So, this is getting old. I really need some way to motivate me to continue to blog. I want to be able to document our progress and experiences and it's just not happening. I knew I would have problems with this. I really do not think I am organized enough to keep up with the documentation needed for homeschooling. Ugh! But I will do my best. At least I have started journals with TJ and I've been dating the work he's been doing. And I've been taking pictures of experiments and field trips. So I am not totally lackng.
Anyway, knowing how unorganized I am, unofficially started schooling in the summer. I figured it would give me time and allow me to ease into schooling. And starting earlier would also give me extra days so that if I were lazy - as I expect to be - and skip days, getting a head start would take care of it. The Summer Olympics were this year. I convinced TJ to have an Olympic themed birthday party. More on that later. I also thought it was the perfect springboard for a unit study. TJ and LJ were exposed to various sports that they would have never known about until they were much older had it not been for the Olympics. That first day of events, TJ and LJ were "playing" volleyball in the house - to Daddy's dismay. lol We kept a tally chart of the Olympic Medals. It was an easy way to work on math skills. TJ was practicing his addition and subtraction skills. And it was a great way to introduce tally marks. I have yet to use it in a bar graph. I have also taken this opportunity to introduce countries from around the world. I borrowed numerous books about different countries and have been slowly reading them to TJ. In our Social Studies journal, he has a map of the country. TJ has also drawn the country's flag. TJ has also noted what animals and crops the country is known for. The countries we have visited so far are China, Russia and Germany. So many more to go!
So anyway, TJ turned 5 this year. While it is so much fun to plan, it is also hard to figure out a great theme for TJ's birthday parties. He keeps asking for these character based themes that I really do not want to do. TJ actually asked to do Cars or Hot Wheels again. Not again! Then he suggested Blue's Clues, Thomas... I was like, huh? No, how about Olympics? He knocked down the idea right way. Of course, TJ didn't know what the Olympics was. I let it go and approached him with the idea a few more times. Finally, it was getting down to the wire where I had to send out the invitations out already when I convinced him of the idea. I sold him on having "contests" of who is the fastest, who can throw the hardest, the farthest. I think TJ really liked the idea of that. So off I went to plan to my heart's content. lol I spent a lot of time researching online all sorts of different Olympic party ideas. I have scoured the internet in search of different invitation ideas. I have searched for menu ideas. I have looked for different events to have at the party. I sent out invites with patriotic note paper I found at Party Fair. On the invitation, we invited his friends to "Let's go for the Gold with Team Tyler!" I stated that the games will be held at Olympic Village aka our house. I included the cute phrases associated with the Olympics - opening ceremony, games will be held, olympic village, athlete registration. Funny thing was that a friend told me her husband saw the invite and thought "cool, there's a new playplace called Olympic Village in OB?" lol Another friend told me she thought the same thing until she saw the address. I also ordered goodies from my favorite supply place - Oriental Trading! I also try to have crafts at the parties. A great way to do this for the Olympics party was to incorporate the opening ceremonies. I wanted the kids to make flags and do the athlete march. I found these cardboard flags on Oriental Trading. Perfect! And I also found all sorts of patriotic themed items to give out as goodies. As decorations, I found little USA flags to line the backyard like we did for TJ's Cars party. I originally ordered international flags but they were sold out. :( To make up for that, I printed out flags from around the world. I also had Daddy and Uncle K help out. :) These flags were just taped on the fence along with the 5 mascots of the Olympics - Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni. There's so much more to write. I will post later.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Solar System
Alrighty, when I first started this blog, it was more for accountability on my part. I am not holding up my end of the bargain. Obviously. :( I have got to get my act together. Let me take care of today and then try to backtrack as much as I can.
Today was rather successful, I think. TJ and LJ did both did some coloring. TJ found the Juicy Juice picture that I've been saving and saving and saving. Finally, he's noticed it and decided to color the picture. Not a bad job. Since TJ was coloring, I thought I'd keep LJ occupied and offer him the paper bag puppets I had laying around. LJ decided to color the Hippo. TJ selected the Bear for when he was done with his Juicy Juice picture. Both the boys worked on their coloring for a little while. And while they were coloring, I played the Japanese CD I borrowed from the library. LJ recognized one of the songs as from the Wiggles. Too cute. They also recognized Brown Girl in the Ring from the Wiggles, too. The boys didn't complete their projects. It will be continued at a later time - maybe tomorrow or the day after. Then TJ and LJ got some exposure to some more foreign languages through Baby Einstein Language Nursery. ZJ even got in some learning time. =) When asked later on, TJ remember the Japanese word for Hello - Konichiwa.
While LJ and ZJ napped, I got some one on one time with TJ. TJ put together his solar system puzzle again. This time I was ready for him. I pulled out the two books I borrowed from the library, The Solar System and Earth, the Sun and the Moon. I read both the books and referred to the puzzle for reference as the pictures were much bigger and easier to see. It was a little confusing to me because I grew up learning that Pluto was one of the 9 planets. These books must have been writing a long time ago because they still referred to Pluto as one of the planets. I read the books as it was written, but had to interject that Pluto has been downgraded and is no longer a planet. Then I worked on the book, I Like Stars, with TJ. We did a picture walk and TJ was very excited to "read" this book. The first half of the book was very easy for TJ to read. The second half, less so. He got frustrated and when TJ gets frustrated, he shuts down and simply expects me to tell him the answer or word. It frustrates me that he would give up so easily. I know that he can read certain words if only he tried. Or at least read part of the word. I simply fed him the more difficult words that I knew he would definitely have trouble with and those that he could possible sound out part of or most of, I would make him try. He was very proud when he finished the book.
Tonight we observed the moon. It was a round and bright. I reminded TJ that it was a full moon. Hmmm.... I should have TJ draw a picture tomorrow. It was too late tonight.
Today was rather successful, I think. TJ and LJ did both did some coloring. TJ found the Juicy Juice picture that I've been saving and saving and saving. Finally, he's noticed it and decided to color the picture. Not a bad job. Since TJ was coloring, I thought I'd keep LJ occupied and offer him the paper bag puppets I had laying around. LJ decided to color the Hippo. TJ selected the Bear for when he was done with his Juicy Juice picture. Both the boys worked on their coloring for a little while. And while they were coloring, I played the Japanese CD I borrowed from the library. LJ recognized one of the songs as from the Wiggles. Too cute. They also recognized Brown Girl in the Ring from the Wiggles, too. The boys didn't complete their projects. It will be continued at a later time - maybe tomorrow or the day after. Then TJ and LJ got some exposure to some more foreign languages through Baby Einstein Language Nursery. ZJ even got in some learning time. =) When asked later on, TJ remember the Japanese word for Hello - Konichiwa.
While LJ and ZJ napped, I got some one on one time with TJ. TJ put together his solar system puzzle again. This time I was ready for him. I pulled out the two books I borrowed from the library, The Solar System and Earth, the Sun and the Moon. I read both the books and referred to the puzzle for reference as the pictures were much bigger and easier to see. It was a little confusing to me because I grew up learning that Pluto was one of the 9 planets. These books must have been writing a long time ago because they still referred to Pluto as one of the planets. I read the books as it was written, but had to interject that Pluto has been downgraded and is no longer a planet. Then I worked on the book, I Like Stars, with TJ. We did a picture walk and TJ was very excited to "read" this book. The first half of the book was very easy for TJ to read. The second half, less so. He got frustrated and when TJ gets frustrated, he shuts down and simply expects me to tell him the answer or word. It frustrates me that he would give up so easily. I know that he can read certain words if only he tried. Or at least read part of the word. I simply fed him the more difficult words that I knew he would definitely have trouble with and those that he could possible sound out part of or most of, I would make him try. He was very proud when he finished the book.
Tonight we observed the moon. It was a round and bright. I reminded TJ that it was a full moon. Hmmm.... I should have TJ draw a picture tomorrow. It was too late tonight.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Update
Oops! A much needed update. So much has been going on. Major upheaval. We were out of the house for 3 weeks! The boys are adjusting to the new baby. We've had to do a lot of behavioral modification. lol
After a major break, we are slowly easing back into things. A little bit at a time. TJ has been doing puzzles periodically. I am so impressed with how quickly he is able to put together puzzles now. I think it is going to be time for him to advance to more difficult puzzles. With more pieces. As I am still not ready for a formal schedule, I took another teachable moment when TJ did a Melissa & Doug Solar System puzzle. We counted the planets. TJ recognized the sun, the moon and the "planet Earth" as he calls it. There are 8 planets in the puzzle. Let me tell you, it's going to take some getting used - not having Pluto around anymore. Anyway, I introduced the words revolve, rotate, star (although I've mentioned this one before), meteor, and orbit. I told TJ about how the sun is very, very hot and how people cannot live on Mercury and Venus due to the heat. I also told TJ that the sun is a ball of fire. It must have sunk in with TJ b/c while in the car, whenever LJ said that he saw the sun, TJ kept repeating that the sun is a ball of fire. I also borrowed a couple of books on the solar system and planets from the library. I can't wait to see what kind of facts TJ is drawn to.
I've come to the realization that LJ does not really know his colors. I am a bit upset about it b/c I thought he did. At least know some of them, but apparently, he's been a pretty good guesser or saying the right color at the right time. But I resolve to work on it with him. I try to point out colors more and identify objects by their color more. Like when he gets dressed in the morning, reminding LJ and having LJ state the color of the clothing. And reinforcing it in one language mostly, as not to confuse him too much. I think it's been working. Today when playing with TJ with the bouncy balls, he correctly identified the color of a ball he was playing with. Woohoo.
But then b/c I must add confusion to everything, I really want to reinforce our second language, Chinese. I've ordered some Chinese VCDs online. I'm so excited that I found some!!! I tried looking at a couple of stores in Chinatown as suggested by another mom on the Asian American board on BBC, but to no avail. There was limited selection and they were not really that cheap. There might have been other stores that would have what I was looking for, but it was not really doable with two kids and a stroller. Anyway, I am terribly excited to have the VCDs. I got Monsters Inc, Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles and Baby Einstein Language Nursery. The boys have already watched Monsters Inc. I think they got a kick out of it. I know I did. I think we'll have to watch a bunch more times before it sinks in. I have to admit I am a bit disappointed with the Baby Einstein. I didn't see the whole thing, but what I did, it's exactly like the original version. What?!??! I just paid for another Baby Einstein, what I had already?!?? I don't know what I was thinking. Baby Einstein Language Nursery already has foreign languages. I couldn't have really thought that all of it would be translated into Chinese, could I? :(
This past weekend, we took two field trips. One to see the Staten Island Yankees. That was fun. It is a very nice ballpark. Not a bad seat in the house. :) I mentioned to Daddy that baseball games would be a wonderful tool to teach with. Let's see what he does with it. We also went to Pt Pleasant. We got to go to Jenkinson's Aquarium. The boys love the place! I think they could spend hours there. This time around, Daddy had to be the guide as I had to tend to the little man.
Well, finally today, I got around to doing a bit of followup for our trip to the aquarium. I had TJ write about our trip to the aquarium. With a little bit of prompting, TJ was reminded that we went to the aquarium. I gave him a sheet of construction paper and he wrote down where we went - I reminded him of my little story of how the letter Q is very shy and never goes anywhere without the letter u - and drew a picture. He wanted to continue, so I gave him another sheet of construction paper. I asked TJ what he saw. He said he saw a shark. He wrote that down and drew a picture. I have to admit, I was very impressed. His writing is more advanced than some of the boys and girls I had in my class in the beginning of the year. His picture was also very well drawn. On this sheet, I pointed out that sh makes the sh sound and how at the end of a sentence, there should be a period. I think TJ was really enjoying himself and still wanted to continue some more. He wanted to write that he saw a stingray. He really loves those stingrays! =) Again, impressive writing and drawing. I reminded him about the period. At which point, he looked back at the first sheet and TJ says that he forgot the period there! Oh, how could I forget. The sentence on the first sheet was "We went to the aquarium." When we got to the word 'the,' I was wondering how TJ was going to handle it. It's a word that he is beginning to recognize and read more regularly. He did know that the word began with the letter 't.' I prompted TJ by saying asking him how to spell 'the' again and telling him that he knows how to read the word the, so he should know how to write the word 'the.' At that point, I see his eyes look toward a book that is resting across the table. Even the book is upside down to him, I think he recognizes the word 'the' b/c afterwards, TJ writes the word 'the' correctly on his paper. TJ was done after this. I think b/c LJ was awake from his nap and TJ's concentration was broken. It was a nice spell - ha ha - while we had it. ZJ was even having a little bit of learning time with Baby Einstein. :)
TJ was so proud to show his work to Daddy. And he should be!
After a major break, we are slowly easing back into things. A little bit at a time. TJ has been doing puzzles periodically. I am so impressed with how quickly he is able to put together puzzles now. I think it is going to be time for him to advance to more difficult puzzles. With more pieces. As I am still not ready for a formal schedule, I took another teachable moment when TJ did a Melissa & Doug Solar System puzzle. We counted the planets. TJ recognized the sun, the moon and the "planet Earth" as he calls it. There are 8 planets in the puzzle. Let me tell you, it's going to take some getting used - not having Pluto around anymore. Anyway, I introduced the words revolve, rotate, star (although I've mentioned this one before), meteor, and orbit. I told TJ about how the sun is very, very hot and how people cannot live on Mercury and Venus due to the heat. I also told TJ that the sun is a ball of fire. It must have sunk in with TJ b/c while in the car, whenever LJ said that he saw the sun, TJ kept repeating that the sun is a ball of fire. I also borrowed a couple of books on the solar system and planets from the library. I can't wait to see what kind of facts TJ is drawn to.
I've come to the realization that LJ does not really know his colors. I am a bit upset about it b/c I thought he did. At least know some of them, but apparently, he's been a pretty good guesser or saying the right color at the right time. But I resolve to work on it with him. I try to point out colors more and identify objects by their color more. Like when he gets dressed in the morning, reminding LJ and having LJ state the color of the clothing. And reinforcing it in one language mostly, as not to confuse him too much. I think it's been working. Today when playing with TJ with the bouncy balls, he correctly identified the color of a ball he was playing with. Woohoo.
But then b/c I must add confusion to everything, I really want to reinforce our second language, Chinese. I've ordered some Chinese VCDs online. I'm so excited that I found some!!! I tried looking at a couple of stores in Chinatown as suggested by another mom on the Asian American board on BBC, but to no avail. There was limited selection and they were not really that cheap. There might have been other stores that would have what I was looking for, but it was not really doable with two kids and a stroller. Anyway, I am terribly excited to have the VCDs. I got Monsters Inc, Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles and Baby Einstein Language Nursery. The boys have already watched Monsters Inc. I think they got a kick out of it. I know I did. I think we'll have to watch a bunch more times before it sinks in. I have to admit I am a bit disappointed with the Baby Einstein. I didn't see the whole thing, but what I did, it's exactly like the original version. What?!??! I just paid for another Baby Einstein, what I had already?!?? I don't know what I was thinking. Baby Einstein Language Nursery already has foreign languages. I couldn't have really thought that all of it would be translated into Chinese, could I? :(
This past weekend, we took two field trips. One to see the Staten Island Yankees. That was fun. It is a very nice ballpark. Not a bad seat in the house. :) I mentioned to Daddy that baseball games would be a wonderful tool to teach with. Let's see what he does with it. We also went to Pt Pleasant. We got to go to Jenkinson's Aquarium. The boys love the place! I think they could spend hours there. This time around, Daddy had to be the guide as I had to tend to the little man.
Well, finally today, I got around to doing a bit of followup for our trip to the aquarium. I had TJ write about our trip to the aquarium. With a little bit of prompting, TJ was reminded that we went to the aquarium. I gave him a sheet of construction paper and he wrote down where we went - I reminded him of my little story of how the letter Q is very shy and never goes anywhere without the letter u - and drew a picture. He wanted to continue, so I gave him another sheet of construction paper. I asked TJ what he saw. He said he saw a shark. He wrote that down and drew a picture. I have to admit, I was very impressed. His writing is more advanced than some of the boys and girls I had in my class in the beginning of the year. His picture was also very well drawn. On this sheet, I pointed out that sh makes the sh sound and how at the end of a sentence, there should be a period. I think TJ was really enjoying himself and still wanted to continue some more. He wanted to write that he saw a stingray. He really loves those stingrays! =) Again, impressive writing and drawing. I reminded him about the period. At which point, he looked back at the first sheet and TJ says that he forgot the period there! Oh, how could I forget. The sentence on the first sheet was "We went to the aquarium." When we got to the word 'the,' I was wondering how TJ was going to handle it. It's a word that he is beginning to recognize and read more regularly. He did know that the word began with the letter 't.' I prompted TJ by saying asking him how to spell 'the' again and telling him that he knows how to read the word the, so he should know how to write the word 'the.' At that point, I see his eyes look toward a book that is resting across the table. Even the book is upside down to him, I think he recognizes the word 'the' b/c afterwards, TJ writes the word 'the' correctly on his paper. TJ was done after this. I think b/c LJ was awake from his nap and TJ's concentration was broken. It was a nice spell - ha ha - while we had it. ZJ was even having a little bit of learning time with Baby Einstein. :)
TJ was so proud to show his work to Daddy. And he should be!
Friday, March 21, 2008
WOW
I am sooooo proud of TJ! He is reading! Really reading!! Woohoo!! So some years back, I bought Bob books and another set of beginning readers for the kids in my class. We weren't supplied with much leveled books back then. Anyway, I wasn't too crazy about the Bob books. I thought they were too "difficult" to be beginner books. I wanted even simpler books with maybe only 3-4 words per page. So they were set aside. When TJ started recognizing his letters and sounds, I took another look the Bob books and still didn't like them. I thought they were way too hard for TJ as a true beginning reader. I didn't want to frustrate him before he actually got started. He did "read" the other set I bought. It was a repetitive book that was conducive to figuring out words. For example the sentence would usually be the same and only one word would be different, like a color. I like white ice cream. I like green ice cream. So on and so forth. TJ wouldn't really be reading reading but he thought he was and it encouraged using picture clues - pre-reading skills.
Anyway, the Bob books have been put on the shelf for ages. I keep reading about moms raving about Bob books and I just think, "oh, they are not so great." Well, I don't know what possessed me to pull out the Bob books last night. I knew I was wondering again what was so great about these books that mom keep raving about and recommending them. But for whatever reason I did, I noticed something. I noticed that the books were numbered. Huh? I never noticed that before. Then it hit me. Perhaps the books I first looked at were at the end of the series. There's a bunch of books in the Bob books box. Perhaps that's why the books seemed so difficult to me and so non-beginner like. Duh! I found Book 1 - Mat. I quickly browsed through the book and thought that TJ might be able to read the book. So I called TJ over to read - in replacement of me doing his bedtime reading. TJ read the whole book without too much hesitation. In fact, he was able to read it fluently enough that he understood that the story was funny. That was the best part! Wow, just wow!!! I was sooo proud of TJ.
This morning, TJ pulled out the Bob books so he could read again. TJ had such a positive experience that he wanted to repeat it!! Woohoo!! We didn't really get to it b/c of a phone call and then some timeouts that were needed. TJ kind of lost interest after that. We read again later after dinner. TJ read books 1 - 3 this time. Each book built upon the previous and was a little longer each time around. Book 2 - Sam was relatively easy. For some reason, TJ was having trouble with the word 'a.' He kept thinking it was the letter p. TJ was also having a little bit of trouble with his b/d. We will have to work on that. Book 3 - Dot did leave TJ a little frustrated. He wanted to stop. But mean mommy that I am, didn't let him. I supposed maybe I could have, but his frustration was at something silly. Something I thought he should have gotten. I know when he finished the book, he was very happy about it. So I'm glad I pushed through this time. I won't always.
I browsed the rest of the Bob books in the box and I think that TJ will be able to read them all without too much problems. Wow! I just keep thinking Wow! TJ reading already. Really reading. I am not pushing him. If I was, we would have done this ages ago. So obviously I'm not. I am just so proud of TJ!! Woohoo! My little reader at age 4!!
Anyway, the Bob books have been put on the shelf for ages. I keep reading about moms raving about Bob books and I just think, "oh, they are not so great." Well, I don't know what possessed me to pull out the Bob books last night. I knew I was wondering again what was so great about these books that mom keep raving about and recommending them. But for whatever reason I did, I noticed something. I noticed that the books were numbered. Huh? I never noticed that before. Then it hit me. Perhaps the books I first looked at were at the end of the series. There's a bunch of books in the Bob books box. Perhaps that's why the books seemed so difficult to me and so non-beginner like. Duh! I found Book 1 - Mat. I quickly browsed through the book and thought that TJ might be able to read the book. So I called TJ over to read - in replacement of me doing his bedtime reading. TJ read the whole book without too much hesitation. In fact, he was able to read it fluently enough that he understood that the story was funny. That was the best part! Wow, just wow!!! I was sooo proud of TJ.
This morning, TJ pulled out the Bob books so he could read again. TJ had such a positive experience that he wanted to repeat it!! Woohoo!! We didn't really get to it b/c of a phone call and then some timeouts that were needed. TJ kind of lost interest after that. We read again later after dinner. TJ read books 1 - 3 this time. Each book built upon the previous and was a little longer each time around. Book 2 - Sam was relatively easy. For some reason, TJ was having trouble with the word 'a.' He kept thinking it was the letter p. TJ was also having a little bit of trouble with his b/d. We will have to work on that. Book 3 - Dot did leave TJ a little frustrated. He wanted to stop. But mean mommy that I am, didn't let him. I supposed maybe I could have, but his frustration was at something silly. Something I thought he should have gotten. I know when he finished the book, he was very happy about it. So I'm glad I pushed through this time. I won't always.
I browsed the rest of the Bob books in the box and I think that TJ will be able to read them all without too much problems. Wow! I just keep thinking Wow! TJ reading already. Really reading. I am not pushing him. If I was, we would have done this ages ago. So obviously I'm not. I am just so proud of TJ!! Woohoo! My little reader at age 4!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Movie night
Today was more or less a free play day - like many of our days. lol The boys were playing so wonderfully. TJ and LJ were watching fishies swimming in a tank (upside down laundry basket.) I heard TJ talking to LJ in an endless monologue about the fish. Then they both spent time "fixing" things with the HD tool set. That was really cute and creative.
TJ got to watch Stuart Little 2 after dinner last night. He seemed mesmerized by the movie. lol I could see that he recognized characters from the book. TJ even commented on how Snowbell the cat is nice in the movie. I assume that he meant he realized that Snowbell was portrayed differently in the book. I will have to question him further on this.
We saw Stuart Little 2 again today. Today, LJ was more into it. He wasn't really watching yesterday. LJ actually asked to see it.
We had movie night tonight and saw Meet the Robinsons while having dinner. Well, TJ and LJ needed to be constantly reminded to eat. They were just so into the movie. I had wanted to bring the boys to see this movie but something always came up and we never made it to the movie theater. I really enjoyed the Meet the Robinsons. The storyline was a little bit unexpected. I didn't realize that I would have to explain an orphanage to TJ. TJ seemed a little bothered by it but didn't question it because he was too into the movie.
I got a glimpse of what it would be like to take LJ to the movies. Not that I wasn't aware of what might happen. LJ kept asking "Who that?," "What that?," "What happened!??!" repeatedly. I can just imagine how it would be at the a movie theater.
TJ got to watch Stuart Little 2 after dinner last night. He seemed mesmerized by the movie. lol I could see that he recognized characters from the book. TJ even commented on how Snowbell the cat is nice in the movie. I assume that he meant he realized that Snowbell was portrayed differently in the book. I will have to question him further on this.
We saw Stuart Little 2 again today. Today, LJ was more into it. He wasn't really watching yesterday. LJ actually asked to see it.
We had movie night tonight and saw Meet the Robinsons while having dinner. Well, TJ and LJ needed to be constantly reminded to eat. They were just so into the movie. I had wanted to bring the boys to see this movie but something always came up and we never made it to the movie theater. I really enjoyed the Meet the Robinsons. The storyline was a little bit unexpected. I didn't realize that I would have to explain an orphanage to TJ. TJ seemed a little bothered by it but didn't question it because he was too into the movie.
I got a glimpse of what it would be like to take LJ to the movies. Not that I wasn't aware of what might happen. LJ kept asking "Who that?," "What that?," "What happened!??!" repeatedly. I can just imagine how it would be at the a movie theater.
Monday, March 3, 2008
LJ's Mar Reading Log
Bears on Wheels
Cat in the Hat
Barney
Go to Bed, Fred!
Babies
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
Bob the Builder - Let's Count
Cat in the Hat
Barney
Go to Bed, Fred!
Babies
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
Bob the Builder - Let's Count
Happy Birthday, Dr Seuss!
Or should I say Happy Belated Birthday! I did manage to dig up the Dr Seuss site from about.com. It led me to Seussville and I think Seuss University which were cute. I thought that in honor of Dr Seuss' birthday, TJ would want to hear Dr Seuss stories. But TJ said no thank you. He did make it up today. We read Cat in the Hat and Bears on Wheels. Bears on Wheels is not technically a Dr Seuss book but it did come from the Dr Seuss series. So it should count!!
Today was the first day of classes for TJ and LJ. TJ had his first day of preschool. He's been pretty excited about it and has been asking for days whether or not it was Monday. So Monday is finally here! On the way to preschool, I reminded TJ to listen to his teachers, to share, to play nicely and to make friends by introducing himself. Also most importantly, to let the teachers know if he needed the bathroom!! LJ did not want to leave the classroom. He was ready to settle in. LJ had trouble understanding that the class was just for TJ. I had to work hard to convince him to get back into the car so that we could go to the library and then go to our own class - Crafty Pairs.
We hit the library and got a couple of DVDs, Stuart Little 2 and Meet the Robinsons. I was looking for Stuart Little and 101 Dalmatians as a follow up for the books we have just read. Well, with 101 Dalmatians we should finish tonight, if TJ still wants to read the story. I follow his lead as to what story he wants to read. Sometimes he wants to continue with the book and sometimes, he has something else in mind. Anyway, the library didn't have Stuart Little on the shelf, but they did have Stuart Little 2 and Stuart Little 3. I borrowed Stuart Little 2 because it was about meeting Margolo which is in the book, Stuart Little. I wonder what Stuart Little part 1 is about. Perhaps, the pond scene? And I could not find 101 Dalmatians. I told TJ that and he said he didn't want to see it. Huh?!?? I thought he would. I will continue to look for it anyway. And then I couldn't help myself when I saw Meet the Robinsons. I had really wanted to take the boys to see this movie. It looked like a cute movie. I think I borrowed it more for me than them! lol
When we got to the Crafty Pairs class, late due to a minor mishap outside of the library, to our pleasant surprise, A and his mommy were in the class. We hadn't seen them in ages. It was nice to catch up a little while working with the boys. Today's arts and crafts theme was "March goes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Therefore, we made a lion craft and a lamb craft. Lots of work on Mommy's part! We painted a paper plate yellow with brown trim. Then the we colored pre-printed facial features for the lion. Then we went to work on the lamb while the paint for the lion dried. We glued cotton balls on another paper plate. Then we colored pre-printed facial features for the lamb. We glued on the eyes, nose, mouth and ears onto the cotton ball covered paper plate. Voila! A lamb! Then we glued on the eyes, nose, mouth and ears on the yellow and brown painted paper plate and we had a lion! Wow, that took 45 minutes!! Okay, more like 30-35 minutes since we showed up late and then had to wait for everyone to settle down. See what happens when there are so many kids in the class and the teacher has explain and then pass out supplies. Much of the time is spent waiting for everyone to show up, pay attention, get their supplies, etc. Working one on one or even small group - although this really wasn't that big, maybe ten children, but ten 2 year olds! - is so much more endearing and time efficient than working with a whole class. Honestly, I was starting to lose LJ at the end. He was done. 45 minutes was an awful long time to hold his attention on one thing. He was ready to leave at the end but I wanted to help clean up and paused to chat with two other moms about the pros and cons of double strollers.
When we went to pick up TJ from preschool, LJ was raring to go get his big brother. LJ was excited to go find TJ, although TJ had leaped from his seat and came to us. I had TJ go back to his seat, especially since he left his papers and snack box. LJ wanted to sit down at the tables and not leave! He was so upset we had to leave. The only way I got him out was to tell him we were going to the park. TJ wanted to go because he thought a new friend he had made in class was going. But since it was such a beautiful day, I thought there would be no harm in letting them play for a little bit. TJ was showing signs of no fear as he walked around the playground structure. Big difference from when I first starting bringing him to the park. LJ, on the other hand, was walking gingerly. He is usually my little daredevil, although he is afraid of going downstairs and elevators. But it may have also been the little fall he had outside the library. It could be his new shoes. They are a half a size big. He fell down quite a bit today. I need to get him proper sized shoes. We also met up with one of the moms from LJ's Crafty Pairs class, one who was asking about the double stroller. She's expecting in May also. I overheard her telling the other mom.
Oh, and I wanted to add that LJ watched Baby Einstein: Language Nursery and Baby Bach after he woke up from nap. He actually asks to watch the DVDs. I'm glad LJ enjoys the DVDs. I was also pleased to see that the library offered a decent variety of Baby Einstein DVDs.
Today was the first day of classes for TJ and LJ. TJ had his first day of preschool. He's been pretty excited about it and has been asking for days whether or not it was Monday. So Monday is finally here! On the way to preschool, I reminded TJ to listen to his teachers, to share, to play nicely and to make friends by introducing himself. Also most importantly, to let the teachers know if he needed the bathroom!! LJ did not want to leave the classroom. He was ready to settle in. LJ had trouble understanding that the class was just for TJ. I had to work hard to convince him to get back into the car so that we could go to the library and then go to our own class - Crafty Pairs.
We hit the library and got a couple of DVDs, Stuart Little 2 and Meet the Robinsons. I was looking for Stuart Little and 101 Dalmatians as a follow up for the books we have just read. Well, with 101 Dalmatians we should finish tonight, if TJ still wants to read the story. I follow his lead as to what story he wants to read. Sometimes he wants to continue with the book and sometimes, he has something else in mind. Anyway, the library didn't have Stuart Little on the shelf, but they did have Stuart Little 2 and Stuart Little 3. I borrowed Stuart Little 2 because it was about meeting Margolo which is in the book, Stuart Little. I wonder what Stuart Little part 1 is about. Perhaps, the pond scene? And I could not find 101 Dalmatians. I told TJ that and he said he didn't want to see it. Huh?!?? I thought he would. I will continue to look for it anyway. And then I couldn't help myself when I saw Meet the Robinsons. I had really wanted to take the boys to see this movie. It looked like a cute movie. I think I borrowed it more for me than them! lol
When we got to the Crafty Pairs class, late due to a minor mishap outside of the library, to our pleasant surprise, A and his mommy were in the class. We hadn't seen them in ages. It was nice to catch up a little while working with the boys. Today's arts and crafts theme was "March goes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Therefore, we made a lion craft and a lamb craft. Lots of work on Mommy's part! We painted a paper plate yellow with brown trim. Then the we colored pre-printed facial features for the lion. Then we went to work on the lamb while the paint for the lion dried. We glued cotton balls on another paper plate. Then we colored pre-printed facial features for the lamb. We glued on the eyes, nose, mouth and ears onto the cotton ball covered paper plate. Voila! A lamb! Then we glued on the eyes, nose, mouth and ears on the yellow and brown painted paper plate and we had a lion! Wow, that took 45 minutes!! Okay, more like 30-35 minutes since we showed up late and then had to wait for everyone to settle down. See what happens when there are so many kids in the class and the teacher has explain and then pass out supplies. Much of the time is spent waiting for everyone to show up, pay attention, get their supplies, etc. Working one on one or even small group - although this really wasn't that big, maybe ten children, but ten 2 year olds! - is so much more endearing and time efficient than working with a whole class. Honestly, I was starting to lose LJ at the end. He was done. 45 minutes was an awful long time to hold his attention on one thing. He was ready to leave at the end but I wanted to help clean up and paused to chat with two other moms about the pros and cons of double strollers.
When we went to pick up TJ from preschool, LJ was raring to go get his big brother. LJ was excited to go find TJ, although TJ had leaped from his seat and came to us. I had TJ go back to his seat, especially since he left his papers and snack box. LJ wanted to sit down at the tables and not leave! He was so upset we had to leave. The only way I got him out was to tell him we were going to the park. TJ wanted to go because he thought a new friend he had made in class was going. But since it was such a beautiful day, I thought there would be no harm in letting them play for a little bit. TJ was showing signs of no fear as he walked around the playground structure. Big difference from when I first starting bringing him to the park. LJ, on the other hand, was walking gingerly. He is usually my little daredevil, although he is afraid of going downstairs and elevators. But it may have also been the little fall he had outside the library. It could be his new shoes. They are a half a size big. He fell down quite a bit today. I need to get him proper sized shoes. We also met up with one of the moms from LJ's Crafty Pairs class, one who was asking about the double stroller. She's expecting in May also. I overheard her telling the other mom.
Oh, and I wanted to add that LJ watched Baby Einstein: Language Nursery and Baby Bach after he woke up from nap. He actually asks to watch the DVDs. I'm glad LJ enjoys the DVDs. I was also pleased to see that the library offered a decent variety of Baby Einstein DVDs.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Websites
See I am so not good at this blogging stuff. I keep leaving stuff out. And not blogging much. So time to play catch up.
Starfall.com. What can I say? It is such a neat site. TJ loves going over the letters and sounds and playing the games. That's what he thinks he's doing and in reality he is reinforcing letter sounds. Neat, huh? He spent almost 2 hours on starfall.com the other day. Oops! I think I was cooking and didn't realize that so much time had passed. But in that time period, he had gone over calendar concepts and reviewed the entire alphabet with all sorts of activities. I think it was time well spent. But now he hasn't played in a while. I think he was starfalled out. lol But I don't really want him into computers and games too much. He has plenty of time for that. There are other things to do. That's why I want to provide him with a wide variety of activities that touch upon different aspects of learning - with the computer, video games (I will get to that), worksheets, books, arts and crafts, etc.
At my parents' place last weekend, TJ was on the PBS kids website. Another very nice website. I think TJ is getting pretty good at getting around that site and is able to access the activities for each other shows that he was interested in pretty well. I was able to leave him alone for the most part while I was packing up. I know he played the matching game with Clifford. That one I saw him play while at home. He also did a find and seek activity with Dragon Tales, a letter game with Super Why and this really noisy one with Teletubbies. I have no idea the benefit of the Teletubbies game. I will have to look into that one. He may have played others, too. I think he spent the most time on the Dragon Tales game. It provided a picture list of items and TJ had to find them on the page to create a recipe. I explained to him that this was how I made things in the kitchen. I have recipe and I have to find the items and put them together to make whatever it is I want to make. TJ really liked the idea of this. He was having fun guessing what the list of items was going to make.
Tomorrow is Dr Seuss' birthday. In honor of this momentous day, Lakeshore was holding a Dr Seuss celebration. We managed to make it. Almost didn't after last night's snow. But by morning all signs of snow and rain were gone. The boys spent over an hour doing arts and crafts in honor of Dr Seuss. TJ and LJ made Dr Seuss hats (Cat in the Hat.) They also did dot-to-dot art with various pictures. They also made and decorated potted plants. And the boys also fished in the "fishing pond" (One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.) I have to figure out what books the other crafts related to. And of course, I had to pick up some Dot to Dot markers and a giant thumbprint stamp pad. I also picked up a few more leveled reading books for TJ.
Right now, TJ is playing with his VSmile. He is playing with the Cars cartridge. I think this is only the 2nd or 3rd time TJ has played with the VSmile since he got it for Christmas. I like how it's not like the video games of old - say, Ninetendo, Atari, which had no education value whatsoever. Yes, I'm aging myself. VSmile seems to be a different way of making learning fun. I would not have TJ play this every day or even every other day (so far it seems like only once a month! lol), but consider this a different form of reinforcement of skills. What's neat about it is that he doesn't even realize that he's learning.
Oh, and I've registered TJ for that Pizza Hut reading thing. I forget what it's called. But it's the first "official" thing I have done towards identifying TJ as a homeschooled kindergartener. Woohoo! The more people I tell about TJ being homeschool and the more steps I take towards identifying TJ as a homeschooler, the more real it will become!
That said, on Monday, TJ will start the township "preschool" program. I use the word "preschool" lightly. It's from 9:15 to 11:30am on Mondays and Fridays for 4 weeks. I consider it more a drop off playgroup. They do arts and crafts, play and have snack. And maybe a couple of worksheets which are coloring a page with a letter on it. If TJ is okay with it I will sign him up for the second session as well, but that's all they offer for the Spring. But the only reason for doing this is to have one on one time with LJ. LJ and I will have an arts and crafts mommy and me class on Mondays while TJ is in preschool. Our township is pretty strict in not allowing siblings when you're part of a class. This really limits us because what am I going to do with one child while the other is in a class?? Are they trying to push for one child families!?? We'll see how long we are going to be here. Maybe next spring, if we still live here, I will put both TJ and LJ into the preschool program, so that the baby will finally have some alone time with me! Poor baby!
Starfall.com. What can I say? It is such a neat site. TJ loves going over the letters and sounds and playing the games. That's what he thinks he's doing and in reality he is reinforcing letter sounds. Neat, huh? He spent almost 2 hours on starfall.com the other day. Oops! I think I was cooking and didn't realize that so much time had passed. But in that time period, he had gone over calendar concepts and reviewed the entire alphabet with all sorts of activities. I think it was time well spent. But now he hasn't played in a while. I think he was starfalled out. lol But I don't really want him into computers and games too much. He has plenty of time for that. There are other things to do. That's why I want to provide him with a wide variety of activities that touch upon different aspects of learning - with the computer, video games (I will get to that), worksheets, books, arts and crafts, etc.
At my parents' place last weekend, TJ was on the PBS kids website. Another very nice website. I think TJ is getting pretty good at getting around that site and is able to access the activities for each other shows that he was interested in pretty well. I was able to leave him alone for the most part while I was packing up. I know he played the matching game with Clifford. That one I saw him play while at home. He also did a find and seek activity with Dragon Tales, a letter game with Super Why and this really noisy one with Teletubbies. I have no idea the benefit of the Teletubbies game. I will have to look into that one. He may have played others, too. I think he spent the most time on the Dragon Tales game. It provided a picture list of items and TJ had to find them on the page to create a recipe. I explained to him that this was how I made things in the kitchen. I have recipe and I have to find the items and put them together to make whatever it is I want to make. TJ really liked the idea of this. He was having fun guessing what the list of items was going to make.
Tomorrow is Dr Seuss' birthday. In honor of this momentous day, Lakeshore was holding a Dr Seuss celebration. We managed to make it. Almost didn't after last night's snow. But by morning all signs of snow and rain were gone. The boys spent over an hour doing arts and crafts in honor of Dr Seuss. TJ and LJ made Dr Seuss hats (Cat in the Hat.) They also did dot-to-dot art with various pictures. They also made and decorated potted plants. And the boys also fished in the "fishing pond" (One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.) I have to figure out what books the other crafts related to. And of course, I had to pick up some Dot to Dot markers and a giant thumbprint stamp pad. I also picked up a few more leveled reading books for TJ.
Right now, TJ is playing with his VSmile. He is playing with the Cars cartridge. I think this is only the 2nd or 3rd time TJ has played with the VSmile since he got it for Christmas. I like how it's not like the video games of old - say, Ninetendo, Atari, which had no education value whatsoever. Yes, I'm aging myself. VSmile seems to be a different way of making learning fun. I would not have TJ play this every day or even every other day (so far it seems like only once a month! lol), but consider this a different form of reinforcement of skills. What's neat about it is that he doesn't even realize that he's learning.
Oh, and I've registered TJ for that Pizza Hut reading thing. I forget what it's called. But it's the first "official" thing I have done towards identifying TJ as a homeschooled kindergartener. Woohoo! The more people I tell about TJ being homeschool and the more steps I take towards identifying TJ as a homeschooler, the more real it will become!
That said, on Monday, TJ will start the township "preschool" program. I use the word "preschool" lightly. It's from 9:15 to 11:30am on Mondays and Fridays for 4 weeks. I consider it more a drop off playgroup. They do arts and crafts, play and have snack. And maybe a couple of worksheets which are coloring a page with a letter on it. If TJ is okay with it I will sign him up for the second session as well, but that's all they offer for the Spring. But the only reason for doing this is to have one on one time with LJ. LJ and I will have an arts and crafts mommy and me class on Mondays while TJ is in preschool. Our township is pretty strict in not allowing siblings when you're part of a class. This really limits us because what am I going to do with one child while the other is in a class?? Are they trying to push for one child families!?? We'll see how long we are going to be here. Maybe next spring, if we still live here, I will put both TJ and LJ into the preschool program, so that the baby will finally have some alone time with me! Poor baby!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Worksheets!
Okay, so it finally really snowed on Friday but we couldn't go out and enjoy. Lucas had a yucky cold and then we also had to head out to my parents for the weekend. Too bad because apparently it was great snowman making material. And because I had so much to prepare for, I couldn't read the 'snow' books I've been saving. :( And by Monday, actually even Sunday night, the snow was almost gone.
Anyway we've been on a worksheet kick. TJ loves them. He breezes through them. I can't believe how much we're covering. Well, actually I can, but based on my experience in school, it can foooooorever to do one or two pages. You know, waiting for everyone to get a worksheet and their pencil or crayons out. Or finding the page in the workbook. And for everyone to pay attention so that I can explain the instructions. It can take at least 15 to 20 minutes to do one page, sometimes longer. I think TJ took longer to write his name - great practice - than to do the actual work page.
Yes, I know, worksheets. Not the best thing in the world. But TJ really, really likes doing them. He keeps asking for more. That first day, he did 10 worksheets. He only stopped because I said he should color them. For some odd reason, he does NOT want to color anymore. But one good thing about the worksheets, it gives TJ great practice for writing his name without simply practicing his name. The worksheets give him a purpose to write his name. Not that I expected otherwise, but TJ is doing so well with the worksheets. Things/concepts we have covered are: herbivores, carnivores, bigger/smaller, same/different, left/right, colors, counting and writing numbers 1-4, shapes, and more. And the next day, he did 6 worksheets because I asked him to practice numbers on his own while I tended to LJ but he didn't want to. He wanted to do worksheets instead and since I wasn't letting him, he was done. lol
One of days, I put on a Baby Einstein dvd for LJ to watch while I was working with TJ. LJ chose BabyEinstein: Language Nursery. LJ kind of went back and forth with wanting to work with TJ and wanting to watch Baby Einstein. But I was pleasantly surprised by LJ. There was one part of the DVD, where numbers were said. LJ started following and went ahead to count up to eleven all by himself! I knew he could count to eight - on most days but wasn't aware that he could count to eleven. I was so proud of him!
LJ also likes to pull out Hi Ho Cherry-O to play. He doesn't quite know play the game but likes to pour the cherries from one bucket to another. He's quite cute about it. It's good practice for his hand eye coordination.
Today LJ pulled out Twister. We're practicing our colors with LJ. And reinforcing left and right with TJ. I think the boys had fun.
Anyway we've been on a worksheet kick. TJ loves them. He breezes through them. I can't believe how much we're covering. Well, actually I can, but based on my experience in school, it can foooooorever to do one or two pages. You know, waiting for everyone to get a worksheet and their pencil or crayons out. Or finding the page in the workbook. And for everyone to pay attention so that I can explain the instructions. It can take at least 15 to 20 minutes to do one page, sometimes longer. I think TJ took longer to write his name - great practice - than to do the actual work page.
Yes, I know, worksheets. Not the best thing in the world. But TJ really, really likes doing them. He keeps asking for more. That first day, he did 10 worksheets. He only stopped because I said he should color them. For some odd reason, he does NOT want to color anymore. But one good thing about the worksheets, it gives TJ great practice for writing his name without simply practicing his name. The worksheets give him a purpose to write his name. Not that I expected otherwise, but TJ is doing so well with the worksheets. Things/concepts we have covered are: herbivores, carnivores, bigger/smaller, same/different, left/right, colors, counting and writing numbers 1-4, shapes, and more. And the next day, he did 6 worksheets because I asked him to practice numbers on his own while I tended to LJ but he didn't want to. He wanted to do worksheets instead and since I wasn't letting him, he was done. lol
One of days, I put on a Baby Einstein dvd for LJ to watch while I was working with TJ. LJ chose BabyEinstein: Language Nursery. LJ kind of went back and forth with wanting to work with TJ and wanting to watch Baby Einstein. But I was pleasantly surprised by LJ. There was one part of the DVD, where numbers were said. LJ started following and went ahead to count up to eleven all by himself! I knew he could count to eight - on most days but wasn't aware that he could count to eleven. I was so proud of him!
LJ also likes to pull out Hi Ho Cherry-O to play. He doesn't quite know play the game but likes to pour the cherries from one bucket to another. He's quite cute about it. It's good practice for his hand eye coordination.
Today LJ pulled out Twister. We're practicing our colors with LJ. And reinforcing left and right with TJ. I think the boys had fun.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Getting our fill of Science
What a week! We finally got snow! The boys were so excited! TJ wanted to run out and make a snowman. I hated to have to disappoint him and let him know there wasn't quite enough snow. Plus, the temperature went up and despite having all the snow (at least a few inches), it was quickly turning to slush due to the rain. I will still try to read Dream Snow by Eric Carle and The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, despite being snow-less.
Well, I finally got around to reading the spider fact books to TJ. I read Spiders by Gail Gibbons. Sometimes you wonder how much they really retain. Well, I've got an inkling. I read Spiders to TJ Sunday night before Daddy got home. TJ asked me to read it again on Monday but I was in the middle of something so I told him to "read" it on his own first. LJ was crying for a "tory!" when he saw TJ holding books, so I told him TJ could read to him. And TJ was! Okay, not really, but he was relaying facts that I had read to him the night before. He remembered different spider names and web names, and was telling LJ all about it. Including imitating what I was doing when I was reading to him. There were facts about different spiders and how they catch their prey. So I would grab TJ to show him how the spiders grabbed the insects. TJ got a kick out of it. And TJ was doing the same thing to LJ. Too cute!
We did arts and crafts yesterday. I really wanted to do thumbprint art with the boys but for the life of me, I could not find the giant inkpad I bought. I could have sworn that I bought one from Lakeshore, but it is nowhere to be found. So I had to improvise with washable markers. Daddy loved that. lol LJ and I worked on his thank you cards. (finally!) Then they decorated hearts cutouts with thumbprints. I am really proud of TJ. He isn't afraid to get dirty like he used to. I also showed him how you can use the thumbprints as a springboard and turn them into other things like butterflies or caterpillars or whatever captures your imagination. I drew some for him. Then when he wanted to make some more before dinner time, I told him to give it a shot and try to draw it on his own. TJ was a bit whiny at first and kept asking me to do it for him. I was being stern and said he had to try it and that he wasn't even trying. So eventually TJ did and turned out really cute! He was so proud of himself! I told him he could do it. All TJ has to do is believe in himself.
I also started reading Do All Spiders Spin Webs?, a questions and answer book but TJ was very distracted and jumbling his facts. It might have been too overwhelming for him. I think the Spiders book was more his style and pace.
We re-read Water Cycle tonight and did an experiment representing the water cycle from the Awesome Ocean Science book. It was very simple and only required a short, easy-to-find list of items: a glass jar, plastic bag, rubber band, hot water and ice cubes. I took a glass jar and filled it a third of the way with hot tap water. Then I put the plastic sandwich bag into the jar, leaving about maybe 3/4 inch to an inch of space above the water. I brought the excess of the plastic bag over the rim of the jar and held the plastic bag in place with a rubber band. Then I filled the bag with ice cubes to the rim of the jar. The jar turns cloudy as the hot water evaporates, rises and then condenses near the cold ice. We waited about 30 minutes to see droplets of water hanging from the plastic bag. We shook the jar to cause the droplets to fall, imitating rain. TJ got a kick out of this. And this was so easy to do. I may use boiling water the next time I try this experiment. I do not think the tap water was hot enough. Either that or I need to run the hot water some more.
Also from the Awesome Ocean Science book, we did an impromptu lesson on different kinds of fish. These were the fish that I had to look up/google on the computer for TJ and LJ - LJ looooves fish:
1 barber fish - you won't catch this fish shying away from sharks; in fact, grooming sharks is its favorite pasttime.
2 wolf eel - This fierce-looking fish has sharp teeth, but it's very friendly and can easily be lured out of its rocky den to eat food (like sea urchins) out of a diver's hand.
3 mudskippers (TJ loved this one and I think they're pretty cool, too!) - During low tide, these fish use their armlike appendages to hop around shores where mangrove trees grow.
4 stonefish - It looks harmless as a weed-covered rock, but this fish uses its spine to stick its enemy with deadly venom.
5 sarcastic fringeheads (gotta love the name of this fish!) - These fish may look like they're grinning, but they have a reputation for being pretty ill-tempered. When two of them duke it out for territory, the one with the biggest mouth wins.
6 lionfish - This resident of the Indian and Pacific oceans has a "mane" made of hollow, poisonous spines.
7 stargazer - This unusual-looking creature points its eye directly upward and waits for prey to swim overhead.
8 porcupine fish - When frightened, this spine-covered fish blows up like a beach ball to make itself hard for predators to swallow.
9 parrot fish - This fish has a beaklike mouth equipped for crunching and munching coral.
10 hatchet fish - These silvery deep-sea fish have blade-shaped bodies.
11 four-eyed butterfly fish - A pair of big black spots near this fish's tail can fool a predator into thinking the fish is coming when it's really going.
Well, I finally got around to reading the spider fact books to TJ. I read Spiders by Gail Gibbons. Sometimes you wonder how much they really retain. Well, I've got an inkling. I read Spiders to TJ Sunday night before Daddy got home. TJ asked me to read it again on Monday but I was in the middle of something so I told him to "read" it on his own first. LJ was crying for a "tory!" when he saw TJ holding books, so I told him TJ could read to him. And TJ was! Okay, not really, but he was relaying facts that I had read to him the night before. He remembered different spider names and web names, and was telling LJ all about it. Including imitating what I was doing when I was reading to him. There were facts about different spiders and how they catch their prey. So I would grab TJ to show him how the spiders grabbed the insects. TJ got a kick out of it. And TJ was doing the same thing to LJ. Too cute!
We did arts and crafts yesterday. I really wanted to do thumbprint art with the boys but for the life of me, I could not find the giant inkpad I bought. I could have sworn that I bought one from Lakeshore, but it is nowhere to be found. So I had to improvise with washable markers. Daddy loved that. lol LJ and I worked on his thank you cards. (finally!) Then they decorated hearts cutouts with thumbprints. I am really proud of TJ. He isn't afraid to get dirty like he used to. I also showed him how you can use the thumbprints as a springboard and turn them into other things like butterflies or caterpillars or whatever captures your imagination. I drew some for him. Then when he wanted to make some more before dinner time, I told him to give it a shot and try to draw it on his own. TJ was a bit whiny at first and kept asking me to do it for him. I was being stern and said he had to try it and that he wasn't even trying. So eventually TJ did and turned out really cute! He was so proud of himself! I told him he could do it. All TJ has to do is believe in himself.
I also started reading Do All Spiders Spin Webs?, a questions and answer book but TJ was very distracted and jumbling his facts. It might have been too overwhelming for him. I think the Spiders book was more his style and pace.
We re-read Water Cycle tonight and did an experiment representing the water cycle from the Awesome Ocean Science book. It was very simple and only required a short, easy-to-find list of items: a glass jar, plastic bag, rubber band, hot water and ice cubes. I took a glass jar and filled it a third of the way with hot tap water. Then I put the plastic sandwich bag into the jar, leaving about maybe 3/4 inch to an inch of space above the water. I brought the excess of the plastic bag over the rim of the jar and held the plastic bag in place with a rubber band. Then I filled the bag with ice cubes to the rim of the jar. The jar turns cloudy as the hot water evaporates, rises and then condenses near the cold ice. We waited about 30 minutes to see droplets of water hanging from the plastic bag. We shook the jar to cause the droplets to fall, imitating rain. TJ got a kick out of this. And this was so easy to do. I may use boiling water the next time I try this experiment. I do not think the tap water was hot enough. Either that or I need to run the hot water some more.
Also from the Awesome Ocean Science book, we did an impromptu lesson on different kinds of fish. These were the fish that I had to look up/google on the computer for TJ and LJ - LJ looooves fish:
1 barber fish - you won't catch this fish shying away from sharks; in fact, grooming sharks is its favorite pasttime.
2 wolf eel - This fierce-looking fish has sharp teeth, but it's very friendly and can easily be lured out of its rocky den to eat food (like sea urchins) out of a diver's hand.
3 mudskippers (TJ loved this one and I think they're pretty cool, too!) - During low tide, these fish use their armlike appendages to hop around shores where mangrove trees grow.
4 stonefish - It looks harmless as a weed-covered rock, but this fish uses its spine to stick its enemy with deadly venom.
5 sarcastic fringeheads (gotta love the name of this fish!) - These fish may look like they're grinning, but they have a reputation for being pretty ill-tempered. When two of them duke it out for territory, the one with the biggest mouth wins.
6 lionfish - This resident of the Indian and Pacific oceans has a "mane" made of hollow, poisonous spines.
7 stargazer - This unusual-looking creature points its eye directly upward and waits for prey to swim overhead.
8 porcupine fish - When frightened, this spine-covered fish blows up like a beach ball to make itself hard for predators to swallow.
9 parrot fish - This fish has a beaklike mouth equipped for crunching and munching coral.
10 hatchet fish - These silvery deep-sea fish have blade-shaped bodies.
11 four-eyed butterfly fish - A pair of big black spots near this fish's tail can fool a predator into thinking the fish is coming when it's really going.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
What's for breakfast? Cereal and the Amazon rainforest...
TJ wanted cereal for breakfast. So, guess what LJ wanted for breakfast as well? He was already eating his soy yogurt but immediately moved his bowl and demanded cereal! lol Well, it wasn't too funny at the moment, though. Anyway, the boys like to "read" their cereal boxes. Something they get from me, I guess. lol But when TJ saw LJ's Amazon Frosted Flakes cereal box, he asked me "What is a rainforest, Mommy?" You have to know I got excited about that. Mini-lesson! Who cares what day it is? It's always learning time!
I had to dig through my brain to remember what little facts I remember about the rainforest from the teacher workshops I had gone to. I couldn't go hit the laptop like I usually do since Daddy had taken it with him this weekend. Surprisingly, I remembered terms like canopy and that the rainforest had 4 levels. I can't wait to go the library and borrow some books. I remember the Great Kapok Tree from the workshop, so that book is definitely on my list. We talked briefly about how people cut down trees from the rainforest and how that would destroy many animals' habitats. We touched upon how many (well, not a definitive number) animals and plantlife there are in the rainforest. So many that we have never seen and will never see. And fortunately the cereal box also had information that I was able to read to the boys.
There were also some animals listed and some animal facts on the cereal box - spider monkey, 3 toed sloth (TJ actually remembered this animal as I've talked about it before because it is sooooo slow and he saw it on Diego), harpy eagle, toucan (TJ remembered this bird from the Little People book that he used to make us read all the time!), poison dart frog and the giant anteater (TJ got a kick out of this one. lol) It was fun chatting with TJ about the animals because it sparked associations. The spider monkey made him think of the baboons we used to see at the GA Safari. When talking about the poison dart frog, I reminded him of when I brought him to the Harry Potter book release party and we saw the reptile lady. She had told us that all frogs are poisonous to some extent. Obviously, some more than others. I reminded him how we had to wash our hands if we ever touched a frog. I'm sure we touched upon some other things, like how the wingspan (new word!) of the harpy eagle can be wider than how tall Daddy is. TJ's eyes really widened at that fact. And he thought that it was pretty cool that an anteater can eat up to 30,000 ants a day. Hmmm... we could have used one of those animals a few years back when we had that serious ant problem....
Teachable moments.... Don't you just love them???
I had to dig through my brain to remember what little facts I remember about the rainforest from the teacher workshops I had gone to. I couldn't go hit the laptop like I usually do since Daddy had taken it with him this weekend. Surprisingly, I remembered terms like canopy and that the rainforest had 4 levels. I can't wait to go the library and borrow some books. I remember the Great Kapok Tree from the workshop, so that book is definitely on my list. We talked briefly about how people cut down trees from the rainforest and how that would destroy many animals' habitats. We touched upon how many (well, not a definitive number) animals and plantlife there are in the rainforest. So many that we have never seen and will never see. And fortunately the cereal box also had information that I was able to read to the boys.
There were also some animals listed and some animal facts on the cereal box - spider monkey, 3 toed sloth (TJ actually remembered this animal as I've talked about it before because it is sooooo slow and he saw it on Diego), harpy eagle, toucan (TJ remembered this bird from the Little People book that he used to make us read all the time!), poison dart frog and the giant anteater (TJ got a kick out of this one. lol) It was fun chatting with TJ about the animals because it sparked associations. The spider monkey made him think of the baboons we used to see at the GA Safari. When talking about the poison dart frog, I reminded him of when I brought him to the Harry Potter book release party and we saw the reptile lady. She had told us that all frogs are poisonous to some extent. Obviously, some more than others. I reminded him how we had to wash our hands if we ever touched a frog. I'm sure we touched upon some other things, like how the wingspan (new word!) of the harpy eagle can be wider than how tall Daddy is. TJ's eyes really widened at that fact. And he thought that it was pretty cool that an anteater can eat up to 30,000 ants a day. Hmmm... we could have used one of those animals a few years back when we had that serious ant problem....
Teachable moments.... Don't you just love them???
Friday, February 8, 2008
Gung Hey Fat Choy
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. What a day! Somehow it didn't seem as stressful as it usually is. That's a good thing, isn't it??? But it has been a stressful week. I'm utterly exhausted! All that running around we had to do preparing. The housecleaning, buying of candy and cookies, the Chinese New Year shopping, clothes shopping, the endless laundry. Yikes! I guess that's what this week's theme was, huh? Chinese New Year! lol I still do have a couple of crafts that I had wanted to do. The paper dragon and the lantern. We could work on them this weekend. The beauty of Chinese New Year is that it lasts two weeks! And I still have to read the book I got from the library. I believe it's Sam and the lucky money.
We begin with our Chinese New Year traditions as home. We wake up and greet each other with a "Gung Hey Fat Choy!" I gave red envelopes to the boys and Daddy along with good blessings. For the boys, wishes for good health and wishes for growing up healthy and strong. For Daddy, wishes for good health, wishes for good fortunes in business and wishes for promotions at work. The boys put on their new clothes. Red, of course. Luckily, in the beginning of the week, I found, with the boys' approval, these red Lightning McQueen shirts. Daddy and I put on our new clothes. Then we all got a piece of Chinese New Year candy to kick off our new year with a sweet start. Then a quick little breakfast for us to tide us over until we got to the grandparents. It did take us an hour and a half to get out of the house. I spent an hour packing snacks! I had to be prepared because there might not be suitable things for LJ to eat at the homes we visit. It's a good thing I did.
We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa H first thing. The boys were hesitant at first, as usual. But then again they did wish everyone "Gung Hey Fat Choy" as we taught them to. Well, LJ said "Fat Choy Choy..." Which was still very cute and everyone who heard was amused by it! We had the morning Chinese New Year vegetarian meal. Well, it was supposed to be vegetarian but there was a dish of chicken and a dish of shrimp. Not exactly vegetarian fare. Hmmmm... Then we went to Great Grandma L to visit. The boys had a great time snacking. TJ fell in love with the shelled peanuts. Then it was off to Great Grand Aunt's house. We managed to still be able to see Grand Auntie M and Grandauntie D and Granduncle M. TJ had a blast playing with Max, his cousin, sort of. Second cousin, maybe. I get all confused with this family tree thing. lol But it was sweet, though. When we were leaving, TJ asked Max to come to our house to play. Oh, and how could I forget. Max had greeted us at the door when we first got there. He says "Hi, Justin!" excitedly. He confused TJ with another little boy he knows. Then after his mother corrected him, Max says to TJ "I love you!" So sweet. This was all when we were still standing outside the doorway waiting to go in. lol Then last but not least we went to Grandma S and Grandpa K's house. Grandma S was playing mah jong with some friends. But there we got to relax. Finally. And the snacking continued for the boys. They never napped! And they wouldn't let me nap! Ugh! At least Daddy got to nap. lol We didn't go to anyone else in my mom's side of the family. Good, less to do. And somehow we managed to get away with coming home with less stuff than usual. Yay! Daddy doesn't get why we do this exchanging and re-exchanging and is "frustrated" by this. But it is what it is. Tradition calls for it and I enjoy teaching the boys about our traditions. But I have to admit that we, the younger generation, have been doing away with the exchange of the candies and cookies. Good, less for me to worry about. lol
Anyway, this week wasn't a total loss academically speaking. I did read some books with the boys and TJ did some "reading," too - sounding out 3 letter words and recognizing repetition in books. I really have to start up the word clouds. I think TJ would like that. I did do a quick review with his big Science word from last week and TJ still remembers what the word is that means that animals sleep through winter - hibernate. Yay!
We begin with our Chinese New Year traditions as home. We wake up and greet each other with a "Gung Hey Fat Choy!" I gave red envelopes to the boys and Daddy along with good blessings. For the boys, wishes for good health and wishes for growing up healthy and strong. For Daddy, wishes for good health, wishes for good fortunes in business and wishes for promotions at work. The boys put on their new clothes. Red, of course. Luckily, in the beginning of the week, I found, with the boys' approval, these red Lightning McQueen shirts. Daddy and I put on our new clothes. Then we all got a piece of Chinese New Year candy to kick off our new year with a sweet start. Then a quick little breakfast for us to tide us over until we got to the grandparents. It did take us an hour and a half to get out of the house. I spent an hour packing snacks! I had to be prepared because there might not be suitable things for LJ to eat at the homes we visit. It's a good thing I did.
We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa H first thing. The boys were hesitant at first, as usual. But then again they did wish everyone "Gung Hey Fat Choy" as we taught them to. Well, LJ said "Fat Choy Choy..." Which was still very cute and everyone who heard was amused by it! We had the morning Chinese New Year vegetarian meal. Well, it was supposed to be vegetarian but there was a dish of chicken and a dish of shrimp. Not exactly vegetarian fare. Hmmmm... Then we went to Great Grandma L to visit. The boys had a great time snacking. TJ fell in love with the shelled peanuts. Then it was off to Great Grand Aunt's house. We managed to still be able to see Grand Auntie M and Grandauntie D and Granduncle M. TJ had a blast playing with Max, his cousin, sort of. Second cousin, maybe. I get all confused with this family tree thing. lol But it was sweet, though. When we were leaving, TJ asked Max to come to our house to play. Oh, and how could I forget. Max had greeted us at the door when we first got there. He says "Hi, Justin!" excitedly. He confused TJ with another little boy he knows. Then after his mother corrected him, Max says to TJ "I love you!" So sweet. This was all when we were still standing outside the doorway waiting to go in. lol Then last but not least we went to Grandma S and Grandpa K's house. Grandma S was playing mah jong with some friends. But there we got to relax. Finally. And the snacking continued for the boys. They never napped! And they wouldn't let me nap! Ugh! At least Daddy got to nap. lol We didn't go to anyone else in my mom's side of the family. Good, less to do. And somehow we managed to get away with coming home with less stuff than usual. Yay! Daddy doesn't get why we do this exchanging and re-exchanging and is "frustrated" by this. But it is what it is. Tradition calls for it and I enjoy teaching the boys about our traditions. But I have to admit that we, the younger generation, have been doing away with the exchange of the candies and cookies. Good, less for me to worry about. lol
Anyway, this week wasn't a total loss academically speaking. I did read some books with the boys and TJ did some "reading," too - sounding out 3 letter words and recognizing repetition in books. I really have to start up the word clouds. I think TJ would like that. I did do a quick review with his big Science word from last week and TJ still remembers what the word is that means that animals sleep through winter - hibernate. Yay!
Friday, February 1, 2008
TJ's Jan-Feb Reading Log
Zoom City
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and the Freight Cars
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Off the Race Track
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - The Supers Save the Day
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Red's Tune Up Blues
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head - An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein - What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel- Bathtime
Monsters Inc - I'm Sulley
Go Away, Green Monster!
Why do Animals Sleep through Winter?
My Car
Water Cycle
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt
The Mitten by Jan Brett
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
Underwear Dos and Don'ts
How Many Ways Can You Cut a Pie?
What Do You Do With a Grumpy Kangaroo?
Don't Do That!
The Color Clown Comes To Town
What Can We Play Today?
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and the Freight Cars
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Off the Race Track
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - The Supers Save the Day
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Red's Tune Up Blues
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head - An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein - What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel- Bathtime
Monsters Inc - I'm Sulley
Go Away, Green Monster!
Why do Animals Sleep through Winter?
My Car
Water Cycle
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt
The Mitten by Jan Brett
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
Underwear Dos and Don'ts
How Many Ways Can You Cut a Pie?
What Do You Do With a Grumpy Kangaroo?
Don't Do That!
The Color Clown Comes To Town
What Can We Play Today?
LJ's Jan-Feb Reading Log
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Chicka Chicka ABC
Clifford's Puppy Days
What Do I Do?
Peekaboo Farm
Zoom City
Bob the Builder Let's Count
Little People Cars, Trucks, Planes and Trains
Little People Farm
Little People Schoolbus
Mrs. Wishy Washy
Pajama Time
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel: Bathtime
Go Away, Green Monster!
Thomas and the School Trip
Where is the big red doggie?
Why Do Animals Sleep through Winter?
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Elmo Loves You
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Chicka Chicka ABC
Clifford's Puppy Days
What Do I Do?
Peekaboo Farm
Zoom City
Bob the Builder Let's Count
Little People Cars, Trucks, Planes and Trains
Little People Farm
Little People Schoolbus
Mrs. Wishy Washy
Pajama Time
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel: Bathtime
Go Away, Green Monster!
Thomas and the School Trip
Where is the big red doggie?
Why Do Animals Sleep through Winter?
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Elmo Loves You
Slacking already
Okay, I'm slacking already. lol I forgot to mention that the boys also colored mittens the other day. I said that we would do something with them when they woke up from nap. Oops. We will get to it eventually. Maybe Monday? See what I mean about discipline?
And, and, and I forgot another book we had read - Baby Einstein Seeing and Counting? I think that's the title. I will have to check because I haven't logged the book yet. We did lots of counting up to five (yes, I know TJ should know higher number amounts than that - but who am I do discourage him?) and I was trying to reinforce answering in complete thoughts. For example, if I ask how many lily pads are there. Instead of TJ simply answering 3, he was practicing answering 3 lily pads. We'll work on answering in complete sentences when he gets this concept down pat.
Anyway, another "good" thing that we have been doing is going to the library regularly. The boys have storytime together at the 'little library' on Wednesdays (although TJ didn't want to go this week) and TJ has storytime on his own at the 'big library' on Thursdays. It gets us out of the house. The boys get interaction with others and we get to borrow MORE books. I borrowed the books on spiders. I think TJ will be excited about that. I will have to expand on that subject. But I feel like we're all over place. I keep thinking "I need to do this! I need to do that!" It just ends up that I feel more scattered and doing nothing. :(
Like yesterday we went to the library. TJ has a 45 minute (well actually 35 min this week since I couldn't find a spot and then screwed up trying to park! But that's a whole 'nother story!) storytime. The librarian (still don't know his name!) is great and very engaging. I know TJ has a lot of fun going to storytime now. But I can't say I did a whole lot more than that yesterday. I have got to get my act together!
My good deed for the day was going over flashcards with TJ today. LJ was going over flashcards, too. More like grabbing them! lol Anyway, the flashcards had pictures along with the words printed on them. On the backside of the flashcards were just the words for the more advanced readers. I was reviewing some of the flashcards - those that LJ let me keep! Then for the simple 3 letter words I thought I'd ask TJ to figure them out. I thought he did a pretty good job. He would sound the letters separately but be able to put them together pretty quickly. I was quite proud of him. Then for the longer words, I just showed him the picture. TJ still made an attempt to sound out the words even though he could have easily just looked the picture to figure it out. With one picture the word was glass, not a word we normally use so TJ said cup. I asked him to look at the word and he figured it out. Yay for TJ. Then he started getting loopy. For some reason TJ couldn't figure out the word bed. He was also telling me that the letter b was the letter n. Huh? And while the b and the d were different letters to him, he still called them by the same letter name. I just chalked it up to him being tired of the drill.
We read the Little People Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor and talked about how shots can hurt. TJ was very brave and said that he would get the shot despite knowing the pain. I reminded him that I would not let anyone do anything to harm him. I try my best to tell the truth to my boys. I do not like lies. I may withhold truths but I will not lie to them. This is not to say I will never lie to my boys, but it is certainly my intention. I am not a very good liar. I definitely do not have a poker face and have a very guilty conscience (even when I have done nothing wrong!) So it's better off for me to not lie. I probably wouldn't be able to keep my "facts" straight. lol
And, and, and I forgot another book we had read - Baby Einstein Seeing and Counting? I think that's the title. I will have to check because I haven't logged the book yet. We did lots of counting up to five (yes, I know TJ should know higher number amounts than that - but who am I do discourage him?) and I was trying to reinforce answering in complete thoughts. For example, if I ask how many lily pads are there. Instead of TJ simply answering 3, he was practicing answering 3 lily pads. We'll work on answering in complete sentences when he gets this concept down pat.
Anyway, another "good" thing that we have been doing is going to the library regularly. The boys have storytime together at the 'little library' on Wednesdays (although TJ didn't want to go this week) and TJ has storytime on his own at the 'big library' on Thursdays. It gets us out of the house. The boys get interaction with others and we get to borrow MORE books. I borrowed the books on spiders. I think TJ will be excited about that. I will have to expand on that subject. But I feel like we're all over place. I keep thinking "I need to do this! I need to do that!" It just ends up that I feel more scattered and doing nothing. :(
Like yesterday we went to the library. TJ has a 45 minute (well actually 35 min this week since I couldn't find a spot and then screwed up trying to park! But that's a whole 'nother story!) storytime. The librarian (still don't know his name!) is great and very engaging. I know TJ has a lot of fun going to storytime now. But I can't say I did a whole lot more than that yesterday. I have got to get my act together!
My good deed for the day was going over flashcards with TJ today. LJ was going over flashcards, too. More like grabbing them! lol Anyway, the flashcards had pictures along with the words printed on them. On the backside of the flashcards were just the words for the more advanced readers. I was reviewing some of the flashcards - those that LJ let me keep! Then for the simple 3 letter words I thought I'd ask TJ to figure them out. I thought he did a pretty good job. He would sound the letters separately but be able to put them together pretty quickly. I was quite proud of him. Then for the longer words, I just showed him the picture. TJ still made an attempt to sound out the words even though he could have easily just looked the picture to figure it out. With one picture the word was glass, not a word we normally use so TJ said cup. I asked him to look at the word and he figured it out. Yay for TJ. Then he started getting loopy. For some reason TJ couldn't figure out the word bed. He was also telling me that the letter b was the letter n. Huh? And while the b and the d were different letters to him, he still called them by the same letter name. I just chalked it up to him being tired of the drill.
We read the Little People Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor and talked about how shots can hurt. TJ was very brave and said that he would get the shot despite knowing the pain. I reminded him that I would not let anyone do anything to harm him. I try my best to tell the truth to my boys. I do not like lies. I may withhold truths but I will not lie to them. This is not to say I will never lie to my boys, but it is certainly my intention. I am not a very good liar. I definitely do not have a poker face and have a very guilty conscience (even when I have done nothing wrong!) So it's better off for me to not lie. I probably wouldn't be able to keep my "facts" straight. lol
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The first (baby) step...
Yes, I'm finally posting! I don't know how people blog on a regular basis. It requires such a commitment. And discipline. Sad to say, discipline is not something I have. But it is something I definitely want to work on and improve because I want to document all the progress and "work" (fun) that we have been having.
I think we are definitely making headway into doing some 'work.' I have all the best intentions but I am just so darn lazy. I do not think I am doing enough. I think that I should have a schedule set already and these elaborate plans. But that's all they are, plans. :( I've pulled my old plan book that I think I will follow. Of course with much tweaking. If I do indeed follow through with what I have mapped out, then TJ will have finished kindergarten when I finish with the planbook. Not too shabby. Of course, I am getting ahead of myself. Lots to do and with the baby to come, I don't know how much of my plans will come into fruition.
I am proud of the fact that TJ and I have finished reading Charlotte's Web by EB White. That was one of the goals that I have set for us. I would like to get us started on chapter books and use those as springboards for lessons. I don't exactly go into the subject areas deeply but I have touched upon different topics (maybe I should borrow books on spiders and maybe pigs) and introduced vocabulary that TJ would have not otherwise been exposed. I really liked how TJ would look forward to reading the next chapter. I liked the fact that I was able to follow up the book with the animated movie, Charlotte's Web. I might look for the non-animated version of Charlotte's Web as well.
We're currently reading Stuart Little by EB White. I am not as crazy about this book as I was about Charlotte's Web. I find the language old fashioned and feel that TJ would have difficulty understanding the story. However, interestingly enough, TJ asks to be read Stuart Little practically every night. I am so proud of him. It is weird though, he does not expect Daddy to read Stuart Little to him. When Daddy reads to him, he pulls other books off the shelves to be read.
Between the two chapter books, I did try to read a book from the Cam Jensen series. I loved those books when I was younger. I loved the main character, Cam. However, TJ thought differently. He was not interested. I had read two chapters and he didn't want to read them again. Oh well. I have to start looking into the next book. We are already half way through Stuart Little. I am going to do the same thing and followup the book with the movie. I know there is a non-animated version. Hmmm..... I wonder if there is an animated version?
Anyway I was inspired by another blog where the mom was doing a mitten series. So I thought I'd use that as a springboard and do something similar. Not the same. There is no way I could do something close to what she is doing. I thought I would do something mitten related, snow related, winter related. I've scavenged the libraries (the Big library and the Little library as TJ calls them) for books snow related and my own shelves, of course. From books like What's the Weather? and the Water Cycle to The Mitten and Dream Snow. Once I figure out this blogger site I will try to post a list of books we are reading. Yeah, high ambitions. lol
Just to go off topic for a sec, I have started reading logs for the boys. I have been pretty decent about logging the books. Daddy doesn't help. :( But again, once I figure it out, I will post the reading log. Oh, and I finally put up the alphabet in TJ's room. Yay for me! Baby steps, baby steps! lol
Anyway, on to what we've done in relation to the Winter theme. A couple of days ago, I read Why Do Animals Sleep through Winter? to the boys. Well, TJ sat and listened. LJ alternated between running around like a madman and cuddling with us. TJ learned about hibernation. And now two days later he still remembers his new big word, hibernate. I think I am going to start putting up word clouds like I did in school. I think TJ would like that and it would reinforce the words that we learn.
Today we read Water Cycle. I introduced the terms evaporation, condensation and precipitation and vapor. It most likely went over TJ's head but it's good to introduce the words to him. He is still getting a bit confused about when water turns to ice and when water turns to vapor. Something to work on.
We also read The Snowy Day and Kippers Snowy Day. Too bad it's not really snowing here. :( Then we could have acted out both stories by playing in the snow, making tracks, making snowballs, making snowangels (not that I really expect TJ or LJ to really do that) and building snowmen. I still remember the experiments we did in that workshop I attended years back. I can't wait to try them with TJ.
Then we read some more. Yes, we can't get enough of books! Next came The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt and The Mitten by Jan Brett. We did a brief comparison of the two books. TJ noted the animals that were in one book and not the other. I plan on expanding upon this.
Oh, the grand plans I have. Let's see what I actually do.....
I think we are definitely making headway into doing some 'work.' I have all the best intentions but I am just so darn lazy. I do not think I am doing enough. I think that I should have a schedule set already and these elaborate plans. But that's all they are, plans. :( I've pulled my old plan book that I think I will follow. Of course with much tweaking. If I do indeed follow through with what I have mapped out, then TJ will have finished kindergarten when I finish with the planbook. Not too shabby. Of course, I am getting ahead of myself. Lots to do and with the baby to come, I don't know how much of my plans will come into fruition.
I am proud of the fact that TJ and I have finished reading Charlotte's Web by EB White. That was one of the goals that I have set for us. I would like to get us started on chapter books and use those as springboards for lessons. I don't exactly go into the subject areas deeply but I have touched upon different topics (maybe I should borrow books on spiders and maybe pigs) and introduced vocabulary that TJ would have not otherwise been exposed. I really liked how TJ would look forward to reading the next chapter. I liked the fact that I was able to follow up the book with the animated movie, Charlotte's Web. I might look for the non-animated version of Charlotte's Web as well.
We're currently reading Stuart Little by EB White. I am not as crazy about this book as I was about Charlotte's Web. I find the language old fashioned and feel that TJ would have difficulty understanding the story. However, interestingly enough, TJ asks to be read Stuart Little practically every night. I am so proud of him. It is weird though, he does not expect Daddy to read Stuart Little to him. When Daddy reads to him, he pulls other books off the shelves to be read.
Between the two chapter books, I did try to read a book from the Cam Jensen series. I loved those books when I was younger. I loved the main character, Cam. However, TJ thought differently. He was not interested. I had read two chapters and he didn't want to read them again. Oh well. I have to start looking into the next book. We are already half way through Stuart Little. I am going to do the same thing and followup the book with the movie. I know there is a non-animated version. Hmmm..... I wonder if there is an animated version?
Anyway I was inspired by another blog where the mom was doing a mitten series. So I thought I'd use that as a springboard and do something similar. Not the same. There is no way I could do something close to what she is doing. I thought I would do something mitten related, snow related, winter related. I've scavenged the libraries (the Big library and the Little library as TJ calls them) for books snow related and my own shelves, of course. From books like What's the Weather? and the Water Cycle to The Mitten and Dream Snow. Once I figure out this blogger site I will try to post a list of books we are reading. Yeah, high ambitions. lol
Just to go off topic for a sec, I have started reading logs for the boys. I have been pretty decent about logging the books. Daddy doesn't help. :( But again, once I figure it out, I will post the reading log. Oh, and I finally put up the alphabet in TJ's room. Yay for me! Baby steps, baby steps! lol
Anyway, on to what we've done in relation to the Winter theme. A couple of days ago, I read Why Do Animals Sleep through Winter? to the boys. Well, TJ sat and listened. LJ alternated between running around like a madman and cuddling with us. TJ learned about hibernation. And now two days later he still remembers his new big word, hibernate. I think I am going to start putting up word clouds like I did in school. I think TJ would like that and it would reinforce the words that we learn.
Today we read Water Cycle. I introduced the terms evaporation, condensation and precipitation and vapor. It most likely went over TJ's head but it's good to introduce the words to him. He is still getting a bit confused about when water turns to ice and when water turns to vapor. Something to work on.
We also read The Snowy Day and Kippers Snowy Day. Too bad it's not really snowing here. :( Then we could have acted out both stories by playing in the snow, making tracks, making snowballs, making snowangels (not that I really expect TJ or LJ to really do that) and building snowmen. I still remember the experiments we did in that workshop I attended years back. I can't wait to try them with TJ.
Then we read some more. Yes, we can't get enough of books! Next came The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt and The Mitten by Jan Brett. We did a brief comparison of the two books. TJ noted the animals that were in one book and not the other. I plan on expanding upon this.
Oh, the grand plans I have. Let's see what I actually do.....
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