Category Archives: Education

With the garden planted and growing, the boys and I have had more time to play in and outside. We’ve had a chance to get back to fun activities and experiments and games.

We’ve played with sidewalk chalk, making chalk outlines of each other and drawing letters, numbers and shapes.

Joe wrote his name.

We played “Rocket Ship Blast Off!” I called out numbers and the boys “blasted off” from them.

We made a parachute using a sandwich baggie, string and monkey chip clip. It did not work as well as I thought it would, but it entertained Joe who had fun letting it drop from the playset. I may try it with a coffee filter to see if it works any better.

While inside, we play hide and seek, read books, hunt monsters, trace letters and numbers, finger paint and play games like Don’t Break the Ice, Go Fish and The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel.

So far, we are having an amazing summer. Joe signed up for the reading program at the local library so we all have fun reading books together about bugs, rockets, gardening and space aliens.

The summer is hot
Oh that it could last always
Green grass and bright sun

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we are going to get back on track with our weekly curriculum. This past week, we didn’t get to all of our activities. In fact, we only got to one – the wreaths. And honestly, it was a complete bust.

Next week, even with New Year’s in the middle of the week, I’m hopeful that we will get to those activities as well as a few below.

Math Activity
In addition to the cribbage activity, we are going to get more familiar with shapes. As I’ve mentioned before, Joe knows most of the shapes on sight, but when he names them he says, “It has four sides.” No matter what shape it is.

I found this activity on The Measured Mom, a fun new blog I started following. Using shapes cut from construction paper rather than the foam the blog suggests, Joe and I will build trucks, trains, houses and anything else our imaginations come up with.

Language Activity
We are going to do the Christmas trees with ornament letters. I don’t care that Christmas is technically over. This is a cool activity.

Joe also got quite a few letter tracing books and Ray and I got him a Kindle and loaded it up with all kinds of educational apps that Joe loves.

Before you get too up in arms about the Kindle, let me just say that we are using it as a tool and not letting Joe just sit all day and play on it. One of the best things about it is the parental controls. We can limit how long Joe can play games, watch videos and “read” books.

So far, I’m happy to report that Joe gets bored easily and wants to switch activities quite often so he hasn’t spent a ton of time on the Kindle.

Science Activity
We are going to do the firework in a glass because it looks like fun, and it will be a hit with Joe. We’ll also play with the magnet set that Joe got for Christmas.

My mom got us a winter garden kit. All of the materials came in an egg carton and there is a chart for observing and recording your plant growth. It’s going to be such a fun activity!

Reading Activities
Joe got a TON of books for Christmas so we will be spending a lot of time reading.

Craft Activity
Trying a simpler craft this week. A paper frog puppet. It’s short, easy and Joe and Jake will both have fun playing with it.

And that’s it. I’m sure we won’t get to some of these, but that’s ok. Joe has plenty of educational toys to play with.

There are times when I am in a hurry. I feel rushed to get the plants in the ground, to complete a chore or to cook a meal. I like for things to be done on time and I like a schedule.

Enter kids. With kids “on time” goes out the window and chores, meals and tasks are  interrupted and sometimes forgotten. I have learned to “go with the flow” and not worry so much when a schedule is broken. But, sometimes I slip and regress back to my old self.

Example. Today, Joe and I were outside gardening. I wanted to get the following done: plant peppers, plant okra, water everything. Jake was in the stroller sleeping and Joe wanted to help. He’s a great helper…just not a quick one. I felt myself getting anxious thinking of everything I wanted to get done. Joe was “helping” me plant the peppers. He was trying to pull them out of the container like I did and he was a little too rough and pulling leaves off the plants. Frustrated, I said, “Here, let me do it” and took the plant from him.

Why would I say that? He was trying to help and what’s more…he was learning. I stopped and looked at Joe and said, “Here, let me show you how to do it.” When I said that and showed him, he was so excited. I could see it on his face. I asked him to bring me another one and we planted the rest together. Not on a schedule, not rushed to get on to the next task.

I didn’t get everything I wanted to done, but I did spend time teaching Joe how to do something and welcoming the help he wanted to give. This was an important lesson for me, especially since I am considering home education. A schedule has its place, but there is something to be said for spontaneity, for taking advantage of a learning opportunity and for recognizing that opportunity when it’s right in front of you.

I found this idea on Pinterest to help teach a toddler how to tell time so yesterday I made it and showed it to Joe. He loved turning the “hands” which I made from pipe cleaners.

I know I am probably trying to teach him a lot of skills early that might be too advanced, but I believe what the experts say. A child’s mind is like a sponge…soaking up all kinds of information. The more repetition and exposure he gets to skills like telling time and learning early and basic math skills, the better off he will be in the long run. I will probably add a third paper plate to the back, spelling out the numbers.

I also got him and early reader along the same lines as the Dick and Jane books, but this one features Pete the Cat playing baseball. I’ve read it to him a few times, and have now started to let him complete the sentences…”Pete has a…ball.” etc. I know that he has just memorized it, but I point to the words and spell them because he knows his letters by sight. I’ve seen this tip on several sites on fostering early literacy.

I’ve seen a lot of homeschool blogs that suggest when to start home education, what age is best, etc. I don’t think it is ever too early to start, and I have been exposing Joe to different skills for awhile now. I’ve read to him since he was a baby, even reading newspapers, magazines and novels I was reading. He started watching Sesame Street’s “Alphabet Jungle” before he turned one which I believe has helped him learn his letters. (I will forever have the theme song in my head due to the hundreds of times we have watched it, literally). When he started showing more interest in letters and pointing out A’s and B’s on different signs, I made flashcards with upper and lower case letters and pictures on the back (an apple for A, banana for B, etc).

I am by no means saying that Joe is a “genius” or “so advanced”. I’m just saying that I’m not waiting until he’s a certain age to start the process.