Kindergarten Activity Bag...Sight Words Beans

I put together this activity for O(5) a few months ago to take on vacation. It was super simple to put together.




I used sharpie marker to write sight words from the dolch sight words lists onto white beans.  Done!





The beans can be kept in a pencil pouch for "on the go" sight words practice.

Studying Degas

We studied Degas during February. E(2) loved painting a Degas coloring page with liquid watercolors (and when I looked away, she quickly painted her face...so funny).
We checked out Degas and the Little Dancer and have read it repeatedly. It's a wonderful book, and we all love it. We read Dancing with Degas. We planned to do a Degas art project, but that fell to the back burner after Elliott's brain tumor diagnosis. We'll get back to Degas and our project eventually...maybe.  

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Pattern Blocks on Contact Paper

E(2) and I had fun making designs with pattern blocks on contact paper about a month ago.  I saw this idea somewhere, but I have no idea where (to be honest, the entire month of March is like a blur to me, and the only reason I remembered this activity at all is because I came across the pictures in my dropshots account!)



We taped a piece of contact paper (sticky side out) to the glass door and got to work.  We had fun making boats and starts, and E made a "snowman."  I made the design in the center, and E said "that looks just like a mandala!"  Love my girl!

Homemade Moon Sand....FAIL!

Edit to add:  Our moon sand was great for a few days, and then it turned nasty...very, very nasty.  Don't make my mistake and use cornmeal instead of cornstarch...unless you only want it to last for a couple of days :)

The girls and I had fun making and playing with homemade Moon Sand last week. We made moon sand with O(5) when she was younger (probably 2), and it was really messy. This time we used a different recipe, and I liked it better. Here is the link to the blog where this idea originated. To make moon sand you need 4 cups of sand, 2 cups of corn meal (the recipe says corn flour, but we used corn meal...evidently I was supposed to use corn starch.  However, it worked out fine with the corn meal, and I like it better since we used cornstarch last time, and it was terribly messy.  I'm not sure how long it will last...I'll let you know), and 1 cup of water. We ended up tripling the recipe and adding a little bit of extra water.

The girls took turns pouring in the ingredients, and they loved mixing the dry sand and corn meal. I added in some mini construction vehicles, and we had a work site! I had fun playing with them, and O(5) asked "Mama, how do you know so much about construction?" so I must have done a good job of pretending! We were excited when Elliott played with us, too! They tired of the construction zone fairly quickly and started cooking with the sand...no big surprise there :)

Right Start Math or Singapore Math????

Now that all of our time is no longer taken up with researching brain tumors, neurosurgeons, and brain surgery, I am now back to searching for the very best (and most fun) 1st grade curriculum for O(5). We've tried Life of Fred, and O loves it, but it will just be an extra math book for fun. I'd like to use either Right Start Math or Singapore or maybe even both...I'd LOVE some input. This is a very difficult decision (although not as difficult as choosing a neurosurgeon!!!), and since O loves math so much, I want to make sure that I get the best program for her. Thanks in advance for your comments and emails!

Volcano Fun!

We love to make volcanoes on our beach, and I thought this would be a fun activity to do with Elliott while he is recovering from surgery. The girls were SUPER excited, and we had a lot of fun. First, the girls built up the sand around a bottle to form the volcano. Then they took turns pouring water into the bottle. They took turns squeezing red food coloring into the water. They took turns measuring out a total of 2 tablespoons of baking soda and pouring it into the bottle. Elliott poured in the white vinegar, and we watched the lava explode! Here are our volcano posts from previous years....2011 and 2010 and 2009

Animal Flip Book

I recently came across this animal flip book that I made for O(5) about 3 or 4 years ago, and E(2) really likes it. I downloaded it from www.childcareland.com. It's perfect for a 2 year old who loves animals and matching!

Homeschool Buyer's Coop

I just made my first purchase via Homeschool Buyer's Coop! I ordered a subscription to the Magic School Bus Science Club (at 50% off!)...I'm SO excited, and I know our girls will be, too!

Who Needs Toys...

when you have a basket full of straws??? The girls love to play creatively with straws (and I had fun, too!).

An Edible Moveable Alphabet

The girls and I were really excited to see these Scrabble Cheez-its at the grocery store a few weeks ago! E(2) said the name or sound of the letter, and O(5) made simple words with the letters. Fun and simple!

Cultural Exchange...Ireland!!!!!!!!!!

The girls and I studied Ireland during March as a part of our cultural exchange. We received 2 fantastic packages from Ireland, and then Ida and Isabel sent us a 3rd package after they read about Elliott's brain tumor! The girls and I were thrilled with everything. They sent several posters that we hung on the sliding door of our organization system.
We received several postcards and pamplets. A recipe, stickers, and another postcard Play money Stamps (what a great idea to send used stamps!) pamplets Christmas ornaments, hot chocolate stirrers, crayons They also sent a flute which was a favorite with the girls along with cookies and other treats. THank you SO much to Ida and Isabel for all 3 wonderful packages! The package they sent after Elliott's brain tumor diagnosis was especially wonderful as it included a guardian angel and a book to help the children process the idea of having a parent who has to have surgery. We didn't have as much time to spend studying Ireland as I would have liked, so we'll continue studying Ireland (and we'll add in Scotland) through April and maybe May. Oh, I almost forgot...they sent 3 cds that we LOVE...music and stories. They also sent a book of Irish stories for children that we have read several times. I love the way that we are all learning about different people, cultures, and countries through our cultural exchange!