Mommyfaithe Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 to make schooling a fun, memorable and learning rich time for them. My guys love crafts and cutting and pasting. What sites have been the most helpful in coming up with fun ideas. I need to have some fun with these little guys and haven't had a good chance to plan...busy planning the older kids lives...Now that I have a good handle on that....I would like to plan the funnest year ever for my 4 & 6 year old boys. ~~Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Some of the nicest memories I have with my kids relating to school are when we did Galloping the Globe and when I did the MFW K Science projects with my daughter. We have just started using Atelier Art and that may wind up high on the list as well. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ http://www.first-school.ws/theme/alphabet.htm The above sites are the ones I use to find some ideas for my 4 year old. She loves crafts and cooking. We baked mini cupcakes last week and had a tea party. That's been her favorite activity so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 We cooked a lot. Depends on what you are studying, of course, but you can make foods from other lands, or connect foods to your Bible study or science studies. (don't know if you do Bible) Also going places and growing things--Butterfly and frog kits are so fun and fascinating for many kiddos, and field trips add extra spice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Are they boys or girls? (not that I guess it really matters!!) My little girls really love cooking and dressing up for tea parties. I bought this great cookbook with really fun recipes (decorating the cookies is a lot of fun) http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0785398546/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222012777&sr=1-1 The title is Cookie Dough Fun. :) We do lots of playdough stuff too. I make it and they love picking out the colors and mushing it when it is still warm. They also love putting up puppet shows (after making puppets from sock and felt or paper bags and construction paper) and plays. They will take stories we have read and create their own plays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda_Jo Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 We're doing K this year. I second the Galloping the Globe curriculum. It's so easy to make hands on by searching the library and internet for crafts and recipes. We're also using Discovering Great Artistis and doing artists in the country we are studying for GTG. Miriam always wants to know what day we are being "artists" each week. Hands down the favorite hands on activities have been our twice weekly science lessons. Right now we're doing matter, you can check my blog to see some of the fun experiments we have done in the last 2 weeks. I found all the experiments in books from the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 I would love some cut and paste...paper plate/ construction paper/ gluestick crafts/...toilet paper toots, pipe cleaner stuff kind of activities that go with either letter recognition/ math concepts / nursery rhymes / etc. I am not really crafty...so nothing too difficult. My kids LOVE construction paper/ markers and glue sticks.:D Oh, and they are boys. ~~Faithe (beginning to homeschool my last 2 littlies as my olders start on more independent paths.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 There is an art book called The Little Hands Art Book by Judy Press. It has all the types of activities you are talking about. Very simple, but fun. I have it out from the library right now and my daughter really enjoys it. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 We are using Horizons Phonics this year. With every letter or blend, there are pictures surrounding it or on the first page. We take turns making up stories using every word that is shown. We have had so much fun, because they turn out to be very silly stories. My 11yo dd has even wanted to do it with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 There is an art book called The Little Hands Art Book by Judy Press. It has all the types of activities you are talking about. Very simple, but fun. I have it out from the library right now and my daughter really enjoys it. Lisa Thanks!!! I'll check my library! Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 We are using Horizons Phonics this year. With every letter or blend, there are pictures surrounding it or on the first page. We take turns making up stories using every word that is shown. We have had so much fun, because they turn out to be very silly stories. My 11yo dd has even wanted to do it with us. Cool idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 There is an art book called The Little Hands Art Book by Judy Press. It has all the types of activities you are talking about. Very simple, but fun. I have it out from the library right now and my daughter really enjoys it. Lisa Alphabet Art is another good one by Judy Press. Actually, just look for Judy Press books and you'll find lots of good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Not exactly in the same vein, but there is cutting and pasting, lol.. When I did biology with my oldest when he was in first grade, and I'm doing this year with my 2nd grader, is to make booklets for each animal we study. You could of course tailor this to whatever level of info you wanted, but using the Usborne encyclopedia I made a list of animals for our study. Then for each one I make a booklet using folded construction paper for the cover and stapling blank pages inside. After we read about the animal, I have printouts of pictures and diagrams, and ds colors, cuts them out and pastes them in his book. I include a nice color picture for him to tape on the front cover. He also draws pictures where relevant in the book, and I have animal stickers with the names in Arabic for him to put. This year my ds (7) has been so so excited about science, he loves making the little books. I keep it pretty simple, I have a set number of topics to cover for each (habitat, diet, anatomy, life cycle) and use Youtube videos when I can find them. Also I use the Enchanted Learning website a lot, which has not only anatomy diagrams and other information for a lot of animals, but some related craft ideas (like making caterpillars out of old egg cartons). I have it planned out for 20 weeks, but you could easily stretch it to cover a year (we do several animals a week) hth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 With my first we did SOTW 1 in First Grade. Making Pharoahs crowns and mummifying a Cornish hen was great fun. With my current we having fun with Artistic Pursuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binalina Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 We love Never Bored Books from Timberdoodle. My kids create a sea of paper scraps and fun little projects from these cut and paste books. Really fun and easy. They have different levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 We love Never Bored Books from Timberdoodle. My kids create a sea of paper scraps and fun little projects from these cut and paste books. Really fun and easy. They have different levels. Yes! My dd loves these as well - you can usually find them at any large chain bookstore as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'd say some of our most fun times were field trips -- often just to new playgrounds -- but we did more ambitious things too -- the usual kids' museums, "theaters," hiking and so on. Some of our best memories center around holidays. We made a Columbus Day cake with bright green & blue frosting (land & sea) and little sailboats on it. We decorate for and observe all kinds of holidays, major and minor. I also have special food that I reserve for different holidays. Like most families, we have our own special traditions for religious holidays -- some of our best memories! A resource I love are 3 books published by Hawthorn Press: Festivals Together (multicultural), All Year Round (Christian), and Festivals, Family and Food. But, I would recommend that families with a more strict fundamentalist perspective (for lack of a better term) look at the books before buying, as they might not like them. Right now, my bookmark is in Harvest Thanksgiving pages, with drying apples and pears, stringing onions, and other seasonal crafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 We've been doing some little science stuff with the boys (kinder) and they love it. They are hooked on spiders now, that we looked at spiders from library books and went on spider hunts. Now's a great time for huge spider webs, too, so they know where every spider lives in our yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda_Jo Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Here's a great site for lots of cut and paste crafts http://www.dltk-kids.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 Here's a great site for lots of cut and paste craftshttp://www.dltk-kids.com/ Great Site!!! WOW. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 Not exactly in the same vein, but there is cutting and pasting, lol.. When I did biology with my oldest when he was in first grade, and I'm doing this year with my 2nd grader, is to make booklets for each animal we study. You could of course tailor this to whatever level of info you wanted, but using the Usborne encyclopedia I made a list of animals for our study. Then for each one I make a booklet using folded construction paper for the cover and stapling blank pages inside. After we read about the animal, I have printouts of pictures and diagrams, and ds colors, cuts them out and pastes them in his book. I include a nice color picture for him to tape on the front cover. He also draws pictures where relevant in the book, and I have animal stickers with the names in Arabic for him to put. This year my ds (7) has been so so excited about science, he loves making the little books. I keep it pretty simple, I have a set number of topics to cover for each (habitat, diet, anatomy, life cycle) and use Youtube videos when I can find them. Also I use the Enchanted Learning website a lot, which has not only anatomy diagrams and other information for a lot of animals, but some related craft ideas (like making caterpillars out of old egg cartons). I have it planned out for 20 weeks, but you could easily stretch it to cover a year (we do several animals a week) hth! I am so impressed. Thinking back on my olders...who were my first littlies...I remember doing things like this...and having a ball. i am going to have to dig out our old notebooks and folders...I never had the heart to toss them and now I think they will help jolt my memory into being a fun MOM again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 field trips!!! We spent an entire month doing a science lesson on the human body at a science museum. We had fun! Blessings, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollie010 Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I would love some cut and paste...paper plate/ construction paper/ gluestick crafts/...toilet paper toots, pipe cleaner stuff kind of activities that go with either letter recognition/ math concepts / nursery rhymes / etc. I am not really crafty...so nothing too difficult. My kids LOVE construction paper/ markers and glue sticks If you like these kinds of activities, I recommend that you look at the two pre-K programs from WinterPromise. Even if you don't want to do the entire program you can view some of the popular "Little Hands Books" that were suggested by another poster. We did Ready to Learn and the kids still pull those books off of the shelf. We just started with some of the Animals and Their World resources and there are many of these types of activities. Just looking at the book list for these two programs might inspire you. We really like Preschool Art, also. Laurel T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Yes! My dd loves these as well - you can usually find them at any large chain bookstore as well. aNIMALS AND THEIR wORLD?? i THINK MY LITTLE GUYS WOULD REALLY LIKE A CURR BASED IN SCIENCE MORE THAN HISTORY RIGHT NOW. i DON'T WANT TO START THE hX CYCLE WITH THEM UNTIL DD BEGINS HER NEW CYCLE (WHEN OLDER boys are in 3rd & 1rst grade OOPS sorry for the caps...my keyboard is screwy and I am tired. ~Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Honestly? Well, during our homeschool breaks we watch The Three Stooges and Little Rascals snippets on YouTube (grin). We love to laugh. Blessings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda_Jo Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 I forgot about art! We also love arts and crafts time. If you have a good library nearby get titles by MaryAnn Kohl she has some great art and craft idea books for this age level! I was getting ready to buy the new Artistic Pursuits early childhood ed. book, but just couldn't justify spending the money-then I thought to search for preschool and early elementary arts and crafts at the library. I literally came home with 20 books to get some ideas from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Honestly? Well, during our homeschool breaks we watch The Three Stooges and Little Rascals snippets on YouTube (grin). We love to laugh. Blessings. Oh...Hahahaha...my little guys LOVE The Little Rascals, Bugs Bunny and can recite Marx Brothers scenes (memory work)!! ~~Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 I forgot about art! We also love arts and crafts time. If you have a good library nearby get titles by MaryAnn Kohl she has some great art and craft idea books for this age level! I was getting ready to buy the new Artistic Pursuits early childhood ed. book, but just couldn't justify spending the money-then I thought to search for preschool and early elementary arts and crafts at the library. I literally came home with 20 books to get some ideas from! I am going to the Library Thursday...what a great idea...I forgot ALL about library books for crafts... I have to stop being so serious!!!! ~~Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmac Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 When my oldest was a 1st grader, he's now a 5th grader (where does time go?) we raised tadpoles to frogs and then released them back into the wild. Both boys really loved this and they still talk about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire up north Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 We built our own bird's nest on the sidewalk. Much harder than you think! REally helped kids appreciate the ingenuity of birds. We also tried (unsuccessfully) to catch our own ants for an ant farm. Those apes make it look so easy with their sticks. Humph! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennay Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 We raised butterflies in the spring. My boys who were 4 and 5 loved that. And there is a lapbook on butterflies with book recommendations at http://www.homeschoolshare.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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