Week 18: What time is it? Telling Time & Clocks

I knew it was time to teach Lily how to read a clock...even a digital one when I asked her to tell

me what time the clock read on the oven:

Lily: "Mom, its one-one-four-eight."

Me: "You mean its 11:48?"

Lily: "I don't know."

It's that easy folks...

find an area that needs work,

and focus on it...

so here we go....

this should be interesting...

BTW: Click here if you want to see the updated photos and commentary

about making jam from last week.

Clocks

Books:

The clock struck one : a time-telling tale by Harris, Trudy.

Bunny day : telling time from breakfast to bedtime by Walton, Rick.

Telling time : how to tell time on digital and analog clocks! by Older, Jules.

My grandmother's clock by McCaughrean, Geraldine.

Tick tock tales : stories to read around the clock by Mahy, Margaret.

Time to tell time by Scott, Janine.

The Berenstain Bears catch the bus : a tell the time story by Berenstain, Stan, 1923-2005.

Key Learning Points & Concepts:

1. Lily can count from 1-100 very easily, but I'm not so sure she can recognize those numbers. So the first thing I am going to do is make a counting chart and point to numbers to see if she knows them by sight.

2. The next thing she needs to learn is to count by 5's and 10's..at least up to 60.

3. Learn about the parts of an analog clock... The short hand, the long hand...the numbers etc.

4. Talk about minutes, hours and seconds.

5. Teach her how to read a digital clock- ie- 1:30 is one-thirty...not one- three-zero :)

(I think this is about all we can handle for now without having her get either really confused or really bored...or me really crazy)

Crafts and Activities:

~ Pull out a number chart and count to 100...then color in the number that I call out. (This number chart can be found here.)

~ Count by 5's and 10's...I realized I can use the chart above again, color in numbers to be counted, and learn them that way....or, we could all dance to this awesome video!

~ We'll make our own clock...to go with the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock..

You can find the clock craft over at DLTK (great resource site!)

Here's a link to the words for Hickory Dickory Dock.

~ We'll play digital clock bingo. I found a clock bingo game at the dollar store, but you can print out some from the internet here.

~ Found this great interactive site called Time Monsters. Great way to practice computer skills and learn how to tell time! (Note: This might be a little over her head, so we'll have to try it and see.)

Songs:

This site has great songs and videos...I think we'll just have fun with them!

Snacks:

Photo Source

I think I'm going to make chocolate chip pancakes.... and have really big pancakes with 12 chocolate chips for the different numbers. Then, Lily can pour the syrup in lines to make the short hand and the long hand... we'll see how this goes. Kind of a long shot..but I really like chocolate chip pancakes, so it seems like a win/win for me!

Linking up to

HomeSchool Village...Our Accomplishments!

Week 17: Jam and Jelly & Cooking!

(Photo Source)

Last week while we were learning about the moon(updated photos),

my 'nighttime' blackberry jam was a huge hit!

Lily was interested in making her own jam with raspberries.

I thought it would be a perfect lesson

for the girls (and me too) to spend the week

in the kitchen and experiment with making jam!

Books

Jam & jelly by Holly & Nellie by Whelan, Gloria.

Making plum jam by Stewig, John W.

Bread and jam for Frances by Hoban, Russell.

The giant jam sandwich by Lord, John Vernon.

Resource Books

Jam it, pickle it, cure it : and other cooking projects by Solomon, Karen.

Preserves : the complete book of jams, jellies, pickles, relishes and chutneys, with over 150 stunning recipes by Atkinson, Catherine

In a pickle : chutneys, preserves, salsas, sweet treats by Brewis, Jill

Jam and Jelly Resource Sites:

Jelly Folklore

Key Learning Points

1. All Jams and Jellies come from real fruit that is cooked.

2. Adding heat to fruit makes them change their shape and the way they feel and taste.

Crafts and Activities:

First, we will be going to pick our own strawberries...you can visit PickYourOwn.org to find out the closest u-pick places to you.

Update: The girls and I had a wonderful time picking strawberries. The farm we went to had hydroponic organic strawberries...

We picked about 6 pounds of strawberries.

I loved that the girls each got their own basket, and scissors.

It was a great opportunity for them to practice their coordination skills.

I also took this opportunity to include a little science lesson too.

A lot of the strawberry plants had flowers on them

where you could see the middle portion becoming a ripe strawberry. Love it!

We'll be doing a little computer work and learning how to print out our jam labels. Here is a site that provides free labels- Tip Nut

Since I am a visual person, here is a tutorial for making jam from the Blog- Make Cupcakes

I love this tutorial which actually has kids making the squishy jam...so fun!

Songs:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Song

Chorus:
Peanut butter — And Jelly!
Peanut butter — And Jelly!
Peanut butter — And Jelly!
Peanut butter — And Jelly!

First you take the peanuts
And you dig them.
Dig them.
(Children repeat.)

Then you take the shells
And you crack them.
Crack them.

Then you take the shells
And you crack them.
Crack them.

Next, you take the peanuts
And you mash them.
Mash them.

Then you take the bread
And you spread it.
Spread it.

Chorus:
Peanut butter — And Jelly!
Peanut butter — And Jelly!
Peanut butter — And Jelly!
Peanut butter — And Jelly!

Next, you take the grapes
And you pick them.
Pick them.
Next, you take the grapes
And you pick them.
Pick them.

Then you take the grapes
And you squish them.
Squish them.

Then you take the bread
And you spread it.
Spread it.

Now, you take the sandwich
And you eat it
Eat it.

Dig them
Crack them
Mash them
Spread it.
Mmmmmm Mmmmmm looks good.

Pick them
Squish them
Spread it
And eat it
Tastes good.

Peanut butter — And Jelly!

Snacks:

(Photo Source)

OF course we will be 'testing' our jams and jellies all week long! MMMmmmm can't wait!

Update: Here is a photo journal of our experience making jam....

Step 1- Occupy your 2 year old washing dirty dishes... and getting wet

Step 2- Exercise your hand cutting many, many, many strawberries

Step 3: Sterilize your jar... we used a 1 quart jar and boiled for 10 minutes

Step 4: Add this funny looking ingredient...oh, I mean vanilla bean..and sugar

Step 5: Get to work squishing....so fun!

Step 6: Take some time to enjoy having red hands!

Step 7: Give the 2 year old a break from dish duty, and let her squish a few...

Step 8: Have a heart attack that there is

strawberry drippings and pieces all over your kitchen...

then remember that preschoolers can HELP clean up!

Step 9: Enjoy the fruits (or jam) of your labor...delicious!

Simple Jam Recipe: I love Jamie Oliver and how simplistic his recipes are...source Food Network

Strawberry Jam

Recipe (c) Jamie Oliver 2002

Prep Time:

5 min

Inactive Prep Time:

45 min

Cook Time:

4 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

about 2 jars

Ingredients

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod
10 1/2 ounces (300 grams) sugar
2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) strawberries, washed

Directions

Run your knife
down the vanilla pod scrape out the seeds and add with the pod to the strawberries and the
sugar. Mush it up a bit with a whisk leaving some large chunks. Put on a medium heat to
bring to a gentle simmer and leave to cook for about 4 minutes. Using a ladle remove the
scum from the top and leave to cool. Place in sterilized jars and store in the
refrigerator.

Copyright 2011 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved

Thanks!

Week 16: The Moon (Phases and Such)

The other night, my girls were baffled as to where the moon went.

When we looked online,

we saw that there will be no visible moon for another 5 days....

this inspired me to teach them

about the phases of the moon and other aspects about the moon.

I am excited to see how simplified I can make this lesson

and still maintain some level of education

about the phases and properties of the moon.

Side-Note: From a Christian perspective, I love the idea of the moon because it can only get its 'light' from the 'Sun' just as we can only get our light from the Son... I guess this is why the idea of the moon intrigues me so much.. (Side-Note Complete:)

Books

Moon dreams by Martin, Ruth

Little Rabbit couldn't sleep by Shoshan, Beth.

Las fases de la luna = Phases of the moon by Olson, Gillia M.

Why does the moon change shape? by Stewart, MelissaThe way back home by Jeffers, Oliver

Catching the moon by Goldberg, Myla

The moon by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Little Honey Bear and the smiley moon by Lobel, Gillian

Learning Points:

1. When we cannot see the moon, it is called the New Moon...its when the moon is 'missing'

2. The phases of the moon are: Crescent, Half, Gibbous, Full and back down again to Gibbous, half and Crescent.

Crafts:

We will be doing marble painting with all of the phases of the moon...then hanging them on our wall next to the window where we can see the moon. Then we can compare the moon and our phases and see where we are.

(I hung up their phases artwork and l labeled them)

Songs:

Going to the Moon- Who doesn't love pretending you are in a spaceship!
(Do movements like you are sitting down) Get in the spaceship we're going to the moon, going to the moon, going to the moon.
Get in the spaceship we're going to the moon. Let's countdown right now. 5-4-3-2-1 BLAST OFF! (When the group says "Blast off" jump out of the chair with arms outstretched)

(Stretch your arms out like you're flying) Get in the spaceship we're flying to the moon, flying to the moon, flying to the moon.
Get in the spaceship we're flying to the moon. Let's countdown right now. 5-4-3-2-1...BLAST OFF!

(Walk around with very tall, exaggerated steps) Get out of the spaceship we're walking on the moon, walking on the moon, walking on the moon.
Get out of the spaceship we're walking on the moon. Let's countdown right now. 5-4-3-2-1...BLAST OFF!

(Do movements like you are very sleepy and ready to get back home) Get in the spaceship we're going back home, going back home, going back home. Get in the spaceship we're going back home. Let's countdown right now. 5-4-3-2-1...BLAST OFF!

Snacks:

English Muffin Moon Craters..... I'm going to make homemade English Muffins, then we will explore the 'terrain' of them... show the kids what the moons surface looks like... Then we'll practice coordination with a butter knife, and use 'nighttime jelly' (blackberry) and try to create the different phases...we'll see! I'll try to take pictures...should be interesting!

Making our homemade English Muffins...( I accidentally read the directions wrong, so ours came out more like dough discs, but it was still fun!)

Even the little one got involved in measuring and putting in the ingredients!

This was Lily practicing her knife skills and our 'nighttime' jam to create a quarter moon...

Thanks!