Preschool Week of 8/6

This week, Crumpet and I started going to Parent Participation Preschool two days a week. It was a lot of fun, and by the second day, we had the routine figured out. I think this program is going to be a great fit for us. Crumpet and I still spend our days together, and I still do most of the teaching. At the same time, Crumpet is learning about routine and taking direction from someone other than me. Also, he gets to practice socializing in a very controlled setting, which he needs. And I get to meet some really cool moms! This week's theme was the American flag. To go along with that, we are memorizing the pledge at home.

We actually managed to keep up with some homeschool work too.
Math: We created a store in the kitchen this week. First, I put out a variety of foods and asked Crumpet to sort them into groups in whatever way he felt appropriate. I was thinking canned goods, cereals, cold stuff. He was thinking proteins, grains, dairy. Then we put prices on each food, and I had him count out the correct number of coins to pay me. We worked with pennies and nickels. We talked about 5 pennies being equal to 1 nickel, but I don't think he's ready for that concept.
Science: We did a variety of experiments demonstrating evaporation this week. We also did some other fun water experiments. None of the really exciting ones worked, of course, but some things went well. I'll probably write a science post for next week.

Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready:
We talked about various body parts and located them on Crumpet and on a magazine picture of another child. Then he drew a picture of himself, including as many of the parts as he could. The book recommends repeating this every once in a while so you can see the child's progress. I'm looking forward to seeing how things change. Especially because Crumpet chose to draw himself as an alien insect in this picture, with 6 limbs. One of the arms is coming out of his cheek. Hmm.
We also started working on cutting a bit more. Technically, Crumpet can use scissors, but yikes, it's still painful to watch. His fine motor skills aren't great - writing is also very challenging.We're using the trace and collage book from Tired, Need Sleep for some of the cutting practice. We also have a Kumon cutting book.

We had a lot of fun activities out of the house this week.
Nature: We went to the Waimea Valley Botanical Garden on the north shore of Oahu. There is a beautiful hike through the gardens, and at the end is a beautiful waterfall that we swam in. I love the crazy flowers here in Hawaii. Here is a lollipop flower:
This was fun tunnel made of vines:
Arts: The library had its awards ceremony for the summer reading program. They had a great breakfast for us, and then gave away a ridiculous number of great prizes. This year's theme was "Voyage to Book Island" so everything has a picture of a pirate on it. Crumpet was thrilled.
We discovered Tumblebooks this summer, because part of the reading requirement was to choose 2 online books from this website. There is a great write-up of Tumblebooks here. These are animated online books. I didn't think I'd like them, but they are a lot of fun. Crumpet likes to listen to/watch them while I'm making dinner now. I don't know if it's any better than sitting him front of the t.v., but we like it...

After the library celebration, we went to see a children's theatre production of the Princess and the Pea. It was a lot of fun. And then, we went to check out the craft store on base. They have a pick it and paint it ceramics studio, so Crumpet chose a little tank and a dump truck and painted them while we were there. They are in the kiln now, and we'll pick them up in a day or two.

I can't wait to see what all of you did this week. For more preschool fun, check out Homeschool Creations!