The Last Few Weeks {in pictures}

The last few weeks of homeschooling have taken the "a little bit here and a little bit there" approach.  We've had other things going on like spiritual emphasis week at the international school, a trip to Jakarta to see some friends who moved away last summer, and some extra playdates.  But that's one of the amazing things about homeschooling...we can do it whenever we want.  We can start at 6:30 in the morning or we can do it at 4 in the afternoon.  We can do it three days a week or do it seven.  We can make the schedule work for us...and I LOVE that.  I worry at times if we miss a day here and there but then I look at all we have done and realize how much we have learned, and I stop worrying.  I know that in some states homeschoolers have to log 180 days of school, but since I am not in that category, I feel totally free to keep a schedule that works for us and that makes learning fun.  I want it to truly be home education...not homeschool. I don't need to recreate the school system in my home.  I need to rest in the fact that education takes place all day every day...some of it the form of formal "school" time and much of it in the form of play, relationships, and time together.

That said, here are some of the things we have been doing in our more formal schooling times...

More counting and numeral recognition for Levi...he sure does love his animals!

Ribbon Dancing -- We have been adding in some gross motor movement activities into each day (we have always been doing fine motor activities).  Here I just tied some organza ribbon to some chopsticks and the kids had a blast dancing away.  We did activities like writing the alphabet, making big swirls, and painting "rainbows" (which is a great way to get kids to cross the midline). 

 

Finding toys and educational materials here in Indonesia can be a bit of a challenge.  So I was thrilled a few weeks back when I found these rubberized lego-like toys.  The kids LOVE them!  They are sturdy, they bend, and they are a ton of fun.  We have already been able to do a number of activities with them. So many sorting and scanning and counting activities we can do (we need 3 blue "2's", six red "4's", etc.)  And the best part?  These were only about $5!

I also found these cool connecting toys (scanning, sorting, fine motor skills, letter recognition/creation)

And these fun stringable letters (fine motor skills, letter recognition)

Alaina is super excited that her new math books finally came!  We spent the first half of the year doing a fast (yet in depth) review of kindergarten math.  I wanted to really get an idea of where we was in math and how her mind works mathematically and I thought a long review would be good for both of us.  But now we are delving into her first grade math (which we will complete before the end of the year...my kids BEG to do tons of math pages every day).

Caleb is progressing really well through his kindergarten math.  Here we are doing some visual and hands-on more than/less than practice.

I love seeing Alaina read to her siblings...just melts my heart. I schedule it into our day a few times a week.  I think it is good for Alaina's reading skills and for sibling bonding.  This is usually a time when I need to work one-on-one with Caleb.

We're still in our study of Kenya...probably finishing up this next week.  Here Alaina creates a page for her Around the World Scrapbook about Kenyan money.

Caleb lifting a bamboo pole during an obstacle course I set up (gross motor skills)  

More math time for Levi

Language arts for Alaina.  Here she is rewriting a story, going from 3rd person to 1st person.

Using those stringable letters in a new way now...building words with them (I used cards from our Boggle Junior Game). Scanning, sorting, letter recognition, and word building. (On a side note, one of things about living overseas and finding "deals" like these letters is the odd occurrences like this set of letters having at least 20 letter Qs and just ONE letter N.)

A new verse for this week.  I love seeing the number of Scriptures that the kids know by heart start to add up.  I want them to always treasure the Word of God in their hearts.

Levi puts his pattern pieces in order, smallest to biggest.  This was a really fun day for me.  I made this activity for Levi back in November and he really struggled with it.  He really didn't get the concept of arranging them in order.  But on this day...it was like it just clicked and he did it all by himself...carefully comparing each piece and arranging.

Scanning and counting exercise for Levi.  He had to find all the animals, circle them, and then count them. It was a good way for me to assess where he is.  We need some practice on numbers...after 13 his numbers get a little sketchy..."thirteen, sixteen, nineteen..." I'll forgive him since he's only three :)

I picked up some "lilin mainan" the other day -- in English, it means "play wax."  It is much harder than playdough, more like modeling clay, but it definitely feels like wax.  I wanted something that they had to work their fingers harder for (great for building fine motor strength).  You can see in the picture that Caleb had to press really hard.  The kids had a great time making their names and then, in honor of all the snow we aren't getting, we made some snowmen.

 

We finished out our week last week making more African masks.  This time, I printed the masks out and then cut out all the shapes and the kids put them back together puzzle style.  I love how they turned out!

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And then there are the "non-school" educational moments that make me LOVE the fact that the kids are home all day and education can take place any time, any where.

Like making cookies (using our cookies-in-a-jar mix that we made at Alaina's birthday party!)

Or reading to Alaina in the train on the way to our just-girls trip to Jakarta

Or the kids getting out all the red, pink, and purple craft supplies they could find and making valentines for people (this was totally not my idea!)

Or the whiteboard cleaning experiment that Alaina and I did.  Our white board was anything but white and I know that rubbing alcohol cleans it, but I don't know what it is called here and I never remember to ask anyone.  So, we got online for some information and then tested various products.

Hand sanitizer won out and now we have a wonderful, amazingly white whiteboard to show for it!

 

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I had no idea when I started this post on Saturday that it would be Monday (my time) before I finished.  Apparently we had a very busy (but wonderful) weekend!  So, happy Monday to all of you!

Comments

[Nancy]

I love to see the projects your kids work on! I have a 2 1/2 year old son and I'm always watching for your wonderful ideas. I'm a teacher, but not for early childhood!:) Are the activities for Levi part of the curriculum you are using or separate?

[phillipsfamily]

Everything I do for Levi I just make up.  I have a list of expected learning outcomes for preschool 3 4 for our international school and I look at those and then come up with activities that will help him achieve them.  The nice thing is that I know my son, so I know what he would enjoy, what he needs to work on, and what he has mastered.

Janet

[Darcy]

Great pics! Looks like you guys are having a great year...

[Kitty Chen]

okhay... seriously.. where do you find that lego like toys? never found any of them here... heeelppp!!