Day 2 of Apples

Today we learned how an apple tree grows...which was science. Believe it or not, that mess of a chalk board made since to the girls as we drew it.

Then the girls made their own apple trees, and watered them with rain, and gave them sunshine to grow. (And see how they wrote a "T" and an "M" in the bottom left corner...so we are working on their names as well.)

We read two books. The first was about a tree that grows apples, and how they grow, from buds, to tiny green apples, to full size red apples. Then the children pick them, and make an apple pie. The second book was another book about Johnny Appleseed.

Then we talked about all of the foods that are made from apples. (Like the pie in the book.) We found some of our "regulars" and had them as a snack. (I must say, this was VERY well received....I am learning that snacks make my kids learn twice as much!) Class lasted an hour and a half today, and it was perfect...long enough to learn something, and short enough not to loose their attention!

First Day of Pre-School!

Today we started. I was going to wait until Monday, but the girls have seen, and helped with our "school" and they just couldn't wait any longer. They begged me to start, and we didn't have anything going on, so we went ahead.

I am starting out every class with "Circle Time." We sit in a circle, have an opening prayer, (because lets face it...I need all the help I can get) and then do our circle board. I think we will have a scripture in there too, but I haven't organized that part yet. So our circle board is the date, and any holidays, and the weather. We also have a "taking turns" rotation on there as well.

A is for Apple worksheet
The unit we are working on is Apples. And we are also working on the letter A. We talked about the letter A, and what it looks like, and the sound it makes, and some words that start with A.

We counted and sorted real apples into red and green piles. Then we added them together. We also counted the red dots which I called "apples" on the flash cards below. So we worked on counting. They did VERY well. Then we read a book about Johnny Appleseed, and talked about him for awhile.

Snack time:which we won't always have, but I just happened to have a nutritious snack with me! So we cut open the apples, and then talked about the seeds. Then ate them. Afterward we watched a movie about Johnny Appleseed. I thought it went really well! They were excited and interested in everything. They seemed to understand what an A was, and what sound it makes, and since we are working on A for the whole unit, I think they will get it! With the movie, the whole thing took 2 hours.

Getting Ready

I've been getting together a "school" and lesson plans. I am finding a new appreciation for teachers who have to turn in a quarter's lesson plans for approval at a time. Yikes. I have been working for a week and have 3 days worth. But it's fun. :) And its amazing how many cute and free things there are on the Internet for preschool!

And the school looks fun. I put the ABC's up around the wall, and brought their desk in, and found an old chalk board in our garage. I don't think I had to buy anything but chalk for the whole school room! (Although I did pick up more crayons, because they were on sale for 25 cents a box at walmart!)

I turned our storage room into a classroom. This way it's all out of the way, and the girls are even MORE excited about having a place to learn.Wish us luck! School starts Monday! :)

Now begins the adventure!

I am planning on sending my children to public school, but have recently been terrified now that I have realized that Tessa will turn 5 JUST before school starts in a year. She will be so young, and I just don't feel ready to let her go. That is how this whole thing has come about. In an effort to get Tessa ready for kindergarten in a year, (She is 3, about to turn 4) I feel like she needs some ready-ing, and I may as well start Maggie who is also 3, and will go to kindergarten in 2 years.

So begins the adventure. It will be fairly structured, but flexible. We will cover the basics, reading, writing, colors, shapes, math and counting, arts and crafts, science, etc. and then we will have units covering specific topics. Our first unit will be on Apples.

I know I have other blogs, and my husband thinks I am crazy for starting yet ANOTHER blog, but this blog is for me. It's to keep me on track, and give me accountability-which I need because I have a tenancy to let things slide if there is no way to track progress. That is really the only purpose for this blog. (But maybe someone else will get some fun ideas!)

And I want to thank my friend Linda who is my home schooling guru! She is totally amazing with her kids, and I appreciate all of her help! And I hope she won't mind if I steal a few ideas from her to use with my own children. :) Thanks Linda!

Home pre-school will start in 5 days! Wish us luck!