Alphabet Pasta Sensory Box

I filled one of the workboxes with alphabet shaped pasta and added some wooden letter string beads. I added the laminated flip book of letters & words that we created to use with "Teach Your Child to Read in 10 Minutes a Day" and instructed Mya to pick out 3 words from the list that she can already read.

She had to find the letters from the word, put them in the correct order with the letter beads on the string, one word at a time, and finish by saying the word out loud.

She really seemed to enjoy this activity, and even chose to spell the last word with the tiny pasta letters!

Play Dough Alphabet Activity

I had printed and laminated the alphabet stencils from Shirley Erwee's "ABC Fun & 1-2-3" a long while back, and was reminded of them today as I was looking for ideas for Mya's workboxes! We have used them with "Teach Your Child to Read in 10 Minutes a Day" to introduce letters, and have traced them with our fingers as a reminder how to properly write a letter. Now, we will use them with playdough for a fine motor activity!

It's simple enough. We make our own play dough - Dad even got in on the fun this time! Mya asked him to help her make it and, of course, he couldn't resist. Here is our favourite play dough recipe: Best Ever No-Cook Play Dough.

For the alphabet play dough activity, the child makes play dough snakes and forms the letters right on top of the cards. If she finishes with the letters that we have already learned quickly, then I will just give her free time with the play dough until I am ready for her to move onto the next box.

I am so glad I was reminded of them before I printed new ones. There are many free printables out there. Just search "Play Dough Alphabet Printables" if you need some!

Home School Workboxes

Mya starts Grade 1 this year!! Hard to believe. She's growing so fast! I am considering using a workbox system so that her schooling will be a little less teacher intensive during the school day. It will require a little more planning from me before school, but that is a good thing!
So, while we are on holiday, I am researching and planning. Don't let me fool you - I love to research!
I thought I would "gather my thoughts" on my blog, and maybe it would help someone else, too.

Right now I am looking for ideas for in the workboxes. We have our basics....

Word of Life Quiet Time
Math U See
Handwriting Without Tears
Teach Your Child to Read in Just 10 Minutes a Day
ABC Memory Verses
Little Footprints
Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day


Here are some other ideas I would like to include (when not already planned for me in Little Footprints):
Calendar/Day of the Week/Weather
Fine Motor Exercises
Gross Motor Exercises
???

I have a long list of fine & gross motor exercises like painting, drawing, cutting, folding, crawling, marching, jumping, etc. I am looking for specific ideas to implement, like what to do with lego blocks, what to make out of playdough - something that she can do with simple or no instruction from me. So, stay tuned! I am going to post those ideas in separate blogs. When I finish them, I will link them up here.

And if you have ideas you'd like to share, I'm all ears! Just leave a comment!

Home School Curriculum 2014

Here is what we're using for homeschool this year...

Brandon, age 14

Tapestry of Grace Year 3 - Rhetoric Level, which covers:

• World History

• World Classics of Literature

• Fine Arts

• Church History

• Government 

• Philosophy

Apologia Physical Science

Easy Grammar 

Math U See Geometry and Stewardship

Mavis Beacon Typing

Afrikaans 

Institute for Excellence in Writing

• SWI 

• US History, Vol. 1

He is also using the recommended Vocabulary list for the SAT's, doing 15 words a week. We will slow down to 10 words a week, if necessary.

Marissa, age 11

Tapestry of Grace Year 3 - Upper Grammar/Dialectic:

• History, Arts, Geography

Apologia Science Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day 

Easy Grammar 

Math U See Zeta (will probably start PreAlgebra mid-year)

Mavis Beacon Typing 

Afrikaans 

Handwriting Without Tears 

Spelling Power, Fourth Edition 

Institute for Excellence in Writing

• SWI 

• US History, Vol. 1

Mya, Age 6

Little Footprints 

Teach Your Child to Read in Just Ten Minutes a Day

Math U See Alpha 

Handwriting Without Tears 

Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day 

Teach Your Child To Read In Just 10 Minutes A Day

I found this book on kindle and bought it on a whim. It is an easy read, and so easy to understand and implement. I had decided to do a letter a week (or so) and it fit right in!

Sidney suggests teaching the letters in a specific order so that your child feels the accomplishment of reading quickly. For example, the first letters you learn are "U" and "P", and then you can already read up and pup. I copied that order, implemented his ideas, and off we went!

I decided to center our weeks, for now, around each letter. I am using the Little Footprints on our Land curriculum, which is based on African children's stories, so I just pick a story that best fits that letter and we're set for the week. After I choose from Little Footprints what activities I would like to do, I just add in whatever activities that sound fun to us that I can find based on that letter.

I also created a little laminated flip books of letters & words, so that Mya can master the sounds of the letters and sounding out each subsequent word. I typed them all in MS Word and printed, cut and laminated them. Then I used a 2 hole punch to punch holes in them and added rings. We try to practice every day. There are so many cards that in the end we will have 3 of these books, as the pile of them is too thick for the rings.