Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling {Apologia Press}

If there was ever a book that I wish I would have had handy when I first started homeschooling, The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling  from Apologia Press would be one I would have referred to often…and fortunately still can.  Each member of the Homeschool Crew recently received this revised and updated edition by Debra Bell to review and it’s one that will stay on my shelf for me to use and lend out to friends.

About The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling

Debra Bell, the author,  is no stranger to the homeschool community. She homeschooled her four children from kindergarten through high school and now speaks at homeschool conventions, sharing what she has learned over the years and helping other parents navigate the homeschooling maze.

This newly revised and updated version of The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling is larger than previous releases {500 pages} and included current information for websites and using technology at home. It also includes ideas for working with kids at different grade levels, how to keep toddlers busy, and teaching middle/high school classes.

What areas does the book cover? Apologia Press offers the ability to view the full table of contents and a sample chapter online {Six Ingredients of a Successful Home School}. The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling is divided into ten different sections:

• Homeschooling: Is It for You ~ looks at the challenges and advantages of homeschooling and also includes information for single parent families along with tips for success.
• Choosing a Curriculum ~ learning styles, curriculum fairs
• Organization and Planning ~ learning environments and daily schedules
• Preventing Burnout ~ provides ‘Burnout Busters’
• What to Teach ~ When and How
• Homeschooling Teens ~ course study, college admissions
• Computers in the Homeschool ~ Hardware and software
• Creative Solutions ~ toddlers, reluctant learners and the transition from school to home
• Measuring Your Success ~ assessment methods and targets
• Resource Guide ~ products/supplies, academic contests and competitions

My Thoughts

I’m currently a little partial on the section related to burnout {grins} and also the 50 pages of resources that the book provides. It is chocked full of great information. Overall, this book from Apologia Press is a great tool to recommend to families that are considering homeschooling, new to homeschooling, or even looking at the ‘next step’ for their younger children. 

You can purchase  The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling directly from Apologia Press {$20.00} and also find it through major online retailers such as Amazon. If you are interested in learning more about science products from Apologia, be sure to read my review on their Young Explorer Science Series.

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about this product.
 

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Winner Update

 

Random.org helped me pick a winner for the Counting Bears from Learning Resources. Congratulations to commenter # 129 ~ Angela @ Moments in Time.

 

Giveaway #10 ~ Geo Toys Puzzles

When we began our geography studies, I found some wonderful puzzles to help our kids learn more about the continents that we were studying. Our kids enjoy doing puzzles and there was something about a ‘hands-on’ project that really helped things click in their minds. I loved that they were learning in a sneaky sort of way. :)

About GeoToys

GeoPuzzles ~ Each of these puzzles is focused on a continent/country area and has pieces that are shaped like individual countries. These are a GREAT introduction to world geography and are made out of recycled materials. Each puzzle is brightly colored and comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee {and I can guarantee that you will love these!}. Currently they offer puzzles for the five major continents and also one for the entire world ~ we already have Asia, Europe and Africa on our homeschool shelves.
 
Games ~ GeoToys also offers a variety of learning games including GeoBingo {guess what is right now sitting in my Amazon cart!!}, GeoCards {jumbo sized information cards}, and some FUN geography based games.

Speacialty Puzzles ~ Beside their great continent puzzle, GeoToys also has some other jumbo sized puzzles for kids ages 4 and up. One features animals of the world and another dinosaurs. Both were illustrated by children’s author Dennis Rockhill.



Teacher Guides ~ Geo Toys also offers some great teacher guides to go along with their GeoPuzzles. Each guide has facts, quizzes and discussion questions {all free of charge} for you to use and reproduce.

There are several online retailers that carry GeoToys products, including Amazon, so adding one of these great learning toys to your curriculum is quick and easy!

This giveaway is now closed

Geo Toys is giving a puzzle {of your choice!!} to one of my readers. There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit the Geo Toys site and let me know which puzzle you would pick!

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 3 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

~ If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment. 

~ Visit the Geo Toys  site and leave a comment telling me the name of one of their two board games {check out the bottom of the main page}. 

~ Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too. 

This giveaway will be open until Thursday, February 4th until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Saturday, February 6th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!

   

Disclaimer: Thank you to GeoToys for providing the giveaway products. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

Preschool Corner ~ Hickory Dickory Dock

This week we had fun learning the nursery rhyme ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’ together and talking about rhyming words, clocks and telling time.

No pictures this week for the things that we did, but I do have some links for you all listed throughout the post and also as a part of the ‘additional resources’ at the end.

 Art

Paper Plate Clocks ~ Zachary made a cute paper clock using this craft idea from DLTK.

Clock and Mouse ~ We didn’t get a chance to work on these, but I SO wish we could have! They are super cute!!

Game
 
I put together one of the  file folder games from this site for Zachary to play this week.  I also have another file folder game that has blank miniature clock faces on it {they were from a small pad of paper at our teaching store} and Zachary had fun matching the analog time to the time on the clock faces {that I drew on with a marker}.

Language

Story Sequencing ~ We learned the rhyme ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’ and then used these great sequencing cards to put the story in order once we had learned it. After using the picture cards, we used these sentence strips.

Rhyming Words ~ We sat down together and thought up all the words we could that rhymed with ‘clock’, ‘mouse’, ‘ran’, and ‘one.’

Making our Own Rhymes ~ For each hour we made up our own rhymes. ‘The clock struck two, the mouse said BOO!’

Positional Words ~ Since the mouse went up the clock, we talked about different positional words {up, down, around, on, under, bottom, middle, etc…}

Math

Telling Time ~ We’ve been working on telling time to the hour and the half hour, so this rhyme fit right in with the fun. We have a small clock that we use from Learning Resources that works great for this activity.

Our Day ~ Since we have our workbox activity cards handy, we used those for Zachary to put a ‘typical day’ in the correct order for himself using the picture cards.

Number Words ~ Another thing that we are working on right now is matching numbers to their number words. I am using the number card printables that I made a little bit ago to work on matching with Zachary.

Which One? I pulled out a bunch of different things {watches, clock, timer, and calendar} and we talked about the different things we use to tell time. Which one tells us the time of day? Which one tells us what day it is? Which one helps us keep track of how much time we are spending on something?

 Science

Daytime and Nighttime ~ We talked about the different things that we do during the day and things we do at nighttime. As we read different books we talked about when the activities were taking place. Could they happen during the day or night?

Sundials ~ We made a sundial out of a paper plate and for a few hours marked where the shadow was on the plate to see how the sun moved.

 Songs and Rhymes
 
We learned the rhyme “Hickory Dickory Dock”.

Additional Resources
 
Here are some other great links that you might find helpful for a unit on Hickory Dickory Dock. :)

• Coloring pages from DLTK
• Stop the Clock game ~ for older kids but pretty fun {and free}
• What Time is It? online game
• Set the Clock game
• Make your own time worksheet
• Owl Telling Time file folder game ~ just found this one after posting, but it looks cute and can be adapted for younger ones

Stories & Books We Used
 





Ready to Link Up?

Share what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the MckLinky below and be sure to link your post back here too! The updated guidelines can be found here if you need them.

Another Round of Winners…

 

It’s time to announce a few more winners!! Random.org helped me pick a few winners for both Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer and also Little Passports. Thanks so much to all of you who are entering and helping to make this so very fun!!

 

The winners of Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer

Comment #26 ~ Kris @ Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Comment # 67 ~ Debbie @ Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn

 

The winner of the 6 month subscription to Little Passports

Comment # 211 ~ Valerie from The Crafty Classroom

 

Don’t forget ~ if you want to purchase a subscription to Little Passports, use the code hscblog and you will receive a 10% discount on your purchase!

 

Giveaway #9 ~ Virginia Soaps and Scents

Virginia Soaps and Scents has donated a sampler kit for one  of my readers! Please read through this post for the complete details on this giveaway!

Since this last summer I have been using products from Virginia Soaps and Scents daily as well as using their cleaning bars to make our own laundry detergent ~ and we’ve loved it!

About Virginia Soaps & Scents

Soapmaking for the Spargurs started out as a homeschool project while studying Colonial Williamsburg. What began as a one-time project turned into a fun family adventure with the entire family developing recipes and starting a business together. Everything that Virginia Soaps & Scents produces {from labels to making soaps} is done in their own home.
The bars are all hand cut, giving them each a unique look. As for what is in the soap? All of their soaps are made with natural oils ~ no chemicals.

We use many combinations of oils in our soaps, but almost all will contain olive oil and coconut oil - in combination with other oils such as lard, cocoa butter, safflower, sunflower, canola, peanut, palm or soybean oils.

My Favorite Products

I struggle with different scents and smells, often getting migraines because of something that others might not even notice. The bars that I purchased myself were very mild and don't overwhelm you with their scent {they also have a line of Fragrance Free products too!}. The scents that I have used are: Caribbean Breeze {shaving bar}, Coconut Lemongrass {Shampoo Bar}, along with some of their seasonal soap scents.

Laundry Soap ~ Making it was so incredibly simple ~ I just grated the cleaning bars, followed their recipe online, and had homemade laundry detergent in under 15 minutes.  The detergent is low-sudsing, so you can also use it with front loading washers!!

If you want to 'test the waters' to see if it would work for you, they offer a Laundry Soap Kit for $4.95 that includes everything you need to make a batch of detergent ~ all you need to do is add water! Cleaning bars are $3.95 for a 9 oz bar {128 loads} or laundry kits are available for $4.95 each {enough to make 2 gallons of detergent}.

Shampoo Bar ~ The shampoo has a GREAT lather and leaves your hair feeling very clean {I use the bar for oily hair}. Basically, it works just like the shampoo that I was using before. Shampoo bars are $5.50 for a 5.5 oz bar or 2/$10.

Soap Bars ~ We are generally a liquid soap using family. To the point that Zachary was in awe of a bar of soap while we were visiting friends. The soap has been hidden from little hands and stays with me ~ mainly because I don’t want to share! My two favorites are the  Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey bar as well as the Fresh Orange scents. Soap bars are $4.50 for a 4.5 oz bar, 3/$10 or 10/$35.

Ordering Information

Be sure to visit Virginia Soaps & Scents and see the wide variety of products and soap scents that they have available. If you haven't already figured it out, I highly recommend them for both their products and wonderful customer service ~ tell them I sent you over! :)

The Giveaway!!

Virginia Soaps and Scents is  giving one of my readers a sampler pack filled with a laundry kit, several of their soap samplers and a mini shampoo bar!  There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit Virginia Soaps and Scents and leave a comment with which soap scent you think is the yummiest!

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 3 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit Virginia Soaps and Scents and leave a comment telling me the name of another product they offer.
  
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, February 2nd at 8pm and I will announce the winner by Thursday, February 4th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!



Disclaimer: Thank you to Virginia Soaps and Scents for providing the giveaway products. This review is based on my own experiences with the products and gives my honest opinion.

Kinderbach {Review}

We've looked into piano lessons for the girls and lessons would be around $30/week for both girls and about one month of lessons at $120 can be a little overwhelming! KinderBach is an online piano program that is geared toward kids between the ages of 4-7 and introduces them to the basics of piano and music instruction.

Piano pals Frisco and Dodi are the main characters who help teach the lessons. They begin by teaching how a keyboard is set up and progress along teaching children how to read notes, learn intervals, and identify rhythm and music patterns. Each lesson reviews prior lessons and then builds on what has been learned previously.




Karri Gregor is the creator of KinderBach and she teaches each of the lessons. Some of the lessons have printable worksheets to go along with the lesson while others are hands on or involve the children in various ways. You can view a syllabus of the lessons  and also view sample video lessons. The lessons are broken up into short segments so they hold the attention of the kids. The worksheets that go along with the lessons are easy to print off and over all the program is very user friendly.

After we had progressed through about 10 lessons both of the girls  complained that the lessons were for "preschoolers" (their words, not mine). That didn't stop them for wanting to do the lessons though. Zachary also played along with the lessons and he did enjoy them.

Benefits of KinderBach:

1. Saves driving time since you can do the lessons from home.
2. Cost efficient because you can use the lessons with multiple children at a time.
3. Works into your schedule and you don't need to juggle times around in your week.
4. Fun approach for kids to learn.
5. No musical training is required for you to use the lessons with your kids.
6. Able to work at your own pace with your family to suit your needs.

My Personal Drawbacks:

1. Sharing the computer. Our main computer isn't in a convenient location for us to have the kids working on the lessons and since our laptop is generally "hands off" for the kids it caused a few issues. Personally I think I would save up for the DVD version of the program and use it that way.
2. The age-appropriateness of the program for our family wasn't a good fit for the girls. I feel it is geared more toward preschoolers (I would say ages 3-5).
3. Slower internet connections will have difficulty using the online lessons...or if you have a finnicky computer (and the computer in question shall remain nameless).

The full KinderBach online program via their website is $95.88 if paid in full. If you choose to pay month-to-month it is $19.99 month.

If you would like to check out some of their lessons, the first two weeks are available as a free trial. The dvd version of the one-year program and activity books is $222.88. KinderBach has a 30 day money back guarantee. Because Kinderbach offers different choices in teaching piano in your home (online or dvd) you are able to find the best fit for your family.

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about this product.

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.
 

My Funky Camera {Review}

Not quite a year ago I bought myself a little something to ‘pretty up’ my camera. While I love my camera, the strap that came standard with the camera was {for lack of a better term} ‘blah’. Black and boring.'

Since the camera is with me quite a bit, I wanted something that would be durable, comfortable AND cute. All of which I found in the camera strap I purchased from My Funky Camera. 

About My Funky Camera

The name pretty much says it all! Gabi at My Funky Camera makes some of the most gorgeous, functional, and fun camera accessories for SLR cameras. Want to know a few more details?

All of the products from My Funky Camera are created by Gabi and feature high-quality fabrics and trim. The Neck Straps{$32} are all lined with a super soft plush backing, so that is comfortable to wear around your neck. They are also 26” in length and adjustable {you can also request longer straps up to 40”}.

I happen to own this lovely strap ~ Cherry Blossoms White & Green. I have gotten so many compliments {and questions} about this strap! The stitching is precise and the fabric itself is so beautiful!



One product that I am eyeing for a future purchase are the Wristlets or Hand Straps {$25}. These handy little straps attach onto your camera and allow you to just slip your hand through and hang on to your camera without having a strap in your way when taking pictures.

If you don’t have a camera that needs a neck strap or a wristlet, My Funky Camera also offers some thinner neck straps that can be used for smaller point and shoot cameras, as well as cell phones, video cameras, ID badges and more.

If you have someone that you know would love a strap, but don’t know what to pick for them, My Funky Camera also offers gift certificates for all of their products!

This Giveaway is now closed

My Funky Camera is  giving one of my readers their choice of a gorgeous camera strap!  There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: visit My Funky Camera and tell me the pattern of the strap that you would pick if you won.

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 4 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit My Funky Camera’s blog and leave me a comment telling me the name of one of the photography magazines that has featured My Funky Camera!
• Follow My Funky Camera on Twitter and leave a comment with your username.
• Twitter about this contest and let me know your twitter name so I can follow you too.

This giveaway will be open until Sunday, January 31st until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Tuesday, February 2nd. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!
 
 
Disclaimer: Thank you to My Funky Camera for providing the giveaway product. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

FactsFirst & Saxon Math {Review}

Trying to get back into the routine of school after a longer than planned break has been a little tough, especially with some subjects. I’ve mentioned more than once that math is the subject here that receives the most moans and groans. Even though I love it, a few of my kiddos brains just aren’t wired the same as mine {go figure}.

Laurianna really dislikes worksheets and it will take her all of eternity to work on some of the most simple {at least to me} problems.  We have figured out that she really needs instant feedback on what she is doing ~ or she won’t move onto the next problem. Working with three other kids doesn’t give me the time to always work 1:1 with her, so there are times when online games/quizzes can be a huge blessing to our homeschool day. Since our math facts are one area that we are planning to focus on {hard} this half of the year, we were happy to receive a trial period to use the online math program of factsfirst.

What is factsfirst?

factsfirst.com is an online math program that was created for Saxon Math, although it would work with any primary math program. It was developed to help children improve their basic math fact skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. As children work through the speed drills, quizzes and tests, they are rewarded with ‘arcade time’ where they can play after the completion of a unit.
Children first create a personalized avatar ~ our kids loved that you could put Crocs on their feet. :) Once the avatar is created, they move on to the units.



Children work through units that focus on mastering the basic facts by playing over 350 fun games.

The lessons consist of five basic segments; new facts, commutative property, practice, quiz, and scoring. New facts are gradually introduced to children as they work toward mastery. Facts are grouped in units with each lesson in a unit introducing two new facts. A child masters these facts before starting another unit.

 

Even though the arcade time is a ‘break’, kids are still working on their math skills while playing different games.



Parents can access an overview sheet to see how each child is doing on their various math facts. There is one sheet for each fact area {addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division}.

What We Liked

Our kids really enjoyed the factsfirst website and the time spent on it. The different games held their interest and Zachary {age 5} was excited because this was one game that he could play along with by doing simple addition facts.

I appreciate the fact that you can have four users per family on the account and that the parents have access to see the progress their kids are making. The progress charts can also be printed off to keep in your records, which is very handy.

The arcade time was also a big hit in our house. I had to laugh when our girls were excited about earning stuffed animals ~ and was thrilled that they weren’t more real ones for our house! :)

Find Out More

The FactsFirst online program is available through Saxon {$49.99}  and your purchase includes a one year subscription to the site for up to four users. If you would like to see a demo of the program, you can visit the main site to see it in action.

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about this product.

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.
 

Learning Resources Counting Bears

This giveaway is now closed ~ thanks so much!

I am always thrilled to find new learning games for our kids ~ ones that are fun, but still work on basic skills like counting, colors, or letters. When CSN agreed to be a part of my Subscriber Celebration I looked long and hard before choosing the Counting Bears from Learning Resource as the giveaway prize. They were just too cute!

Cookies Minus the Sugar...

Zachary has been eyeing these bears ever since they showed up at our house. He is a boy that loves to count and put patterns together, so when I pulled it out to use for school time, he plopped right now and helped me get the bears all set up.


The Counting Bears {$20.95} come in a ‘cookie jar’ ~ 40 bears total that look like chocolate and vanilla cookies. Each bear has red hearts on the stomach {anywhere from 1 to 10} and the arms of the bears are able to link to another bear. The bears also come with sequencing cards, matching cards and a spinner, along with four different game ideas.

The bears themselves are nice and thick ~ easy to grab onto and manipulate. The little hearts on their chests are 3 dimensional, so kids can feel how many hearts there are also ~ perfect for little fingers.



Suggested games to play with the Counting Bears are:

• Pair of Bears ~ a memory game to find bears with the same number of hearts
• Bear Match ~ match the bear to one of the cards in the deck
• Who’s Next? ~ make a number line from 1 to 10 by linking the bears
• Red Rover Bears ~ uses the spinner to help identify numbers and players sequence bears in numerical order

Other ideas:

• Patterning
• Sequencing ~ 1, 2, 3, ? {find the bear that comes next}
• Play a game of high/low ~ highest number of hearts wins

We played several different games, but Zachary had a lot of fun putting the bears in numerical order while also completing a pattern. This is a game that we are going to love having around, especially for Kaleb in the coming years!

About CSN Stores

 

Toys and Games Online, one of the CSN Stores,  has a large variety of learning toys available ~ I’d encourage you to look through their selection. The customer service that I experienced was wonderful and shipping was fast too {who doesn’t like that??}.

The Giveaway!!

CSN Stores is providing a jar of the Learning Resource Counting Bears for one of my readers.  There are several ways for you to enter this giveaway, but there is one mandatory first entry: look around Toys and Games Online and tell me what learning toy you would have picked.

If you would like to earn extra entries {you can earn 4 extra entries}, leave a comment for each of the following:

• If you are a subscriber to my blog, give yourself an extra entry! Thanks so much! If you don’t subscribe, hop on board and leave a comment.
• Visit any of  CSN’s 200+ online stores and leave a comment with something else that catches your eye ~ learning toy or not!
• Follow CSN stores on Twitter and leave a comment with your username.
• Twitter about this contest and include @jolantheerb in your tweet.

This giveaway will be open until Thursday, January 28th until 8pm and I will announce the winner by Saturday, January 30th. Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you ~ otherwise I will draw another winner. Note: US Residents only, please!  
 


Disclaimer: Thank you to CSN Stores for providing the giveaway product. This review is based on my own experiences and gives my honest opinion.

Preschool Corner ~ Winter Fun

Since the weather outside has still been a little chilly, we focused on some more winter fun. I didn’t take as many pictures this week, but hopefully you’ll get a good idea of what we did together. Quite a few of the activities that we did were put into a lapbook for Zachary {he wanted to make his own since the girls were working on one this week too}.

Don’t forget to check out the great preschool giveaway I have going on today too as part of the 1,500 Subscribers Celebration!

Art
 

We made some super-cute white-out paintings. The pictures turned out great and all of the kids were able to make several of their own. You can see full directions for the craft here.



In an incredible bout of stupidity, I left Kaleb alone with a bottle of white-out. This was the {blurry} result. I’m still trying to scrub it off the floor, so if you have any marvelous suggestions to get white-out off from wood flooring, I’d love to hear it. :)



Cooking ~ Penguin Food

Our kids love goldfish crackers and raisins, so this was a quick and easy snack to pull together. :)

You'll Need:

• Goldfish crackers {one bag}
• Pretzel goldfish crackers {one bag}
• Raisins {2 cups}

To Make:

Mix the three together and pretend you are penguins!

Fine Motor/Gross Motor

Buttons, Zippers, and Lacing ~ We pulled out all the winter clothing we could find with different fasteners and had fun zipping, unzipping, buttoning, etc… Practice, practice, practice!

 Skating to the Music ~ We put on some classical music, pushed back the chairs, and skated in time to the music. When the music stopped, we had to ‘freeze’ in place and then start again when the music started.

Timed Dressing ~ We set up an ‘obstacle course’ of sorts and Zachary had to run through and get dressed up in all of his winter gear and see h0w fast he was!

• run to the table to put on a sweater
• go under the table to put on his boots
• race to the bathroom and find his scarf
• run to the bedroom and put on his mittens
• back to the kitchen to find his jacket
• to the living room to put on his hat

 Math

Counting Bears ~ We had a lot of fun patterning and counting this week using a jar of Counting Bears from Learning Resources. Be sure to check out the giveaway today to win a set for yourself!

Scarf Size Sorting ~ We pulled out all of the scarves in our house, laid them out and then sorted them from shortest to longest.

Dot to Dot ~ Zachary did a dot to dot snowman that we printed off from ABC teach. This was one of the things that went into his snow lapbook.

Reading

We’re still using the Beehive Reader 1 from All About Spelling to work on Zachary’s reading, but also had fun reading some books from a box of Scholastic readers that we have ~ The Red Sled was the favorite one this week.

ABC Clothes Sorting ~ We also played this fun alphabet sorting game. We were going to make a clothesline and hang everything up in ABC order, but instead just laid them out on the floor.

Science

Seasonal Wear ~ We’ve been talking about the different seasons, so we pulled out a big bag of clothes that someone had given us for Zachary and sorted them by what season he would wear them in {this was a lovely way for me to also get a little work done in a sneaky way…shhhh!}.

Snowflake Creations ~ We printed off these pattern cards from Making Learning Fun and Zachary put together snowflakes following the pattern cards. This also gave us a chance to talk about how each snowflake is unique {just like each one of us!}

Other Resources

We also worked on these lapbook components for our snow/snowman lapbook using pieces from The Snowy Day and also Katy and the Big Snow, both from Homeschool Share.

Stories & Books We Used







Ready to Link Up?

Share what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the MckLinky below and be sure to link your post back here too! The updated guidelines can be found here if you need them.

White-Out Snow Craft

All of our kids had a great time working on this craft ~ especially Kaleb. Actually, Kaleb had way too much fun. By fun, I mean that Kaleb was painting his face with the white-out brush, painting the table, took a lick of white-out, and then dropped it on the floor.  Now I’m trying to figure out how to get white-out off my wood floor.

BUT the end result was much better than the actual process, so maybe MY misfortune can help you all find a better process. :)

The project is actually two layers ~ a transparency sheet lays over top of a picture that your child has colored. Then you add ‘snow’ to the picture by painting on the transparency layer.

 

What You’ll Need:

• a jar of white-out
• white paper
• clear tape
• colored pencils
• transparency sheets
• scissors or paper cutter

How to Make Your Snow Scene:

Our pictures were a half sheet of paper {5 1/2” x 8 1/2”}.

• Cut your sheet of paper and overhead transparency sheet in half so that they are the above size. You can use a full sheet if you want to also.
• Tape the transparency sheet to the top of the paper on one of the sides, so that you can open it like a book.
• Have your child color a scene/picture on the paper using colored pencils or crayons.
• Flip the transparency over top of the picture and let your child add snow to the picture scene.

Here is how Zachary’s picture looked with and without his snow.