Weekly Update: April 12-16

We had a very random, yet busy, week this week. I was busy planning for a Mommy and Me class that we hosted at our house. The planning and the class took up several mornings, but we still fit in some "school" time in the afternoons.

Math: We finally got around to playing with our homemade Math Fries. Lexy really enjoyed this. We took turns ordering fries and counting the correct number to put in each box. We will continue using these to practice counting. I'd like to begin working on numbers above 30.



Also, I decided to try some books that were recommended over at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. I went to the library and checked out every MathStart Level 1 book that they had! I spent several days looking over them myself before I introduced one to Lexy. I REALLY like these books, especially since Lexy enjoys reading so much.



The first book we read together was Beep, Beep, Vroom, Vroom! This book focuses on recognizing patterns. It is about a little sister that likes to play with her big brother's cars. Throughout the book, the cars are lined up in patterns. After reading it, Lexy played with her little brother's cars. She made patterns of her own.

To continue working on patterns, we played with Sequencing and Counting Bears from Learning Resource. These come with pattern cards that have four different levels of difficulty. She enjoyed finishing the pattern.

I plan to continue with the MathStart books. I'm not sure if I'll do one a week or every few days. I'd really like to get our own copies that way they can become a part of our home library.

Another book that was recommended by Natalie was "Missing Math: A Number Mystery" by Loreen Leedy. I checked this out and added it to our library basket to read whenever she felt like it. She really enjoyed this book and asked for it several times throughout the week. I found her following Josiah around on several occassions trying to read it to him or sitting by herself reading it and talking about the missing numbers.

Science: Lexy has recently been asking a lot of questions about bodies. So, we checked out more books from the library about the human body. I'm putting together a unit as we go. I plan on doing a seperate post about the specifics. But basically, the big ideas that I'm wanting her to come away with from this unit are:



1. We were created uniquely and with wisdom by God in His image

2. Our bodies are made up of parts we can see (external) and parts we can't see (internal)

3. Each part has a specific function (We'll talk about these, but I'm not sure how much she'll retain)

4. We need to take care of our bodies by eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting lots of rest

5. Our senses help us discover the world God created



I am getting many ideas from the Human Body Unit at Refined Metals Academy. Again, I'll post more specifics in a seperate post.



Here is Lexy filling in her body that I traced with chalk on the driveway.

Phonics/Handwriting: We are continuing to work with "Get Ready for the Code." She knows all her sounds and is very good at determining beginning sounds/letters. So, most of this is review. I'm debating on whether to skip ahead to "Get Set for the Code." I've been sticking with it, because it does have a lot of handwriting practice which has been helping her.



At this point, I just want her to enjoy writing and completing the books. So, when she wants to do it with a giant rainbow crayon...I'm okay with that :)

Sensory Tub: It's been awhile since I've posted about our sensory tub. I haven't switched it out as often as I would like. They have enjoyed this month's tub. It is filled with seeds, shovels, rakes, pots, and fake flowers. I bought two big bags of bird seed and squirrel feed, because other seed was much more expensive. However, I did buy some individual packets of some vegetable seeds and scattered them in. I left the packets there that show what those seeds look like. Lexy enjoyed looking through the seeds to find specific types.



Other: We hosted a Mommy and Me class at our house which was lots of fun. If it didn't take so long to get pictures on here, I'd add more. Here is one of Lexy painging a Spring picture. Many of the kids enjoyed painting on the easel!

Bible: My husband does our Bible planning now. To go along with our Science unit, he is doing a Bible unit on God making each of us special. I'll do a seperate post with more specifics about this when we get into it more.