"What's Moving?"

For this activity you need a blanket, 2 or 3 objects, and some string. Tie a piece of string to each object and cover them with the blanket. Then slowly pull on a string and ask "What's moving?" O had so much fun with this activity, and she guessed the right object almost everytime. She really enjoyed pulling the strings by herself and pulling up the blanket to find the object. This activity develops: language interaction, visual discrimination, eye-hand coordination, independence, and problem solving. This activity comes from Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander.

"Where is it?"

For this activity you need 3 different-sized cans and a small object. Put the object under one of the cans and ask your child to guess which can it is under. Change the position of the cans, but always keep the object under the same can. The aim of the game is to get the child to pick up the can that the object is under 3 times in a row. This activity helps your child learn to use clues (size, shape, etc) to make decisions. O LOVED this activity! We plan on doing it again, and next time I'll used different colored cups and put the object under the same color cup each time.

Learning About Feelings

I thought that it would be fun to teach O about feelings using a book in which she is the star. I had a great time making a board book out of this book that I ordered from http://www.barebooks.com/. I was very happy with how it turned out, and I can't wait to make more books for her.

O's Porch Playroom

We set up a playroom for O on our screened porch a few months ago. We have lots of fun playing out there in her rice pit and at the nature table.

"Pick Me Up"

O is signing "hug" along with the song. Her form isn't perfect, but thats ok.
Signing "up" while listening to "Pick Me Up." Can you tell she loves this activity???

I recently received an excellent book and cd in the mail! "Pick Me Up" is a program for teaching ASL signs to children from 7 months to 7 years of age. The book has the lyrics and shows the signs. We have had a GREAT time with it so far. O loves to sign, and she loves to dance.

Activity Kit

O loves the magnifiying glasses and the bugs in the plastic blocks!

I am so excited that the library has Activity Kits that I can check out!!! I just happened to notice a sign for them when I was checking out my books. I asked what they were, and the librarian directed me to the children's librarian. I asked her about the kits, and she started off by telling me that I had to sign a form agreeing to pay 50 dollars if any parts were broken or lost. She seemed to be trying to scare me into not wanting one (I'm pretty sure she just didn't want to get up from her seat- she was surfing the internet and looked tired). I said ok and signed the form. There was a long list of Activity Kits to choose from, and I chose the kit about spiders. I showed it to O when I got home, and she was super excited. We are going to explore it more on Friday. After we read the book and explore the other items in the kit, we'll go outside and look at spiders. We have LOTS of them (one of the perks of living at the lake!). I am looking forward to checking out a different Activity Kit each week along with our books and cds.

A Rainbow of Healthy Food

Part of a good homeschool environment is a healthy diet, and O had a rainbow of food today. I love it when we have a "pretty plate." She had steamed carrots, peas, corn, rotisserie chicken, avocado, and grape tomatoes. She has started drinking her water at mealtimes out of miniature glasses. She does a good job holding her glass with 2 hands, and she feels so "big" when she is drinking out of a glass.

New Thursday Books and CDs

Thursday is my library day, so these are our new books for this week. We've only read them once, and she REALLY loves I Can Help. O is really into being a helper lately, so I knew this book would be perfect for her. We are going to have lots of fun reading these books this week.
Here are our new cds for the week. We've checked out Mother Earth before and loved it, so I am listening forward to listening to it again. We've haven't listened to Farkle & Friends yet, but I'm hoping we'll love it, too.

A Sorting Activity

I set up this activity for O to sort the balls and blocks. I think she understands the activity because she'll sort them for a while before she starts mixing everything together again which is lots more fun than sorting! My little fashionista loves wearing 2 different shoes and her bear hat!

Tending the Garden

We have a container garden on our deck, and we are lucky enough that we are still getting grape tomatoes and basil. O LOVES tomatoes, and she thinks she is so grown up since she helped grow them, and she is in charge of picking them. We worked on learning the colors red and green while picking the tomatoes. She knows that we pick the red ones and leave the green ones (however, I did have to keep reminding her).

Watching the Squirrels

O and I spent a long time this morning sitting in the grass watching a squirrel family. The mama squirrel was trying to coax her 4 babies into playing in the grass. They were a little scared and kept running back up the tree. We talked about what the squirrels were doing and had a great time watching them. O was entranced!

What We're Reading This Week

I usually go to the library every Thursday after work to get books and cds for O and I. This is what we are reading this week. When I was checking out O's books, the librarian looked at me strangely and asked if I knew that several of the books were in Spanish. She seemed relieved when I assured her that I purposely got Spanish books.The books that I am reading revolve around different activities to do with young children. The 3 on the right are not library books, and I use them all of the time. I highly recommend Slow and Steady Get Me Ready for any moms with small children. I wish that I'd had it when O was born. I am also reading a Dean Koontz book that is pretty good. I can't wait until I finish it because I have 3 more library books that I'd like to finish by Thursday, but I know thats impossible.

A Few Activities

Here are a few activities that we've been doing in our homeschool this week: Magnetic letters and chalkboard- Uncle Tommy gave O a Peebles gift card for her birthday, and this is what she bought! Its a magnetic chalk board on one side and a wipe off board on the other. It came with magnetic letters and numbers. O loves the magnetic letters!
O loves putting the poker chips into the container. We've been using a cottage cheese container, but I REALLY did not like it, so I was very happy when my mom found this plain white container for this activity.

Scent bottles- O is really into smelling things lately (I wonder if she has her Aunt Melanie's super sonic sense of smell...). I put 3 different scents in these bottles- tea tree oil, peppery vinegar, and vanilla- and we smelled and labeled the scents. O LOVED this activity. I'll probably switch the scents every week or so, and I'm on the look out for more bottles. I found these 3 at the rummage sale in St. M.
Listening Activity- I shake each thing and label it - rice, bell, water- then O shakes each item and listens to them. I put 2 of them behind my back and shake one, then show them both to her and ask her which one she heard (I was asking her to close her eyes, but that wasn't working). She thinks this game is so much fun, and she usually chooses the correct item. I made this felt board and felt pizza kit to go along with an activity song about pizza. We haven't done this activity too much yet, but I think its going to be lots of fun. Although I guess O's a little clueless when it comes to pizza because she's never eaten it, and I'm not sure if she's even ever seen a pizza (other than Marg's wooden Melissa and Doug pizza).
Glitter Discovery Bottle- This bottle is filled with glitter, corn syrup, and water. Its fun to shake and watch the glitter swirl around.
Threading spools onto pipe cleaners is lots of fun!