Week 2- Lesson Plan for Sonlight Core A & F.I.A.R.

We are heading into week 2, and I am a very visual list type person...well, actually, I need a visual list to keep me anywhere near organized and on task, because I'm actually a 'get distracted by everything' type person:)

I thought I would post my 'goals' or lesson plan for the week, and then at the end of the week post a summary of what we did as well as photos of something fun that stood out to the kids!

Here is the lesson plan for Week 2:

Circle Time: We do a circle time every morning before we technically 'start' schooling. I'm going to do a more in depth post about this, but basically, we light a candle, pray for others and our day, sing our memory verse song, and read our FIAR (Five In a Row) Book.

Then we head to our kitchen table and begin or morning activities.

FIAR: Our book for the week will be:  Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans.

We get all of our books for FIAR at the library. 

I put them on hold a week in advance and they are usually waiting for me

 whenever I can go pick them up!  

We will be learning about Paris, France by locating on our Map, 

and talking a little bit about the culture at the time of Madeline along with landmarks that make places recognizable- ie The Eiffel Tower.

We will also talk about human relationships in the story.

We will be going over our Daily Routine in the mornings, and comparing them to Madeline's...

trying to get back into a daily rhythm before the start of homeschooling.

       

Bible: Read up through the story of Jacob

We will record events on our Timeline, discuss the different stories.
 

I am also going to start a project with Lily where she finds her own  'favorite' verse this week. I want her not just to memorize verses, but realize that they have a big impact on her life, and they are God's Word that he has written for her.  I will give her a bunch of verses and have her read them to see if any stand out to her. We will then do some sort of art to create a verse card that she can keep in a frame by her bed to remind her that God speaks to her! 

History/ Geography:  

We will learn about how the Early travellers moved around, and will actually make a mini coracle!  

Coracle

We will also begin to explore the homes and clothes of early Egyptians. 

(Still working on some hands-on activites for egypt)

Read-Alouds:

We will continue reading The Boxcar Children  which my girl's love! I'm so excited that they are able to pay attention to a chapter book, be genuinely interested, and have wonderful conversations after each chapter!!! This is why Sonlight is awesome! 

We will also continue reading poetry out of 

The Llama Who Had No Pajama and The Mother Goose Book.

Math: 

Lily will continue her review of her Math Skills with the Primer book from Math-U-See.  I don't have a plan as to how far she will get because she can do about 7 lessons in one hour... once the subject matter gets a little more difficult, I will slow her down and do more daily lessons.

Handwriting: 

Continue with Handwriting Without Tears, 3 Worksheets a week.

Reading and Language Arts-   

Start All About Reading Lesson 1-3, Continue with Creative Expression-

 Summarizing stories we read, and work on story sequencing.

Science:  Work on the Seasons- Going to do this shutterstock photo I found on Pinterest...perfect for Lily!

 I'd like to do something like this using cue tips, and a tree template like this.

That's about all I have for now...I may add some things during the week, and I'll definitely share in the end of week Summary Post !!

Thanks!!

Kristen

Week 1- Sonlight and Cavemen

We just completed Week 1 or Core A from Sonlight and  I am only just now starting to catch a glimpse of how I can incorporate fun things that I know my kids will enjoy into the curriculum. Don't get me wrong, I think the base curriculum from Sonlight is awesome, my girls are just a little more 'craft' oriented and can tend to get bored just reading out of books and not using their hands.

We read through the first parts of the Bible which included Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Abraham and The Tower of Babel...pretty cool stuff. Sonlight incorporates dinosaurs into this week, and I wanted to expand on this a little more but given that it is our first week homeschooling and we were attempting to find a new rhythm, I chose to let it go for now.

In addition, this week we also learned about the Cavemen! We discussed how different things were back then...the girls were pretty amazed!

We learned all of the different skills that they had to aquire in order to live a better life at that time. I explained how there was no electricity, no washer and dryer, not even homes! My oldest couldn't believe that they lived in caves. One of the skills they used often was weaving. I decided this was a great first 'Hands On' learning experience. I think I am going to call anything that I add on that involves a craft or activity will be called 'Hands On'.

Here's how we did it:

First we gathered sticks, and palm fronds, and I cut up yarn into 2' lengths'

Then we attached the yarn to both sticks to create a loom

This was a great activity in increasing dexterity as well!

 Then we started the weaving process,

' in-out-in-out', 'front-back-front-back...'

great way to teach opposites! 

Make sure to start your weaving at the bottom because you will build going up!

 

Getting closer to the top, the pattern really starts to show!! 

 

Lily's finished product!

 She was so proud! We attached yarn at the top to hang their creations on the back patio...beautiful!

I am also going to continue teaching about Cavemen and early civilization by painting with berries, crushing them and making our own 'paint', as well as making our own 'coracle' boat as suggested in Sonlight. My kids thrive on hands on activities, so I am going to try to incorporate as much as I can!

 We also ROWED the book, 'The Story About Ping' which allowed us to look a little deeper into China using Confessions of a Homeschooler's curriculum called Expedition Earth,  and it allowed us to delve into the culture...there are also many wonderful teaching tools in the FIVE IN A ROW Curriculum which we will be using often.

Thanks!

Kindergarten Curriculum for 2012-2013

 Sinead

Summer is rolling to an end, hence...
 I have officially enrolled my daughter, Lily, into homeschool.

Over the past two years,
I haven't posted on here much because
 we have gone through much transition. 

My two girls both went to afternoon preschool last year,
and I am happy with that decision.

 But I knew that I would always homeschool the children
 as they got older and I transitioned into having more children.

I thought I would start off my new blogging journal posts
 with an overview of what we will be using for Curriculum,
along with some helpful websites that I use.

I have been very much influenced by Michelle over at
Delightful Learning. 
She is such an inspiration as a mother as well as a homeschool mom.

I am using a lot of the same curriculum that she uses with a few minor changes.
 You can find her curriculum list for this year here.

For Lily (6):

Sonlight Core A- Intro to World Cultures

All About Reading Level 1

Math-U-See w/ Manipulatives

The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature


For Lily and Claire (6 & 4):

Before Five in a Row: A Treasury of Creative Ideas to Inspire Learning Readiness

Five in a Row (Five in a Row): Volume 1 

 Grace Homeschool Connection: A church where homeschoolers go and take classes with other homeschooolers.  Lily will be taking Art, Latin and Memory. We started last week, She loves it!!  

That's about it, I will be journaling about our experiences an fun things we do on here... stay tuned!!