Tt for Transportation

Here is a little glimpse into our first two weeks of Preschool at Home!

We concentrated on recognizing the letter Tt and its sound!

M loved playing in the Sensory Tub!  It was filled with various vehicles and items that started with "T".  He was pretty good about keeping the pasta and beans "in" the tub!

Here is our very first graphic organizer...I loved using these when I taught 1st Grade.  M was really into gluing the pictures on and I noticed him counting and naming them throughout the two week period.

 He used the pattern blocks to recreate these pictures right on the mat.  I also gave him one that was a car and a train but he became frustrated with those, so we stuck with the simpler ones.  The turtle can be found here at PreKinders.

I made a transportation "scene" and gave M a couple sheets of stickers!  This is what he came up with after just a tiny review of where helicopters go, boats, etc.

It reminded me of a scene from "The Day After Tomorrow".  The helicopter is taking a nose dive, there is a boat collision, and a major apocalyptic traffic jam. 

He spent 30 minutes stamping "T"s and I cleaned the kitchen :)

He flew through this Left/Right activity, thanks to G-G teaching him this concept a while ago.  It was in the Transportation Pack at 1+1+1=1.  You will find TONS of preschool packs there!

Color by Number can also be found in the Transportation Pack, linked above.

We completed a "T Hunt" thanks to Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I downloaded the hunts for A-Z here.  Just scroll down and click on the Letter Hunt Worksheets.

We played Street Sign Memory!!!!

We traced our letter "T" using this road map and cars!

We ate Tuna Melts one night since they start with "T"!!!

We read a variety of books concerning our transportation topic throughout the week.  I am amazed by the fantastic resource my local library can be, when I stay organized and slightly ahead of the game.

It was a great week, and by the end of it, M was no longer calling "T" "S".  And he even managed to have a little fun squeezed in there somewhere!  Letter "Aa"  here we come!




OTHER ABC RESOURCES:
Confessions of a Homeschooler
Homeschool Creations
Totally Tots
Spell Outloud
Making Learning Fun

"Preschool / Playroom" Room

I know there are too many "room's" in that title. 

Here are some pics of the playroom/school time area!  I really enjoyed hanging a few things.  It reminded me of my teacher days, preparing the room for a new group of students each year.  I miss teaching, not all the other stuff that bogs you down, but the teaching.  Teaching children to read and to love it! That was my favorite.
Most of what we used, we already had, mostly from my old teaching days.  I picked up a few things from the Back to School Target $1 Spot! 
I know it will be a whole different ballgame teaching my own children....but we are going to give it a go.

We start each "preschool" session with prayer, and then a VERY brief calendar time.  We also color in one box for each day we do preschool time.  We haven't started tracking the weather, but we do talk about the season.  We also sing our Days of the Week song, and tell the month.  These are all combined on a half piece of poster board that I had laminated at The Schoolbox.

The easel was given to us by some friends.  M loves painting and drawing on it.  We also have a book basket.

Welcome to Clutter City.  This area makes me a little nuts, but there is nothing I can do about it.  The bookshelf houses all the games M can do independently, as well as books we will use during upcoming weeks.  There are also manipulatives and craft supplies...all lidded so L can't get his hands on them.  I know this table will become a catch-all but what do ya do???  I could have straightened up for you but this here is REAL life!!!  We already had the two cork boards up for all of M's art.  The marker/crayon caddy on the wall is my favorite.  We picked it up at IKEA way back and it comes in very handy.  Pocket chart...Target $1 spot!  I did buy a hanging file organizer with a lid and it makes me very happy :)

So there you have it.  More pics to come of our first letter theme...... Tt!!!!

Welcome Back!

Oh how I have missed you, sweet blog of mine!

Today started a new chapter for us.  We started Preschool at Home!!!
With the help of lots of online resources such as  1+1+1=1, Preschool Corner, Spell Outloud, 2TeachingMommies, COAH, and MakingLearningFun, we are under way. 

I have no idea what I am doing, but with a lot of prayer and patience from me and the guinea pig, we are going to try this thing!

Our goal is to do a few activities each day centered around a letter and theme, and call it Preschool!  I will most likely focus on a letter/theme for 2 weeks since there are a couple days we just won't be here to do it!
My focus will include  (and feel free to comment any that I am missing!)

-daily devotion/prayer time/simple verse memorization

-calendar exposure: months/days of the week

-tons of read-alouds

-exposure to graphic organizers

-recognize all letters and introduce sounds

-count consistently to 20....50

-recognize numbers to 20....50....100

-one to one correspondence 

-learn and practice developmentally appropriate  life skills

-pre-writing practice

-crafts and tons of fun stuff!!!

Here is the simple, simple, simple lesson plan template I am using bc I have to organize my brain somehow!

  
I am sure there will be a great deal of changes in what this looks like for us, but I have a boy who asks to do school time every single day, in the sweetest voice you've ever heard.  How can I say no to that????

Next, up....I will post pics of our playroom/school room.  I spent the weekend working on the space, using MOSTLY stuff I already had on hand.  Thank you old school stuff!!!