Raising Rock Stars – Ff

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Katie

Cricket had another great week using the resources from 1+1+1=1. I will see again that we really love these resources both the free printables and the member’s only power point presentation really enhanced our learning this week.

Memory Verse:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

This verse was way too long for Cricket to memorize, but we read it each morning and reviewed what it meant.

Cricket loved the Ff power point and by the end of the week she was able to read the for “minibook” that was within it.

She loved the craft for this week. I precut the heart and hole punched it. She then laced it and cut out the cross pieces. Then, I let her use “real” glue instead of stick glue to glue it all down.

In addition, we have been using the Lord’s Prayer as a part of our daily routine and this week when we were saying our weekly prayer Cricket was randomly throwing in lines from it. I’m sure this will improve, but I’m just glad some of it is sticking with her.

We are also really enjoying the Seeds of Family worship cds that we won.

Be sure to see what other families are doing with their Rock Stars at 1+1+1=1

Football Tiny Talk

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Katie

Here is my favorite quote from this week:

My parents asked Cricket what she says when she is watching football, and she told them “War Eagle.” This is the cheer for the college team we route for, but then after pausing for a second Cricket had another answer. She said “I also say awwww man when they fall down.”

See what other tots are saying at Not Before 7

Monday at home with Mimi

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Katie

Cricket had a fun Monday with Mimi at our house today. She just didn’t want to go anywhere, not even outside! They had a great time playing with playdoh, and making f and g words out of it. They also played Cootie and hide and seek. Cricket and Mimi also drug her ball pit back out and played in it. They had a great grand time even though it was only a couple of hours today.

Our letter Ff week

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Katie

*Ff*

This week went so much better than last week. We still did mostly afternoons, but Cricket was just better rested and happier. She worked hard and did well this week.

Letter of the Week

Our letter this week was “Ff”. Our primary E words were fish, four, five, and feet. We did our routine weekly stuff. I also used the Raising Rock Stars Preschool Program: the free printable can be found here and you can get the power point through the members only site.

Cricket used fish and frog stamps to fill in her letter f’s this week.

Language Arts

Story time book this week was Three Little Tamales. It was a cute Texas style adaptation of the three little pigs, and after wards the kids got to make craft tamales.

Our books for the week can be found in this post. To go along with the Rainbow Fish book I had Cricket do a sequencing activity. I used silver glitter paint on the scales instead of aluminum foil as suggested.

Sign language continued and so did working on writing her name. She is now correctly writing the first 4 letters, only 3 more to go!

Math

Cricket worked on the number 5 this week. She traces, wrote, collage painted, and ordered them. She did the ordering well and independently.

We also counted up to five and had fun playing by using the fish clip cards from here. (Please ignore my almost out of ink printing – these are actually really cute)

From the same site I got this great fish measuring worksheet. Once I convinced Cricket not to eat all the goldfish we made it through the sheet. She really seemed to enjoy this counting, measuring, and comparison extravaganza.

We repeated our Add It fun from last week. This time I only gave her problems that equaled 3 or less so we could use her fish for manipulatives. She did a couple fine, but then she wanted to move on. I had to make her finish up.

Geography

Mimi brought Cricket a lift the flap United States book this week, and Cricket fell in love with it. She has been looking through it constantly and asking questions. At one point she brought it to me and said here is our state, and she was pointing to Alabama. I also had her do the Florida worksheet, and then we used her book for reinforcement she likes it so much right now.

Art

On Wednesday, we celebrated the arrival of fall with a collection of crafts. We began by going for a little walk and collecting leaves in a variety of shapes and colors, sticks, and nuts. Once we got inside, we began by making leaf rubbings.

Next we made a fall tree by drawing one out and adding glue. Then I had her crumble some leaves (this was her favorite part), and then sprinkle them on the glue. When it dried Cricket shook it off and had her tree.

Finally, Cricket took all the leftover goodies and made a collage. She also finished out the week by doing some stenciling.

Physical Education

In addition to gymnastics Cricket played at the indoor playground, played drums, and played several rousing games of hide and seek.

Life Skills

Well the answer to my question last week was no, we are definitely still working on the potty training. Cricket did do well, but she had two accidents this week when she was too busy playing to stop.

She figured out how to screw the tops on and off her dot paint this week in the course of working with them, oh and she learned to open the refrigerator.

Tot School

Cricket continued her computer work this week, and it’s really helping with her math and letter skills. She also got a little wii time for some hand eye coordination.

She played Candy Land Castle with us this week. It helps reinforce shape, color, and general game play.

Cricket got some fish erasers this week to go along with our theme, and we played with them in a variety of ways. Her favorite game was flying fish, we threw and caught the fish together. Also fish related, she worked on her fish puzzles that teach counting and opposites.

Cricket loved our mini trip to the pet store to examine all the different fish. She liked the angel fish that was shaped like a triangle and the really brightly colored ones.

She also worked some on a dry erase maze book, and did a great job of reworking the mazes if she got them wrong initially.

Check out what others are doing at these amazing sites:

What Cricket is Reading

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Katie

Fish Theme Books:

Counting Follow That Fish (Math Monsters) by John Burstein
I really liked that this wasn’t standard counting, and that it introduced problem solving. The book presented several solutions to counting moving fish. It also included a few questions through out the book to lead to further conversation. It was a cute story and an easy read. Cricket actually responded really well to it, and counted along well.

Dear Little Fish by: Andre Dahan
This was a cute little story about a cat and a fish that were friends. It captures the old adage of “if you love something set it free” sweetly. Definitely worth the library checkout, but not going to be a new favorite either. Cricket was kind of neutral to his one just like mommy.
I disliked that the author/illustrator had a copyright mark on every page spread. I thought it was distracting and excessive.

Swimmy by Leo Lionni
I’m so glad I picked up this fish book when they didn’t have another one on my list! The tale of Swimmy the fish was cute and creative. It acknowledges differences in a positive way, describes things beautifully, and encourages unique thought. I really loved the illustrations and looking at them with Cricket to see how they were made. We will probably revisit this book when we do “o” is for oceans.

Fidgety Fish and Friends by Paul Bright
The bright beautiful illustrations were great in this book, and they completely captured Cricket’s attention. The individual poems about each creature were cute and easy to read, but I was looking for more of a story. I wish it had been written more in the style of the prior book, and followed the fidgety fish through the book. Cricket kept coming back to this book though, so she really liked it even if it wasn’t what I wanted.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
I have seen some debate about this book, which I don’t really want to get into. I will simply say that we enjoyed it.

Other Letter F books:

The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
Just an all around silly book about feet in classic Seuss style. Cricket just kept giggling as we read this.

Family Huddle by Peyton, Eli, and Archie Manning
I think this book found me at the library, and it was just what we need for some variety. This book is about the Manning family, so that may encourage or dissuade some readers. I really liked it though and it was as much about the importance of family as it was about football. In the story the mom told the boys “As long as you look out for each other, you will always be on a winning team.”

Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes by Jane O’Connor
This series has been recommended to me by several other mommies, so I had high expectations. I wasn’t disappointed either, it was sooooo cute. I really like the fancy words, and how they are defined within the text by Nancy. There is even a vocabulary sheet in the back for review. Cricket liked this and picked up at least one new word, delectable.

Bed Time Books:
Every night Daddy reads to Cricket before bed, and she gets free choice of what book to read. These were her picks this week: The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Influence; Sleeping Beauty; Fidgety Fish and Friends (from above); Fancy Nancy (from above)

Tiny talk – muscles & elephants

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Katie

I just love how Cricket’s little mind works. Here are some of my favorite things she said this week:

We were playing ball one day and I complimented her on throwing the ball well. She said “It’s because I have big muscles!”

Last week we went to the zoo, and we were paying particular attention to the elephants since we were studying the letter e. I asked Cricket to observe all the elephants and tell me what they were doing. She saw one of the adult elephants picking up a stick and she said it was eating. Then she saw the baby elephant at the door to their inside area, and it looked like he was trying to get in (using his trunk). Cricket said “mommy I think he needs to go to the potty”


See the little guy at the door

Raising Rock Stars – E

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Katie

This was the first week we got to use the fabulous 1+1+1=1 program, since I am going in A-Z order instead of the order that Carisa recommends.I know I’m such a rule breaker =) Anyway here is what we did

Cricket’s verse for the week was:
Even a child is know by his deeds. Proverbs 20:11

Cricket had trouble memorizing this one too, but we talked a lot about what it meant especially when we were having “bad” days. As always she enjoyed all the verse related activities though. Cricket colored the memory verse page, and cut and taped the words of the verse together. I think the taping is her favorite.

In addition, from the Raising Rock Stars E printables Cricket completed the following activities: getting ready for E tracing sheet; discussed doing good deeds; where is the egg craft; and used the vocabulary words for our weekly chart. Note: These are only some of the activities provided in the download.

Cricket really liked the where is the egg craft, and we had such a good time learning about positional words.

Did I mention everything I already discussed is available for FREE at 1+1+1=1. Carisa graciously and generously provides the entire letter downloads once she blogs about doing the lesson with her kiddos. She posts them earlier along with other goodies at her Members Only site. Plus, she has created Powerpoint lessons to go along with each letter that are only available for members. To access everything on her Members Only Site you only have to pay a one-time fee of $10. This is was so totally worth the money for me! (I feel like I’m writing a review or advertisement for her site here, but I truly just love it)

Back to Cricket. We did the powerpoint for the letter Ee and Cricket loved it. We ended up doing it more than I planned and it really reinforced what we were learning. It also renewed Cricket’s interest in computers overall, and we made grand progress this week.

Monday with Mimi & Memaw

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Katie

Today Cricket and Mimi spent most of their time at my grandmother’s house, she is affectionately known as Memaw. While there they told each other stories, and played with bubbles. Cricket loves playing in her yard, something neither Mimi or mommy really have.

Cricket then taught Mimi how to play our new Toy Story Yahtzee game, she says she won.

They also read a collection of stories and began discussing the letter F. Mimi also brought us a great collection of books she found at flea markets:

Zoo trip

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Katie

Field Trip

Cricket and I went to the zoo to see elephants in person, as well as just for general fun. I gave Cricket a zoo checklist when we first got to the zoo, and she loved marking off all the animals as we found them.

We observed the elephants for awhile, and Cricket drew one.

She also tried out the new giraffe feeding station, but mostly she wanted me to feed it while she watched. Hopefully next time I can get her to be braver.

Our favorite thing by far though was the baby bengal tigers. They were adorable!

We also had a discussion about shadows, and how light creates them.

See what others are doing at Adventures in Mommydom:

E – Elephants, Eggs, and more

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Katie

*Ee*

We had a mix of good days and bad days this week. Currently we are doing our official school time in the afternoons when Cricket wakes up from her naps. Some days she is waking up well rested and excited about school and some days she is just a grouchy mess. I think I might have to find a way to restructure our days next week. On this day, she didn’t want any pictures taken

Letter of the Week

Our letter this week was “Ee”. Our primary E words were elephant, egg, and easel. We continued our Hooked on Phonics book, talked about the e sound, traced it, wrote it, and made it. I also used the Raising Rock Stars Preschool Program: the free printable can be found here and you can get the power point through the members only site.

I had projects for upper case and lower case e, but Crickets arm was “too tired” to do the upper case. She loved the little e project though (done the same day no less), and it turned out really cute. I can’t find where I saw this to give credit, sorry.

Language Arts

At library story time this week, the librarian read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Then the kids made wolf puppets.

I read Humpty Dumpty to her a couple of times, and Cricket said it was funny. She didn’t really seem to like it though.

Our theme books for this week were Horton Hatches the Egg, Where Do You Hide Two Elephants?, The Ear Book, and Getting to Know Nature’s Children Penguins, Elephants. The Nature’s Children Book, had good factual information and great photos, but it was way to advanced for Cricket. We really liked all the other books from this week though. Our other reading project from this week was an easy reader, Calling All Piglets. My idea was to pick one book and read it over and over again. By the end of the week Cricket can summarize the story or retell it by looking at the pictures. She can also say the missing word when I stop reading. I think this worked out pretty well, now I have to decide if we are going to do a different book next week or stick with the same one. Any suggestions?

Cricket is still doing well with her sign language. She picked up the sign for e easily this week but actually had to try each time to form the sign. She naturally want to tuck her thumb inside the letters, and not put it under them.

I tried having her write her name a couple of days this week, and she is consistently writing the first two letters correctly. Only 5 more to go!

Math

Cricket worked on the number 4 this week. She did ok with tracing these and writing a couple on her own. She dot painted a large number 3.

We continued working on addition this week by adding in Add It from Confessions of a Homeschooler. Cricket really seemed to enjoy working with it, and did well with most of the problems I gave her. The only one she got hung up on was 1+1=2 She kept saying one. I finally got her to use the manipulatives and count it out. She looked at me with this expression like she really got it and said it equals 2! Of course she also had her own ideas for the manipulatives, and a stacking break never hurt anyone.

Cricket continued diamonds, and did a couple of worksheets.

She also did a color by number elephant worksheet. She did a great job matching the colors and numbers, but didn’t want to do all the coloring.

Science

I did a really simple science concept with Cricket this week. We worked on empty versus full. I took 3 little bowls and started by filling one with water. Cricket then identified empty or full. She then got to pour the water from one bowl ton another, and re-identify empty versus full. Finally, I poured half the water into one of the empty bowls and we discussed half-full vs empty. She then combined all the water again into one to make one last full!

She also did this super cute magnifying glass match up. Her cheap magnifying glass didn’t really work, but she managed to correctly match up all the pictures anyway. I guess she doesn’t have mommy and daddy’s horrible vision yet anyway. I saw this idea here.

Cricket, also did this animal sort game again. Well, technically I think I did it, but once I got started Cricket joined in on the fun.

I think our plant is beyond help, but here it is with our cute elephant watering can.

Art

I had a scratch off elephant left over from prior crafts, and Cricket enjoyed making designs on it. Cricket painted on her easel this week. We actually did this an extra day, because she loved it so much. I also provided odd items for her to paint with including a bath sponge and a letter E.

Physical Education

Regular gymnastics started back this week, so Cricket had two days of class this week. Surprisingly she told me she enjoyed “Super” Crickets more than regular gymnastics. Even more surprising the “tough” Coach actually told Cricket she was improving. She was totally worn out after both days of class.

She also had an amazing time playing at the empty zoo playground, and having free reign of the place.

Life Skills

A whole week with no day time accidents. Does this mean Cricket is officially potty trained? We shall see. She is also doing much better with dressing herself, if mommy will let her take the timmmmmmme needed for her to do it on her own.

Tot School

Cricket continued to work on coloring and cutting this week. She also found a renewed interest in the computer after doing our power point, and played a lot with our hooked on phonics math game that she had found boring before. She also opened a game (double clicking) by herself for the first time and can independently navigate the game once it’s open.

Cricket really enjoyed her Doodle Pro this week. She has been choosing to practice letter writing with it, as well as just free play.

She picked out Yahtzee Jr Toy Story version for her potty prize (see more about potty prizes in this post). She has loved playing with this, and I have been using it to stress turn taking, rule following, good sportsmanship, logic, and counting. At first she wanted to keep the character she liked more, but she is now understanding to keep what she has more of. She also counted up to twelve on her own and repeated after me to finish out the score counting (max score would be 25).