Reflecting on "L"...part 2

from the iPod

 "Let the Little Children Come"

  
"The Light of the World"

the Bookshelf



  
This is a delightful story to reinforce his sight word..."see."  I have some other plans for this story...but, you will have to wait.



 
Great way to link science and include all the kiddos.



  

the Crafty Side of School

       

                                   

For this project I used Confessions of a Homeschooler's "L" lacing card to use as a template for the foam L.  I also printed the ladybug I downloaded from the My Printables page on her blog.  There was a bit of alteration involved.  First, I cut off the antenna and used sparkly pipe cleaners in place of.  Wooly used the do a dot markers to put on her spots instead of cutting and pasting those that were included.  If your wondering why she is sporting green spots...well, Wooly Sheep is experiencing his Green Period.  And, of course, we cannot forget the wiggle eyes.

Wooly colored the pieces for this adorable project that went with the verse in his RRSP ...Matthew 5:16.

A letter "Ll" do a dot page was also enjoyed!  You can find it here.

Uganda

A while back God impressed upon my heart that our family should begin reaching outward more...missions, hospitality and just giving more of ourselves.  I shared this with Major Dad and we are, slowly and deliberately, extending ourselves.  During the start of this journey one woman in particular caught my eye with her demonstration of Christ's love.  You can read all about Katie's heart here.  At the beginning of our school year I posted her photograph in our school room and we have prayed for her each day: all that God has planned for her, health, and those she has given her life to.  We have found our hearts breaking while reading her posts.  But, also a peace knowing that God lives among the people...His children.  I urge you to keep this loving young woman in your prayers, too.

It crossed my mind earlier this weekend that I have not pulled out the map/globe to find Uganda with the children.  We talked about Uganda being in Africa, but that is it.  I made a mental note that we need to find time to locate it this week.  Well, I was either too slow or it was God's will that I forget got sidetracked again, but this afternoon after we were finished I over heard Jay Bird talking about Uganda.  I was curious about their discussion and decided to eavesdrop check it out.  It was in the middle of the kitchen floor that I found Wooly Sheep and Jay Bird on top of a world map....literally.  They had pulled out the folded map and were searching for Uganda.  The two had found Africa by the time I arrived and were diligently looking for words that started with a "U."  Not an easy task with the numerous countries in Africa and its size in comparision to bording ones.  I had the kidos reenact the scene in the classroom today...I just hate it when my camera is not in hand when I most need it.

It brings my heart such joy to watch my children desiring to be Christlike...in action and becoming knowledgeable.  It also brought a kind of confirmation in our family's direction...more of Him and less of us.  As much as Major Dad and I want our children to be well educated, we desire them to take Christ to the world all the more. 

Fall is a Comin'

Fall is creeping closer and closer....even here in the desert.  But you couldn't tell by this picture.  Swimming is still going strong.

I love the promises of Fall.  Hot soups, homemade breads, and cider...with a plain donut, of course.  Wrapping up in a sweater, keeping piggies warm in wool socks and cuddling under a blanket while reading.  Crisp evening walks and watching the cool air wake Oscar into a playful mood with a hint of steam from his nostrils. Whispers of what is to come fall upon us in the evening then disappear when the sun rises in the sky....teasing us just enough to get these images wondering in our heads.





Raising Rock Stars Preschool- Letter "L" part 1

This week Wooly Sheep started RRSP.  He had a blast....we BOTH did.  Because of our busy schedule I will, at times, take 2 weeks to complete each letter.  He gets "school" every day; it is just we don't always get to all the extras I would like. 

Each day started with our memory verse, Matthew 5:16.  I was so impressed with Wooly Sheep.  By Thursday he had it memorized fairly well, considering that he also had memorized a verse for AWANAS and one for our weekly Character Trait.  We also talked about ways to "let our light shine" and sang This Little Light of Mine and Jesus Loves the Little Children.  I am excited with our new purchase...mom's own Ipod.  I have been able to purchase more music for our classroom.  Heaven! 



Wooly absolutely LOVED the props.  Mommy loved the glow from him whirling his "little light" prop.

The powerpoint slides that go with his lessons have been a hit.  You can find Carisa's Raising Rock Star Preschool information here.

I am using workboxes for Wooly Sheep and Jay Bird to complete after they have had time with me or while they wait.

Of course, Wooly loves to find the Kumon cutting papers in a box.  I also put in treasures like writing practice, coloring, puzzles, and playdough to find.

We practiced the letter cards.  I had to be creative with our days.  The 3 "big" kids have PE at the Y twice a week so Wooly and I find a room to do "school."  I put all our materials in a 3-ring binder...verse, songs, cards, props and off we go. 

AND...we cannot forget to get the WIGGLES out!

In my next post I will share the activites we enjoyed and books we read.

Blessings,

jenny





 



Zootastic

Jay Bird chose to visit the zoo for his birthday...again.  I am not sure when he has not choosen this location...it must be all the rage.  We spent a few hours looking around.  There were a number of new animals.  The ones Jay Bird and Wooly Sheep have been waiting forever for were the zebras.  The boys just dig them.  It is zeebras 24/7 with them.  They even found a huge, and I do mean huge, stencil used on walls to create a zeebra design.  If you are wondering...that has not happened, yet.  It is our goal to sell or rent this house in the next year.  I cannot imagine that zeebra stripes on a bedroom wall would be something people just go looking for when house hunting.

Back to the zoo.  It was such a peaceful day...NO CROWDS!  Gotta love that.  It also meant that the kiddos had more freedom to move about and I could still keep them in my sights.  Big Brother found that he loved to take photographs and used Major Dad's cell phone to experiment.  I know it is not much, but he got a kick out it.  I, too, was able to take more time and enjoy being behind the camera.  None of them have been touched up, but I like them all the same.

Of course, the zeebras.

This crane is just majestic.

This guy and his mate are also new to the zoo.  They were getting aquainted with their new home and onlookers. 

The photo below cracked me up when I was able to get a closer look.  I don't know what that Mexican Wolf was looking at, but was he licking his lips or what!  Maybe a snack had been laid out.

The following photographs have a special place in my heart.  The first one I caught when I turned around to see where Big Brother and Ladybug were.  It is so sweet to see him taking the time to be "Big Brother" and teach her how to take photos with the phone.  The second photograph is one Ladybug took with my camera.  And, the third...well, I just think it is sweet when little girls skip.

I promise the photos are winding down.
This one was just too cute not to add...I mean, come on...How could I resist?

It may be September, but Ohhh so tropical still.

Hang on...just one more.  Really...I wouldn't lead you on.  Trust me.  This is my absolute, hands down favorite.  Take a peek...you'll see why.

These are our Rock Stars.  Don't know what Rock Stars are or never heard of Raising Rock Stars.  Well, Carisa from 1+1+1=1 will share with you here.

jenny

           

The BIG 6

Just a Joy
All Boy

Young Man of God

Bouncing and More Bouncing

Ingenious

Ride of our Life

Digging in Dirt is Delightful

I saw this day coming with little changes here and there.  The baby face started disappearing.  His thoughts were becoming jaw dropping.  His abilities becoming more and more independent.  Somehow... I was still blindsided.  I won't deny there is a bitter sweetness to all this growing.  However, this new phase has me mesmerized and brings a new joy as I watch him blossom into such a young man.  I take joy in watching how God is molding him and look forward to seeing all the plans God has for him.

Happy Birthday, Jay Bird!

May You Always Stand Upon Our Lord Jesus as Your Rock

First Official Week of School....or NOT

Tuesday was to be our official first day of school, at least that was the plan for the three youngest. (Big Brother has been adding to his class schedule for a few weeks now.)  As prepared as we mommas try to be, catching the awful Yuck that made its way around to all the kiddos and grew in power by the time it hit me was definitely not part of my plan. Sooo, we will "officially" start school next Monday.

I was able to complete Wooly Sheep's Preschool assessment over a couple of days.  Carisa from 1+1+1=1 created this handy assessment.  You can find it here.  I must admit that some of the results surprised me...areas I thought he would be weak at or have no ability were completed with great skill.  And, there were areas I thought he would be stronger in.  I love the fact that I don't have to feel like I have failed my child and he is not up to par with others, but can enjoy the learning and exploring together.  I even thought to take photographs.  Jay Bird and Ladybug were just too curious to stay away.  Unfortunately, they were not able to remain wall flowers and I had to shoo them away.

Wooly Sheep's cutting abilities was one of those shocking moments.  Confession, I have a BIG aversion to children with scissors and teaching children the art of cutting is even farther down on my list of never want to do list.  So far down in fact that it does not even register.  As I am sure you can guess, I do not have them use scissors much...more like EVER!  He did awesome despite his mother's shortcomings.  I was so sure this would be a super weak area that I had ordered Kumon's My First Book of Cutting.  Wooly saw me unpack the book today and has shown everyone all the cutting skills he will achieve by the end of the book. 

He can count up to 12 orally without missing a number and count 1:1 while touching small pom poms.  He wants to skip number 13 and go straight to 14 in both cases.

Wooly Sheep completed an ABAB pattern just fine and was able to do AABB pattern.  I thought I would push it a bit and tried AAB, but he just wanted to make his own patterns at this point.

Locating print on different pages of a book did not prove difficult and he was able to identify all the colors.

The following shapes gave him trouble: oval, rectangle, and diamond.  Wooly Sheep missed 9, 10, 8, and 6 when identifying numbers.  He also missed the following lower case letters: q, y, f, g, h, j, l, b, and h.  When asked to identify capital letters he missed the following: Q, W, J, K, and V.  I was a bit surprised at how many he missed when identifying numbers and letters. 

Wooly Sheep is usually my minute man when it comes to coloring, so I was taken aback at how well he did coloring the white areas on 4 objects.  He asked questions about how to stay in the lines.  This was one of those moments that I just adore and believe was prompted by the fact that there was no competition for my attention. He was free to just talk.  Just look at that determination!  

He can say his first, middle and last name.  I started wondering if it was because I say all 3 together too often.  We will just leave that one alone.

His pencil grip was high, but very good.  Once I directed him to hold it lower on the pencil he did remarkably well tracing the black dotted line from point A to point B.  I tried to photograph his paper, but the pencil lines were too light to register.

I admit, I was a bit leery about trying this assessment while feeling miserable.  However, I am glad I went ahead with it.  Wooly Sheep is excited and has an idea of all that is to come....so is Momma.