Letter Cards

If you choose to write the letters of the alphabet on 3 x 5 cards, here are a couple tips.

1. When writing each letter, place the card over something that is divided in thirds so each letter will have the same baseline and words, such as bag, will be straight and not go uphill.
2. Write the vowels on a different color of card than the consonants. I didn't think of this until I was done, so I doodled a colorful border on the vowel's cards.

Phonics, Step 3

When I decided to go ahead and start teaching K. to read, I figured I could probably find everything I needed for free on the internet. The problem I ran into was that there was too much information, and I became frustrated. My goal here is to give you a simple sequence in which to present phonics instruction, keeping workpages to a minimum.

Step 1 was to teach the sounds of the letters. If this is the method you are using, you should either choose only pictures of items that have the same sound (cat, church, and ceiling all start with c, but they don't sound the same) or have a different folder for each sound of that letter.

Step 2 was to start sounding out three letter words using the short vowel sounds. Originally I made the lists, but I've decided that a better way to go is to write each letter of the alphabet on a 3 x 5 card and use them to "build" words. I wrote a five page book with sentences for her to read and some for me to read. This allows the story to have more complete thoughts without having to introduce words K. hasn't learned to read yet. The book has colorful pictures I pulled from clip art to make it fun and interesting.

Step 3 is to introduce the consonant blends: br, cr, tr, fr, dr, gr, pr, bl, pl, cl, fl, st, sn, sm, and str. I'm using the 3 x 5 cards to build words. Because K. sometimes wants to do "homework" (the influence of college aged siblings), I've made three workpages for her to do, matching the blends to pictures of items that begin with that blend. After we've practiced the blends well enough, there will be another "book" for her to read.

Betsy and Mr. Kilpatrick

Oh, this was a fun book full of twists and funny happenings! In Betsy and Mr. Kilpatrick, by Carolyn Haywood, Mr. Kilpatrick, the policeman who has always seen the children across the street to school, has received a promotion and will be replaced by a lady officer. They children are sad to lose Mr. Kilpatrick and want to do something special for him.

Improvising

Sometimes you may not have exactly what you need to do an experiment (or something else) the way the book says to. We needed a balance scale. The book said to use a yard stick and told how to make a base for it. I didn't have a yard stick, but I did have this piece of wood left over from some project. I didn't have the materials to make the stand, so I walked around our home looking for a place to put a screw. I noticed that there was an existing hole in the end of the banister that was just the right size for the screw I had. Our balance scale worked great and it was the perfect height for K. to use. I put a screw in our utility closet so I can hang the scale out of the way, and when we need to use the scale, or K. wants to play with it, it is easily installed on the banister.

Science

Here is an example of a story telling activity that integrated with the unit on Magnets in Science Experiences for the Early Childhood Years. We turned a shoe box over and cut off one side. Then we made people from chenille wires and put their "feet" in a large paper clip. Using magnets on the underside of the box allowed us to move the people around while telling a story. K. still likes to pull this out and play with it every so often.

Here you can see the magnets on the underside of the box.

Here's A Penny

We really enjoyed reading Here's a Penny by Carolyn Haywood. It is about a young boy, Penny, who was adopted. Having an adopted child (K.), I loved the way she presented it. The book initiated some questions and good conversations. Penny is a lovable, adventurous boy who has some trouble with getting a pet kitten and wants an older brother.

More About Little Pear

We just finished reading More About Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore this morning. It was a fun book to read, introducing some Chinese customs and ideas. The story begins on Little Pear's last day of school and ends when it is almost time for school to start again. Little Pear gets into some mischief, which allows for discussion. Except for one episode at the end of the book he isn't intentionally bad, just curious and adventurous.

Agriculture

Are you interested in teaching your children about gardening and animals? Here are links to a couple websites that can give you a boost in that direction.

• Los Angeles County Farm Bureau - especially check out 'Barnyard Corner' and 'Backyard Ideas'
• California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom - you'll find lesson plans for grades K-12, resources, games, and more!

These are public school resources, so be sure to "walk circumspectly".

The Four Year Old Game Plan, part 2

When I was writing the first post I was going by days and since Bible and Music don't have their own day, I forgot them. Bible we do every day and Music is just when K. is in the mood.

Bible

• Memorizing the verses for the Wordless Book; after the verses are memorized we will work on the dialogue that goes with them. An idea that I really like to go with the presentation is nesting cans spray painted the corresponding colors. There was a website where you could purchase them, but I'm working on collecting appropriate cans.
• Romans 3:23 - black page
• 1 John 1:7b - red page
• Psalm 51:7 - white page
• John 14:2 - gold page
• 2 Peter 3:18 - green page
• Reading Little Visits with Jesus by Mary Manz Simon with corresponding Scripture.
• Reading lots of Bible Stories
• Acting out Bible stories. Some of K.'s favorites to act out are Mary and Martha, David and Goliath (which sounds simple to do with 2 people, but you need David's father and brothers, and King Saul), the Ten Plagues and Crossing the Red Sea, and Jesus bringing the little girl back to life.

Music

• Understanding that each note on the page has a name and each key on the piano has a name and they correspond to each other.
• Sing, sing, and sing some more!

Memorial Day

To learn about Memorial Day I picked up the book Memorial Day by Geoffrey Scott from the library. It does a really good job of explaining the history of the day. How it grew out of the Civil War and was called Decoration Day. It also narrates a Decoration Day celebration in a small town in 1878 describing what the children did in school, the food, the people, the parade, and decorating the graves.

We had a good time making these patriotic placemats. I folded the blue construction paper in half and drew a line 1-1/2-inches from the open end, then used our paper cutter to cut the slits for weaving the red and white strips. I was surprised that K. (at 5 years) did a very good job weaving and was determined to complete her placemat by herself.