This was a quiet week, spent mostly at home. It felt good to have nowhere to rush off to.For reading, we took a break from Progressive Phonics and read some early readers from the library. This was partly because I ran out of printer paper - aaackk!! - and partly to get Crumpet used to reading real books. He complained a lot - he thinks reading books is hard, but I could see the subtle glow of pride when he finished.
We added a teeny bit of writing to our week. I have held off on this because Crumpet was just not ready. Each week, we did mazes and dot-to-dots. I had him trace large letters in order to strengthen his fingers, and teach him the correct way to make the letters. Lately, I've noticed changes though. He always holds writing utensils correctly. He has a firmer, more confident approach to writing and drawing. So, for the first time, I had him write a few letters freehand on the lined side of our white board. He was very proud of his work, and I'm happy to see that he is coming around to the idea of writing. (I'll admit though that writing just may cause me to send him to school - this is NOT going to be an easy process!!)
Science was fun this week. While they were out one day, Crumpet and Crumpet Sr. picked up a fossil excavation kit. It comes as a big block of clay, a pick and a paintbrush, and you have to dig out the dinosaur skeleton.
Crumpet worked with this for much longer than I expected, and at the end, he helped me assemble the skeleton. He's thrilled with it, and shows it to all of our visitors.
We also did McRuffy's unit on mirrors. We pretended we were mirrors of each other, and we searched for hidden pictures using a mirror. We also talked a bit about symmetry.We've been working on a few more puzzles, and this week, Crumpet put together most of a 24 piece puzzle on his own. Progress!!
The only down side to our week was that our amazing librarian has transferred to a new library. It's a good distance away, but I'm seriously considering making the trek. He was so much fun, and the new storyteller can't keep Crumpet's attention (or anyone else's - story time has turned into a complete zoo...)
Have a great week. For more preschool posts, visit Homeschool Creations!
Caleb refused to write as a 4 year old but as a 5 year old wrote well without complaining. I know some homeschooling mom's who don't sweat the handwriting and just teach the boys to type-we live in a typing, non-writing world anyway.
ReplyDeleteI love the first picture, and the dinosaur dig sounds very interesting. We are struggling with writing here as well - Anna can form letters but she doesn't write unprompted. I am on the border between making her and waiting for her to do it on her own. Lately I was more inclined to making her practice, but we'll see if I manage to stick with it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't sweat it too much - narration (either to you or one of those software programs/apps that takes dictation) is still very age appropriate. If you can find any of Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore's books they talk a lot about this, especially for boys. If you and he are enjoying it better with less formal "writing" lessons and more skill building in general, keep at it - that way neither of you will burn out. :-)
ReplyDeleteDinosaurs are always so much fun! We always spend a lot more time on that unit than I usually plan. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're doing a fantastic job!
I am so excited about that dinosaur kit...my boy will love that! I am going to try and find it! Looks like a great week!
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