Quick Christmas Recipes

Here are a couple quick recipes we use around our house during the holidays. Enjoy!

Quick Christmas Breakfast Danish

1 or 2 cans of crescent rolls
Fruit pie filling (we use blueberry and cherry)
1 can of vanilla icing

Unroll crescent dough. Take each triangle and roll into a log. Braid two together and then attach the ends to form a wreath shape. Smush the middle together with an indentation in the middle. Add a tsp. or so of pie filling to the middle. Cook 375* until browned. Let cool slightly, melt vanilla icing and drizzle over danishes. For a Christmas touch, tint the icing green for cherry danishes.

Rolo's Cookies

1 package of sugar cookie or peanut butter cookie dough
1 bag of Rolo's candies
Bowl of sugar

Take off a chunk of cookie dough and roll it into a golf-ball sized ball. Push a Rolo into the middle and re-roll the ball until smooth. Roll in loose sugar. Repeat. These spread, so put at least an inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake according to cookie dough directions on package.

Christmas Charity

Hi, everyone.

We have been so busy. Homeschooling is on a hiatus for the month of December which is why I haven't posted much. I always plan to do school through the month, but we get so incredibly busy. However, we have done a few charitable things that I think are far more educational this time of year than the typical school work.

We did our Angel Tree child at the beginning of the month. We had a little girl who is 7, and the kids and I had a fun time shopping for her favorite items. (Barbie and Jonas Brothers) I have done Angel Tree since my son was 2 to teach them that there are kids and families who need a little help sometimes. So this was our seventh year doing the tree.

A couple new things Avlyn and I did was singing Christmas carols at a local nursing home and ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. The nursing home was okay. I think it's a little scary for small children to be surrounded by older people in wheel chairs who either want to touch them or want the kids to go away so they can go back to sleep.

She had a blast ringing the bell at the red bucket for the Salvation Army. A friend of mine does it every year and invited some of us to join her. Although I talked with Avlyn about where the money goes and what it's used for, I'm not sure she understands completely. But it's a start in the right direction. My 9 year old was a little disappointed he couldn't go with us to ring the bell. I think teaching kids to be charitable is a wonderful thing. While it would be nice if it happened all year long, we tend to foucs our charitable works during the holidays.

We're doing something for March of Dimes in February, but after that we'll probably be done until next Christmas. My greatest hope is that my children will want to continue to do things for other people even when they're older and on their own.

How to Make a Preschool Grocery List

One thing my daughter loves to do is help me grocery shop. Unfortunately, I find myself annoyed at having to constantly tell her what we need over and over as we shop. It makes me lose my train of thought, and then I get so hung up on helping her find the one thing she's looking for I forget to grab whatever else I need from that aisle. The other day I was downloading and printing out coupons and had an idea on how to make it easier for her to help me grocery shop.

I started by looking at all the things on my list. Then I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down stuff from my list onto her list. Since she's just learning to read, I then drew a picture of the item next to the word. I put most of the produce we needed on her list because it was the easiest thing to draw. So her list would say apples and then have a picture of apples, bananas and a picture of bananas, and so forth. She ended up with about 15 items on her list. Before we left, I had her go over the list with me to make sure she knew what my little outline drawings actually were. (She thought my crescent rolls were more bananas.)

She loves this idea and now won't shop without her own list. Another way to customize the list includes cutting out pictures of the items you need and pasting them on the list. You can also give your child coupons that you're going to use and have them find that item for you. Since most coupons include a full-color picture, it's easier to find than a hand-drawn box of sugar. Now when we shop we both have a list and a pen. To make sure I don't forget what's on her list, I include it on my list with a small line through it as a reminder. Happy homeschooling!

How to Make Turkey Handprint Cookies

This week we made handprint turkey cookies from sugar cookie dough. My daughter saw the idea when she was watching something on TV, so we created our own.

Items needed:

One roll of sugar cookie dough
Chocolate chips
Candy corns
Colored icing
Sprinkles
Anything else you want to add to your turkey

Step:

1. Trace your hand and your child's hand on a piece of construction paper and cut it out.

2. Roll out the dough and place the handprint on it. Using a knife, cut around the handprint and put the cookie hand on a sprayed baking pan.

3. Bake the cookie hands according to package directions.

4. When cool, decorate the cookies to look like turkeys. Use your imagination and have fun.

Happy Homeschooling and Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Teach A Preschooler to....

I just got to thinking a few minutes ago about some eHow articles I'd written in the past that would make great topics for the blog. Then I figured it would just be easier to post the links to the articles and you guys could read the ones that interest you. So in an effort to maximize my time, here are the links to some eHow articles I've written that deal with preschool homeschooling or homeschooling in general. I hope you find something useful. Happy Homeschooling!




Teach Children to Memorize Songs in Preschool

Teach a Preschooler to Use a Computer

Teach Kids About Feelings

Teach Math and Reading with Beach Balls

Teach Kids About Cavities

Teach Preschoolers Through Cooking

Teach Math with Dice Games

How to Find Homeschooling Supplies at Yard Sales

How to Pick a Homeschool Magazine

Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' - A Storybook Review

I love reading book reviews from real people who truly love a book. While magazines give a general idea of a book, I think when a book is truly something a family enjoys the review is so much better. Recently I read the kids a book called Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'
by Eileen Spinelli. I think it's a great story about the true meaning of Thanksgiving that both engages and delights preschoolers. Avlyn laughed at the pictures and really enjoyed the story.

Now I have read some fun stories that try to convey the meaning of Thanksgiving using cute characters like mice and bears, but this story uses a family that seems more real than some of the Thanksgiving stories we've read.

The Tappletons' Thanksgiving starts off all wrong when the milkman causes mom to drop the turkey, and it slides on the icy steps, down the yard, and into a lake. Then when dad's impatience causes him to miss out on the bakery's Thanksgiving pies, the reader knows dessert will be a disaster. But dad tries to trick mom by bringing home empty pie boxes and, *gasp*, lying to mom that the baker is known for her light pies. When brother fails to mention that he fed all the salad fixings to the bunnies in his classroom, and sister's penchant for gabbing on the phone while the potatoes are mashing in the blender, (yes, the blender) all the trimmings for the turkey are ruined.

But with everyone trying to hide their Thanksgiving goofs, no one realizes there isn't any traditional food ready for the arriving relatives. It's not until everyone sits down to eat and Grandma wants to say the prayer that they realize there's no food. That's when Grandma reminds them that Thanksgiving isn't about turkey and trimmings, but about being with people you love. Even without a table full of food, Grandma still says a wonderful prayer of Thanksgiving. It's after the prayer when mom remembers that she has a fridge full of liverwurst....

What did we like about this book? We liked that the family made a bunch of mistakes they tried to cover up. Who hasn't made mistakes on Thanksgiving, whether it's serving a raw turkey or forgetting to bake the pies, and not wanted to cover it up somehow. We liked that the family worked together to get Thanksgiving ready, even if they did manage to collectively ruin dinner. And the kids loved the illustration of the turkey sliding across the yard and landing, "Plop!" in the lake.

We used this book to open up some preschool-aged talk about Thanksgiving. We also touched a little on what would have been different had the family been honest and told the other people what happened. But most of all we just enjoyed the fun story abou the blunder-filled Thanksgiving that still ended up wonderful.

If you can't find this at your local library, Amazon has a few used copies for cheap. But it does seem to be currently out of print for new editions. The link above will take you to Amazon if you want a used copy. Happy Homeschooling!

Leaf Feather Turkey Craft

Thanksgiving is getting closer, which means we'll soon be putting up our Christmas tree and getting ready for Santa. The last couple of weeks we've read a lot of Thanksgiving books that had to do with turkeys. I think Avlyn has the whole turkey for Thanksgiving idea down pat. This week and next we're focusing on pilgrims and indians. One activity we did after reading a story was a leaf feather turkey craft.

I printed out the template for the turkey from The Best Kids Book Site, but instead of using handprints, we went outside and gathered up a bunch of leaves to use as the feathers. It was Avlyn's idea to add spots to her turkey. I also used it to reinforce the letter T and the sound it makes. Here's our finished project:


Happy Homeschooling!

What Is Phonics?

Phonics is the relationship of letters and letter sounds and how these letters and sounds combine to form words. Phonics is a cornerstone for reading and writing. It's what people are talking about when they tell kids to "sound it out." It involves consonant sounds, vowel sounds, and word families.

Studies have shown that a systematic approach to phonics is best for future reading and writing achievement. A systematic approach means that you have organized how you will teach phonics and aren't jumping from one concept to another with no rhyme or reason.

Experts will tell you that phonics instruction starts in kindergarten, but homeschoolers know that preschoolers, and even toddlers, can pick up basic phonics instruction. If you're yearning to start teaching reading, phonics should become a part of your everyday routine. Even if you only get 15 minutes of instruction in, that is something you can build on throughout the year. And homeschoolers don't really need to dedicate a 90-minute reading block like the public schools do, because the one-on-one attention means kids really learn what they need to in the first 15 to 20 minutes, at least in my experience.

Here is how our homeschool teaches phonics, with preschool focusing on consonant, vowel, and beginning letter sounds:

Consonant sounds

Beginning consonant letter sounds - focusing on the different sounds C and G can make in the beginning (cat-cent, go-gem)

Vowel sounds - with a focus on long e

Word families - ock, ake, etc...

Beginning consonant combinations - Br, Gr, Pr, Qu, Ph

Ending sound combinations - ing, ed, etc...

Happy Homeschooling!

Teaching Preschool Reading - Phonics vs. Sight Words

This is just the first post in a series I'll be posting about reading instruction.

The first couple years of homeschooling involve a lot of reading instruction. I know some homeschoolers who focus on nothing but reading until their child hits 1st grade. I can honestly say that even with a BA in English and four years as a reading coordinator for a tutoring program, teaching reading to my own child was the hardest thing I've done.

I've taught other people's kids reading basics and studied different theories and methods on reading instruction, but when it came to my own kid I hit a wall. In fact, I slammed into the wall, passed out, and didn't quite know what was going on when I came to.

My son was very difficult to teach when it came to reading instruction. I focused mostly on teaching phonics, and while he did learn how to sound out words well, he just could not get down the fluency. I was frustrated. He was frustrated. I think the alphabet was frustrated. I bought the Headsprout program, hoping a different type of instruction would help. He liked completing the program, but his reading was the same.

It wasn't until I started reading instruction with my daughter that I realized where I went wrong with my son. I didn't combine phonics with sight word reading. I'm fully convinced that the best form of teaching reading is to combine phonics instruction with sight words. I call it the "sightnics" method. Just my own little term for it.

Basically Avlyn and I study four sight words at a time. The current set is the words A, An, And, The. This is actually our first set of words, and I will probably do one more set before we get busy with the holidays. After our sight word study we do a little phonics teaching. Right now we are still on consonant sounds.

At first I felt like I failed my son. But after talking to his first grade teacher a couple years ago and hearing her say that he had a wonderful grasp of phonics, I knew I did something right. I just didn't know how to put it into action so I could teach him how to put it into action. I can't go back, but I can rectify the mistakes I made with him so that my daughter is a fluent reader by first grade.

If you're a first year homeschooler, remember that you will make mistakes as you navigate the waters of reading and math instruction, but you will learn from those mistakes and continue learning all through your homeschooling adventure. Happy Homeschooling!

Preschool Learning Centers

Hey everyone,

My finger is healing and I'm back to writing work, which means I can also get back to the blog. I don't have my stuff ready for November yet, but I did want to share something we did last month.

Avlyn seems to thrive on the whole concept of preschool learning centers. In daycares these are usually areas dedicated to one particular learning concept. In our homeschool, these are spots on my dining room wall that cover certain concepts. Since including these 'learning centers' as part of our daily routine, Avlyn has picked up concepts without me even having to try. Part of the reason is because she loves changing the weather center, referring to the letter center when writing, counting out money at the money center, marking off days at the calendar center, and showcasing her work at the arts and supplies center.

Creating simple preschool learning centers is fun and beneficial to your homeschool. Below I'll detail our centers and what we have in them.

1. Calendar center

Here I post a printed out calendar. I used seasonal pictures from DLTK's Custom Calendar Centerto print out a calendar page for each month. Every day we review the month, day of the week, all the days of the week, the number of days in the month, and then she marks off the day.

2. Money center

Here I taped up paper coins I found at the Dollar Tree store. Above those I taped the actual coins for a better reference. She reviews the coins and how much they're worth at the money center. I will add dollar bills and a 'store' to the money center later on this year. If you don't have a dollar store nearby, you can find free money printables at Money Instructor.

3. Letter center

This is the spot on our wall where we hang our letter strips. We use these strips to review letters, letter sounds, and when handwriting.I also purchased these from the Dollar Tree store.

4. Weather center

This is one of her favorite centers because it changes everyday. I put up a sign that says, "Today's weather is". I then attached two magnets to the wall and to paper weather pictures. (Yes, Dollar Tree store again)She has pictures of a sun, snow, rain, clouds, wind, and a girl wrapped up in a scarf looking at a below 0 thermometer. I did print out the wind and cold girl since our weather package didn't have those elements.

5. Art and supplies center

This is the area where I hung a pocket folder to keep all her supplies. She also showcases her craft projects. This will soon be the art/sight words center as I'll be hanging up the monthly sight words on this wall.

And that's it. A really simple but fun way to incorporate traditional learning centers into your homeschool routine. Happy Homeschooling!

Taking a Short Break

Hello,

I didn't want to just take off for a little bit without posting first. I need to take a few weeks off from posting. We haven't stopped learning and doing activities, but typing is very hard for me right now. I cut my finger on a broken pie dish and severed the nerve. I can no longer feel the top half of my middle finger on my left hand, and I'm left handed. So while we'll continue learning, I won't be able to share the lessons for October like I originally planned. I hope to pick up again in November. Happy homeschooling!

HSLDA'a Christopher Klicka Dies.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association's first full-time attorney has lost his fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Christopher Klicka, a great advocate for homeschooling and a parent's right to homeschool, passed away on October 12th. He was an integral legal voice for many homeschooling families. If you'd like to learn more about Christopher Klicka's life or leave a tribute, you can visit this HSLDA page to do so. It's always sad to lose a homeschooling pioneer and advocate who has helped so many families on their homeschooling journey.

Pumpkin Preschool Lesson Plan for Ordinal Numbers

Preschoolers are notorious for chanting "me first" when it's time to get something or stand in a line. But what about the rest of the ordinal numbers? Would it cause less meltdowns if kids thought they were 4th in line rather than last in line? Probably not, but it's worth a shot. Here is a simple lesson Avlyn and I did the other day, taking full advantage of fall time and pumpkins.

Objective:
Teach ordinal numbers 1st through 5th using the "5 Little Pumpkins" song and a craft.

Materials:
*Long piece of brown paper - an flattened wrapping paper tube works best, but you can staple a few pieces of construction paper together.
*Orange and green construction paper
*Crayons
*Glue

Begin by drawing a fence along the bottom of the brown paper. Let your child color the fence. Avlyn added some spiders to her fence. While your child colors the fence, cut out five orange circles that will fit comfortably on the top of the fence. Also cut out five green squares for stems. On the bottom of the pumpkins write 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Leave enough room for your child to draw faces.



After the fence is colored, review the ordinal numbers written on the pumpkins. Show your child how each pumpkin has a place based on their ordinal number. Then, have them glue the stems on the pumpkin based on their number. For example, you will say "glue the stem on the 3rd pumpkin" and so forth.

Let your child draw fun faces on each pumpkin, but instruct them not to cover up the number. Once the faces are drawn, ask your child to put the pumpkins in order based on their ordinal numbers. Review ordinals and give any help needed. Next, sing the
5 Little Pumpkins song, holding up the corresponding pumpkin.

Tape the fence to a wall and have your child attach the pumpkins on the fence in ordinal number order.
I mixed up the pumpkins and then had her pick which was 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so forth. Then we sang the song again and she pointed to each pumpkin. I also gave her a speed quiz where I quickly told her to point to the 1st pumpkin, 4th pumpkin, 3rd pumpkin and so forth. And that was our lesson plan for working with ordinal numbers up to 5. Happy homeschooling!

Halloween Songs

I have only two Halloween songs that I can remember learning as a child. They are Old Mrs. Witch and 5 Little Pumpkins. Below are the words, as I remember them, to these two Halloween songs. There is also a short song, sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" that my daughter and I made up to go along with a ghost craft. 5 little pumpkins is a great song to go along with teaching ordinal numbers. We will be doing a craft and lesson plan for the 5 Little Pumpkins song that I'll post later this week. If you and your child practice the song, you'll be all set to do the lesson plan. Happy homeschooling!

Old Mrs. Witch

Old Mrs. Witch Old Mrs. Witch
Tell me how you fly, tell me how you fly

I fly on my broom stick up in the sky.

Old Mrs. Witch (repeat)
Tell me what you see (repeat)

I see a little jack o lantern looking at me

Old Mrs. Witch (repeat)
Tell me what you'll do (repeat)

I'll fly on my broom stick and SCARE YOU! (Yell loudly)

5 Little Pumpkins

5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate
the first one says, "Oh, my it's getting late."
The second one says, "There are witches in the air."
The third one says, "Oh, I don't care."
The fourth one says, "Let's get ready for some fun."
The fifth one says, "Let's run and run and run."

Oooohh went the wind, out went the lights, and the 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Flying, Flying, Little Ghost

Flying, flying little ghost
You're the one who scares the most
Trick or treaters walking by
As you chase them from the sky

Flying, flying little ghost
You're the one who scares the most.

Christopher Columbus Coloring Sheets and Activities

..
Columbus Day is October 12th. If you live in America, you may spend some of your homeschooling time teaching your kids about Christopher Columbus. Preschool is the perfect time to build a foundation on this historical figure. While a complicated history lesson isn't necessary because it won't be remembered, and most likely not comprehended, letting preschoolers color a picture of Columbus is a great way to start. The history lessons you teach your preschooler now can be built upon a little each year. This method helps build a solid education about historical topics.

You can find Columbus coloring sheets HERE.

For a more hands-on approach to Christopher Columbus, you can help your preschooler complete a craft. My son brought home an art project he did at school for the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. (Pictured above) I think it's very basic and works for a preschooler, too. I would start by reading a book about Christopher Columbus and then proceed with the craft. Here's a suggestion for a good preschool level book:

:

I hope this gives you a couple of ideas, or at least a jumping off point for Columbus Day ideas for a preschooler. Happy homeschooling!

Happy October

Welcome to fall everyone. It's officially gotten colder here, and I do love this time of the year. Although we live in Missouri, we're originally from South Florida, which means we're still getting used to seasonal changes and actually having to wear sweaters in October. I've decided that at the beginning of each month I'll post a rundown of what's gonna be on the blog. Hopefully, you'll see something you're interested in and come back to check it out. Of course, I'll add posts as the inspiration strikes, but I'll use my general homeschooling outline to let you know what's coming up.

Vist the blog in October for posts on:

Pumpkin painting

Pumpkin lesson plan ideas

Halloween songs

Halloween crafts - including a bat and ghost craft

Fall foods - particularly apple-filled muffins

Weighing and measuring activities using apples and pumpkins

A recap and pictures of our pumpkin patch field trips (yes, it's plural. We'll be pumpkined (is that a word?) out by the end of October.

Happy Homeschooling!

Learn Letters With a Letter Game

Educational companies sell an endless supply of alphabet learning games. There are online programs, letter software, and a myriad of workbooks aimed at teaching preschoolers letter recognition. I've found the best games to be ones we make at home using markers and paper. One we made today was to help with recognizing upper and lower case letters. We call it "The Letter Match Game."

You can tailor this to meet your own needs, using colored papers, holiday-specific designs, substituting words for letters, etc... Here's how we make and play "The Letter Match Game."

Supplies:
Papers
Pencil
Scissors

Fold the papers so you have twelve rectangles divided down the middle with a crease. Cut along the middle crease and then cut out the rectangles. Gather a stack of rectangles and fold them in half so you have two squares. Cut in half. Write all the uppercase letters and then the lowercase letters on their own squares. Lay them out and review all the letters. Ask your child to pick if they want to be uppercase or lowercase.

Help them spread the letters out faceup on their side, in no particular order. If you're just starting letter recognition, then it might work best to put the squares in ABC order. Spread your letters out faceup on your side. Have a little scoring paper to keep points.

Rules:
The child goes first and asks if you have a match for a certain letter. They can choose any letter on their side that they want a match for. They must say the letter, not just hold up the paper. You then look for the matching letter and hand it to your child. If you can find the match within 20 seconds, (you can increase or decrease this time depending on ability) you get a point. It's now your turn to ask for a match. Your child then looks for the matching letter and hands it to you. If they find the matching letter in 20 seconds, they get a point.

If you or your child doesn't find the match in the alloted time, the person asking for the match gets a point and another turn. The letter just goes back into the mix to be used on another turn.

To make sure Avlyn comes out a point ahead, I will pretend not to be able to find a match in the 20 seconds a couple times. This keeps her from getting frustrated, because there are times when she does not find the match in 20 seconds and loses her point and her turn.

Happy Homeschooling!!

And the Winner Is....

Jammie! Congratulations to Jammie for winning the SpellQuizzercontest. A copy of this preschool software is on its way to her and her daughter. I hope you guys get plenty of use from this spelling software program. Thanks to all for entering the contest.

Letter W Whale Art Activity

I'm finally back on track. We haven't done much school-wise the past couple weeks because I've been ill. But we're back on track this week, and I wanted to post about something we did a few weeks ago for the letter W. Avlyn has pretty much gotten over her confusion of capital W and capital M, but this is a fun project for those of you still working on these letters. This also works for those of you needing an ocean themed activity.

Items needed:
Washable paints (We use the Crayola brand, and they do wash out easily.)
Construction paper (We cut ours into smaller rectangles, but you can use a whole sheet.)
Q-tips

W for Whale

Using a marker, write an upper and lower case W on the top left of the paper. Next, write the word "whale" to the right.

Have your child use a Q-tip to paint the ocean on the bottom of the paper. Then, help them dip their thumb into some paint and make a sideways thumbprint on the paper. This is the body of your whale. Using the Q-tips, they can give the whale a more distinct tail, water coming from its spout, and a face. They can also draw clouds, fish, birds, or anything else they like on the paper. If they have space, they can add more whales to the paper. Let it dry and hang on your display wall. Here's what Avlyn's looked like.
You can see that her whale is pink and seems to be out on the ocean all alone. I tried to get her to add more stuff, but she was happy with it the way it is. Happy Homeschooling!

Two Days Left to Enter the Free SpellQuizzer Contest

There are two days left in the SpellQuizzer comment contest. By simply leaving a homeschooling, parenting, or education related comment on one of my blog postings, you're entered to win a free copy of SpellQuizzer. This program helps students practice spelling and vocabulary words utilizing an online software program. So check out my posting about Fall Curriculum Ideas and leave a comment with an idea of your own. Good luck! Contest ends Sunday at 11:59.