Preschool Week of 12/23

We had a good week of learning here. I know everyone else is taking a bit of a break, but I figure that we have to get some work done during the periods of time we're actually at home instead of on the road! Also, most of our classes and clubs are on break, so we're sitting at home bored a lot of the time. It helps keep Crumpet civilized if I bring out lots of school activities!

Phonics:
I found these great alphabet printouts at Homeschool Creations here. There are 2 versions -solid letter cards for use as flashcards, or ones with a line down the middle which are meant to be cut to create mini puzzles/matching cards. Crumpet liked the looks of these and wanted to go through them right away. It's been a while since we've done an alphabet review (bad me), but he remembered all of the letters except M, N, and W, which have always given him trouble. And, I discovered that he now knows the sounds of about half the letters. Just a month ago, I was writing that he had no understanding of the sounds letters make! Big progress!
Math:
Crumpet has been very interested in telling time lately, so we did some work with our Melissa and Doug clock. Sometimes it seems like he really understands telling time by the hour, and sometimes not. This is a also great toy for stacking play, and number recognition. (I just noticed that our 6 is upside down! Ha ha, a little more work on 6 and 9, I think!)

We fill in our homemade calendar each day, and review all of the previous numbers at the same time. Today, the idea of the teen numbers clicked with Crumpet and he could read the numbers 11-19 without help from me.

Science:

We finally finished up our unit on the senses. Taste was our last topic. Here is poor Crumpet tasting salt water:

He made me taste the rest of the liquids we experimented with!

We also did a science unit on weather to link up with our Before Five in a Row reading (see below). I really wasn't very impressed with McRuffy's weather unit, but Crumpet does now have a basic understanding of how a thermometer is read.

Before Five in a Row:

We read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. The illustrations in the book are made using collage and watercolors, so we made our own artwork using the same techniques.

We also made tortilla snowflakes, which I've seen on many blogs this month. Crumpet really enjoyed this. I discovered that powdered sugar in the hands of a 3 year old is very like glitter - it was everywhere!

Fine motor skills:

Crumpet wanted to play with the kiddie chopsticks, so I gave him a variety of small objects and had him move them into the labelled compartments of an egg carton.

Gross motor skills:

We skated around the kitchen on wax paper. This was great fun, and he has asked to do it several times this week. We saw this idea here.

Household Skills:

I printed out a chores chart for Crumpet so that he remembers all of the things he needs to do each morning and evening, such as brush his teeth, make his bed, and feed the pets. So far, it's going really well. I give him a sticker at the end of each day (yes, he added a few of his own!), and have promised him a matchbox car at the end of the week if he does well every day, sort of like an allowance.

Socialization/Field Trips:

We went to a gymnastics class with our playgroup, and we went as a family to a local lights festival that we love:
This will be my last post until after Christmas, so I hope you have a wonderful holiday!