Valentine’s Day Learning

We’ve had a fun week celebrating Valentine’s Day.  To kick the week off we were invited to a God is Love party.  The boy had a lot of fun learning all about how much God loves him.  Then he got to create a Valentine just for God. 

The rest of the week we continue our Valentine themed fun. 

Language Arts: I was really excited when I came across Mama Jenn’s Little Letter Collection. I used her idea and the boy’s words to create a Valentine’s letter for the boy’s Daddy.  He had a great time tracing the letters and then decorating it.  He couldn’t wait to give it to his Daddy when he got home that day. If you don’t have the time or the resources to create your own, don’t fret.  Mama Jenn offers free generic ones you can download.

 

Math: We did quite a few math activities. Most of them were taken from the Sweetheart Valentine unit from 2 Teaching Mommies and were old hat for the boy.  However, I was really excited about introducing him to the Valentine's 100 Chart Art from Lil’ Country Kindergarten.  I wasn’t surprised that he wanted to quit before he was done, but I made him complete the red.  He finished the picture off the next day.  Once he started to figure out the image, it definitely was a little more exciting for him.  I plan to include this type of activity again.

     

Science: Of course we couldn’t have a Valentine’s Day theme without including one of the boy’s favorite activities, candy observations.  Below he’s tasting a sweetheart to find out if it’s sweet, sour or salty. 

 

  

So, that was just a little glimpse into our week.  How did your week go?

 

We’re linking up to: Preschool Corner and Weekly Wrap-Up.

Weekly Wrap Up

I’ve gotten out of the habit of writing about our school time this year.  I’m just terrible at taking pictures while we are doing it.  But I managed to take a few pictures this week during our reading time and thought I would share.

Language Arts

The boy and I have been working on his reading.  Currently we are using Hooked on Phonics because we picked it up real cheap a couple of years ago because it was out dated. It was like $30 for 3 kits (K, 1st, and 2nd).  My husband said we had to use it before I can buy any new reading curriculum. (I’ve got my eye on All About Reading.) 

Anyway, getting off track a bit.  So, in the picture above the boy is circling words that rhyme with mat.  However, since I know that I want to sell this kit when we’re done with it, I just slipped a sheet cover over the worksheet page and gave him a dry eraser pen. It works like a charm!

 

 

We’ve also used our Education Cubes and inserts to practice reading words.  (I recently won a membership through a giveaway!!)  We used some of the ‘a’ word family cards and the letter cards.  The boy would roll the two dice and read the word.  Then we would talk about if it was a real word or nonsense word.

 

On this particular day, we were stuck indoors due to storms.  So, to get the boy moving I decided to have him roll the dice down the stairs, go down read the word and then come back up.  It was a great way for him to use up some energy. (You can visit the Show & Tell to get and share more Education Cube ideas!)

So, that was just a little taste of our week.  How did your week go?

 

We’re linking up to: Preschool Corner and Weekly Wrap-Up.

Tiny Talk- Growing

This is a one of my frequent conversations with the boy as of late:

“Seriously, you need to stop!”

“Stop what?”

“Growing.  I want you to stay my baby forever.”

“No, I’m going to grow up to be like Daddy.”

There’s no way I would even try to talk him out of such a sweet goal.

A Better Ending

2011 was a crazy year for our family.  It was definitely one of those years that you are glad is over.  Honestly, the first half could have been ok, but then came April.  We were hit with things from every side.  And just when it seem to ease up, we were knocked back down.  It wasn’t until mid-November that we started to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

We didn’t let 2011 get the better of us, a matter of fact we saved the best for last.  We ended that crazy year with some wonderful family moments that we won’t forget.  The biggest was our family vacation to Walt Disney World. 

It was a whirlwind trip.  We spent 5 days on the Disney Resort and we visited every theme park.  The boy was just the right height to ride most of the rides and the perfect age to meet the characters. 

Unfortunately, he’s not a fan of the dark.  So, we had to talk him through several rides the first time…and I mean the tame ones.  Such as, Finding Nemo at Epcot.

Now, roller coasters that was a different story.  Two of his favorite all times rides were found at Magic Kingdom.  He rode Big Thunder Mountain Railway and Splash Mountain several times.  I unfortunately got stuck in the front and had to walk around like this all morning…

Good thing the weather was nice.

It was such a blessing to end 2011 with this family vacation.  I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.

If I learned anything last year, it is to count your blessings.  Hold on to the good.  It gets you through the rough patches.

Gingerbread Fun

This week we’ve been enjoying some activities that are quickly becoming traditions. 

Linking up to Go Graham Go.

Tiny Talk: Probably Human

This weekend at dinner the boy says to me, "Mom you're a woman, and you're probably a human."

Not sure where that leaves me, never pictured myself as a Stepford wife.

I’m linking up to: Tiny Talk Tuesday.