Robots

A lot of times my goal for the week isn't to teach the kids anything specific, but to let them know about new ideas that are out there, and that there is always something new to learn about.  Brielle often tells me different things that we need to learn about (whatever she sees out the window while I'm driving usually), squirrels, the sun, trees...isn't it great that we get to learn forever and ever!?

And this week, our theme was all about ROBOTS!!

Playdough Robots

I pulled random supplies from our craft drawer and let the kids get creative.  We also looked at all of our robot books for inspiration.  

Tin Can Robots

It is like a Mr. Potato Head, you can mix up the features and make it look different every time!  The kids liked this so much that we did it twice in one day, and again the next day.  Because we were using magnets I gave strict instructions that nothing was to be put near the face and monitored the whole time.  Unless you can be right with the kids, this project is better for the older kids (4-years-old).

From the tin-can robots the kids became quite interested in magnets.  We went around the house and found different items that magnets attracted and a lot of things that they don't. 

Nuts and Bolts

I specifically got some giant nuts and bolts for the kids to play with this week (it is a great fine-motor skill to be able to twist a nut on a bolt), but Brielle enjoyed the smaller ones.

Preschool Pack

Introducing the concept of fractions.  Ethan just worked on matching the lines up like a puzzle.

reviewing numbers  

Brielle asked for more projects after everyone else was done for the day. I showed her a number sheet that goes from 0-99.  She ended up counting by looking at the numbers up to 100.  She loves numbers and is always asking me math problems ("What is 5 plus 4?"), and then likes to figure it out herself.    

cutting and spelling.  I had the kids cut out the letters for robot, and then sound out how to put them together.

 Books

So, it is quite ironic that in planning for this week (I went shopping a couple weeks ago for the supplies) I was so careful to get big nuts and bolt and things that could not be swallowed if put in the mouth.  I happen to know I have a little boy that likes to put things in his mouth.  I am telling Ethan to spit things out ALL DAY LONG!  So, it wasn't any of our robot supplies that got swallowed.  It was a nickel.  I saw Ethan playing with it at Church.  I was walking toward him and heard him gag a little.  I asked where the money was and he pointed in his mouth.

He could breathe and acted fine so I kept waiting to see it come out the bottom end.  By Wednesday it wasn't out yet, so I took him in to the doctor (I had called and spoken to the nurses a couple times prior).  They confirmed (quite obviously by the x-ray) that it is still in there, so we are just waiting for it to make it's exit.

Pioneers

Our camping week moved nicely into our pioneer week.  The kids still think it sounds like fun to be a pioneer and camp out everyday.  (after our campout where none of us got much sleep, I don't think it sounds like a good idea at all!)  Brielle and I started reading the Little House on the Prairie series, so she has been very excited to learn more about the life of a pioneer.

Pioneer Games

Ethan beat everyone at the stick pull.  They all loved it and lined up to do it over and over again.

We also learned to play kick the can (well, kind of.  We ended up revising a version of it).  The kids are loving outdoor games now.  Some favorites: Red light, Green light, Mr. Wolf, What Time Is It?, Red Rover, and Duck, Duck, Goose.

Making Milk

First, we talked about how cream comes from cows.  I just filled a glove with water so we could practice milking the cow.  I have some professionals cow milkers here.

We made some biscuits.  And then we shook the cream to make butter so go with the biscuits.  Yummy treat.

Yarn Dolls

The kids wrapped the yarn around and around the cardboard.  (I did have to help them to speed up the process a bit.)

 As you can tell they were very excited to have made their own doll friend to play with.  (I also liked the idea of making corn husk dolls, but am going to save that for another year when they are older)

Pioneer Picnic

 Gavin and Lissy's church hosted a pioneer picnic.  The kids tried out a 3 legged race.

and dressed up like pioneers.

Books

Brielle loves the idea of chapter books.  We started reading the Little House on the Prairie Series.  Ethan doesn't hold still for them yet, so we got the picture books of the the Little House series as well.

Camping

We of course planned a backyard campout to wrap up our camping week.  For some reason I didn't take a single picture to prove that we did it.  We're still wanting to do some real camping this summer, but the practice of backyard camping is nice to get up ready and geared up for the real thing.

Playing With Fire

 First we went for a nature walk to collect the kindling we needed to make our fire.  I then had the kids tear the red, yellow and orange paper.  Ethan was the greatest at tearing and had to help the other 3 kids finish theirs.  He loved this project so much he actually made a second.  As we made our fires we talked about fire safety.

Pretend Camping

 Bags packed, tent made, campfire stories told.  So fun.

Food/Snacks

Of course, during camping week we had to eat our meals outside.  Lots of fun picnics.

S'mores for treats

 

and we made granola bars and trail mix for snacks as well.

 Nature Scenes

 Finger painting with pudding.  The kids designed their ideal camping scene.  Some chose a forest, others the beach...and then it was just a random design of paint all over the paper and in their mouth. :)

Preschool Pack

Homeschool Creations made this camp theme preschool pack, this week we focused on some writing, cutting and patterns.

they love to use scissors.

Books

The kids LOVED the Camping Day book.  It was silly, short, slightly weird...but Ethan requested it again and again.

Happy Independence Day!

We learned about America and Independence Day last week leading up to the 4th of July.  My kids are now obsessed with the American Flag and feel a need to point out each and every one they see as we drive or walk around.  Especially at this time of year there are a LOT of flags around.

Brielle and Ethan LOVED doing the sparklers at our friend's BBQ.  We had a great time with family and friends for the Fourth of July celebration!

A few of our activities:

Firework Painting

I've seen salad spinner art painting on the internet for a couple years and knew we would love it.  I thought the spin art would make great fireworks.  The kids could have made these all day long.

I strung their fireworks for a banner, over our map of the USA.

Salt Firework

It was messy, and not worth saving (once dry, the salt starts flaking off), but the kids loved the process of making these.  It was pretty cool to watch the colored water spread once it hit the salt.

Cookie Cutter Painting

 The kids have been learning to say nice things to each other (usually because they need apologize for saying something mean).  One of their favorites is 'you twinkle like a star', which Ethan says "you twinkle, twinkle little star."

Other Activities 

Gavin and Elise's Mom got the kids some American Flags, which they loved parading around the house in.  We learned some songs as we were marching. (My Flag, My Flag, My Country 'tis of Thee, and Fifty Nifty United States)

We had some activities in the Jr. Ranger White House Pamphlet that we did.  This is Brielle's drawing of the white house.

Snacks

Star shaped sandwiches and yogurt

American Flag graham crackers with cream cheese (taste like a cheese cake, yum!)

I don't remember if my kids have had shelled peanuts before, if so it has been a while.  They loved this 'all American' snack.  It was messy though, so the next day we took them outside to eat.  I love the snacks that take them awhile to eat, and work their fine motor skills at the same time.

Books

Reptiles

Reptile Week

learning about snakes

going to the arboretum and feeding the turtles in the pond (we saw the normal red-eared slider type turtles, but then we also discovered a pig-nosed turtle.  It was huge!)

Some of our worksheets came from learning page.com's theme unit about reptiles

Making Snake Sock Puppets

Some singing time using the growing snake 

And a lot of the week was spent playing with these boxes.  Our neighbor was throwing them out and asked if we wanted them.  The kids painted them, colored on them, made them into a reptile house, and also throughout the course of the week a pirate ship, house boat, sleeping den, fort...etc.  They were well used.

We also had a special movie/popcorn time to watch BBC's Life about Reptiles and Amphibians.  Even Ethan held still, which was incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf1tXPQuoHs

Airplanes

I've missed posting about the past few weeks of our preschool.  I'm going to try to do a quick post of each to capture some of the highlights

We learned about Airplanes the week before our trip out East.

Making Airplanes

Painting Airplanes

Making different kinds of paper airplanes. (This one with the balloons was inspired by the Berenstain Bears Book, Fly It)

 Pretend Play

The kids packed their bags, we practiced going through the metal detectors and having our bags scanned.  So my kids would know what to expect at the airport. We even served 'in flight' drinks and snacks.

Books

Preschool Packs

Pilot Shape Match

The Airplane Game

http://homeschoolcreations.com/transportationpreschoolpack.html

http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/02/ways-we-get-around.html

http://mamasmonkeys.blogspot.com/2011/06/little-pilots-tot-pack.html