Homeschooling May 2013 Part 2

Montessori Language Arts: I Spy Activity

I honestly didn't buy the Sound Boxes (Bags) because K has been doing so well with his letter sounds since he was very young, that I didn't feel the need to get them. So, instead of that activity, I found some I Spy pictures online and printed 2 copies of each. The first copy was kept intact, but the second one is where I'd cut out 6-8 pictures and taped them to the top and bottom of the first I Spy page. Those are now the objects her must find. Eventually, I'll make some with just words of the objects instead of pictures.

Unrolling the mat, Montessori style. We always use mats while working on Montessori activities, so learning to roll and unroll the mat properly is very important.

Bible Class: God made the sun, moon, stars and clouds

I use Karen Henley's curriculum and I love it! K does, too. It comes with a book and a CD with songs. Each lesson is easy to prepare and fun to teach. K loved the songs in this lesson so much that he asked to play them over and over. He had no idea that I had prepared different textures for the sun (foam stickers), moon (crayons), stars (chalk), and clouds (contact paper and cotton balls), I simply asked him which he wanted to make first. He chose moon first, then sun, stars and finally, clouds. I must say, the cloud was the most fun to make. It was K's favorite. And obviously, we also discussed other things that God made. A very cool and successful lesson.

Homeschooling May 2013 Part 1

May Day! May Day! Hahaha. 
We made some May Baskets on May 1st and it was a lot of fun.

Desk Work

Montessori Science: Botany

Our lesson today was on plants and the part of a plant. We went to our backyard and started looking at different things in it. Is this a plant? Yes or no. K learned quickly what a plant is.

Picture 1: It's a pretty good representation of a plant (with all its parts).

Picture 2: He's recognizing what a plant is and isn't.

Picture 3: Is this (hose) a plant? No. Is this (plant next to the hose) a plant? Yes.

Picture 4: Is this (wall) a plant? No. Are these (rocks) plants? No. Is this (plant with yellow flowers) a plant? Yes.

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Parts of a plant nomenclature

Parts of a plant nomenclature and answer key

Plant, stem, branches, leaves, root

Desk Work

I usually try to do a little bit of Mathematics and a little bit of Language Arts, but it doesn't always work out. That's ok, though. We do about 2-4 worksheets, depending on time.

Montessori Practical Life: Learning how to put down a chair/stool

We put chairs/stools down gently and quietly. We carry them with two hands and move slowly. He was a bit rough at first, but as we practiced with different kinds of chairs, he got the concept and has been doing well ever since. He used to drop chairs hard before this lesson. I'd say it is a complete success.

                                     Montessori Practical Life: Dressing Frames

K absolutely loved this lesson! He really likes changing clothes and figuring out how to get dressed on his own. The dressing frames was a wonderful exercise and I am so proud of how well he did during the lesson. He was extremely self-motivated and he kept asking for more. I planned the lesson where we would start with the easiest and work our way to the hardest to do.

I decided to not even purchase the VELCRO dressing frame because it is the easiest and it is readily available in clothing and shoes. He does really well with it already. 

So first, we practiced zipping the ZIPPER dressing frame. 

Second, we practiced with SNAPS. 

Third, we practiced with BUTTONS. 

Fourth, we did HOOK AND EYE several times.

Fifth, we had a wonderful time with the RIBBONS (BOWS). I was amazed at how well he did in this exercise. It was hard, but he persevered and kept on trying until we managed to make all five bows together.

Sixth, we practiced with BUCKLES. K loves these because they remind him of pirates.

In retrospect, the buckles were much easier than the ribbons.

                           

    

                                         

Montessori Practical Life: Cleaning Fingernails and Brushing Teeth