Friday, February 22, 2019

Jump!





Hey All! I just want to take a moment to thank my faithful readers (mostly my family) for reading my little blog this year. This has been such a fun adventure for me, and it has been fun to share it with all of you, even though I don't feel I can spend nearly enough time on my writing. I appreciate you all! 

Our health and nutrition unit has taken us into learning about EXERCISE! The kids have been having so much fun this week because there has been so much movement involved. The day that Mother Goose Time covered jumping as a form of exercise was definitely our favorite day this week. 

The art project for this day was SO MUCH FUN! The kids had a great time painting and making their own frog head bands. We have been playing with them so much this week.




Look at those faces!

So much froggy fun!
Another favorite was the activity called "Jumping for Letters." To make this more challenging for Jonathan, I used the word picture cards and he had to jump for the letter at the beginning of that word. This way he not only had to think about the name of the letter, he also had to think and match the sounds. He did great! I had Hope roll the pocket cube and jump for the matching letter just like the instructions said.



Mother Goose Time always includes a song with the lesson and we usually end our lesson this way. It is a great way for the kids to transition into cleaning up at the end of the lessons. We love the songs that MGT sends to us and they always have to do with the theme of the month. So great! We got some great videos of the kids participating in this activity as well.

 


We took the opportunity this week to go on a little field trip as a family to a trampoline park. We actually have a membership at this park and go frequently, but this is the first time the kids realized they were exercising while they were jumping. We always have a great time at Quantum Leap! It was fun to include Jon on this trip too, as his schedule has kept him super busy! 





Thank you, Mother Goose Time, for the wonderful memories and the chance to learn more about our world!



Saturday, February 16, 2019

We Wash! Cleaning and Safety Day

Our health and fitness unit took us into food preparation and cleanliness this week. This was such a fun lesson! Mother Goose Time does an excellent job at making learning fun and creative, and I can't even begin to tell you how much we are enjoying this curriculum this year.

I thought I would share an updated version of our circle time board and school table with you all. The kids don't actually do their work at this table, but prefer the dining table instead. The small table is for me to prep the lessons and lay out our supplies before we begin. It took some training, but the kids are finally leaving the the supplies alone except for school time. They read the books throughout the day, of course.


We started our lesson with the "Oven Mitt Challenge" and talked about safety around the oven. This was a cute activity and the kids actually did very well! I was expecting them to struggle with picking things up, but they did great!



Next we did our art project. The kids made their own door hangers to remind them how long to wash their hands. I took this time to directly teach them how to wash their hands. We do this so many times in the day, but the kids could always use another reminder on how to get soap, scrub, rinse, and dry their hands. I got some very cute videos of the kids singing the song as they washed. So sweet!



One of our favorite activities this day was "Germ Designs." Jonathan really showed off his creativity when he designed a couple of his own. We took this time to talk about the different shapes and how many sides they have.





The last activity was MY personal favorite! It was called "Bacteria Spray Away." I never would have thought of this! The kids had so much fun squirting and wiping the letters! I just ran the letters through my laminator before we started to keep them from getting wet. While they were wiping we talked about the name and sound of each letter. Jonathan even gave me words that began with those letters.



 The last thing we did this day was the STEAM station activity. This station is meant to be set up and for the kids to play and discover on their own. I took this opportunity to have the kids wash some of their kitchen toys, and eventually mop my floor will all the spilled water. Haha!



Thank you, Mother Goose Time, for the opportunity to teach my children from home. I am truly blessed to be able to teach these great learners!

Saturday, February 9, 2019

A Day on Dairy...

Hey all! I am so excited to be sharing that our new unit this month in our Mother Goose Time curriculum is health and nutrition. This week, the kids and I studied the importance of the different food groups in our diet. Our very favorite day was the day spent studying the "dairy" food group. This subject is very near and dear to my heart, as I was raised on a dairy farm in Oregon. My dad still owns and operates the dairy and we get to visit on occasion. My family is very involved in the business and I was so excited to share some of that with my own children. We had so much fun studying cows and how important milk is to our nutrition.





I think this was one of our favorite projects yet! The kids and I got a silly giggle out of the glove used as an udder and the four stomaches included in the project.  They each have their own cow to play with now, and are having so much fun telling me facts about a cow. The little cows turned out so cute!!




"The Milk Makers" was the suggested reading for this day, and it is one of my favorite books on how milk goes from a cow to the home.  I even learned so things when I read this book to my kiddos! Definitely look into this for reading to your children, if you haven't yet.


Another favorite activity was the STEAM station activity! The kids pretended to milk a cow by squeezing water from a small hole in a glove.  What an absolute hoot! We were all giggling and having so much fun.  The kids realized they had to release the glove in order for it to fill with water again, so they could squeeze out more... very similar to milking a cow!



We were fortunate to be able to recently visit my dad's dairy farm, and the kids had an absolute blast. They got to see the calves and see how the calves are fed. They also got to play in some of the "cotton seed," which is part of a cow's food. Here are some really sweet photos and videos of our visit.




Now I'm going to hop on my soap box for a moment... I am so so glad Mother Goose Time included a day on dairy for our curriculum. Our current culture strongly believes that cow's milk is unhealthy for our children and they could not be more wrong! There are nine essential amino acids we need to eat through our diet, and milk is one of the few foods that contains all nine of them.  I wish that I had so much more time to educate everyone, but please check out the benefits in this photo, and also on the website: https://odncouncil.org/resources/. I am lucky enough to have a sister who works for the Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council and has shared MANY resources with me! Please feel free to message me if you have any more questions.



Thank you, Mother Goose Time, for the wonderful opportunity to educate my children on the importance of milk!


Friday, February 1, 2019

Beetles and Creativity

I can't believe the month of February is already here. January sometimes feels like the "newborn month" to me... It goes by so slow, and yet so fast! Last month seemed to drag on and on, and yet, now that February has rolled around, in the words of my dear sweet Hope, "That's not so bad!"

We finished the last part of our safari unit through Mother Goose Time this week! Another great week in homeschooling. I can truly see my children growing and learning more everyday, and it has been SO MUCH FUN! I think that is one of my favorite parts about being home with my kids... Being able to see their growth on a daily basis.

One day this week had a lesson on beetles, and it included a lot of creative and artistic work. The art projects were open ended and allowed for Jonathan and Hope to use their imaginations. Artistic "creativity" is something my children struggle with... They like to follow a recipe or the instructions, just like their mama! These activities were stretching for all of us, and SO good for them! At first, I heard the words, "I can't do it!" or "I don't know how," but after a while, they really sunk into the creating and LOVED it. They were SO PROUD of their creations, they could not wait to show their dad when he got home.




Jonathan's beetle

Hope's beetle
Our first activity had the children making their own beetles with various supplies given to them. They had SO much fun! They were given a photo of different beetles and I asked them provoking questions, but the rest was all on their own! It was fun to watch them create.


I usually try to include some sort of writing practice in our day, so Jonathan practiced his name. He's getting better and better! He has such a long name, but he is getting used to it.


These were the books MGT recommended for this lesson. The kids LOVED "The Very Clumsy Click Beetle," but of course anything by Eric Carle is good! I also pulled up a couple youtube videos so the kids could see a real click beetle in action. 


Included in this lesson, was a "Would you rather" game. I found this was so good for the kids to realize the meaning of the word "or." Jonathan understood the concept of the game right away, but Hope definitely took some time. 




Some of our favorite games that MGT sends are the matching games! Jonathan and Hope are getting so good at these games! They can remember so much. This matching game was done with "insect" shapes.



Hope's beetle
Jonathan's beetle

I couldn't help but join in. My beetle :)
This was our favorite part! MGT includes these little "steam stations" for discovery and learning every week. This day it was making beetles out of play dough. I gave them various supplies and they got really creative. While we were creating we discussed the number of legs on a beetle, the eyes, the antennae, and the head/body of a beetle. The kids were so imaginative and loved playing with their little beetles after they were finished.



We are so blessed to be able to homeschool this year. To be blogging our journey and memories is a true blessing as well. Thank you MGT, for providing our curriculum in exchange for blogging our experience. What a blessing!