DIY water table

Step 1: drool over water tables online.

Step 2: post on freecycle looking for one, get a response from a friend that she has one, get super busy and keep forgetting to pick it up...{sorry Shirley}

Step 3: get desperate one morning for something for your three year old to do while you teach the others.

Step 4: look around your house and yard and find stuff you previously complained about lying around looking messy.

Step 5: recruit your 10 year old to help you haul cement blocks

Step 6: fill with water and step back and enjoy watching said 3 year old have fun.

                

Step 7: hurry up and go teach the others while you have a few uninterrupted minutes!

Ready... Set... Your turn! 

Island Mama

School's in!

On Friday we finished our second week of school and we are slowly getting into a new routine. After a year of many disruptions, I am enjoying a little bit of normalcy... well, enoying it while I can any way!  Sometime in the next few weeks we will welcome baby #5 and who knows what life will look like then!

This year I have a preschooler, 1st grader, 3rd grader and 5th grader.  As you can probably imagine our days are quite busy.

We are doing things a bit differently this year. During our past four years of homeschooling we have been quite eclectic in our approach to learning, not depending on one curriculum or method of teaching, but incorporating many different resources.  The benefits of this is you can meet the individual needs and interests of the learners.  We have had a very relaxed approach to learning as I attempt to develop in each child a love for learning.  My philosophy is once they love learning you can teach them almost anything and in many cases, they will learn on their own.

The down side of this approach for me is that it is very time consuming to pull all of these resources together, especially having so many different levels to focus on.  I also have a firstborn who loves routine and structure almost to a fault. This type of learning was not really fitting in with his style.  His desire to keep on a schedule was being hindered by a mom who's ability to think beyond a day at time especially the last 4 months of the school year, was lacking (think morning sickness, no energy, watching my mom slip away... not a good combination for being an organized homeschooler!!)

But this is the beauty of homeschooling... you find what works for your child and make it happen!  This year we are making more use of specific curricula.  Micaiah's is very structured and rigorous (traditional school at home) while the rest are a little more relaxed, but most of the planning is done for me.  And so far, 2 weeks in it seems to be working.

Micaiah (Grade 5/ Primary 6) is enrolled at A Beka Academy.  Video streamed classes with text books, reading materials, and testing materials for the entire year all sent to us.  All I do for him is supervise his learning, grade his work and be available to answer questions he may have.  He is really enjoying it so far, staying on top of his assignments and taking ownership of his schedule.  He loves to check off what he has finished and he enjoys watching the classes on line. 

Eli (grade 3/ Primary 4) and Eden (grade 1/ Primary 2) are using the same curricula,  learning a lot together and enjoying it.  Even through they are 2 grade levels apart the main curriculum covers ages 6 to 8 so it is a perfect fit for us.  I do  math, spelling/ reading separately for them but the rest is worked on together.

We are using Moving Beyond the Page which is a comprehensive homeschool curriculum that covers science, social studies, and language arts. It is a unit based curriculum which encourages hands on learning, and focuses on developing critical and creative thinking.  The first 2 weeks have been a lot of fun as we are learning about communities around the world.

For math, we are using RightStart Math which uses visual, auditory, and kinesthetic approaches to teaching mathematics.  Both are using the same program but Eli is moving at a faster pace as much of it is review for him and it is new learning for Eden.  So far I like the program but I will have to do a proper review after we have used it for a few months.

We are continuing to use All About Spelling which I used in the past for Micaiah and Eli.  It is new to Eden this year and I am combining it with All About Reading for her.  Again a kinesthetic, visual and auditory approach... do you notice a theme here??  I have 2 very hands on learners that I think will thrive with these programs.  The best part for me is that there is very little planning for all of them.  Most lessons I have to simply open the teachers manual and go to it.  There are some lessons that require some advance planning like having supplies ready, gathering books from the library etc. which I think I can handle!!

It was apparent in the spring/ early summer that Marcus would need a more structured preschool program. I was going to wait until he was 4 and just continue this year with learning though guided play and lots of free play as we had been doing.  He catches on to lots by listening in on everyone's lessons so I decided to do something a little more formal with him.  I found  ABC Jesus Loves Me which is a free curriculum plan.  These past two weeks we learned about Creation, counting using "5 Little Ducks" and the sense of hearing using "Mr. Brown can Moo, Can You?"  Each week there is a different bible story, book, number, colour and letter to focus on as well as ideas for fine motor and gross motor development.  Marcus also has bible verses to learn each week and he now proudly says Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  I'll have to post a video of him reciting it if he cooperates with me!

School's in for Mommy to... I am currently in the hardest season I have ever been in in my life but God is teaching me many lessons.  Prayerfully I'll have a good report card at the end of it all!  I will share these lessons with you in hopes that they will be an encouragement to someone else.

Lesson #1: to put my own ideas aside and be open to change.  Micaiah's program is not one I would have chosen or at first felt would fit into our style but I had to put my own agenda aside.  I depended on God to give me peace about it and he made it clear in my heart that this was the right route.

Lesson #2:  I HAVE to start each day with the LORD.  The days that I haven't tend to be disastrous.   The kids attitudes and behavours overwhelm me more on those days, I am more tired and cranky and have far less patience.  God truly sustains me. His power is always available for me... I just have to partake!

Lesson #3 I am currently reading Kingdom Woman by Tony Evans and Chrystal Evans Hurst (highly recommended).  Here is a quote that has really encouraged and kept me going over the past couple weeks.

"If you are going to live in excellence, you have to forget yesterday. Whether it was good, bad, or ugly, if it’s yesterday, you need to let it go. When you carry yesterday further than you ought to, you ruin today. If you ruin today, then you spoil tomorrow."

I will leave you with that and pray that it is an encouragement to you.  Whether you are a homeschool mom, single person, teenager, dad... whoever, it is true for you too!

Until next time,

Ooka Island: A Review

For the past month Eden has been battling Fliggs (FLying Pigs), rescuing Elves, collecting mist, wandering through sound caves, hanging out in a Popcorn Library, playing in a Pencil Playground, skating down an Alphabet Mountain, and looking for books in a submarine.

     Sounds like fun?
                     Let me introduce you to Ooka Island!

We were given a copy of this downloadable online adventure to review but before I tell you what I think of it here is some information found on their website which will tell you a little about it:

Ooka Island is an online adventure based on a dynamic, individualized, and adaptive reading curriculum that will keep children captivated and develop their literacy skills along the way.

The Ooka Island Adventure starts with 20 minutes of guided play where the player is guided through a customized learning path through the 7 activities on Ooka Island. After 20 minutes of guided play the player unlocks the next book on the Book Path, reads the book in the Popcorn Library and completes the comprehension and vocabulary activities. The player is then rewarded with 8 minutes of free play where the player can play in any unlocked activity on the Island, purchase items in the Mist Mart, or play with their Ooka Elf friends in the Pencil Playground.

The Ooka Island Adventure is embedded with an innovative learning algorithm that adapts game play according to each child’s needs. If a child struggles with any skill being taught, they are rerouted to an activity where that same skill is presented in a different way. This pattern is repeated until the child has mastered the particular skill.

The Ooka Island Adventure is accessed online but not through a web browser, so players are never directed outside of the game to other websites or to outside content.

After being Ooka Island Adventurers for a month now, I can tell you that we love it.   It is designed for Pre-K to Grade 2 but since Eli (grade 1) is reading quite fluently I decided to use the program for Eden (pre-K) who wasn't reading but was becoming more interested in reading.  She knew all her letters and the sounds and was getting the concept of putting letter sounds together.  So Ooka Island came at the perfect time. From the first day, entering the "Cave of Sounds" she was excited.  I think she was thrilled to have a program that was hers (the boys have had the chance to review a couple of programs that have been above her level).  After I sat with her for a few days, she was able to maneuver through the program quite well on her own.  Her favourite part is getting to the Popcorn Library and having the book read to her.  She likes to log on and go straight to the library to read the books that have already been unlocked.  After a month she has unlocked 16 books and there are 85 in total so we have plenty more Ooka Island ahead of us.  She also,  in true girl fashion, loves shopping in the Mist Mart for new clothes, shoes and accessories for her avatar.

I like that the program moves at her pace, and if she is struggling with a skill, it repeats (without it feeling repetitive)  it until she gets it.   It has built her confidence in reading and she is now trying to read any book she picks up (including mine:).   I like that she doesn't always have to do the full 20 minutes as the program will pick up where she left off.  I am impressed with the thought and planning that has obviously gone into the development of this program.  We had a few installation issues and compatibility issues (it's a newly released program) but the customer service representative I dealt with was always efficient and knowledgeable.

Would I recommend the program?   Yes, if you have an emerging or early reader who loves technology,  give it a try.  There are several pricing options available and they are even offering a 30% discount to celebrate their launch so now is a great time to explore the island.






I participated in this review as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Team.   Click here to see what my crewmates  are saying about Ooka Island.


Disclaimer:  As a TOS Reviewer I was given a free 6 month subscription in exchange for my honest (positive or otherwise) opinion of the product.

 

Preschool Corner- All About Me

Eden has started preschool and is loving it! We will be using the Raising Rock Stars Preschool (RRSP)material as a base this year and adding preschool packs, lots of hands on activities and free play.

Before starting with our RRSP program, I decided we should start the year with an All About Me theme. Here's some highlights:

 Our verse for the week was Psalm 139:14  "I Praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  I printed the verse and let Eden put her fingerprints all around it.  We talked about how God made each one of us special and unique.

One day we talked all about her name.  It's meaning, how to spell her first, middle and last name.  We read a custom made book that she was given for Christmas one year called My Very Own Name from a company called i see me inc.  (Thanks Auntie Robyn :) 

Another day we talked about her age and her birthday.  She glued candles on a cake to represent her age.  I also put together an activity using our count down cake.  I put 11 blocks numbered 0-10 in a gift bag.  She reached in and pulled out a "present" and then put the corresponding number of candles on the cake.

On the day we talked about our family we used the cutouts from our All About me sensory tub.  Eden had to put the family members in size order and then match the name cards with the person.  She loved playing with the cutouts and did so several times during the week.

 We practiced our phone number using number magnets and made a "Me on the Map" book which you can read about here.

Another day we talked about body parts and continued our discussion about how God made us special.  I traced Eden's outline on a huge sheet of newsprint and let her colour it however she liked.  (the first thing she did was give herself nail polish... truly a girly girl but I have no idea where she gets that from!)  We labeled the body parts when she was done and then hung it up on the wall.  (Unfortunately Marcus thought it was there for him to pull down and tear apart!)

In addition we did some painting, played with playdough, had lots of fun with the boys and Eden attended her first ballet class!

It was a great start to our preschool year!

Linking up to Preschool Corner @ Homeschool Creations

Pin it Do it Challenge Week 3

 Welcome to week 3 of the Pin it Do it Challenge!

While I was planning Eden's All About Me week for our introduction to preschool, I found 2 ideas that I knew I had to recreate.

First, I love sensory tubs... I love putting them together, and the kids really enjoy playing, discovering and learning with them.  The Totally Tots website has a "What's in the Tub" feature where they put together sensory tubs each month around a specific theme.  It is a great resource and it is where I found this sensory tub:

Totally Tots- What's in the Tub

 Here is my version.  I had fun putting this one together.

• The filler is abc pasta (first week of school, letter review) lentils (for some colour) popcorn seeds and wagon wheel pasta (that's what else I had in the cupboard!)
• Next I took a picture of each person in the family.. even Marcus cooperated! After removing the background with Photoshop, I cut them out and laminated the pictures.  They stood up nicely in the filler.
• I added name cards so Eden could match the name with the person. (name recognition)
• Foam and wooden letters which spelled out her first and last name (she fished these out with a spoon to practice spelling her name)
• magnetic numbers- the numbers in our phone number to practice.
• magnets from our Melissa and Doug calendar (My Birthday, Ballet & Gymnastics- Eden's activities)
• plastic star shape (star was our shape of the week)
• wooden flower and leaf beads (to add some more colour and texture).

I like how it came together and Eden enjoyed playing with the tub (even Eli asked to have a turn a few times).  Eden's favourite part was the cutouts of the family.  One day she spent almost an hour playing with them! 


The next project I pinned  was from my dear friend Mari-Ann's website Counting Coconuts where I always find some great ideas (she is amazing!)

This "Me on the Map" book is a circle shaped book.  Each circle of the book from smallest to biggest represents our home,  neighbourhood, parish (city), island (country), continent, and planet.  The circles are decorated with pictures and held together with a brad.  Eden enjoyed putting each piece together.. we did it over 2 days and the highlight for her was sticking a little star on each page approximately where she would be.  It is a great visual for how we fit in the world.

Here is our version which didn't stray too far from the original (Hey, why recreate the wheel!)

Well, that's how I brought Pinterest into real life this week!  What about you?  Link up below, I'd love to see your great projects and  ideas!