Month: October 2019

D is for Dolphin

Dear Sis,

Our Daily Reading

Today’s first non-fiction selection is Dolphin Baby by Nicola Davies. This book is written like a story that follows baby dolphin from birth to adulthood. Additional information is placed to the side on each side, in case your little is extra interested:)

Today’s second non-fiction selection is Dolphin Talk: Whistles, Clicks, and Clapping Jaws by Wendy Pfeffer. This book takes great measures to relate to the young reader, by comparing dolphin communication to human communication. A very interesting read:)

“D” is for Dolphin Letter Craft

Parent Preparation

  • Print two copies of D is for Dolphin Coloring Page from Education.com.
  • Use one copy to cut a dolphin template and the other to cut a D template.
  • On white card stock, trace and cut out letter D.
  • On gray craft foam, trace and cut out dolphin. Use pen to create fin details.
  • Provide blue paint, brush, and paint apron, glue stick, and wiggly eye.

Student Assembly

  • Paint D blue. Set aside until dry.
  • Paste dolphin in place.
  • Paste wiggly eye in place.

We had a play date with William’s friend Carter today, so we included him in our letter craft and snack:)

Feed the Dolphin Counting Mat

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Choose a number card at random. Name the number. If the student doesn’t remember the number name, find the number on the puzzle and count together to find the number name.
  • Place that number of fish on the counting mat.
  • Count the fish aloud together to check work.

Ocean Bingo

This free Ocean Bingo Printable made by Little Miss Kim’s Class can be downloaded from her Teachers Pay Teachers page. We laminated ours for durability and used fish crackers as place markers.

Dolphin Snack

Dolphin Snack
Serves 1
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Ingredients
  1. 1 banana
  2. 1/3 c blueberries
  3. 6 graham cracker fish
Instructions
  1. Trim tip of banana stem, so it has a fresh smooth tip. Slice stem in half across the length to make the dolphin's mouth. About halfway down the banana, cut the banana, taking care to make the cut edge straight enough for the banana to stand. Draw an eye on each side of the banana with a black permanent marker.
  2. Place the banana is a small dish. Wash and place blueberries around banana to look like water.
  3. Place a fish cracker in the dolphins mouth and the rest over the blueberries, so they look like they are swimming in the water.
Tag Sis, You're It! https://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
Love,

b

D is for Dog

Dear Sis,

Our Daily Reading

Today’s fiction selection is Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. This book is a great early reader that preschoolers love, with all the repetition, focus on opposites like up/down, day/night, colors, etc.

Today’s non-fiction selection is Pet Dogs Up Close by Erika L. Shores. This book was a compromise. I was looking for a non-fiction book that wasn’t all about breed/s or training. This is what I found, but please let me know if you find something better!!!

ABC Puppy Chow Activity

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Choose a letter at random out of the bowl. 
  • Name the letter, with adult help as needed.
  • Name a few words that begin with that letter, with adult help as needed.
  • Identify the letter on the worksheet and circle it.

Dog Shape Craft

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Color dog as desired.
  • Cut out or ask your grown up to cut out the shapes.
  • Identify all the shapes by name and group those that are the same. Use the puzzle as a reference as needed.
  • Paste the shapes to craft paper.
  • Paste wiggly eyes in place.
  • Write and as your grown up to name and date you work, for your homeschool portfolio.

Dog Number Puzzles

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Match dog house and puzzle numbers.
  • Count the number of dogs on each dog card and match it with the dog house with which it corresponds.
  • Count the dots on each bone and match it with the dog house and dog cards with which it corresponds. 

Lunch: Hot Dog Cars

Inspired by Go, Dog. Go!

Hot Dog Cars
Yields 1
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Ingredients
  1. 1 hot dog
  2. 1 hot dog bun
  3. 4 bread and butter pickles
  4. 2 grapes, halved
  5. 4 toothpicks
Instructions
  1. Cook hot dog according to package instructions and place inside bun.
  2. Use toothpicks to secure pickle and grape wheels to hot dog bun.
Tag Sis, You're It! https://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
Love,

b

D is for Dinosaur

Dear Sis,

Our Daily Reading

Today’s non-fiction selection is Dinosaurs! by Gail Gibbons wonderfully explains the study and history of dinosaurs as we know it. Many dinosaur books for kids overwhelm with multitudes of different dinosaur names. This one contains names too, but wisely emphasizes the six groupings of dinosaurs and their features as a group.

Today’s fiction selection is Curious George’s Dinosaur Discovery by Margret & H.A. Reys. During a visit to a dig site, George gets into trouble as expected, but also manages to be the hero by discovering dinosaur remains. 

“d” is for Dinosaur Letter Craft

Parent Preparation

  • Print d is for Dinosaur Letter Craft found on Preschool Crafts.us (original source unknown), on white card stock.
  • Cut out d, head, tail, and one foot.
  • On a sheet of craft foam, in the color of your choice, trace and cut out d, head, tail, and two feet. Add toe nails and smile details with a pen.
  • Provide a sheet of green craft paper, glue stick, and wiggly eye.

Student Assembly

  • Paste d onto craft paper.
  • Paste head, tail, and feet in place.
  • Paste wiggly eye in place.
  • Write or ask your grown up to title, name, and date your work, for your homeschool portfolio.

Science: Dino Dig

We used the Discovery Kids Dinosaur Excavation Kit, but any kit will do the trick. I’ve even seen D.I.Y versions on Pinterest.

Dinosaur Shape Matching Activity

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Review shape names using the shape puzzle.
  • Match the foot print shapes with the corresponding puzzle shapes, reviewing shape names as you work.
  • Match the dinosaur shapes with the corresponding puzzle and foot print shapes, reviewing shape names as you work.

Snack: Fossil Cookies

Print and gather ingredients for Jurassic Park Dinosaur Cookie recipe from Sugar & Soul.

Note that dough needs to chill 1-2 hours before shaping and baking. It may work best to make the dough the night before, or first thing after daily reading, so it will be ready to shape and bake as the final part of the lesson.

Love,

b

D is for Desert

Dear Sis,

Our Daily Reading

Today’s fiction selection is Way Out in the Desert by T.J. Marsh & Jennifer Ward. This book teaches about dessert animals in verse, while counting to ten. It is very catchy! William loved that there is an I-Spy element on each page, to find the number. In the back of the book, there is sheet music. The whole book is also a song. We plunked it out together on the piano and sang the first verse a few times:)

Today’s non-fiction selection is Desert Biome by Grace Hansen. This book provides great information in a density that won’t overwhelm small children.

“D” is for Desert Letter Craft

Parent Preparation

  • Print Letter D Template and Desert Template from Must Have Mom, on card stock.
  • Cut out D and cacti templates.
  • On blue craft paper, trace and cut out D.
  • On green craft foam, trace, cut out, and draw details of cacti.
  • On yellow craft foam, trace a circular object and cut out a sun.
  • Provide brown craft paper, glue stick, hot pink buttons or mini pom-poms to use as cacti flowers, and sand.

Student Assembly

  • Paste D to brown craft paper.
  • Apply a lot of glue to the bottom of the D. Working over the trash or outside, pour sand over paste and press. Shake off extra sand.
  • Paste cacti and cacti flowers in place.
  • Paste the sun in place.
  • Write or have your grown up label, name, and date your work, for your homeschool portfolio.

Cacti Shape Matching Activity

Parent Preparation

  • Print Cactus Shape Cards from Life over C’s, on card stock. Cut out and laminate for durability. This printable was designed as a memory game. We use it in a different way… read more below.

Our Process

  • First, identify shapes by name, using only the shape cards, assisting when the student can’t remember the answer.
  • Next, match shape cards with the corresponding cactus card. Reviewing shape names as you work.

Desert Animal Counting Cards

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Count the number of animals on the counting card.
  • Identify the written number that corresponds. If your student, is still learning to identify numbers, use that numeral puzzle to count to find what the number looks like, so the student can find it on the counting card.

Desert Animal Board Game

Parent Preparation

Game Play

This game is styled after Candyland. We reworked the directions to work forward, instead of forward and back, for quicker game play.

  • Starting with youngest player, begin turn by drawing the top card from draw pile. 
  • Move place marker forward to the nearest unoccupied animal space that coordinates with the drawn card. By “unoccupied” we mean, if another player is on the nearest forward space, skip to the next forward space with that animal.
  • If a player lands on an arrow space, slide to the suggested position.
  • The player to get exactly to the final fox space first wins.

Love,

b

D is for Duck

Dear Sis,

We took some time off school when baby sister was born, so Daddy suggested schooling on weekends until we get back on schedule. Hence Saturday morning lesson:)

Our Daily Reading

Doreen Cronin is one of our favorite children’s authors, so naturally we chose the humor filled Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin as today’s fiction selection.

Our non-fiction selection is Ducks! by Gail Gibbons. It is packed full of great information and great illustrations, that young people can appreciate.

“D” is for Duck Letter Craft

Parent Preparation

  • Print D is for Duck Template from Kid Soup, on white card stock.
  • Cut out D, head circle, heart beak, and webbed foot.
  • On yellow craft paper, trace and cut out D and head circle.
  • On orange craft paper, trace and cut out heart beak and webbed foot.
  • Provide a sheet of blue craft paper, glue stick, two yellow feathers, and one wiggly eye.

Student Assembly

  • Paste D to blue craft paper.
  • Paste webbed foot, head, and beak in place.
  • Paste tail and wing feathers in place.
  • Paste wiggly eye in place.
  • Write or have your grown up title, name, and date your work, for your homeschool portfolio. 

5 Little Ducks Song

We printed this 5 Little Ducks lyric sheet From ABC to ACTS. The printable also includes duck puppets. We decided to use rubber ducks instead:)

We sang through the song twice. Stopping at each verse, to count how many ducks remained. When there were no baby ducks, we called that zero. 

Lucky Ducks Game

We played the Lucky Ducks Game as our shape lesson today. If you haven’t played before, this game takes two AA batteries to make the ducks swim round in circles. Each player sits in front of the shape they wish to collect. Taking turns, each player looks at the bottom of one duck to see if it matches their shape. If it does, they keep it. If it doesn’t, they return it to the board. Whomever collects all three of their ducks first wins!

Rubber Duck Counting Activity

Parent Preparation

  • Provide 10 rubber ducks. We found ours in packs of three at Dollar Tree.
  • Provide water in a tub, sink, dish bin, water table, or pool.

Our Process

  • I called out a number of ducks to add or take away from the water. William counted aloud with each addition or subtraction.
  • Then, we counted the ducks that were still floating around. We kept at it until I felt like we’d had enough practice.

William played with his ducks another 20 minutes before returning indoors:)

Love,

b

C is for Colors

Dear Sis,

Science: Flower Dying

We placed our flowers in our dyed water before bed last night, so we could observe the changes in the morning and throughout the day.

Materials

  • white flowers
  • scissors, to shorten stems
  • 7 small jars water
  • food coloring

Our discussion went something like this…

    “What do plants eat?”

    “Sunshine.”

    “What do plants drink?”

    “Water.”

    “If we put color in the water, what will happen when the plants drink it?”

    “I don’t know Mama.”

    “You’ll know soon.”

Balloon Color Matching Mat

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Have student name colors as they work. 
  • Clean up, by requesting certain colors by name.

Our Daily Reading

Today’s fiction selection is The Color Kitten by Margaret Wise Brown. These little kitties start the story with only three colors: blue, red, and yellow. In a quest to make green, they learn how to make a lot of different colors:)

Today’s hands-on book is Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet. William enjoys this very engaging book about how secondary colors are made from primary colors. It was a great segue to our next activity!

Paint Mixing Shape Activity

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Review shape and color names of each puzzle piece.
  • One bag at a time, ask student to identify the shape, find the corresponding puzzle piece, and name the color.
  • Add a bit of paint to the bag to make the color and let the student mix and/or spread it inside the shape.
  • Once we had paint in all the bags we moved to the floor and matched the puzzle shapes with the bag shapes again.
  • Then I called out a shape name and William retrieved it and told me what color it was and whether it was a primary color or a mixed color. For mixed colors, I had him tell me which colors were used to make it.

Snack: Rainbow Fruit Kabobs

Just before we could head to the kitchen to make our snack, baby sister woke up and crashed our lesson. So we ended up having fruit kabobs with our lunch instead:)

Love,

b

C is for Car

Dear Sis,

Our Daily Reading

Today we read two non-fiction books. If you have a little boy, car books are a dime a dozen. I wanted to take the opportunity for education in an area that interests him enough to keep him focused. You might want to tone it down with a fiction selection, if your little isn’t so car enthusiastic:) 

First we read, How a Car is Made by Sam Aloian from the Engineering Our World series. This book follows car construction through a factory assembly line.

Next, we read The History of the Car by Elizabeth Raum from the Inventions That Changed the World  series. To a twenty-first century kid, the idea that people used to travel by foot or horse and wagon is a bit mind blowing. As a history lover, I love watching William connect to history in his own unique areas of interest!

Snack: Apple Cars

William was excited to see cars on his breakfast plate this morning. Apple cars paired well with our sausage and leftover Honey Apple Challah french toast, from Rosh Hashanah dinner last night:)

Apple cars are easy to make. They look more proportionate with larger apple slices:) The grapes are secured with tooth picks.

Wheels on the Car Color Matching Activity

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Place color coordinating wheel markers on the corresponding car, saying the color name aloud.
  • Review during clean up, by asking your student to put away one color at a time.

Shape Roads to Drive

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Name shape, and discuss its features. For instance, a square has four equal sides. Count them together.
  • Drive the shape roads… of course!

Car Number Tracing & Counting Cards

Parent Preparation

Our Process

  • Name the number.
  • Have student trace it with their fingers, then a car.
  • Park the correct number of cars in the adjacent parking lot, counting aloud as they work.

Love,

b