Friday, August 31, 2012

Weekly Wrap-Up {getting back to routine…}




If there is one thing I have learned in our 3 previous years of homeschooling, it’s to allow time for myself and my kids to get back into routine.


It seems to take us about 2 weeks to “remember” the rules, how to stay on task, and work independently.  There is also a bit of a memory loss with some basic skills, that inevitably have to be re-taught, re-learned, and re-habited. 


Knowing and expecting this makes for a much easier transition from the relaxed easy going days of summer to our more rigid routine during the school year.  I plan very minimal bookwork for these first two weeks, choosing instead to focus on behavior expectations, politeness, patience, and simple but fun review of material as needed.  Not only does it help the kids, it helps me work up to the increasingly longer school days and heavier work load that each year brings.


Here’s a look at our first two weeks:
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We decorated and then learned how to use our new calendar journals.  Poor Isaac had tears when he forgot how to do the “code date”.  No worries, bud!

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So far they all like it and it’s going well.  Except for Elaina, who says it’s boring.  I think she is bound and determined to prove to me that Kindergarten will be too boring for her, and she should just skip to 1st grade…

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We reviewed the Days of the Week, Months of the Year, and practiced spelling them with these Letter Tile Cards.  We also reviewed our address and phone number, and the boys practiced addressing an envelope.

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We practiced skip counting, focusing on number groups to get the boys ready for multiplication.  We used these fun feet  after reading The Foot Book one morning during our Circle time.

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We reviewed spelling numbers with these Letter Tile Cards after reading The Cat In the Hat another day.

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And practiced our time telling skills with these puzzles.


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The boys refreshed their skills of place value with these Place Value Rods and made 10 different equations of their choosing.  There were a few tears with this review….


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They practiced counting money, and wished it was all real, while making up 10 ways to make $10.00.

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And played a super fun money spending game.  I was so proud of Nate for sticking it out even through a lot of frustration with not remembering how to carry over while adding large numbers!

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We used Appletters to create our own spelling lists.  I love how Isaac knew how to spell Mississippi, but not his brothers name….Smile

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We played with a few other games we have, including this Addition Bingo one.

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Elaina did lots of review too, focusing mostly on writing alphabet letters, phonetic sounds, number recognition, following directions, and lots of waiting her turn. 


And showing patience while waiting her turn…


Oh the drama of being in such a “boring” Kindergarten….

(Click here for Fish Printable)

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We worked on this rhyming game


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This ABC bingo….

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And did a fare amount of goofing around.  You know,  so she wouldn’t get too bored

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We worked on a fun mini-unit together (that I will share later) for the book: A Sick Day For Amos McGee.

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Even Olivia got back into the swing of “cool” and got her hands into more toys than I could keep up with.  And so, the school room is now a complete disaster.  Which usually means we’ve had a pretty good week (or two!)


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For a fun outing with just me and the boys, we went to a local fair.  Isaac proudly wore his Bronco tattoo, until a young woman at Target complimented him and he turned beet red with embarrassment.  He asked if he could wash it off immediately.  “I’m so nervous around girls, Mom.”

It’s going to be a good year.

That’s what I keep telling myself anyway!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Spanish Circle Time Printables {FREE!}

Spanish Printables

I am soooo excited about adding a new element to our daily “Circle Time” routine:
Spanish Circle Time!


I’ve actually been working on these for a while now, and they are finally ready to share.


(UPDATE: January 2015  This continues to be my most visited post!  So exciting!  I've made a few corrections to the printables, but the photos do not show the updates.  Be sure to click the links to view the documents before printing.)



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It’s pretty basic so far.  The kids will learn the days of the week, months of the year, colors, ABC’s, 1-2-3’s, and possibly the weather (if I can get around to creating it!).  We also have space to add various vocabulary words as the school year goes on.


I got the basic idea for our first flip chart from here a few years back.  It is still working well for us, so I’ve kept it pretty similar for the Spanish flip chart.  After printing and laminating the sheets, each piece was cut out.  Then I attached a small piece of Velcro to the backs.


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Each element is attached to the foam board.  I used rings for the song pages, but glued the other parts down for durability.


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I thought it would be fun to share them with you too!

These are two songs in Spanish: Buenos Dias (Good Morning, How are you?), and Dias de la Semana (Days of the Week).  The days of the week song has an empty box to add the day.  You can either laminate it and use dry erase marker to write in the day, or use the printable below by printing, laminating, and cutting each day out.  Then attach Velcro to the back of each day and the song sheet and your child can add the day of the week themselves.  (The phrase Hoy es means Today is.)


(Click here and here to see videos of the songs.)




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Click to print:Spanish Songs



Spanish Days1

Click to print:Spanish Days of the Week

Another element that my kids have always enjoyed is choosing the color of the day.  Usually this is Elaina’s job, but she will pass the torch on to her baby sister Olivia this year.  We will continue to use the English colors as well, but this will be a fun new tool for the older kids.  Print, laminate, and cut out the pieces.  Attach the middle section los Colores en Espanol to your flip board or calendar wall.  I use Velcro dots to the back of each color and then one single dot in the blank square for ease of use.

(Not sure how to pronounce the colors?  Click to see a video here.)


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Click to print: Spanish Color Set


Just for fun, I created a calendar set with some cute clip-art you can add to your flip board or calendar wall.  Print, laminate, cut out, and add Velcro dots to the back.

(Not sure how to pronounce the Spanish months of the year?  Click here to watch a video.)



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Click to print: Spanish Calendar




Looking for more Spanish printables?
Click here for my Spanish Calendar Journal Page.


Spanish Calendar Journal




I pray that providing these free printables will enrich your homeschool experience and make your planning a little easier! I would love to hear if you have used these printables. Just leave a comment below. Please link back directly to my blog, not the document link provided. Please do not sell or host these files on your website. Thanks!

Monday, August 20, 2012

don’t ask…


I’ve got a little girl who’s been experimenting with body graffiti.


Yep.  That’s right. 


We’re talking all over doodles with any kind of marker she can find. 

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Here she was proudly showing me her drawings, in the buff, after her 2nd bath of the morning. 


No luck.  When they say “permanent”, they really mean it.

Don’t even ask me about the walls. 


Or my nightstands.  Or her nightgown and blankie. 


Especially don’t ask me about my beautiful {white} king sized Apt. 9 bedspread.  No.  Please don’t ask.  No need to keep bringing it up. 



You see, I was fast asleep along with the rest of the house, when she crept out of bed, and went down to the school room, and discovered the markers her sister left out, and then proceeded to color everything and anything she could find.  And then brought the marker up to our room to color on the nightstand, the blanket, the sheet, and her nightgown. 


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She was sweet enough to snuggle in between Saul and I and fall back to sleep before waking us up.

That way, her innocence would be secure when she woke up and said, “What happened momma?”


Oh this girl has me on my toes…..

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A Back to School Photo Session




A “back-to-school” photo shoot always sounds like more fun than it actually is. 

Lots of ideas this momma wants to try out + four kids who have other ideas = a stressful morning of hair curling, clothes matching, fit throwing, prop finding, and smile prompting to get just the right pictures.  In the end, I resorted to a shameful use of bribery – leftover birthday cake and ice cream for any child found to be participating and following directions.  Worked like a charm…

Welcome Back to School!

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