After identifying the number; she counted out the correct amount of pumpkins for each card (one at a time of course). She placed them on the table in a Montessori fashion. Then, I showed her how to use two fingers to see if the number was odd or even (had a partner). I told her that if it had a partner then it was an even number and if it did not then it was an odd number. She did VERY well with this activity. I was so impressed with my baby girl! She would get excited and ask me to come see her work (I was working on birthday party stuff ... running out of time). She would tell me if the number was odd or even. I would then ask her how she knew that and listened to her explanation. The file folder game was found at File Folder Fun and I added on the pumpkin counters.

Pumpkin Weight

I gave her a scale, a pumpkin, and Unifix blocks to explore. She told me the Unifix blocks were lighter than the pumpkin (we didn't have enough). Then, we tried the dominoes because they were heavier and we had more of them. She was able to make the scale balance and at one time she told me her pumpkin was heavier than the dominoes. Last of all, I brought out some actual weights for her to explore. She really liked the weights. She was amazed by how heavy the 1 pound weight was. I think she expected it to be lighter because of its size. She used the weights to estimate the weight of a tiny pumpkin.

Pumpkin Height Comparison

She used Unifix blocks to see how tall each pumpkin was and then she compared the Unifix sticks. I had her measure to the tip of the stem for this activity. She also put the height towers in order by size (smallest to largest and then largest to smallest).

Ordinal Number Sequence Pumpkins

Alyssa placed the pumpkin ordinal numbers in numerical order from 1-10. I found the printable at KidSoup (membership required). It actually had another printable attached with it showing the pumpkin life cycle, but we did not get around to using it.

Ordinal Pumpkin Seed Game

I used the pumpkins from Oriental Trading and inside one I put a seed. I sang a song, "Do You Know Where the Seed Is?" to the tune "Did You Ever See a Lassie." The original game idea came from a website I can't find, but the song was too long so I shortened it for Alyssa. The name of the person that came up with the game was Sarah Ebbers and the song/chant creator was Heidi Samuelson 2010. Before Alyssa could open a pumpkin to check inside she had to tell me the ordinal name for its location (first, second, third and so forth).

Pumpkin Circumference Match and Comparison

We tried this activity several different ways but each try didn't work. Alyssa came back and I had a new idea. I discussed the term circumference with her and she now knows what it means. Then, I gave her three pieces of yarn cut to match to each pumpkin (three different sizes). Her job was to look at the strings and guess which one would go around the circumference of the pumpkin. She did a wonderful job and got them all right. She explained the term to daddy when he got home and wrapped the strings around the pumpkins. He was in shock!

Pumpkin Number Sequence Hop

Alyssa placed the pumpkin number mats in sequential order. If she got lost she would run back to the beginning and count as she hopped to the end to figure out the next number. I believe the mats came from Childcareland.

Pumpkin Jack O' Lantern Counting

This activity was from Childcareland. She placed a number card in the box (1-20) and she counted out Jack O' Lantern erasers for that number.

Pumpkin Patch Counting

This was found at Confessions of a Homeschooler. This was the same idea but she used different manipulatives. She used pumpkin ornaments instead of erasers.

Pumpkin Addition (different one)

The addition mat was found at Math Wire (they have two and many other great pumpkin activities). I gave her the addition mat, seeds, and number tiles. Alyssa placed a certain amount of seeds on the first side and then a certain amount on the other side. Then, she found the total either by recognizing amounts by sight or counting for the higher totals. I would sometimes yell out an equation and she would figure out the answer. We did this as I worked on her birthday party goody bags.

Pumpkin Seed Estimation Jar

I placed a few seeds in a jar and she guessed or estimated how many were inside the jar. At first, she guessed 5 and then she changed it to 8. The amount was seven.

Ghost Marshmallow Sorting

First, she grabbed two handfuls of ghost marshmallows. She sorted the ghost marshmallows by color on a sorting mat. Then, she counted how many she had of each color. I had her count them into a container one at a time. She used number tiles to tell how many of each ghost color she had and she placed those on top of each ghost. The printable was found under the graphing activities section at Shari Sloane's KidsCount 1234 website.

Marshmallow Ghost Graphing

Alyssa sorted the ghost marshmallows on a graph. Then, we answered the questions at the bottom of the page. We didn't write the answers on the line. I asked additional graph questions. The printable was found under the graphing activities section at Shari Sloane's KidsCount 1234 website.

Ghost Patterning

She used the ghosts above to create her own pattern. She was really good at AB and ABC patterning. The others were not patterns.

Candy Corn Sorting

She sorted the pumpkins from the candy corns. Then, she noticed that the candy corns were different so she sorted them again into three piles.

Candy Corn Patterning

She used the patterning sheet from Shari Sloane's Kidscount 1234 website to pattern the candy corn.

Grab the Candy Corn Grid Game

The game was found at Math Wire. I placed letter and number pumpkin cards in photo dice. She rolled them and found the letter first. Then, she counted up to the correct number. This was a game that introduced ordered pairs or reading coordinate pairs on a grid.

Halloween Finger Puppet Sort

Alyssa sorted the finger puppets from Oriental Trading into three sections of a sorting tray.

Science

Soaked Seed

We soaked a seed overnight and looked at the tiny plant inside.

Pumpkin Seed Ziplock

We hung a ziplock with soil on the window for her to observe the changes in growth.

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin and Pumpkin Plant Parts

She colored and sequenced the life cycle of a pumpkin again. The cards were found at Kizclub.

Pumpkin Size Comparison

She used real pumpkins to compare sizes. It was funny watching her move the biggest one in the correct spot and she insisted on doing it herself (largest to smallest and vice versa).

Pumpkin Life Cycle

We used the pumpkin life cycle cards from Montessori for Everyone to do a three-part (three period) lesson. I started off with three cards at a time. Alyssa matched the labels to the pictures rather quickly. She also put the cards in order showing the pumpkin life cycle.

Pumpkin Life Cycle Book

She made a pumpkin life cycle book from Montessori Print Shop. I was blessed last month and won 40 dollars to spend in their shop. I bought the entire pink series reading cards for Alyssa and several other science related items. I am so excited. Now I just have to get organized. It was great timing after my encounter with Adena. I love ALL the products I won from Montessori Print Shop. Check them out!

Pumpkin Life Cycle Craft

She mixed the colors red and yellow to make the color orange (color mixing) on a paper plate. She did the same thing on a half of a paper plate. The plate dried overnight and we added facial features to the jack o' lantern. She colored the life cycle cards and taped them to a green string (vine). The items were stored inside the pouch created when the two plates were stapled together. I wanted to hole punch the plates and have Alyssa lace the orange yarn around the pumpkin, but the hole punch wouldn't go through the two plates. I found this activity in several different places online. But, I combined two activities. I used the Jack O' Lantern craft from dltk and the sequence cards from here. An example of this activity can be found at My Montessori Journey.

Pumpkin Life Cycle Bracelet

She used pony and flower beads to sequence the life cycle of a pumpkin. This activity can be found at Making Learning Fun.

Pumpkin Observations: 5 Senses

Alyssa used her senses to describe her pumpkin inside and out. My favorite quote, "What's that smell?" She said that after I took the stem off the pumpkin. She felt the pumpkin and described it. Tasted pumpkin seeds and other pumpkin products and describe them. She also used descriptive words to describe the appearance of the pumpkin and what it looked like inside. She shook it to see if she could hear anything.

Pumpkin Gas

See Homeschool Creations for an explanation of this activity. Daddy also explained it in simple terms (he's a fire fighter and works with kiddos too so he had some good information to share).

Pumpkin Sink or Float

We took a tiny pumpkin and I asked her if she thought it would sink to the bottom of the container full of water or if she thought it would float on top of it. We tested and checked her predictions. There is a reader at Making Learning Fun to use with this activity. I ran out of ink so I couldn't use it.

Pumpkin Decomposition

We read Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell and the Jack O' Happy poem aloud (google it). Then, I cut up a small pumpkin and placed the pieces in a plastic see thru container. We placed the container outside and plan to check on it at least once a week. I will have her journal (draw the changes that take place ... what she sees ... most likely I will write her dictation). We will use an observation sheet from Scholastic to draw her observations.

Pumpkin Cooking, Baking and Snacks

Pumpkin Pancakes

I made pumpkin pancakes. The recipe was from All Recipes. I cut them into pumpkin shapes and Alyssa gobbled them up! I made a few changes to the recipe to make it healthier. I thought the recipe was too moist, but my husband also enjoyed eating them. I will be working on this recipe in hope to make them "not as moist" and "more flavorful."

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

After Alyssa sorted the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin pulp or meal. We seasoned and roasted the seeds for a movie night snack. She used a little more kosher salt than we needed. Alyssa liked them.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Sandwich

We used a pumpkin cookie cutter to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

Pumpkin Soup

First, we read the book, Pumpkin Soup written by Helen Cooper. Then, Alyssa and I googled pumpkin soup recipes. We tried the recipe found here. It was okay. She of course helped make it!

Art

Painting Pumpkins

She used washable paint to paint a pumpkin - idea from Childcareland videos. She also used washable markers to draw Jack O' Lantern faces on her pumpkin.

Sticker Pumpkin Faces

We used Pumpkin Decorating Craft Kits to make faces on pumpkins. They are from Oriental Trading. I had other ideas for these, but we ran out of time. On the agenda for next year.

Pumpkin and Halloween Stamp Painting

She used washable paints to create a Halloween scene. I believe I found the stamps in Target's dollar area or at Hobby Lobby.

Fine Motor

Pumpkin Hammering

I found this activity at Childcareland. Alyssa loved using her new hammer to pound orange and black golf tees in the pumpkin. This also worked on eye hand coordination. Then, she twisted them and pulled them out. She was pretty good at this thanks to daddy's previous lessons on hammering.

Sort Seeds and Pulp

First, she predicted what might be inside the pumpkin (she said goop and seeds) and how many seeds she would find (a lot). We also used the pumpkin as as sensory bin. I let her rub her hands all around inside and just play for a little while. Then, I asked her if she could help me with a big job. I had her predict how many seeds she would find inside her pumpkin (she said a lot) and Alyssa used bug tweezers to sort the seeds from the pulp. Then, she figured it was easier to use her hands. She doesn't usually like her hands messy, but she survived the activity. She recorded her information on the sheet provided at Childcareland. The roasting seed activity took place after this one.

Gross Motor

Pumpkin Obstacle Course

Rolling Small Pumpkins

Pumpkin Spoon Game (cones)

Pumpkin Toss

Pumpkin Running
Pumpkin Hula Hoop Hop (# cards).

Pumpkin Bowling (small pumpkin)

Sign Language and Spanish Words Taught

pumpkin

seed

plant

yellow, orange, and green

Fun

Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe

This was her first tic tac toe game. She didn't understand what we meant by three in a row at first. She started to catch on, but I think we will have to play it often or she'll forget. She also played this game with daddy a few times.

Pumpkin Riddle Bag

I placed a plush pumpkin inside a bag. I read aloud clues (riddle form) to Alyssa describing the object. She guessed what was inside. I told her when her guesses were getting "hot" (close) and "cold" (not close).

Miscellaneous Activities

Dollar Tree Finds

She played with the number, alphabet and word building cards from Dollar Tree. She matched the numbers to the quantities. Then, she sorted them by number.

Five Little Ducks

She used six duck props and a rainbow prop (wooden from Hobby Lobby) to retell the Five Little Ducks song by Raffi. She did it several times with the book and the several times without it.

For more tot school activities visit Carisa's 1+1+1=1 blog. You can find preschool plus activities at Jolanthe's blog Preschool Corner.

P.S. Please leave a comment if you are reading this blog. I appreciate hearing from readers and fellow bloggers.

Thanks for visiting,

Tracey

2010-11-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a CRAZY week! My daughter's birthday party is tomorrow. She turns 3 on November 19th. We have been learning more about pumpkins (fall theme) this week and doing a lot of things to prepare for her party. We made and stuffed Clifford goody bags, made headbands with ears, worked on games, decorations, placed orders, made cakes, etc. I usually throw a pretty big party because we want all of our close friends and family to attend and would hate to leave someone out. This will probably change next year - we'll see who Alyssa invites. So ... I will be posting the rest of the pumpkin unit pictures soon (Monday or Tuesday), but it won't be until after her party. We will start our Thanksgiving unit and maybe do a mini unit on squirrels and leaves.
Thank you all, Tracey
Please stop by again

Pumpkin Unit: Week One

2010-11-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins

We took a break from our All About Me Unit (it is just too easy to add on different topics and activities to this unit). I haven't been photographing very many All About Me activities or blogging weekly about those activities, but we are still doing them. I'll post what we did get photographed on a separate post later.

This week we also started a PUMPKIN unit ... I am sure there will be many other people doing the same theme in October. We will do this theme for one more week because I planned too much ... so think of pumpkins as a fall unit instead of just for Halloween. Then, we will be moving on to another theme as we continue our All About Me Unit.

Books

The books will most likely be listed in my next blog post since I am getting this posted so late. I actually got a hold of some great pumpkin books this year.

Language Arts

ABC Order Pumpkins

Alyssa placed the pumpkin cards in alphabetical order. The cards for the next two activities were found at Hubbard's Cupboard. Scroll down to one of the activities for Day Two.

ABC Order Pumpkins and Sound Pictures

She looked at a picture card, said the word, sounded out the word emphasizing the beginning sound, and placed the picture card on the correct pumpkin letter card. Use the same link and information as seen in the text above. After she was done she told me she was missing the picture cards for the letters g, r, and x. But, the cards were just stuck together.

CVC Word Pumpkins

I printed out the CVC Pumpkin Spelling Cards from Hubbard's Cupboard ... scroll down almost to the bottom. This activity is listed under literacy. Instead of printing out the page with letters typed on seed templates ... I decided to write the letters on actual seeds so that my daughter would be more interested in the activity. It worked! She used the pumpkin seeds to form words that corresponded to the pictures on the pumpkins by sounding out the words as she spelled them. She did a much better job with this activity than I thought she would ... just goes to show ... never underestimate your child.

Reader: My Pumpkin

Pumpkin Shape Reader

Alyssa read and completed each page one at a time before we stapled them together. She traced the shapes mentioned on the page to create part of the face (a new facial feature was mentioned on each page) and then she colored them. Last of all, I mixed up the pages and asked her to put them in the correct order based on the facial features traced and colored (how to draw a jack o' lantern). She helped me staple them together. The pumpkin shape reader was found at Making Learning Fun .

Make and Break "Pumpkin"

I placed the magnetic letters on a burner cover. I asked Alyssa if she could spell the word "pumpkin." This activity was done after exposure to the word in several other activities. I now have the scrambled letters on the file cabinet and she makes the word pumpkin whenever she wants.

Scarecrow Pumpkin Alphabet Match

This was a review activity for Alyssa, but she likes doing any activity involving letters. She matched uppercase letters to lowercase letters on the Scarecrow Pumpkin Mat from Childcareland. I actually found the link to this printable at Ideas for Preschoolers.

Nursery Rhymes, Poems, and Songs

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

Alyssa read the nursery rhyme one word at a time using her pointer finger. She identified the rhyming words and recognized the word "pumpkin". I used the rhyme poster from the October Year 1 Itty Bitty Bookworm CD. You can find a cute poster for this rhyme at Cherry Carl's website Carl's Corner.

Five Little Pumpkin File Folder Poem

We did this activity using different types of pumpkins each time we read or sang the poem. We used wooden, ornament, candy, foam, and felt pumpkins. You could also laminate the paper pumpkins from Childcareland. The file folder activity can be found at Making Learning Fun (with paper pumpkin props). You could even make the gate and pumpkins as a craft one day and then use as props the next day. I loved it when she acted out the third pumpkin's line. This picture shows small painted wooden pumpkins from Hobby Lobby. The last pic shows her rolling the pumpkins out of sight.

I used several different resources for the pumpkin songs. If you google pumpkin songs the popular ones will most likely show up. I did find several songs here.

10 Little Pumpkins
(Tune: "Ten Little Indians")

We used a variety of wooden pumpkins from Hobby Lobby to sing the song using props.

5 Little Pumpkins Poem

We used glittery jack 'o' lanterns from Hobby Lobby to read this poem aloud. She did this one over and over again.

Pumpkins

(Tune: "Mary had a Little Lamb")

"I'm a Little Pumpkin"
(Tune: "I'm a Little Teapot")

We used a larger, thicker wooden painted pumpkin given to us last year. Any pumpkin prop would work.

"Did You Ever See a Pumpkin"

"If You See A Big, Orange Pumpkin"

"Where's the Pumpkin"

"We Are Going to the Pumpkin Patch"

(Go to Childcareland and scroll down to Pumpkin Songs and Fingerplays for the words to the three songs mentioned above.

Math

Pumpkin Seed Counters

I placed small numbered popsicle sticks inside pumpkins (from Target's dollar area. Then, Alyssa placed the pumpkins in numerical order. She also counted out the correct number of seeds for each pumpkin. First, she put the seeds inside the pumpkin and then she counted them in front of the pumpkin using the Montessori method. She is getting better at placing the counters in a fashion that shows even numbers with a partner and odd numbers without a partner. She did this activity three times and then asked for a new activity.

Pumpkin Seed Addition

Alyssa has been interested in addition lately. I printed the counting addition mat from Childcareland ... scroll down all the way to the bottom. Then, I found and cut out the pumpkins with seed outlines (10 per side) at Making Learning Fun. It was actually page 2 from the Pumpkin Seed Game, which we will probably play next week. She worked on one-to-one correspondence and addition at the same time. She focused on the +1 through +3 equations, then she decided she wanted to try a new activity. She used the number tiles at the top and then counted out the correct amount of seeds per pumpkin. Most of the time she did NOT count pointing to each seed ... recognizing quantities by sight (without counting). I would ask her what the total amount was, what is the sum, how many seeds do we have all together, or how many seeds in all. I wanted to expose her to the different vocabulary used in addition problems. She also used number tiles to show the total or sum. I placed the pumpkin seeds in the lid of a jack o' lantern candy container (I bought these last year from Oriental Trading after Halloween). I wish I had time to post what Alyssa and I did last year with these containers ... maybe after her birthday party when things slow down a bit. Less than two weeks and she turns THREE! I can't believe it.

Pumpkin Number Match

This was another file folder game from Childcareland. I think it is on the Complete Collection CD. If you find it on her website FREE, then please let me know so that I can provide the link.

Fine Motor

Pumpkin Tweezing

Alyssa picked up pumpkin ornaments (bought last year from Hobby Lobby) using plastic bug tweezers and placed them in an ice cube tray. I couldn't find my pumpkin ice cube tray from Dollar Tree. She counted them as she put them into the tray.

Sensory Autumn Bin

Alyssa and I put spiders, leaves, and pumpkins in a plastic dish wash tub. I gave her bug tweezers to pull out items. She sorted them in piles on the stairs. Later we added in real and wooden acorns (from Hobby Lobby).

Art: Drawing with a Purpose

Learning How to Draw a Pumpkin

I showed Alyssa step-by-step how to draw a pumpkin. We discussed or reviewed the shapes and colors we were using as we drew them. I showed her how to use different shapes for different facial features. Then, she drew and colored her own pumpkin using whatever colors and shapes she wanted to use. She wrote her name in rainbow colors at the bottom. She said, "Mommy ... look (pointing to her picture) ... red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple in my name."

Puzzles

We made the pumpkin puzzle from Childcareland. The puzzle was pretty easy but Alyssa liked doing it for fun. She helped me make the puzzle except for the cutting of course.

Field Trips and Fun

Hondo Corn Maze

Alyssa had a lot of fun at the corn maze. She jumped on the corn popper, slid down the caterpillar slide, climbed on hay bales, read and answered trivia questions about the pumpkin farm, fed goats, played on the playground, went on a hay ride, rode the barrel train, and ........ walked through the corn maze.

Church Pumpkin Patch

We picked out pumpkins for Math, Art, and Science activities that we probably won't get to until next week since I planned too much as usual. I wonder if I will ever STOP doing that ... I always plan too much ... it is like an addiction to me. She did tell me which one was the largest and smallest after we brought them home.

Church Fall Festival

We went to an amazing church fall festival. They had barrel rides, games, bouncers, and slides. Alyssa LOVED it!

Canyon Lake Library Halloween Party

She was able to complete two crafts at the library. She decorated a mask with feathers and sequins. Then, she added google eyes and a pom pom nose to a bat. She won the coloring contest for her age group - she won fine tip washable markers. She loves to draw so I am sure that she will use them on a daily basis! We ran into several friends that day so Alyssa had the opportunity to play with familiar faces. Here is the picture she colored for the contest. As you can see she wrote her name and the word mom at the bottom.

Trick or Treating

Well ... I am sure that there will be someone that disagrees with this, but I believe in showing my daughter how people celebrate different holidays in different ways. I discussed the Christian viewpoint and we also participated in the trick or treating events held downtown. I don't want to exclude her from these activities since she is surrounded by them. All the businesses downtown give out candy to the children. Everyone walks up and down the streets dressed in costumes while visiting with each other. It is a huge social event. Ace Hardware also gives out FREE hotdogs and drinks that night, so we always STOP there first so that we aren't starving. Thank you Ace Hardware! The middle school is also downtown and they run a Fall Festival at the same time. I saw SEVERAL of my old students and parents. This was the first time my husband ever dressed up for Halloween in his life. He had a great time and everyone LOVED his Scarecrow costume that my daughter chose for him after watching the Wizard of Oz on movie night. My husband chose my costume ... he picked Pocohantas. I was a little nervous wearing it because I read a blog that listed it as one of the top ten costumes NOT to wear on Halloween because it was offensive to Native Americans, but it was too late ... I couldn't return it and didn't even think about it that way. I was just thinking about the Disney character!

Another Library Visit

We picked out a movie and books to read for the week. I ran into an old student of mine and her family, so we sat down on the floor for several hours catching up. Her daughters were GREAT with Alyssa. After we left, Alyssa told me that the girls were NOT my friends, but that they were HER friends and that their mommy was MY friend. She had us all sharing crayons and coloring the same picture with her. It was so cute! I loved that she used her manners even though she skipped her nap. Although she was a bit bossy that day.

Daddy Day

This doesn't happen very often, but Daddy had Alyssa for a whole day. He is usually busy working two jobs, but he encouraged me to go to crop night at the Scrapbook Haus to work on her birthday supplies (since my daughter picked a discontinued theme ... Clifford the Big Red Dog). She went to Landa Park in New Braunfels with him to feed the squirrels and ducks. She of course played on the playground and went for a train ride while they were there. She saw and learned about pigs that same day at the Pet Shop. It was the first time they ever had pigs at the store.

Dinner with Friends

We drove to Helotes to visit our friends for dinner. We wanted to meet their new baby girl. This was great because Alyssa had a play date at the same time. She got to play with her buddy Sean all night.

**We almost had to stay the night since our vehicle decided NOT to start that night. My husband replaced the battery the next day!!

WOW ... I didn't realize how much we did this week ... no wonder Alyssa has been tired lately!!!!! I didn't add any miscellaneous activities that she did this week because there were too many.

For more tot school activities visit Carisa's 1+1+1=1 blog ... last I looked there were 51 other people that linked a post this week. If you are looking for more advanced activities visit Jolanthe's blog Preschool Corner (preschool and up). Last I looked she had 68 people that linked activities to do.

Thanks for Visiting and Please Stop by Again,

Tracey

More Pumpkin Activities to Come!!!!

There may also be a few Halloween type activities that I forgot to do this week too.

Okay ... so we are a little behind.

Adena Montessori: BUYER BEWARE!

2010-10-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

I Have To Let You Know

Here is my review for my experience so far with Adena Montessori.

Have you ordered from them? What was you experience like? How long ago was that?

   I am VERY frustrated right now. I don't usually do this ... and I am hesitant to post this comment but I feel obligated to let other teachers and mothers know about this. I wanted to warn others about this company before you make the same mistake that I made. BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!! The very low prices and sale caught my attention. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY! YOU WILL BE HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE PRODUCTS.
   I recently made a purchase (after months of saving up the money) with Adena Montessori on September 24th. They didn't ship out the package until October 9th or 10th after I finally contacted them. They were very quick to respond to product questions via e-mail to make a sale. But, when it came to my questions about order status and concerns about my order; their response time took forever or didn't exist. They were very generic and unsympathetic about my concerns. One time they said that they just hired new workers. The next time I spoke with someone they said they did not expect the number of orders that they received and that they were behind in shipping.
   Then, I received the wrong order in the mail on October 15th. I
have sent many e-mails and tried calling several times. They do
not answer their phones very often nor do they respond promptly to messages left or e-mails (usually the mailbox is full ... probably from others complaining about their purchase). When you finally talk to someone they quickly dismiss your concerns and request that you send a detailed e-mail listing of all the materials you received in your packages instead of taking care of the order right there and then. They get off the phone with you as quick as they possibly can and NEVER address your concerns thoroughly. Joe said he would take care of the order on Monday after receiving my list. Today (Thursday Oct. 21st), I received another message from them requesting that I must photograph the items and weigh the boxes they sent me. I already listed the items for them and said that I would mail EVERYTHING back to them once/if they mailed me the correct order. Several items that I did order that were included in the packages were either damaged or incomplete. The number cards on the Seguin boards boards did not fit the slots and the hundred board was scratched due to how they packaged the materials. I also ordered 81 unit beads and received only 50. I did receive 6 items that were NOT on my order. They are procrastinating for some reason. I am hoping to get this mess straightened out soon. Today October 21st, I requested a FULL REFUND INCLUDING SHIPPING. I also asked for shipping labels for the order they sent me since it was their mistake and NOT my order. But after reading reviews on other websites; I am expecting the worst. I still hope to get a refund! I have so much going on here at the house and this situation has caused so much stress. I just want to be done with them. I want my money back and they get their products. How hard is that.
   What a waste of precious time that could be spent with my daughter! I know how expensive lawyers can be ... probably more than the actual order. We need to get this company shut down! The reviews I read were almost exact to my review. It seems as if they do the same things over and over to their customers. Any review I have read that was not on their own website was NOT good. Please help spread the word so that other mothers and teachers do not get scammed. If you know anyone that uses Montessori materials at home or in the classroom; they should be aware of this company. Thank you for your help! There are better, more expensive companies to purchase from should you decide to use Montessori materials.

Thanks and sorry I vented my frustrations to you all, Tracey

2010-10-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

The Montessori Print Shop Giveaway

Hi everyone! We are keeping BUSY here, but before I do anything else today I must tell you about a giveaway that I just recently heard about. There is an absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, very gracious giveaway at the Montessori Print Shop.

The giveway is for a Deluxe CD ROM (2 Disc Collection) that includes ALL PDF files ... that's right ALL PDF files listed in the store at that time. There are other materials included on the CD Rom - go see what else is included in this giveaway. The value for this giveaway is $589.32! WOW!!!!

They sell products for a variety of subjects and topics. So what are you waiting for ... take a break ... head over to the link provided above and check out all of the amazing materials available ... ones that YOU could possibly win. Go check it out soon because Friday, October 22nd is the last day to submit a comment. I already submitted mine ... Have you???

What did you say ... you don't teach using the Montessori method ... that's okay ... go check out the products. I am sure that even if you don't currently use Montessori materials you will be able to put some of the materials to good use in your classroom or at home with your children. You may even know the perfect person that could use a giveaway like this (besides me of course - LOL). God Bless You All and GOOD LUCK!!!!

Yours truly, Tracey

All About Me Unit (First Week)

2010-10-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

WOW TIME FLIES BY. Alyssa turns three in a month and a half!!

Just Another Apology
Okay ... I never did post my whale unit. It was too disorganized and broken up over such a long period of time. Hopefully some day I will have time to organize and post some of the whale ideas. I just decided to start fresh with this unit which SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED ON SUNDAY. A few of the changes made with the blogger site slowed things down for me. Not to mention a little slacking on my part.

ALL ABOUT ME UNIT

I figured every year teachers across the world do an "All About Me" and "Family" unit so why can't we.

Name Recognition (including family names)

Name Books We Read:
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel
The Name Jar
My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

I will post other books we read next week. Sorry.

Name Trains

I gave Alyssa index cards with her name and family names written on them. She would choose a card, count the number of letters in the name, and build the name with snap blocks.

Name Train Match (Next Day)

Alyssa pulled out a name block made the previous day. She counted the blocks and matched them to the correct name card. She even remembered that Uncle Hans name block was blue because it was his favorite color.

Pocket Chart Name Scramble

I had an activity set-up for Alyssa to do the next day. She has done this activity before with a cut up sentence strip but I wanted to review with different materials. She came into the classroom and said, "Mommy you spelled my name wrong." I asked her what she was talking about and she took my hand leading me into my office. She pointed to the pocket chart with scrambled letters. I said "How did you know those were the letters in your name." She chanted out the spelling of her name and I asked her if she could fix it for me. So she placed the letters in the correct order. I asked her to tell me how many consonants and vowels were in her name. She pointed to the vowels, told me the letters, and showed me how many on her fingers. She did the same thing for the consonants. She hasn't learned about the tricky "y" yet.

Sorting Names By Number of Letters

I wrote the numbers three through seven on index cards. Alyssa read and counted the number of letters in each name. She sorted the name cards by how many letters they had in a pocket chart. I thought that this activity would take her awhile, but she zipped through it while I talked to her daddy on the phone.

Family Name Spelling

I bought an extra set of Melissa and Doug uppercase and lowercase letters at Ross. I wanted her to be able to practice spelling family names with a capital letter first and use lowercase letters for the rest (since we talked about how all proper names begin with a capital letter). She clipped the name cards on the fridge and spelled the names. Before beginning the activity, I had her sort all the letters into two boxes: uppercase and lowercase.

Crayon Name Rubbings

I cut up several pieces of paper while Alyssa pulled the uppercase and lowercase sandpaper letters in her name out of the storage box. I showed her how to use a paper clip to clip the paper on the sandpaper letter (works fine motor skills at the same time). She rubbed the side of a crayon along the paper. She felt it occasionally so that she could feel the letter formation. After all the letters were completed, we mixed up the letter in her name and she put them in the correct order. I taught her how to use a Scrapbook Adhesive E-Z Runner Tool since she hates getting glue on her fingers. She glued the letters of her name in order on black paper. Then, she sang a name song. I will probably have her paste her favorite things on the sheet or things she would like for her birthday next month.

Handwriting Without Tears: Letters in Name

She wanted to write her name all by herself, but she had trouble writing the "s" and "y" in her name. We focused on those two letters for handwriting this week. We used the Handwriting Without Tears letter sticks to build and trace the letters. She built them first with the control card and then on the blue mat. We also traced them using Lakeshore's Tactile Letters (I call them sandpaper letters) and she wrote them in the sand tray. We also wrote them together on the dry erase board. Now she is writing them pretty good ... she needs more practice and reminders of proper formation. Her "y" is sideways, but she still has time to learn.

Name Puzzle

We mixed up the letters in her name and placed them upside-down. She turned over the letters and put them in the puzzle frame in order as she spelled her name aloud. Then, we did the name cheer "Give me an A" etc. I found the in my name, not in my name chart at Hubbard's Cupboard.

Letters in My Name/Not In My Name Chart

We placed her name puzzle on top of the chart. I gave her flat block alphabet tiles to sort the letters in her name and not in her name. She did this activity rather quickly. This was NOT her first time doing this activity, but both times she was able to complete the task in a short amount of time. Go to Hubbard's Cupboard for a printable to use instead of creating a Venn diagram.

Venn Diagram Letters in my Name Comparison

I used two circle frames I had bought years ago at either Walmart or a craft store. I think it is supposed to be for sewing?? Anyways I have always used them as mini Venn Diagrams. I also have copper ones. I modeled this activity for her once. Then, I gave Alyssa family name cards. She chose two cards and set up the activity. She sorted the letters in her name, the family name, both names, and any letters not found in either name went along the bottom of the Venn Diagram.

Clifford Eats Her Name
I placed a magnet on the tip of Clifford's nose as an alphabet review activity. She attaches letters to his nose, tells me the name of the letter, the sound the letter makes, and a word associated with the letter. But, before we did that she sorted the letters into two piles: vowels and consonants. Then, Clifford ate each letter in her name as she spelled it aloud. She decided to also put the letters in alphabetical order. She spelled other words too. I got the idea to put a magnet on Clifford's nose at Pre-K Pages (she got the idea from Dr. Jean).

Tracing Name

About a year ago I found a website that allowed you to type in whatever words you wanted and they made tracing sheets for you. Still looking for that website ... anyone know what I am talking about. I typed in Alyssa's name a long time ago, but she was too young for the activity. I came across the sheet the other day. Alyssa really enjoyed tracing her name. It was (I think) the first time she had ever used it before.

Telephone Number (mom's cell)

Lacing Mom's Cell Phone Number

She already knows my cell phone number by heart, but we still did activities to reinforce it. The original idea was to make a telephone number bracelet that I saw in a magazine at the doctor's office. But, I couldn't find the right number beads. So ... this is what we did instead. I bought colorful number beads from Hobby Lobby. I asked Alyssa to sort them by number in her spindle box while I organized the office and her school materials. As you can see she was multi-tasking. Her daddy called from New Mexico and wanted to talk to her. She told him she was too busy to talk. Daddy was really bummed since he left for a two week trip and wanted to talk to her before heading into an area without reception. She decided to talk to him on speaker phone as she worked. Then, I asked her to pull out the number beads for my cell phone number and place them in order. Once she completed that task ... she laced the numbers on a string in order. Then, she had a conversation with me on a pretend phone. Don't worry that is not my real cell phone number in the last photo (it is just an example).

Telephone Number Graph

I gave her a phone number graph chart from one of my favorite websites. I will get it for you soon ... I promise. First she built my cell phone number with number tiles. She messed up the first time coloring in the numbers on the graph because she didn't have a nap and was very tired. So, we tried it again the next day after a nap. She did GREAT! She colored in each box correctly. We also used number beads and cut and paste numbers that she glued on with a Q-tip (glue in a bottle lid). I love how focused she is when writing her name. She has been working hard this week. She even looked at the first "s"on her name and wrote it correctly the second time. The cut and paste numbers for this activity came from the Do2Learn website. They also have a telephone and cell phone template to use. We will be using the cell phone one next week.

Birthday Making Words

I put the letters to spell the word "birthday" in our pocket chart (all mixed up). Alyssa's task was to make 5-10 words using the letters in the word. I knew that she wouldn't figure out the mystery word since it is from a second or third grade kit, so I modeled my thinking aloud as I made the mystery word for her. She told me how many vowels and consonants were in the word. Alyssa has already memorized the five basic vowels thanks to a wonderful song from the Kinder conference I attended. More on that later!

Self and Family Portraits

She drew herself on the board. Then, she drew her family and her extended family (including a dear friend of mind that attends the same church). She even wrote mom, dad, and Alyssa on the board. She asked for help with the "s's and y's" because she was not confident writing them herself at the time. She also drew and labeled a picture of a cat.

Reading

Sight Word "CLAP" game

I wrote sight words on hand die cuts from Dollar Tree. When she flips over a "CLAP" card she has to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands." I think I had 6-7 "clap" cards. I used the primer list of sight words. You could also have your child put one or all her earned cards back in the pile (depends on what your purpose is). We have done it all three ways. We take turns and she helps me read my cards.

Other Songs To Use: "Open, Shut Them" or any hand song

Math

Measure Me!

I used yarn to measure different parts of her body and she did the same for me. I put little sticky tabs on the yarn labeling each body part. She placed the strings in order from longest to shortest. Then, I gave her a string (her finger length) and asked her to find and categorize items that were longer than or shorter than her finger. I probably should have given her the objects first. This activity was done close to bedtime (without a nap again). But, I figured each day I would give her either a string to search for items to categorize or I would give her the items to compare and sort.

Learning Link Height

She connected learning links to match a string showing how tall she was. She did not like these math manipulatives until now, because they frustrated her. So, I showed her different ways to carefully (calmly) attach the links to each other. She started to focus and worked her fine motor skills as she matched the length of the links to her height. Then, we hung it up on the wall.

Science

Living and Non-Living

First, we discuss the characteristics of living and non-living things.

Then, we sang an "Are You Living" song. The song words were found at the Georgia Department of Education website. I am having trouble finding where exactly I found it.

Finally, she sorted living and non-living pictures from a CD I bought from Kidsparkz.

Sequencing Lifecycle

She used puzzle pieces to sequence human growth or changes.

Body Parts and Vocabulary Card Pocket Chart Match

First, we did a three-period vocabulary lesson with the cards. Then, we used them for a matching activity. She matched the pictures first and then the words to the control card. She used a pointer to read aloud the words too. These cards were from the Montessori Print Shop.

Bible
I printed the bible verse poster "I am wonderfully made." Psalm 139:14 from Preschool Corner. It was the Cubbies Jumper Bear Hug 6 verse. First, I read it ... then we read it together ... and finally she read it. I also wrote the verse on a sentence strip and cut each word apart. Alyssa put the memory verse words in order by memory.

Poetry or Nursery Rhymes
The rhyme we used was "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." First, I read the nursery rhyme ... then we read it together and finally she read it using a pointer and wearing sunglass.
The show and find sequence cards, poem, and idea were found at the Prekinders website. I recited the rhyme and paused at the appropriate parts. Alyssa picked up the correct card.
Last of all, she used the same cards to sequence the rhyme as she recited the nursery rhyme. I hope that made sense.

Spanish and Sign Language

She can now count to ten in Spanish and she knows several body parts in Spanish. We won a Little Pim Counting DVD from their website and it worked in great with our unit (mentions many body parts). She watched it several times the first week we received it. She also continues to review her sign language cards. I placed a sign language alphabet border cards in binder. She flips through them and signs the letters. She even tells me a word that starts with that letter.

Music and Movement

Hokey Pokey
Heads Shoulder Knees and Toes
If You're Happy and You Know It
More songs to come next week (ran out of time and wanted to post this)

Fine Motor Skills (Needs Improvement Areas)

She used safety scissors to cut Playdoh and paper. We definitely need to do more of this. I get so nervous when we do. I would hate to see her cut herself by accident. Other fine motor activities were mentioned in previous activities.

Sight Word Phrase Reading

She puts on her glasses and grabs a mini pointer to read phrases in a Mary Kay "flipbook" binder. I tried to sell Mary Kay almost ten years ago without any success. I kept certain items just in case.

I saved the mirrors and this presentation binder thing. I will eventually work on fluency and use a timer with this activity.

Reading With Witch Fingers

I bought witch fingers in the Halloween section of Babies R Us for reading (kind of like the martian fingers they sell to teachers). This was something new for her and she loved reading with them. She read MANY books fluently (on her own) this week. A friend gave her a stack of books written by Margaret Hillert and she read all of them fluently. The book levels range from 1.2-1.8. Other books she reads are Bob books, Clifford books, and a bunch of picture books - too many to list.

Typing

She practiced typing sight words and flipped them over to type the sentences. Then, she started to type the alphabet.

Frontline Phonics

I purchased this program from an Ebay seller at a reasonable price (mainly for the 53 readers included in the package). I am currently using the program as a REVIEW for Alyssa until I can purchase something more appropriate for her reading level. So far it has been too easy for her. I add in a few short activities to supplement the program. The workbook was written in so instead of creating new sheets I use ones I find online or I have her point to or place a marker on the item that does NOT start with the sound we are studying. Below are two pictures of her finding items around the house that start with the /m/ sound. I wrote each word on an index card for her. She watched as I wrote them and we talked about letter formation for several words. I found the tracing sheets online for the lower and uppercase Mm's. I also enlarged the story from the letter A teaching lesson and asked Alyssa to highlight all the letter A's. We only reviewed the letters M and A that week. We will work up to reviewing one per day since it is a new program. I added in the glasses and pointer to make it a little more fun for her. I watch her carefully any time she is tracing a sheet so that she uses correct formation. I don't want to encourage bad habits.

Singing

She pointed to and sang the numbers on the 100's chart.

She loves singing and dancing. Here is a picture of her making up her own songs to sing.

Half Price Book Store Deals

All About Spelling Level 1 Teacher Manual (WOW!!!)

Words Their Way (YES!!!)

Month-by-Month Reading and Writing for Kindergarten (Yah!)
Phonemic Awareness in Young Children (Wowsers!)
Senses Primary Unit

Target Deals

Foam Clock

Flashcards (a variety)

Animal Figurines

Book Bins (primary colored)

Step Stools (Potty, Sink, and Light Access)

Beginning Sound Workbook

Alphabet Pop-Up Animal Cards (not in dollar area, see book area)

Cork Board (fine motor)

Dora Spiral Notebook, spirals (writing and math journals)

Body Part and Senses Puzzles

Five Senses and Season books

Mini Calendar Scrapbook and Number Sticker Pieces

Dollar Tree Deals

Hand Die Cuts

Library Pockets

Sequencing Workbook

Big Lots Deal

Gumball Machine

MORE TO COME NEXT WEEK! (I always plan too much...)

To see more tot school visit Carisa's blog 1+1+1=1 and for preschool ideas visit Jolanthe's Preschool Corner blog.

Thanks for visiting, Tracey

Apology ... for slacking

2010-08-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hello out there ... we are still here. First, I must apologize for not posting our tot school (preschool) activities for quite some time now. I have been slacking a little bit and things got CRAZY around here. I have been busy with doctor appointments, packing for our vacation, and other "things." We drove to New York from Texas - it was a three week long vacation to visit my family. I also went to an amazing kinder conference in June and got so many new ideas. I am totally addicted to teaching so I WANTED to go badly so that I could possibly use the teaching ideas now with my daughter and with other children in the future. We took the house off the market, reorganized a few things (still working on this), and listed the house again. Hopefully it will sell SOON. I am currently in planning mode for my daughter's 3rd birthday party and school themes. But, we will be back on a weekly basis soon. I may not be as detailed as I used to be due to several changes around here and lack of time in my schedule. But, I would still like to participate in both Tot School and Preschool Corner as often as possible. We are currently working on a whale theme. I hope to post more on that soon (this theme has been used for a couple of weeks now due to different household projects around here). Thank you to those of you who showed a concerned for us. I appreciate all of your thoughts and concerns.

Tracey