We will be starting up our next term after the holidays… Jan 5. In Term Two we will be focusing on the animals in the winter, their survival skills (migration, adaptation, hibernation), plus reading about some of the winter holidays. Nature study will continue to be a big part of what we do… although it may be a bit more at the kitchen table watching birds at the feeder. I also want to spend some time introducing poetry… beyond the nursery rhymes.
We will be loosely following a Weekly Schedule (Preschool and Kindergarten)… with my general outline being:
Every Day: Pledge, Calendar, Days of the Week, Weather, Poem of the Month, Circle Time (songs & finger plays), Bible Story, Free Art Time (play dough, water colors or colored pencils – their choice).
M: Read Story of the Week, Introduce an Art History Image, Introduce the Letter of the Week
Tu: Read Story of the Week, Handwriting, Craft/Directed Art
W: Read Expansion Book, Read Flower Fairy Alphabet Story and color Alphabet Book Page
Th: Read Story of the Week, Handwriting, Do an Illustration and a Narration in Our Story Journal about the Story of the Week
F: Baking Time, Nature Study/Science Theme/Field Trip, Finish Craft if Needed
Daily (Kindergarten only)
Phonics & Math (We are using Spell to Write and Read and Right Start Math)
Art History: You can choose an individual artist to study for a term (like recommended by Charlotte Mason) or use the Come Look With Me series of books to focus on a theme instead. We will be using Come Look With Me for now starting with World of Play.
Bedtime Reading: We are going to tryMy Side of the Mountain. I think my adventurous little guy will enjoy it. Farmer Boy was a big hit. We tend to mix up a couple chapters in a ‘big’ book one night with the kids’ pick of picture books the next.
Term Two Book List
Baking Activity: Russian Tea Cakes (Snowballs)
Baking Activity: Babies in a Blanket
Baking Activity: Bear Claw Cookies
Baking Activity: Sunflower Carrot Muffins
Craft Activity: Clay Birds
Baking Activity: Bread
Baking Activity: Sugar Cookie Hearts
Week Seven:
Baking Activity: Hot Chocolate
Week Eight:
Baking Activity: ?
Week Nine:
Baking Activity: ?
Week Ten:
Baking Activity: Maple Candy
Week Eleven:
Baking Activity: ?
Week Twelve:
Baking Activity: Pancakes and Maple Syrup
Ok, this probably seems like a really weird time of year to be investing in and thinking about curriculum stuff but here I am with stacks of new materials around me. I am enjoying being able to read and sort through all the new stuff without feeling hurried to get going with it (well, we have started the Cursive First already). What do I have you ask? Right Start Math Level B (Bug finished A about a month ago), Spell to Write and Read, along with Cursive First (Bug recently finished all the phonics lessons on ReadingA-Z.com), History Odyssey Ancients and Middle Ages and Catholic Mosaic.
So far I am really pleased with all of our new investments. Everything is very hands on. Both the History Odyssey and Catholic Mosaic are based around Living Books with corresponding activity ideas. Spell to Write and Read seems so sound that I am hoping that my own abysmal spelling skills will improve with the program. And of course, I absolutely love Right Start Math! I can’t say enough good thing about that program. I can’t imagine us looking elsewhere for Math until we complete the series. To begin with, we briefly tried Singapore math and hands down prefer RSM. As for science… I am planning to use the Young Scientist Club lab kits as our base, adding in Living Books and continuing our Nature Studies. I also want the kids to have some time to pursue their own projects.
I will give more thorough reviews after I’ve had a bit more time with the products but if anyone has any questions about them please feel free to leave a comment. I would be happy to chat curriculum.
Well, we have officially had our first snow of the season! Just some flurries, nothing sticking but we have indeed reached the coats and mittens time of the year. There are very few leaves left on the trees. It makes it hard to believe I took the picture seen above only a week ago.
Week Eleven (Nov 10-15)
In November
Caps, Hats, Sock and Mittens
K is for Kingcup
We will be coloring the Kingcup page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
I haven’t totally decided exactly what we are doing but we will be making some sort of centerpieces orpPlace settings for our Thanksgiving Table.
Sculptured Pretzels
INGREDIENTS
1 package yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
4 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
Kosher salt, optional.
DIRECTIONS
1. Put warm water in bowl, sprinkle with yeast, and stir until soft. Let set for 5 minutes.
2. Add dry ingredients.
3. Mix dough with hands until well blended. Dough should be smooth and elastic, not sticky.
4. Roll dough and twist into any shape such as alphabet, animals, etc.
5. Place on greased cookie sheet.
6. Let rise until double in size.
7. Brush each sculpture with the beaten egg and sprinkle with salt.
8. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes at 350 until sculptures are firm and golden brown.
Over the River and Through the Woods (or A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day)
Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandmother’s house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river, and through the wood –
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, “Ting-a-ling-ding”,
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river, and through the wood
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river, and through the wood –
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river, and through the wood –
Now Grandmother’s cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
by Lydia Maria Child
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
Every month we are each making a quilt square that show cases something we have learned about recently. At the end of the year I will make a quilt out of all the squares. I had thought about using a different fabric technique every month but when it came down to the wire we did another set of Glue Batik squares since I already had all the supplies on hand. So I am now planning to make the entire quilt with Batik squares. This process is so much fun and we have had wonderful results. I think it will make for a fun quilt.
Here is a quick run down of the steps…
Draw your design with pencil on your fabric.
Trace the pencil drawing with Elmer’s Blue Gel Glue. Let the glue dry completely.
Paint over the entire piece of fabric with watered down acrylic paints (you can use the paint without watering it down if you want brighter colors). Let the paint dry completely. Wash off the glue in warm water.
I can’t believe that it is November already! We always host Thanksgiving for our family at our house. This means you will be seeing lots of crafts and projects from us preparing for this festive time of year.
Week Ten (Nov 3-8)
Ox-Cart Man
Farmer’s Market Rounding
J is for Jasmine
We will be coloring the Jasmine page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
I am trying to track down the supplies locally (since I didn’t get a chance to order them) to make beeswax candles.
I would like to visit a couple of our local shops that sell handmade items… maybe get some new candles that smell like pumpkin pie and such.
Gingerbread Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 (3.5 ounce) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter, and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon; stir into the pudding mixture. Cover, and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheets. On a floured board, roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into man shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are golden at the edges. Cool on wire racks.
Over the River and Through the Woods (or A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day)
Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandmother’s house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river, and through the wood –
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, “Ting-a-ling-ding”,
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river, and through the wood
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river, and through the wood –
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river, and through the wood –
Now Grandmother’s cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
by Lydia Maria Child
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
Week Nine (Oct 27-31)
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
Halloween Is
I is for Iris
We will be coloring the Iris page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
Once a month, we will be decorating a 12 inch quilt square to reflect something we are currently learning about. At the end of the school year, I will turn all of our squares into a keepsake quilt.
After last week’s craziness we could use a quiet week.
Pumpkin Pie
INGREDIENTS
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 c. solid packed pumpkin
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves
1 2/3 c. (13 oz.) evaporated milk or light cream
1 9 inch pie shell
DIRECTIONS
Mix filling ingredients in order given. Pour into pie shell. Bake in preheated 425 oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temp. to 350 and continue baking for 45 minutes or until knife inserted into center of pie filling comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.
Harvest
Now all the farmers from far and wide
Have gathered their bounty of countryside:
Corn and barley from field and wold,
Honey from beehive and wool from the fold,
Fruit from the orchard all ripe, red and gold,
Log for the fire to keep out the cold.
by Dorothy Hancock
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
This might be a quiet week for me in terms of posting. We have a lot on our calendar and quite a bit of family coming in from out of town. Fun, Fun, Fun.
Week Eight (Oct 20-25)
Pumpkin Pumpkin
Pumpkin Circle
There is a lovely DVD that goes with the Pumpkin Circle book if you can find it at your library. It is a bit too pricey for me to recommend buying it but Scholastic does carry it if you are interested.
H is for Herb Twopence
We will be coloring the Herb Twopence page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
I think we will paint a couple of the little ‘baby pumpkins’ and gourds for some fun decorations.
A trip to the pumpkin patch of course!
Pumpkin Muffins
INGREDIENTS
Nonstick spray coating
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar plus 2 packets heat-stable sugar substitute, or 1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cup orange juice
DIRECTIONS
1. Spray twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick coating; set pan aside. In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar plus sugar substitute or the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.
2. In another bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil, orange peel, and orange juice. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are light brown. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.
Harvest
Now all the farmers from far and wide
Have gathered their bounty of countryside:
Corn and barley from field and wold,
Honey from beehive and wool from the fold,
Fruit from the orchard all ripe, red and gold,
Log for the fire to keep out the cold.
by Dorothy Hancock
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
Week Seven (Oct 13-20)
Pelle’s New Suit
How We Use Wool
G is for Gorse
We will be coloring the Gorse page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
I’m not totally sure what our project will end up being. We may use the wool roving on felt to make pictures. We may try to make Felted Wool Soap Bars or maybe some felted critters for the nature table. I’ll have to see what the kids are interested in trying.
Try to find a knitting shop, local farm, historic village, etc that has a spinning wheel, loom or in some way processes wool. If nothing else, visit your local yarn shop (not one of the box stores – they don’t have as many natural fibers) to compare the types of yarn available. How do the different fibers feel? What other animals do we get yarn from?
I don’t have something specific in mind so we will probably just go ahead with making some yummy, fresh bread.
Harvest
Now all the farmers from far and wide
Have gathered their bounty of countryside:
Corn and barley from field and wold,
Honey from beehive and wool from the fold,
Fruit from the orchard all ripe, red and gold,
Log for the fire to keep out the cold.
by Dorothy Hancock
Bug has started on a new project with a theme of “Inside the Body.” I am trying to let him lead the process on this one… so we will be working on this as well, but I have no predetermined plans for it. Last week he checked out a lot of books and a dvd from the library, put together a skeleton and colored a diagram of the heart chambers.
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
We are going to be focusing on one of our favorite books this week, The Little Red Hen. We have several different copies but the one by Paul Galdone is our favorite. In this version the Little Red Hen bakes a cake instead of bread which works out nicely since the Fairy is celebrating her fourth birthday this week. We will be making her birthday cake!
Week Six (Oct 6-11)
The Little Red Hen
Chicks and Chickens
F is for Fuchsia
We will be coloring the Fuchsia page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
Bug told me he had a book he wanted to write this week. OK, sounds good to me. It sounds like an elaborate plot involving knights, wizards and an evil king. I will definitely let him run with that this week. For the Fairy girl, I will probably design her some story cards to color to go along with The Little Red Hen.
I also have an idea for a Big, Messy, Outside Art Project. I will post more about it… if it works out the way I’m imagining it.
At playgroup last week, the hostess had chickens. Pixie was especially excited. She loves all the farm birds… chickens, ducks, turkeys. We haven’t been to our local petting farm in a few weeks so we will probably head there. (Fur & Feathers Field Trip)
This is a cake recipe that resembles the ingredient list in the book.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350. Grease & flour bottom of 2 loaf pans or bundt cake pan.
Beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk. Spread in pan.
Bake bundt about 1 hour – 1hr 20min (check with toothpick), loaf pans 50-60min.
Harvest
Now all the farmers from far and wide
Have gathered their bounty of countryside:
Corn and barley from field and wold,
Honey from beehive and wool from the fold,
Fruit from the orchard all ripe, red and gold,
Log for the fire to keep out the cold.
by Dorothy Hancock
The Little Red Hen’s Song
This is the way I plant the seed,
Plant the seed,
Plant the seed,
This is the way I plant the seed, Early in the morning.
Repeat using the following verses:
…cut the wheat
…go to the mill
…mix the cake
…eat the cake
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time
We are continuing with our apple theme, but this week looking more at the tree than the fruit. We will be focusing on the topic of the change in seasons. I think this will be a good week to take some time to freshen up and decorate our nature table to reflect the change that is occurring outside our windows.
Week Four (Sep 29th-Oct 3)
The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree
Why Do Leaves Change Colors?
E is for Eyebright
We will be coloring the Eyebright page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
Once a month, we will be decorating a 12 inch quilt square to reflect something we are currently learning about. At the end of the school year, I will turn all of our squares into a keepsake quilt. (Related post: Glue Batik Fabric Squares)
We have a busy week and I don’t have a specific field trip in mind other than enjoying our falls walks and watching as the leaves change. We are also hoping to get out to pick fall raspberries. Raspberry Jam is a family favorite. (Related post: Cider, Snails & Acorns)
INGREDIENTS
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1 c. orange juice
1 1/2 T. milk
2 c. flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 – 2 c. chopped apples
1 t. baking soda
Topping:
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together (except topping ingredients) and place in greased loaf pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn;
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He’s under a haystack, fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
No, not I. For if I do he’s sure to cry.
Oh, the Lord is good to me,
And so I thank the Lord,
For giving me the things I need,
The Sun, the Rain and the Appleseed,
The Lord is good to me.
Kindergarten/Preschool Term One Overview: Harvest Time