Still trying to catch up on the blog.Week 4
Getting home from vacation is always overwhelming for me. Trying to settle back into routines. I was daunted when I looked at the week of homeschooling I had planned and seriously considered taking an additional week off. However, I decided to just plunge forward and I am glad I did. Here are some of the highlights of our week.
Math
We then stamped the equation onto the mat.
After we were done, we cleared the mat. On the following day, we glued colored toothpicks onto the mat. This way we were able to review all the problems from the first day with a different manipulative.
We also used play mats from Developing Number Concepts to visual math problems. We used the ocean mat this week. SharkMan told "math stories" using the Unifix cubes. For example, three sharks were swimming in the ocean, then two whales swam up. There were 5 animals altogether. He really enjoyed this and experimented with larger and larger numbers of animals/sums.
We also played Roll a Tower Race from Developing Number Concepts. We rolled the dice and built unifix towers to match the number on the dice. The first number rolled four times was the winning number. We enjoyed predicting which number we thought would win. Great practice in counting and reading dice.
We used ETA's Tanagram book to explore the concept of half. We built pictures and then used a corresponding color to create symmetry.
Math was awesome this week! Our curriculum is still being heavily shaped by hands on activities from Developing Number Concepts Using Unifix Cubes, and Mathematics Their Way. We finished our Book of 3 before our trip. To expand our concept of 3, we made a Math Mat of the number 3 this week. On Monday, we created a Math Mat. We arranged blocks to come up with various addition equations that totaled 3.
We then stamped the equation onto the mat.After we were done, we cleared the mat. On the following day, we glued colored toothpicks onto the mat. This way we were able to review all the problems from the first day with a different manipulative.
We also used play mats from Developing Number Concepts to visual math problems. We used the ocean mat this week. SharkMan told "math stories" using the Unifix cubes. For example, three sharks were swimming in the ocean, then two whales swam up. There were 5 animals altogether. He really enjoyed this and experimented with larger and larger numbers of animals/sums.We also played Roll a Tower Race from Developing Number Concepts. We rolled the dice and built unifix towers to match the number on the dice. The first number rolled four times was the winning number. We enjoyed predicting which number we thought would win. Great practice in counting and reading dice.We used ETA's Tanagram book to explore the concept of half. We built pictures and then used a corresponding color to create symmetry.
I sent surveys to our friends and family asking for basic information like eye color and for preferences like favorite color, pizza topping, ice cream flavors. We will use our data from the survey over the next few weeks to introduce and create bar graphs. Here is our first one about eye color. SharkMan figured out that blue should represent blue eyes, green for green and red for brown. Great introductory activity for graphing.
We are loving the Logic problems from Reasoning with Teddy Bear Counters (Creative Publications.) This week, we had to determine which bear sat on which stair based on clues such as the blue bear is sitting two steps below the red bear.
We also used Family Math for a fun activity. We had 72 beans that SharkMan had to count out and place in the correct pocket.
We also used Family Math for a fun activity. We had 72 beans that SharkMan had to count out and place in the correct pocket.
What I loved most about this activity is that it is self correcting. If there are beans left over, then something is not correct.
We continued our phonics work and matching letter sheets with Cuisennaire rods. SharkMan is becoming quite proficient at placing the rods. He knows most of the colors' values now.
Reading
I am still pleased with how much phincs SharkMan is learning. This week, we got messy. To give a new twist on practicing letter formation, we used a cookie tray with flour. I would make a sound and SharkMan would write it. Messy but a blast.
We continue to enjoy our literature experience. We learned Jack Be Nimble, read a great children's biography on Corrie ten Boon, read Aesop's - The Swallow and the Crow and the Three Billy Goats Gruff. We also enjoyed reading the novel Five True Dog Stories.
Science/History
SharkMan is getting faster with the map puzzle. We only do it once a week, but he is starting to remember where different pieces go.
In science, we began our unit on plants. We are using The Usbourne Complete First Book of Nature and The Usbourne Book of Science Activities vol. 2 as our primary text with supplemental materials from the library. SharkMan loved dissecting a flower to find its parts. The emphasis on the plant is not to memorize all the names of the parts but to give an awareness that the plant has parts and what some of the parts do.
Another fun activity was dissecting a seed. I soaked the seed for a couple of hours, and then we split it apart to find the baby plant inside and to look at all the food stored for the plant in the seed. We then planted some bean seeds to track their growth over the next few weeks.
All in all a great week back from vacation!
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