FREEBIE: 2016-2017 Planner

It has been awhile since I wrote in my blog about our homeschool lessons. I promise I will get back to it as soon as I organize my schedule! But for now, let me give you a freebie to help you with your homeschool scheduling.

Here it is..the 2016-2017 planner. I adore getting freebies online especially for the start of the school year. I love writing down the lessons and activities I do with my girl so I would remember what we did for the day. All the free planners available have American holidays and their school year starts in September so the planners will be available around July but in the Philippines, school year starts in June. I also wrote the Philippine holidays so parents can schedule fun activities for the family!

I hope this planner will be useful for your homeschool! I admit it still needs work...it's my first time to make my own planner. The PDF file doesn't show the lines in the table but once you print them out, it will be normal.

I also have the planner stickers if you are interested..just let me know in the comment section and will send it to you personally!

Here's the link to the planner: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4AlFN8-n9QwZXNYWUpBRlpubFk/view?usp=sharing

FOOD Theme

Yey! My favorite theme! Hahaha! Cooking is a fun activity to do although it entails lots of hard work. But what I love about cooking is that you can teach so many things to your kid, like measurements, liquid and solid, teaching them how to clean up, etc.

It was an exciting theme for us since Z loves to mix and help out. She also loves wearing her chef's hat and apron! She sometimes wears them just for fun.

To start the theme, I introduced Z to different kinds of food. I used my dad's old cook books and showed Z some dishes. The dishes in the cook book were kind of fancy and I couldn't pronounce the names since the text is written in French/German. Hahaha!

 The activities that we did here were not done in order...because we got too excited to actually cook than go through some activities about food! Hahaha! I also prepared different books about food.

During this theme, Z made her own placemat out of strips of paper and I laminated it for durability.
I also showed Z where most of our food comes from...she has an idea that we can get food from the grocery but I told her that food comes from certain animals and places and yes, we can buy them at the grocery.

Some activities where done using the books that we read about food.

The activities are as follows and will be posted separately to give you more details about the activities:

1. Cooked green eggs and ham. (Inspired by the book of the same name  "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss)

2. Made pancakes - "Pancakes Pancakes" by Eric Carle

3. Read the book "Growing Vegetable Soup" by Lois Ehlert - Z practiced her cutting skill by using scissors and cutting printed vegetables.

4. Made Jell-O

5. Cooked spaghetti and meatballs

6. Art and literacy activities inspired by the book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle

7. My husband and I made a food stand (that can be used as a booth for other lessons, not just as a food stand)

8. And other activities - playing in a water puddle, number and counting activities, art time, movie time, etc.

*Activities mentioned will be posted separately...I want it to be detailed so that you can do the activities with your kiddos on weekends and/or holidays!

The Sense of Taste

We ended the Five Senses theme by studying the last sense on the list...the sense of taste. 

It was a fun lesson as it was a chance for Z to taste different kinds of food. We started by reading the book, "I Taste..." by Patrick George. Z had fun going through the pages as she learned what people and animals eat. Then, I let her look at her tongue using a small mirror to see what it looks like.

For the main activity, I prepared different kinds of food for her to taste. I prepared food that would let her learn about the different kinds of taste, sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy. I did not let her taste 'spicy'...she has an idea that spicy is not good and it will 'burn' her tongue. She had this idea from the book. Hahaha! At first, she wasn't excited to do the activity and that is why she turned around! Hahaha! 

But with a little encouragement, she bravely faced the challenge of tasting different food that she doesn't normally eat. For this activity, I also prepared a one whole poster paper to take note of all the food she tasted together with the description - what it looks (sense of sight) , how it feels (sense of touch) and the taste. 

We started with SOUR - here, I let her taste "calamansi" or Philippine lime. Z wasn't fond of the sour taste. 

Getting ready for taste testing!

For SWEET, I let Z taste honey.

For SALTY, well what we have available is none other than salt! She did not like it and asked for water!



For BITTER, Z ate dark chocolate. She did enjoy eating it because I think the brand of dark chocolate we had was not really 100% dark chocolate. It was still a little sweet that is why she enjoyed eating the chocolate!

Taste Testing Chart

During this activity, I let Z feel the food. She had fun touching the kiwi but wasn't too fond of the taste. The kiwi was a little sour for her so she did not enjoy eating it. Well, I did! Hahaha! I do not get to eat kiwi every day!

I believe this lesson is really good especially for kiddos who are picky eaters. The lesson gave Z an idea what different food taste like. We encourage her to try new food to know if she would enjoy it or not. We do not force Z to eat the food but we let her know that she should always try first before she says no.

I am so proud that she took the chance and tasted the food I prepared for this lesson.

Z is a bit picky when it comes to eating food. She enjoys eating food she is familiar with like scrambled eggs, and noodles (not the instant ones). Only now that she is trying out some new food.

I did not add anymore 'taste' lesson as our next theme will be about food. This will be another chance for Z to try new food and learn where different kinds of food come from.

These are some experiences I am so blessed to have with her. The FOOD theme lesson will definitely be an interesting one since I will let her do some cooking.

Additional activities:

Painting time

Played with pattern blocks

Played with pattern blocks

Play dough time

The Sense of Smell

playing with scented playdough

It has been awhile since I updated my blog..a lot of things had happened...the typhoon, Z got the flu, mommy/wife duties, my research paper, blah, blah, blah, blah...but finally..almost done with the sense of smell!

To introduce the sense of smell...I showed Z a video about the nose..she learned the parts like the nostrils and the bone that separates our nostrils, the septum. The video was kind of boring and long but it was animated so it did catch Z's attention and I just emphasized on the parts of the nose...

Next, I prepared different items with specific scents like garlic, peppercorn, onion, calamansi (Philippine Lime), sampaguita (Jasminum sambac - a type of jasmine flower), and ginger. I blindfolded Z so she could guess what item she is smelling. She was familiar with the onion and the garlic. She liked the scent of the sampaguita flower which really smells good.

 After the "blindfold activity", I let Z explore the items. 

For this lesson, we also explored playing with scented playdough. It was really cool...most recipes call for the juice powder Kool-Aid but that brand is a bit expensive in the Philippines and not a lot of flavors are available...so I decided to use Tang which is cheaper and easily available at stores everywhere. Tang is sweetened so it was pretty tough cooking the dough. I let Z experienced mixing the batter and removing the lumps. She enjoyed playing with the dough and I encouraged her to smell the play dough while she plays.

The strawberry flavor is good to use as it really smelled good but the orange scent wasn't as strong as the strawberry. So, it is best to use orange Kool-Aid (if you have some) as the reviews from other mommies using that brand were not that bad.


I should have used other flavors like grapes and mango. They smell really nice and the scents are pretty strong especially when you dissolve in water. The colors are pretty bright too so I think it will be better flavors for the scented play dough...will definitely try these flavors next time.


We also tried painting with a "scratch n' sniff" paint. There are tons of recipes that use everyday pantry items...the ingredients I used are cornstarch, food coloring, and different McCormick scents like lemon, orange, vanilla, strawberry, and cinnamon powder.

The sense of smell is a fun lesson to teach children. It is wonderful to see the expression in Z's eyes whenever she 'learns' something during our study time.

 There are a lot more to discover and I am excited to move on to the last sense which is the sense of taste. Z is a little picky when it comes to food so this will be a good lesson to introduce to her different kids of food. And the best part is, I can incorporate all the senses in the coming lesson.

We also did other activities during the sense of smell lesson - I let Z play board games with her dad and uncle, she played with her wooden blocks and lacing beads, she learned the letters B and C, and worked on her board and just scribbled and did her best to draw figures.

It is truly wonderful to experience a child's growth and witness how a child learns. It may look simple for some people but I truly believe that young children learn best when they experience the learning. We do not know what goes on in their minds when they explore and discover new things around them.

Note: A separate blog will be posted where Z worked on her letters B and C crafts. 


Summary of Activities:
1. Introduce the sense of smell using a video about parts of the nose and a blindfold activity using food/items with strong scent.

2. Played with scented play dough.

3. Painted using 'scratch n' sniff' paint and watercolor paint.

4. Other activities were done during the duration of the lesson like learning the letters B and C, playing board games, playing with blocks and beads and just chillin'. :)


References:
The Sense of Smell video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsUVyD6yQ4c

Letter Crafts of the Week: http://crystalandcomp.com/2013/08/letter-of-the-week-crafts-for-preschoolers/

FREEBIE: Alphabet Flip Book Pages

It is so hard for me to find an alphabet flip book to my liking. Hahaha! I'm kind of OC when it comes to materials. I want a specific item but I could not find any on the web. So, I decided to make my own. These are better pieces to use as a flashcard than the alphabet pocket chart pieces I made a few months ago. These pieces will be better used as a flashcard because it is bigger.

My husband and I use these pieces to teach Z the letters, sounds as well as how to write the letters.

I find this flip book handy especially before going to sleep. It is easy to use in bed. You can also use this when travelling just in case you find yourself stuck in traffic with the kiddos.

All you need to do is to download the pages, cut them, laminate them and put them in a ring to hold the pieces/pages in order.

Here is the link to download the freebie! I hope you and your child/ren will enjoy learning the alphabet with these pieces/pages!

Alphabet Flip Book Pages:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4AlFN8-n9QwT1d0d1ljVWEtMVU/edit?usp=sharing

Disclaimer: Pictures in the flip book pieces/pages are not my own. All pictures used in the pieces are downloaded from Google Images. 

Wrapping Up the Sense of Touch Lesson

It has been a long, long, lesson for us. With the unpredictable weather and quantity of work I have to do, I am thankful that we are done with another lesson.

Z had a great time exploring the sense of touch and I think she is ready to move on to the sense of smell. But before that, here is a summary of the sense of touch for you and I hope that I am able to help you mommies in guiding and helping your children if they will have a similar lesson to bring home from school.

ACTIVITIES:

 Texture Rubbings: Encourage your children to explore the outdoors. Ask them what objects you could use to make the rubbings. I let Z decide the objects to rub on after suggesting the first object which is the tree trunk.

 Ice Chalk Painting: A very fun activity but the ice melted so quickly because it was a very hot day when Z and I painted with the ice chalk. They melted so quickly but Z had a great time brushing the melted ice on her oily paper. The recipe can be easily downloaded just type "ice chalk recipe" on the search engine and you will be directed to wonderful websites prepared by mommies.

 Exploring the Sensory Table: Letting Z work at the sensory table is fun...it really eats up time and she has lots of fun especially when the table is filled with water! Here, she played with soil and water. I included rocks that I painted using gold poster color but the paint just washed away! She liked the idea of panning for gold so I decided to add the painted rocks in this activity.

To introduce the sense of touch lesson, I filled the table with different objects that have interesting textures like pom pom balls, wood shavings, sea shells and a coconut husk, not included in the picture is a feather duster.

 Sand Painting: For art, I prepared finger paints with colored sand...you can also use colored sand that goes with the color of your paint for added effects since this is a sense of touch lesson. But since I only have blueish purple and green colored sand, the blue and green paints were the only ones that had sand in them. Let your child feel the rough texture of the paint while he/she creates a masterpiece.

Textured Hands: I also prepared hand cut-outs and pasted different objects with interesting textures on them to introduce the sense of touch.



Making and Playing with Playdough: I decided to try making our own playdough. I am not a big fan of the modelling clay available at the bookstore. Unfortunately, we didn't have food coloring available so I had to use the liquid paint we had handy.

 Aside from Z having a blast making her cake, I also enjoyed playing with it for it was so soft and easy to handle. You can divide the ingredients to make playdough using different colors. I am sure going to make another batch since this batch cannot be stored for a long time and I will be using powdered juice for the scent of smell lesson.

Other Activities: I also prepared other activities for Z to enjoy while we learn the sense of touch. I decided to also focus on teaching her the alphabet and the letter sounds to prepare her for reading since she loves books.

We started with the letter A. I am so blessed that there are a lot of mommies out there who have done homeschooling and sharing their resources with other mommies. You can find the links below to read more about the activities.

Z created an alligator munching on letter A's. She also read the book "Albert's Special Day" and learned how to write the letter A using a tactile alphabet tile.

She decorated her big 'A' and small 'a' with pom-poms.

She also made a small 'a' craft with paper plate. The little 'a' looks like an apple!

To close the letter A, we made a collage of things that start with the letter A!

We also tried dot painting her name using a Q-tip and paint. This activity is also a good fine motor activity as well as teaching the letters of her name.

You can add as many activities as you can as long as you don't go too far from the main lesson. Such activities you can include are playing with blocks, some manipulatives to teach math and other activities to strengthen developmental areas.

These activities are not that difficult to prepare especially if you have the materials available at home. And if your children go to a preschool, then you can help them understand their lesson more by doing some supplemental activities at home.

It is our responsibility to help them learn and understand what they are studying. It will also serve as a good bonding time with them if we are hands-on especially during the preschool years. It will make learning fun and interesting for them.

Links:
http://crystalandcomp.com/2013/08/letter-of-the-week-crafts-for-preschoolers/