I’d love to tell you what a “typical” day in the life of US would look like, but there really is no “typical.”  It’s so random, actually that I don’t even bother with a concise lesson plan or schedule for our day.  Because. It. Will. Not. Work!!  (For us, anyway.)

Every day, I CAN count on the following to happen:

- 1 minor OH CRAP moment
- some sort of food being smashed into the floor
- someone crying or screaming…generally, both.
- naptime
- something not going the way I had originally planned.

But, nonetheless, here’s how we generally hope our days go (and they are usually some version of this):

7:30 AM – Lorelei wakes up and runs into our bedroom, announcing that she must pee!!  I shove the pillow over my face and tell her to “GO!  Pee!  Then go back to bed!!”

8:00 AM – Start getting up and taking my shower.

8:30 AM – Get the girls up.  Change Aurora’s diaper and clean up any blowouts if there were any.  Lorelei makes her bed.

8:40 AM – Bananas and/or yogurt for breakfast all around.

9:00 AM – Girls get dressed for the day.  I try to get smushed banana off the floor/couches/walls/etc.

9:20 AM – Begin homeschool.  Generally, we start with the letters or numbers since those are the subjects that require a LOT of focused attention.  Aurora plays.

9:40 AM – Quick chore or two.  Lorelei helps.  Aurora tries to help.    (Laundry, sweep or mop, etc.)

10:00 AM – Tackle another homeschool subject – subject will vary depending on what’s on the agenda.  Aurora plays.

10:30 AM – Lunch begins!

11:00 AM – Aurora and Lorelei wipe the “table” (coffee) off really well.  Lorelei and Aurora pick up their toys and put away.  Aurora gets wiped down and cleaned up.  By this time, Lorelei usually has lots of energy, so I have her bounce on one of those balls with a handle.

11:15 AM – Learning with stickers while bouncing!!  Generally, by this time, Lorelei’s attention is dwindling so I have her use stickers (one of her favorite things) in whatever subject we’re learning.  Aurora uses stickers to stick all over her body.

NOON – Story time with the girls OR an educational video (online or dvd)

1:00 PM – Naptime!

2:00 PM – Ashley does chores/crafts/etc

3:30 PM – Girls wake up.  Formally tackle another subject.

4:00 PM – Play time and snack

5:00 PM – Girls pick up and put away their toys.

5:30 PM – Play together until daddy gets home.  Generally something more physical (exercises, running, playing outside when weather permits, stretching, bouncing, etc) to burn off extra energy.

6:00 PM – Daddy time

6:30 PM – Supper

7:00 – 9:00 PM – Family time and clean up and end of the day chores for everyone

9:00 -9:30 PM – Girls’ bedtime

Yes, she does have a princess dress on.  Yes, that’s relatively normal.  She usually has some sort of dress on.  Yes, the baby is mostly naked.  Yes, it’s how she prefers it (except she’d prefer no diaper.  That’s not okay with me.)

This picture captures a moment in our homeschooling.  We live in a place where a bonafide kitchen table isn’t really something we have room for, so the coffee table is all of that.  This little table (which was a gift from my father in law) has been very well used!  Here, Lorelei is using quarters and number magnets to practice simple addition.  Aurora is eating.  Aurora is always eating

Welcome back!

It’s published twice a year, and I just got my copy.  I LOVE it!  It’s packed full of great info that I’ll be keeping in my own “idea book” (a 3 ring binder full of ideas to use for future subjects, etc.)

You can get yours HERE.

PS- Did I mention it was FREE?

I’m referring to this as our “intro to Korea” because we will be going over many of these concepts OVER AND OVER again as she gets older.  Right now, the idea is to just introduce her to different places (as in, this little city isn’t all there is) – as well as different people, cultures, etc.

The flag

Click here to see a larger map.

Photos of Korean Hanboks.

Knowledge Quest South Korea Unit Study

World Heritage Tour – Really Cool, gives 360 degree tours of temples, etc

Website about the Hahoe Mask

National Geographic Kids – South Korea

Kwintessential – we found this, it was TMI for Lorelei now, but great to come back to!

Hahoe Mask Museum

We don’t technically EVER stop homeschooling – it’s a continual thing, all day, all year long.  But, yesterday was our OFFICIAL first day (where we keep more of a schedule about it).

Here are Lorelei’s Preschool First Day Of School Pictures:

This month, here’s what we have been/are learning:

Reading

• Recognition of letters A-O (we use a variety of ABC books, flashcards, sticky letters that you use to make bulletin boards, paper and pen, worksheets, and books with small amounts of large print).  With the exception of “K,” Lorelei has done really well.  We’re currently 2 weeks ahead of our schedule for this!
• Practice writing letters L, O, T, I, and A
• Practice pairing said letters with pictures (T is for Tiger)
• Practice recognizing the sounds each letter makes
• Read together and let her point out certain words by using books that repetitively use the same words.
• Watch My Baby Can Read Beginner DVD
• ABC videos
• Sing ABC song
• ABC soup!
• Leapfrog ABC magnetic fridge game
• Help write letters to her penpal (who is the child of a friend of ours that lives in another state)
• BrainQuest “Max” cards (comprehension)

Math

• Practice verbally counting to 20
• Practice counting objects to 20
• Practice recognizing numbers 1-10
• Practice writing numbers 1-10
• Introduction to a number line – we don’t expect her to have this completely down at 3, but plan to continuously re-introduce it so it becomes a part of learning
• Recognize More/Less than and The Same
• Intro to simple math (You have 5 crackers and give 2 to your sister, how many do you have left?)

Science

• Temperature
• Seasons and Weather
• Like and Unlike plants
• Stars and Planets continued (an introduction that they exist, not too in depth yet)
• Colors and the mixing of colors – using colored water
• sunlight and the sun (We will talk about the sun and what it does and then make sun prints)

Social Studies and Skills

• Japan 2
• Korea 1 and 2
• Simon says (following directions)
• Introduction to chores and responsibilities in a scheduled manner
• Introduction to Money and denominations of money (penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar)
• Saving, Giving, Spending (10,10,80)–Which we will probably end up making a 50, 10, 40 rule since she’s 3.

I was looking at our homeschool “plan” for this week and saw INTRO TO MONEY among the list, along with CARING FOR PLANTS and a few other random things I’d like Lorelei to learn about.  And, as I brainstormed on how I would approach these subjects this week, I had an idea:

Excuse the chore chart.  I didn’t have the chores pre planned out, so I didn’t realize I’d have time-specific type chores that should go in order.  We’ll probably be re-doing the chart later.

HOWEVER, the little graphics have been super helpful.

Every chore on the chart has a color beside it, which corresponds to a pom-pom.  The pom-poms begin the day in a small empty baby food jar.  As she completes a chore, she gets to move one pom pom from the jar to the “completed” jar (which is just another baby food jar but with a butterfly sticker in the bottom).

Once she completes all chores for the day, she gets an “allowance.”

All of her allowance is then put into her money “jars” – which is a set of three jars that I color coded with ribbons for the following :  SAVING (10 percent), GIVING (10 percent), and SPENDING (80 percent).

Right now, we started at $1 a day.  Because we can but ALSO because:

• $1 is easiest to explain the 10,10,80 rule we’ve implemented.  It’s simply 10 cents, 10 cents, 80 cents.
• Her “savings” (for now) is going to a fund she can’t touch until she’s older.  Think of it as her college fund.  Or, her car fund.  Or, whatever.  I don’t particularly like the idea of paying for my kids way to college or buying them brand new cars as soon as they get their drivers licenses, but I also don’t believe in pushing them out of the nest completely on their own.  I do believe in teaching them responsibility and giving them the tools so they don’t take it for granted.
• $1 is a LOT of money for a preschooler.  I agree.  Especially when they’re getting it daily for chores, BUT she is going to be using some of her money for necessary things…like special snacks and new clothes she wants.  Essentially, we’re giving her the money that we’d normally spend on her in one way or another and letting her have more responsibility (although it will be very monitored and guided).  For example, she has already told me that she plans to spend her first bit of money on a storage tote.  Yes, a storage tote for her extra toys that are over-crowding her room.  Oh, and shoes.  Pink shoes.
• This $1 won’t necessarily change, up or down, depending on her age.  She’ll get more responsibility as she gets older but the amount will change as we see fit (if it does at all).
• It’s not all about the money.  It’s about responsibilities.  It’s about teaching about money and how to use it as a tool (rather than let it become a thorn in your side).  It’s about teaching skills in the form of “chores.”  It’s about letting her be more independent and helping her feel important.  It’s about showing her that being part of a family means we all take part in doing things…even if it’s just watering the plants.  It’s all important.

So, there you go.  Our Pre-schooler’s chore chart –which she is super excited about.

Things we hope to cover this month (and ideas on how to do so):

- China Review:  We made a China lapbook when we had our first intro to China.  So, we’ll be going back over that.

- Counting to 20:  We’ve made little number cards using index cards, consisting of 2 decks – one for written numbers and the other with an illustration (made by drawing with markers and cutting out magazine pictures, which we did together).  We use the cards as both flashcards and as a matching game.  We also sing the “20″ song – which is basically counting to 20 in a song.  And, we count our snacks (and anything else).

- Major body parts:  We sing the “Head, shoulder’s, knees, and toes!” song and practice pointing out body parts using baby dolls and self.

- Weather:  We learned about different types of weather and talked about the weather as it changes.  Plus, we made these:

- Distinguishing between letters A-G:  She’s been introduced to letters but sometimes still has trouble distinguishing between letters like C and G or B and D or E and F.  So, we have a game that we play:  Using a sheet of white printer paper, I will write out the letters A-G in no particular order (and sometimes different sizes), usually each letter will be repeated 3 times on the paper.  Then, she or I will decide on a letter to call out and she uses markers or stickers to identify those letters.  For example, right now, stickers are a big hit at our house.  So, when we call “A,” she finds all A stickers and may put a bunny sticker on all of the A’s (because we’re going through easter stickers) and B’s may have paw print stickers or blue stickers, etc.  It’s fun and she gets to practice motor skills all at once!

-Like vs. unlike:  Also, same vs. different.  We pulled out some homemade “memory” game cards (made with squares of pretty scrapbook paper) and Lorelei went through pairs as I laid them out, deciding if they were same or different (and then, like or unlike).  We’ve also been known to use the girl’s basket of shoes for this game!  And, occasionally, we’ll use the pre-designed worksheets for this activity, you know – just for conventionality’s sake.

-Stars and Planets

- Seasons:  We’ve read and keep re-reading Four Seasons for Little People and have a never-ending discussion about seasons as they change and their differences.  (By the way, I found this book on the free table at a local book sale.  It’s pretty old and last time I checked Amazon, you can get it for under $5!)

- Shapes

- Japan 1

- Beginner Math:  We use a lot of crackers and snack foods for this one!  We give Lorelei 1-5 crackers and then ask her how many she’d have left if we took __ crackers…or, we’ll ask how many she’d have if we gave her __crackers.

- more/less than and same:  We generally use 2 sheets of colored paper (or other divided spaces) and place objects in those spaces and ask her which has more/less or if they’re the same.  We also use worksheets that we’ve made or found so she’ll be able to do it on paper.

- Simple measurements: Currently, we’re introducing the idea of measuring things using other objects.  For example, right now, we are using hands or paper to measure how LONG rugs and furniture and lines are just to get her used to the concept.  Soon, we will begin using yardsticks and rulers to measure yards and feet, and then move onto weight and volume.  Remember, it’s preschool.  Keep it simple and fun!

Due to popular request, I’m making this available online.  This is what Lorelei’s preschool curriculum looks like.  Preschool is generally between the ages of 3 and 5, so if your kiddo doesn’t really seem to care/grasp some of these things, don’t push it.  Sometimes, repetition is the key!  (And you know best what your child is ready for)  Anyhow, here’s our tentative [rest of the] year at a glance!:

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May -
9-15:  China 1, Letter A, care of pets, the sun, simple measurements, calendar, clock
16-22:  China 2, Letter B, jobs, weather, major body parts, intro to 1-20, calendar, clock
23-31:  Overview of different countries, Letter C, safety rules and symbols, weather, count to 20, calendar, clock

June -
Father’s Day, other traditions in America, Letters DEFG, like and unlike plants, indoor plants, stars and planets, weather and seasons, count to 20, calendar, clock, shapes

July –
Independence Day, Japan 1,  Letters HIJK, weather and seasons, temperature, count to 20, more/less than/same, calendar, clock

August -
Japan 2, Korea 1 &2, Letters LMNO, Light, Colors, Senses, meaning of addition and subtraction (although she may not be able to DO it written out…), calendar , clock, number line intro

September -
India 1 & 2, PQRS, Earth/moon/stars/planets (visit planetarium), denominations of money

October –
Halloween, Antartica 1&2, TUVW, basic chart and graph

November -
Thanksgiving, Russia 1&2, XYZ

December 2010 –
Christmas, Germany 1 &2

*Things will get moved around and repeated as needed.  Keep checking in with us for updates and specific activities!

I’ve been trying to pour my energy into something … productive.

SIMPLY FUN – A collection of simply fun activities for your 2-3 year old

LINK HERE.

And, with that said, I’m giving away FREE COPIES to the first 30 people anyone who responds to this by comment or email (today only).  (Although, if you don’t get in with the first 30, you can still buy your own copy for only $2!)

UPDATE:  Due to the GREAT and quick response, I will be giving away FREE copies of this ebook to anyone who responds today, by midnight CST.  (Although, please give me a bit to get it to you – like, between nap times and such – since I’m sending these out individually!)

UPDATE 2:  This giveaway is now CLOSED.  If you would still like to receive a copy, they are available for purchase at only $2!  Those who purchase ebooks should receive them almost immediately.  If you are waiting on your free ebook from the giveaway, please be patient.  I’m sending them out in manageable clusters during my breaks and have sent out approximately 200 so far.  If you absolutely can’t wait, you can get your copy immediately for only $2

We’re studying China!

We searched all over the internet.  We read about China, looked at pictures of the land and watched youtube videos of dances and some other cool things.

We learned about and colored flags of China.

We read about Lottie Moon here.

We read about Ping the duck here.

We made a special lapbook to help us review and look back:

As we made our lapbook, we talked about how our names would look if we wrote them in Chinese.  We talked about customs and how the clothing would be different.  We made Chinese paper dolls, talked about Panda Bears, cut out and looked at different currency, and looked at numbers in chinese!

And then, we ordered in some chinese food

Links you may want to use:

-Paperdoll clothes here.
-Paperdolls here.

(Everything else we mostly found via google )

We recently started a new curriculum, and I absolutely LOVE it!  Right now, we’re focusing on science with more “planned out” activities while we let her other learning come from less planned activities and lots of question asking and exploring.

But, as we started diving into the new curriculum, I had a thought:

“Wouldn’t this just be SO much more fun as a group?  Nothing beats learning with some of your best friends!”

I put up a invitation (first come-first serve) on Facebook, inviting my friends to take part in our “preschool” science days, and was amazed at the response!

So, I named our little homeschool classroom “New Discoveries,” and a group of preschoolers meet each week with us to learn.

This week is our first week as meeting with other children, and it went great!

Right now, we’re learning about the praying mantis.

We read THIS book (which was amazing!).

Then, we made our own praying mantises:

And, we learned about their body parts, how and what they eat, their lifecycle, how they clean themselves, and even acted out how they catch their prey!

Then, we went outside to get the habitat ready.  Sticks, leaves, moss and grass were collected by little hands in preparation for the egg sack that would be arriving by FedEx sometime today.  As we made our way back inside, guess who showed up?

That’s right.  Approximately 50-100 unborn praying mantises via FedEx.  We were one excited bunch!

In a few weeks, we’ll have little praying mantis nymphs scurrying around, and enough for the whole class to take home and unleash wherever they choose (outside )

And tomorrow?  We’re studying sedimentary rocks.