OLD HOMESCHOOLERS NEVER DIE . . . THEY JUST WRITE CURRICULUM


"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants."

Deuteronomy 32:2

Courses of Study

To view the Course of Study for each grade level, you can click on the "Course of Study" label
or "Search This Blog" for the specific grade level you wish to see.
To date, I have courses of study completed for kindergarten through fourth grades.

Newsletter Articles

In 2013 the Lord started me producing a newsletter for the homeschool group we are a part of. Every other month I write an article on a topic the Lord has put on my heart. I've decided to add these articles to this blog. I hope you will find encouragement through some of my ramblings. You can click on the label "Newsletter" to find the articles.

Monday, March 28

Four Levels of Questioning and Comprehension

  • Literal
  • Interpretive
  • Critical
  • Appreciative
What exactly do these labels mean? Here is information that will help you understand and be able to use these four levels of comprehension with your children.

Literal Level: Facts that are EXPLICITLY stated in the text; this information can be found 100% in the text of the story or article.

Things to ask questions about:
  • A character
    • Name
    • Traits
    • Feelings
  • The story setting
  • When the story took place
  • Picture Reading
    • What is happening?
    • What do they see?
  • A single action or event
    • What was the action or event?
    • How did it happen?
    • What happened?
  • List or Sequence
    • What items?
    • What actions?
    • What events?
    • What order? (First, Next, Last)
  • Comparisons
    • Likenesses or differences between
      • Characters
      • Events
      • Places
  • Cause and Effect Relationships
    • Reasons for certain actions or events
    • Results of certain actions or events
  • Main Idea
    • Idea, theme, or moral of a paragraph or story
Interpretive Level: Interpret information implied in the text; builds on facts in the text. The answers are based 50% on text and 50% on the reader’s interpretation. (Sometimes called Inference or Inferential Comprehension)
  • Ask your child to suggest additional details not explicitly stated in the text about
    • A character
    • The setting of the story
    • When the story took place
  • Ask them to infer or predict additional details about a single action or event
    • Infer what might have occurred previously
    • Predict what could happen next
    • Predict final outcome of the story
  • Ask your child to infer things about a picture in the story.
    • What meal does it look like they are having?
  • Ask them to infer or predict a list of items, actions, events, or the sequence of several actions or events not stated in the text.
  • Ask your child to infer likenesses or differences among characters, events, or places
  • Ask child to infer the reasons for certain actions or events
  • Ask child to infer the results of certain actions or events
  • Ask them to come up with the main idea, theme, or moral that is not stated in the text
  • Have your child summarize the story in their own words
Critical Level: Evaluating information based on personal knowledge and experiences; judgment of text. The answers are based 25% on text and 75% on the reader’s knowledge. (Sometimes called Evaluative Comprehension)
  • Ask your child to state and support their opinion about:
    • Character’s traits, feelings, motives, or actions in the 
    • An event in the story
      • If they were that character, what would they do and why?
    • A sequence of events
    • What is happening in a picture in the story
    • Overall plot or theme of the story
    • The likenesses and differences between two stories
      • Characters, actions, events
    • Whether the characters, actions, or events could have really happened (realistic or fanciful fiction)
Appreciative Level: Reader’s response to the text; based 50% on text and 50% on author.
  • What does your child think of the author’s:
    • Use of language
    • Values
    • Imagery
    • Style of text
  • What is your child’s reaction to the author’s:
    • Ideas
    • Language
    • Purpose


I gathered this information from

Sunday, March 27

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 9

This week we:

  • Memorized Psalm 139:8
  • Read stories 27 – 31 from My Picture Story Bible
  • Watched Blister the Lamb from Stories to Grow on series by Ethel Barrett
  • Read two stories from Storytime with the Millers by Mildred Martin
  • Read a missionary story from Stories from Other Lands for Boys and Girls Compiled by Al Bryant
  • Read Mrs. Rosey-Posey and the Chocolate Cherry Treat
  • Read My Heart-Christ’s Home Retold for Children
  • Read Muffy and the Mystery of the Stolen Eggs by Ethel Barrett
  • Read Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado
  • Read It Has All Been Planned from Short and Sweet Volume 2 by Katherine Loop 
  • We reviewed all our Bible verses
  • We prayed each day
  • We sang ‘This is My Father’s World’

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 9

This week we worked on numbers 4 and 5.


For Small Muscle Development:
  • Wednesday we cut and glued pictures for “Say it with Pictures”
  • Friday we drew pictures in the sandbox
For Writing Development:
  • Tuesday we played “Just What I Said”
    • This game helps children to focus on left and right, which is necessary for writing.
    • First I give K. an instruction, like “hop 3 times on your left foot”
    • Then she gives me something to do (she doesn’t get that all my instructions include left/right)
    • Then I give her another instruction, “touch your right elbow with your left hand”
    • We go back and forth a few times. At first, keep your instructions very simple so as not to frustrate your child. We’ve played this quite a few times, so my instructions are getting more complex and she gets better with knowing her left from her right.
  • Wednesday our activity was “Say It With Pictures”
    • You need a magazine with lots of good pictures, construction paper, scissors, and glue.
    • Choose a topic. Ours was Spring.
    • Let your child cut out pictures that go with the topic and glue them on the construction paper.
    • Then help your child find or write words that tell about the pictures and glue them by the picture. Some of our words were: Spring, Bloom, Animals . . .

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 9

Monday through Thursday read stories from our textbook.

  • One was fanciful fiction, one was an informational article, one was riddles, and one was realistic fiction.
  • After the riddles, we wrote some of our own riddles.
Friday we did an activity from Games for Reading
  • Talk a Drawing. This is another game of listening.
  • Everyone playing needs to have a piece of paper and crayons, markers, or colored pencils and everyone needs to be separate so they cannot see what anyone else is drawing, but they need to be able to hear your instructions. (You need to draw also)
  • Give instructions, like: Draw a red square in the top left corner; draw a blue circle in the middle of your paper; color the blue circle red; draw an orange triangle in the bottom right corner; draw a wiggly purple line from the square to the triangle.
  • When your page is filled with shapes and lines, compare drawings.

  • You can also let your child give instructions, this helps them develop the skill of giving specific instructions.

Kindergarten, Math, Week 9

Monday we played a game with the Location Words
  • I had prepared a picture (used clip art) of a room, with things under, on, in, etc.
  • I also had 13 small pictures of objects that could be added to the picture.
  • One of us would turn over a Word Card, find something in the picture that fit the word (the cat is under the couch) and add an object in a location that fit the word (put the book under the rug).
  • I had made some cuts so certain things (rug, door, picture, couch) could have things put under, behind, or in them.
  • K. enjoyed this so much we played it twice.
Tuesday we used the Thermometer
  • I made one out of cardboard with a piece of red that can slide up and down to change the temperature.
  • I said something like, “It is autumn and the leaves are falling from the trees” I put the temperature at 70 and had her tell me the temp.
  • I said, “Now it is winter, and the weather is colder. Will the red line go up or down?” Down. I put the temp at 50 and had K. read it.
  • I said, “Now it is spring and the weather is warmer. Will the red line go up or down?” Up. I put the temp at 74 and had K. read it.
  • After I established that K. understood that up is warmer and down is colder, I quit asking that question and we just went through the seasons a few times with me changing the temp and her reading it.

Wednesday we discussed the Calendar
  • I just took the calendar off the wall and we talked about the days of the week, months, year, etc.
Thursday was Solid Shapes
  • We played Solid Shape Bingo
Friday we had Money
  • We quickly reviewed the value of the penny, nickel, and dime.
  • Then I put some money on each side of a paper and K. told me which was more, or if they were equal.
  • This is helping to introduce the concept of ‘counting on’. She knows the nickel is 5 cents, so she can start with 5 and the go to 6, 7, etc. counting the pennies.
  • At the end I introduced the quarter. We laid out 25 pennies, 5 nickels, and 2 dimes and a nickel.

Kindergarten, History, Week 9

Monday we read Chapter 9 from Child’s History. Items of note:
  • Because K. knew this story (in more detail than in this book) from the Bible, I didn’t camp on the story.
  • Jews were in Egypt 400 years
  • Rameses the Great was the king when they left Egypt
Tuesday we looked at pages 20 – 25 in Ancient World.

Wednesday we read the Bible
  • Selections from Genesis 28 – 39
Thursday we did Map It
  • I got the globe and we identified 
    • Egypt
    • Red Sea
    • Persian Gulf
    • Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
    • Babylonia
    • Indus River
    • Canaan
  • Then we followed the travels of Abraham, etc.
    • Abraham went from Ur (Babylonia) to Canaan
    • Jacob went back to Babylonia to get away from Esau
    • Jacob and his family went back to Canaan
    • Joseph’s brothers sold him to Egypt, family followed later
    • Moses/Joshua brought them out of Egypt to Canaan
Friday we worked on our timeline. I cut off what we had already done and stapled it up on the wall. When we have another long section done, we’ll add to it.

Kindergarten, Science, Week 9

Monday we sort of learned that warm air rises.
  • I took a bag (we tried gallon and sandwich size plastic bags and paper lunch sacks) and turned on the hair dryer. While the hair dryer was blowing the bag would go up, but as soon as I turned it off the bag would fly in a loop and come down, so I’m not sure if it was the heat or the blowing air that made the bag go up.
Tuesday
  • We read Air is All Around You by Branley
  • We cut out pictures of the sky and glued them on the top half of the number 2. That completed our unit on Air.

Wednesday we started our unit on Water. These experiments are from 365 More Simple Science Experiments by Churchill, Loeschnig, and Mandell.

Wednesday we learned that marbles and water can’t occupy the same space.
  • I took a clear glass and filled it about half full.
  • Then I took a piece of Scotch tape and put it on the glass (make a tab at one end so it will come off easily). 
  • I had K. use a pencil and draw a line on the tape at the level of the water.
  • Next we added about 7 marbles and noted that the water level had risen.
  • Why? The marbles and water can’t occupy the same space. The marbles, being heavier than the water sink to the bottom and push the water out of their way, causing the water level to be pushed above the mark on the tape.
  • K. wanted to put all the marbles in the water, so I let her.


Thursday we learned about the power of water.
  • Turn a faucet on just a little bit. Try to stop the water coming out with your hand. Why can’t you stop it?
  • Take a tin can and, using a nail and hammer, make 3 holes. The first should be near the bottom, the second about ½-inch higher, and the third ½-inch higher. The instructions said to make the holes in a straight line, but the water streams merged together, so I would suggest having them offset a little bit.
  • Cover the holes with tape and fill the can with water.
  • Place the can on the edge of the sink and remove the tape. Which stream of water is longest?
  • Why? The water at the bottom of the can is under more pressure than the water above it, so it has the longest stream.
  • Why can’t you stop the water from the faucet with your hand? Because all the water pressure behind it.

Friday we learned about disappearing salt.
  • You’ll need: a clear glass 3/4ths full of warm tap water, tape, pencil, ½ cup of salt, spoon for stirring
  • Mark the level of the water on the tape (as in Wednesday’s experiment).
  • Very slowly add the salt, while stirring the water.
  • When you are done, check the level of the water. Did it change? If it did change, was it by ½ a cup or very little?
  • Why? The molecules of water have space between them. These spaces are filled by the molecules of salt. This is called a solution.
  • Compare this to Wednesday’s experiment when the water level rose.

Saturday, March 19

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 8

This week we:
  • Memorized Psalm 139:7
  • I introduced Catechism #4 on Monday
    • Who made God? Nobody made God
    • Read Psalm 90:2
  • We read stories 23 - 26 in My Picture Bible Story
  • We read a missionary story
  • We read The Princess and the Kiss
  • We read Who Holds the Brush
  • We read Muffy and the Mystery of the Stolen Eggs by Ethel Barrett
  • We read My Heart - Christ's Home Retold for Children by Munger,
  • We prayed each day.
  • We sang This is My Father's World

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 8

This week we worked on numbers 2 and 3.

For Small Muscle Development:
  • Tuesday we played Obstacle Course.
    • Take a sheet of paper, draw a house in the upper left corner and the park (or beach, etc.) in the lower right corner.
    • Make small marks all over the paper.
    • I have K. use 3 different colored markers and find 3 ways from home to the park without touching any of the marks.
  • Friday K. played with playdoh.
For Writing Development:
  • Wednesday we made a Story Map.
    • Take a manilla folder (or a large sheet of construction paper) make a map on the folder. This one had a dog house, people house, park, grocery store, and vet office.
    • Cut pieces of folder and fold in half so they will stand up. Draw your characters on these pieces. We had a dog, a girl, a boy, and a car.
    • Use the characters and map and tell a story together.

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 8

Monday through Thursday we read stories from our textbook.
  • There were the regular questions, but we learned about three new genres:
    • One was an Informational Article about sandpipers. Afterwards we drew a picture of a nest with eggs in it.
    • One was a Fable. So we learned that a fable teaches a lesson, called a moral.
    • One was a Biography of John Audubon, so we looked at our Audubon Book and found the same picture in it that is in the textbook.
Friday we did an activity from Games for Reading.
  • Do This, Do That. This game works on listening skills.
    • Give your child instructions, such as clap your hands 3 times, touch your nose, pat your tummy.
    • The child must do exactly what you say.
    • Work up to 4, 5, 6, etc. instructions in a row.
    • You can also play this in the car by saying words or numbers they must repeat correctly.
    • Let your child give you instructions, too.

Kindergarten, Math, Week 8

Monday we learned about Coins.
  • I had 25 pennies, 2 nickles, 1 dime
  • I put out 1 penny. How many cents is it? One. I lined 1 penny up across from the penny.
  • I put out 1 nickle. How many cents is it? Five. I lined 5 pennies across from the nickle.
  • I put out 1 dime. How many cents is it? Ten. I lines 10 pennies across from the dime.
  • Then I took a paper with a line down the middle and put different amounts on each side. Like a nickle and 2 pennies on one side and a dime on the other, etc.
  • Which side is more? Sometimes they were equal.
Tuesday we worked with Time.
  • I started at 9:00 and asked K. the time.
  • Then we worked toward 10:00, making 10 stops and asking at each stop, What time is it? What does that mean?
  • Last we discussed that when the minute hand is at the '6' that is 30 minutes, so you can always know that the minutes are 30 when the minute hand is on the 6.
  • K. was wanting to know how many minutes until lunch, so I put the clock to the time (10:50) and asked her when it was lunch time (11:00). I then asked how far the minute hand had to go before it was 11:00, and let her count the minutes (10 minutes). Of course, by the time we were done, it was actually less than 10 minutes.
Wednesday we played with Length and Height.
  • I took a 12-inch and 15-inch ruler and we went to her toy shelves.
  • We measured a bunch of her toys and I explained the difference between length and height a bunch of times.
  • Because we are studying air, I blew up a balloon and we measured around it, drawing a line where we measured, so we can always measure the same place. We are measuring every other day and recording how it decreases in size.
Thursday we worked with Symmetry.
  • I have now cut shapes out of plastic canvas.
  • I made a design on one side of our symmetry work page. K. copied it on the other.
  • Then I did both sides and asked her if it was symmetrical. She had to fix the error.

Friday we wrote Numbers.
  • In writing K. has learned to write 0, 1, 2, and 3.
  • I gave her a sheet of paper with 0, 1, 2, 3 written at the top and asked her what numbers she could make with those numbers.
  • She covered the paper with numbers. She would write the number and I would say it. There were all sorts of numbers, such as: 13, 21, 32, 300, 100000, etc.
  • When I suggested three hundred thirty-three, she wrote: 300 33, so we talked about it being 333.

Kindergarten, History, Week 8

Monday I read Chapter 8 from Child's History. I colored the bodies of water blue in the map on page 35. I also changed some of the wording in the first paragraph. Things to talk about:
  • Locate Mesopotamia, Babylonia. We have an inflatable ball globe. I had K. find the Red Sea on it, then find the Persian Gulf, so where are the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers? What is that country called today? Iran
  • The Babylonians wrote on bricks before they were dried.
  • Eclipse of the sun
  • What are astronomers?
  • What do we remember about King Hammurabi?
Tuesday I read from Genesis
  • Excerpts from chapters 22 - 28
Wednesday we looked at Ancient World:
  • Pages 14, 15, 18, 19
Thursday we reviewed Child's History.

Friday we added to our timeline.

Kindergarten, Science, Week 8

Continuing our unit on Air:

Monday we learned what  a bag of air could do (air is real and takes us space).
  • You'll Need: a sturdy paper bag (larger than a lunch sack), an air pump, tape, and a book or video cassette or some such object
  • To Prepare: place the end of the air hose in the bag, gather the bag opening around the hose and use tape to secure it.
  • Experiment:
    • Place the book on top of the flat bag.
    • Ask, "Do you think a bag of air could move this book?"
    • Pump air into bag.
    • Bag will inflate, causing the book to rise.
Tuesday we learned what can push up water in a narrow tube (air presses on everything on all sides).
  • You'll Need: a kitchen baster or medicine dropper, container of water, drinking straw, food coloring (if your baster or straw are not clear, color the water so you can see it better)
  • Experiment:
    • Examine baster. Is it empty? What comes out when you squeeze the bulb?
    • Put baster in water. Squeeze bulb. What comes out? What happens when I let go of the bulb?
    • Why does the water stay in the tube?
    • Now try the same thing with straws. Put a straw in the water, cover the end tightly with your finger and raise it out of the water. Remove your finger and the water runs out. Air pressure keeps the water in, when more air enters the straw it pushes the water out.
    • Let child experiment.
Wednesday we learned air pushes on us (moving air pushes things).
  • You'll Need: sheets of newspaper
  • Experiment:
    • Wave your hand in front of your face. What do you feel? When air is moving you can feel it. We feel air moving against us both when the air is moving (wind) or when we are moving.
    • Go outside. Stand still and hold a sheet of newspaper against you. When you let go does it stay?
    • Now run as fast as you can. Does the newspaper stay?
    • You can also play with pinwheels, kites, or even a plastic bag tied onto a string.
Thursday we learned that a glider drifts on moving air.
  • You'll Need: a paper airplane
  • Experiment:
    • Launch the airplane back and forth. Notice that moving air carries the airplane, but when the airplane stops moving, it falls to the ground.
Friday we learned that air slows moving objects.
  • You'll Need: 2 sheets of 8-1/2" x 11" paper, a toy parachute, a high place. To make the parachute you'll need a handkerchief, bandanna, or piece of fabric 12" square, string, and a toy that is heavier than the fabric. Tie a 12" string to each corner of the bandanna. Then tie the other ends together and around the toy.
  • Experiment:
    • Show both sheets of paper. They are the same size. Crumple one. Which do you think will fall faster? Have child drop them at the same time. Why did the crumpled paper drop faster? Less air pressing against it to slow it down.
    • Let child play with parachute. When the parachute opens in descends slower than if it doesn't open.

Saturday, March 12

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 7

This week we:
  • Memorized Psalm 139:6
  • Reviewed our Catechism
  • Read stories 18 - 22 in My Picture Story Bible
  • Read a missionary story
  • Read Mrs. Rosy-Posy and the Chocolate Cherry Treat
  • Prayed
  • Started learning 'This is My Father's World'

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 7

We are working on writing numbers during this second set of 5 weeks. This week we worked on 0 and 1.

For Small Muscle Development:
  • Tuesday we did a "Wribbling" activity.
    • I had K. "scribble" on a paper. Then I had her color each section a different color and try to stay inside the lines.
  • Friday we finger painted again.
For Writing Development:
  • Wednesday we played "Catch My Silly" again. K. enjoys correcting the same story multiple times.

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 7

Monday through Wednesday we finished Marty's Monster. The monster is jealousy and starts going away when she prays about it.

Thursday we read the next story in our textbook.
  • Questions included picture reading: What is Grandma doing? What kind of animal is Beck?
  • Interpretive: What trick might mark do?
  • Vocabulary: How could Buck 'swim' in the grass? What is a kid?
  • We also worked on sequence. Joy was first in the kitchen, then she went to the chicken pen, then the tree, then the barn, then the corral, then the goat pen.
  • I had made a paper ahead of time with pictures (from clip art) that represented each location. I put them out of order on the sheet and K. drew a line showing the order Joy went. Another options would have been to cut the pictures out and let her put them in order.
Friday we did an activity from Games for Reading by Peggy Kaye.
  • The activity is called Picture Labels.
  • We looked through an old Ideals magazine for a picture that K. liked and I knew would work well for this activity.
  • I cut it out and glued it on a sheet of construction paper because it was in 2 pieces.
  • I cut a strip off the construction paper for our words.
  • I asked K. what she saw in the picture. As she named things I wrote the words on small pieces of paper and glued them on the picture. Some of our words were: basket, Indian corn, red flowers, white squash, handle, hay, red, black, grapes, apples, green, leaves, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.
  • Don't just do the obvious things, urge your child to see the details.
  • This activity works on improving vocabulary.

Kindergarten, Math, Week 7

Monday we discussed the Calendar.
  • I took the calendar down off the wall. We talked about each box representing a day.
  • There are 7 days in a week. What is the first day of the week? Fourth day? etc. (practice with ordinals)
  • I introduced the terms weekend and week days.
  • We looked at each month to see how many days are in a month.
  • We counted the number of the months in a year.
  • We played a matching game with the months. Each card has the name of a month and a picture of something that happens that month. When the cards were all matched, we put them in order by month. Another way to play this matching game is to find the matches in order -- January must be found first, then February, etc.
Tuesday we counted to 150.
  • I had prepared 15 chenille wires, each with 10 items on them. Most were buttons, but I ran out of buttons, so I used some small (3/8") wooden spools on the rest.
  • We sat on her bed and I picked up the first wire, pointed to each button and we started counting.
  • We counted to 150 twice.
Wednesday we made Patterns.
  • I have some cards with autumn pictures, about 5 of each of the 7 pictures.
  • I started a patten and she finished it.
  • Then she started a pattern and I finished it.
  • We did this as long as it was fun.
Thursday we explored Location Words.
  • Ahead of time I had written the location words on cards: top, middle, bottom, left, right, over, under, inside, outside, on, off, front, back
  • I took the cards and one of her stuffed animals and we sat on her bed.
  • I picked a word card (I tried to do the harder ones), such as middle, took the rabbit and put it 5 places that were "middle": in the middle of the bed, on the middle book shelf, in the middle drawer, in the middle of the bulletin board, on the middle toy shelf.
  • Then it was K's turn to pick a word and put it 5 places: on top of the bed, on top of the basket, on top of the box, on top of the . . .
  • We continued taking turns until all the words had been used.
  • Then we went to the kitchen and found 5 things that can be turned on and off, as those words have location and action meanings.
Friday we played with Size Words.
  • Ahead of time I had written the size words on cards: larger, smaller, longer, shorter
  • We sat by her toys and I spread the cards out.
  • I started by picking a truck and then picking the word card "smaller".
  • K. had to find something smaller than the truck. She found a ball and picked the word card "longer".
  • I had to find something longer than the ball. I found a doll and picked the word card "larger".
  • K. had to find something larger than the doll. She found the giant teddy bear and picked the last word card "shorter".
  • I had to find something shorter than the bear. I chose a block.
  • We did this 4 times. Twice I started and twice she started.
  • We also discussed the difference between longer and taller.

Kindergarten, History, Week 7

Monday I read Chapter 7 from Child's History. Things to talk about:
  • what a soul is
  • what a mummy is and how it is made
  • pyramids were tombs of the kings
  • temples were houses for their gods (emphasize small g -- not the one true God)
Tuesday we looked at and discussed pages 16 and 17 of Ancient World.

Wednesday we found Egypt on the map.

Thursday I read Chapter 7 again.

Friday we worked on our timeline.

Kindergarten, Science, Week 7

This week we started our unit on Air. Experiments are from Science Experiences for the Early Childhood Years.

Monday we read about Day 2 of Creation and learned what comes out of an empty can.
  • Hand your child. an empty can and asked her if she noticed anything in it.
  • Asked if she thinks you could make something come out of the can.
  • Take a bowl and put 4 - 6 inches of water in it. Take a nail and hammer and let your child hammer a hole in the bottom of the can.
  • Had your child put her hand about 1 inch above the end of the can with the hole as you lower it, open end first, into the water.
  • Asked if she feels anything coming out of the can? Air!
  • The water going into the can pushes the air out of the can.
Tuesday we explored more with "empty" containers.
  • Get a bottle that is easy to squeeze and has a small opening or a squirt cap. A 2 liter soda bottle works.
  • Ask your child if she notices anything inside the bottle.
  • Aim the bottle at your chin and squeeze it. Your child should be able to see the puff of air move your hair.
  • Let your child squeeze the bottle at their face. What do they feel? What was in the container?
  • Take a square of colored tissue paper and put it over the bottle opening (you may need to mold it to the shape of the bottle to get it to stay. Quickly squeeze the bottle. What happens to the tissue. Play a game and see who can make the tissue shoot the highest or stay up the longest with repeated puffs of air.
  • Air is almost everywhere.
Wednesday we learned about the air inside us.
  • Ask your child to take a deep breath, close their mouth tightly and pinch their nose for as long as they can.
  • Ask them What happened? Why did they let go of their nose? What did their body want so much that they had to let go?
  • Our bodies use the part of air called oxygen. We have to keep breathing because the oxygen get used up quickly. Discuss how all living things need air to stay alive.
  • Get an nose tissue for you and your child to hold near the nose and mouth. What happens to the tissue when you bring air into your body? when you blow air out of your body?
  • Try it with your mouth closed; with your mouth open a bit. Air enters your body 2 places.
  • Where does the air go in your body? Lay down when you breathe what part of your body moves?
Thursday we discovered the substance of air.
  • Talk about a piece of furniture (we were on the bed, so we used the bed) being real. How do you know it is real? You can feel it.
  • Prepare a small plastic bag by gathering the opening around a straw and securing it with tape (one for each of you). Also have a twist-tie or chenille wire to be able to close the bag.
  • Blow through the straw into the bag. What are you blowing into the bag? Feel it. Is there something real in it?
  • Remove the straw and tie the bag closed with the wire so your child can play with their bag full of air.
  • Air is real.
Friday we learned what a glassful of air could do.
  • Put a cork in an empty bowl (use a clear bowl). The cork is on the bottom of the bowl. What will happen if we add water?
  • Fill the bowl half full of water. Is the cork touching the bottom of the bowl now? Can you put it back on the bottom? Does it stay?
  • Show your child a clear glass. Let's see if something in this glass will push the water away and let the cork stay on the bottom of the bowl. Invert the glass over the cork and push it straight down to the bottom of the bowl.
  • The air inside the glass can't get out, so it pushes the water away.
  • K. wanted to try different things. One thing we tried was a toilet paper roll. It let the water in because it wasn't closed and the air could get out.
  • Air takes up space.

Saturday, March 5

Kindergarten, Book Study, Week 6

Each sixth week we take a break from our regular subjects and do a book study. This allows
  1. me to plan in detail the next 5 weeks of school
  2. us time to review concepts
  3. time to do other things (like field trips)
I'm using the book, Games with Books by Peggy Kaye, for our book studies this year. This week our book was Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. We read the book many times this week. Here are other activities we did:
  • Acted out the story with me being the peddler and K. the monkey, and then we switched.
  • Cut "caps" out of paper and made the original pattern, then made our own patterns.
  • Played Monkey See, Monkey Do. I'd make a weird face or pose and K. would copy it, then we'd switch and I'd copy her.
Some other ways you could expand this book:
  • learn about different styles of hats
  • learn about peddlers
  • learn about monkeys

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 5

This week we:
  • Memorized Psalm 139:5
  • Watched the video Gregory the Grubb by Ethel Barrett
  • Read stories 15 - 17 in My Picture Story Bible
  • Read a missionary story
  • Prayed
  • Sang Tell Me the Stories

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 5

This week we practiced writing all our capital letters.

For Small Muscle Development:
  • Tuesday K. made a Color Collage. She picked the color orange and looked through magazines for orange items, cut them out, and glued them on a sheet of paper.
  • Friday K. finger painted.
For Writing Development:
  • Wednesday we played "Catch My Silly". (see Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye)
    • You play this game by telling a story that has errors in it. The child tries to catch the errors. For instance, Billy put on his shoes then his socks. It works best for me if I write out my story ahead of time. The story doesn't need to be long, just a paragraph or two. If you can't think of something use The Three Bears for a starter.

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 5

This week we worked on reading a chapter book, Marty's Monster by Nancy Ellen Hird. The plan was to read one chapter each day, but we only got 3 chapters read. I asked questions requiring literal answers, but also "Why do you think that happened?" and "What do you think will happen next?" type questions.

Kindergarten, Math, Week 5

Monday and Tuesday we worked more with Time.
  • I set the clock to an hour (2:00) and asked K. what time it showed. I did this about 5 times.
  • Then I let her set the clock to an hour and I told her what time it showed.
  • Next I put the clock at 4:00. K told me the time.
  • Then I moved the minute hand one mark. "The time is four-o-one. That means one minute past 4:00." I wrote 4:01 as it looks on a digital clock.
  • I moved the minute had one more mark. "What time is it?" "four-o-two" "What does it mean?" She couldn't tell me. "Two minutes past 4:00." I wrote 4:02.
  • We continued this, one minute at a time to 4:07. K. was starting to get tired of it, so I put 4 marks on the paper and said, "We are going to do 4 more, and then we are through."
  • I moved the hands to 4:15, asked my 2 questions and wrote 4:15, and crossed off one mark.
  • Using the same process I did 4:30, 4:45, and 5:00.
Wednesday we visited Symmetry again.
  • I got out a mirror and we saw how the mirror makes pictures symmetrical (integrating science).
  • Then I got out the sheet of paper that has a dowel down the middle. I made a design on one side, K. made the symmetrical design on the other side. Then we switched.
  • Sometimes she would start to make the design look exactly like mine instead of symmetrical. I pulled out the mirror and held it up so she could see what it should look like.
Thursday we played Solid Shapes Bingo.

Friday we worked with Ordinals and Time.
  • First we get up
  • Second we get dressed
  • Third we have breakfast
  • Fourth . . .

Kindergarten, History, Week 5

This week:
  • we worked on our timeline
  • I read chapter1 and 2 from Ten Boys Who Lived on the Road from Long Ago to Now by Jane Andrews.

Kindergarten, Science, Week 5

We finished up our unit on Light this week. These experiments are from the Science Experiences book.
  • Monday we discovered that block light makes shadows.
    • Make a dark area to work in. Get a flash light and turn it on. "Light shines through air."
    • Put a glass of water in front of the beam. Does light shine through water?
    • Try wax paper, tissue paper, and other items
    • Put something up (such as a paper doll) that the light won't shine through. "Light only shines on one side of the doll. There is a dark place where the doll blocked the light. It's a shadow."
    • Let your child make shadows with their hands.
  • Tuesday we learned that "night" is caused by earth's shadow.
    • Get a globe and mark it to represent where you live. Put a strong flashlight or a lamp across a darkened room.
    • Just as the light only shone on one side of the doll yesterday, it only shines on one side of the globe.
    • Turn the globe as the earth spins and see what happens to the mark you placed on it.
  • Wednesday we did Shadow Math.
    • You need a sunny day for this.
    • Go outside in the morning and have your child stand in the sun (needs to be a place where there will be sun all day). Trace around his feet (so he can stand in exactly the same place and way each time) and trace his shadow.
    • Do this again about noon and later in the afternoon.
    • Compare the shadows. Which is longer? shorter? what causes this?
    • You can pull out the globe and flashlight again to help understanding.
  • Thursday we learned that everything reflects light, but shiny things reflect light best.
    • Take a mirror, stand by a window and reflect light onto a wall. Place a white sheet of paper where the reflection hits.
    • "The mirror is reflecting the light from the sun. Do you think other objects will reflect light?"
    • Try aluminium foil, colored paper, towel, shiny box, etc.
  • Friday we learned that bending light makes things look different.
    • Put one drop of water on a clear plastic lid. Put the drop over writing (newspaper, book, etc.) and ask child what happens where the drop is.
    • Look at the drop. Is it curved or flat?
    • Add more water so that it is flat. Put over writing, what happens? What has changed?
    • Look at things through a glass of water.
    • Notice that a magnifying glass is curved.

Rabbit HIll

Rabbit Hill, by Robert Lawson, is a Newberry Medal book. K. also received this book for her birthday. It is a fun story about the little animals that live on a hill surrounding a house. At the beginning of the story the house is empty, but new folks are moving in and the animals are excited about the prospects of a garden, if there will be a dog, and if the folks will put out traps and poison. The story is written from the animals' perspective.

Happy Birthday from Carolyn Haywood

K. was given this book for her birthday. It was a good read. Each chapter is a birthday story pulled from Carolyn Haywood's books, so most we had read before, but not all. Of course, K's favorite was The Forgotten Birthday Cake.