Lessons from the Little School House

Well, what have we been learning in school? A LOT! We have had a great start to our school year for the most part and I am amazed at how quickly the kids learn things.  Our theme this year is a geography study of different countries and cultures. We have been working on North America and did a two week study on the United States. During that time, Hay had to be able to locate all the states on a US map for a grade and I had Si do it also but wasn't expecting to count it as a grade for her just yet. I found a couple online games they could play to help them learn the states locations. I was not amazed at what I could remember when I took a shot at the little game. :^/ Anyways, the kids played the game a few times and we practiced locating the states during school and within two weeks they did awesome on the test!! Both of them! Those little minds just soak things up! This week we took a plane trip to Mexico (no, not in real life) but we had fun as I became the fast talking flight attendant and then the customs person who had to arrest one of them for trying to sneak into the country! They are learning lots and I am glad for this opportunity for them to see what life is like for people in other parts of the world. We'll move on to Canada in a week and then to South America for awhile!

The weeks we studied the US we also studied forests in science. We gathered leaves at the park for a collection and looked them up in tree guides to find the names of the trees. We were so excited Troy was able to go with us! He read the kids a book about being careful and having fun in the outdoors.

Today was supposed to be our first field trip to some caverns in Indiana about an hour from here with a group of homeschooling friends from church however, the check engine light came on last night in the van so we decided it wasn't a good time to be spending money on a trip and stayed home. The kids were bummed which I knew they would be so I declared it "fun school" day today. We started an hour later than normal and I let them wear whatever they wanted. We did our morning routine - calendar and Bible - then I spent a half hour with each one while the other two worked together on something quietly. It went great and was nice to sit apart with them individually and work one on one. We may do that more often! After that we went outside for awhile and the kids had races and played with Lily. Next we played our geography game where they are learning where the countries are in North America.So...that's some of what we've been doing in school lately! We start week 6 next week - wow!

After that it was lunch and an educational video about Mexico then more fun outside. It definitely turned out to be a fun school day even if we couldn't make the field trip! I am looking forward to going on the one next month though!

Friday Folder

This is an activity that I LOVE and the kids love it too! Hay even complained today that he hasn't had a chance to do it yet. As I searched for things that would help with fine motor skills for Keaton I came across push pinning. He still has shaky little hands when he tries to write or cut. We used to think it was due to his asthma meds but he hasn't needed those in awhile (Praise the Lord!) so I'm not sure if those skills just haven't developed or if he inherited the shaky hand syndrome from his daddy and grandpa. I came across this activity and it was so easy (of course) and I believe it is actually helping!

I cut a couple squares of carpet from a small roll I found in our basement and taped cardboard to the back to make it more sturdy. Siara helps me trace different designs on construction paper (we use stencils and just about anything we can find to trace). I started with basic shapes but we have now done letters, animals, and other things. The only other thing you need is a push pin.

(of course I don't know how to rotate this!)

You place the paper on the carpet mat and then they use the push pin to trace the outline by poking holes all around it. The way they hold the pin is pretty much the proper way to hold a pencil! Sometimes I do a little correcting if he's in a hurry but for the most part he holds it right. The groove in the pin is perfect for their little index finger and thumb to fit into and there's not room for any other fingers! This was great because I could not quite get this little guy to hold his pencil correctly and it has improved greatly! 

You can do seasonal themes or whatever you can find to trace. My kiddos love to put their pictures in the window after they've finished and let the light shine through the holes. You can't really see the pictures well but I am so glad I found this. I just wish I had found it sooner so we were a little further along with this skill!

You can find this and other fine motor activities at  http://www.thevirtualvine.com/finemotor.html.