Preschool Letter F and Firefighters

When I wrote about my preschool plans for Sophie, I said that I would probably alternate BFIAR with some other general high interest or seasonal themes. This week we did a Community Helper focus on firefighters.  I'm still working to figure out exactly how much I should plan for a week to keep her interest and keep me from going crazy.  This week we barely had enough (she really doesn't like repeating actvities - any suggestions?? Somethings are a lot of work for doing something one time!  Some things I will just bring out another week, but, man, it sure would be great for planning purposes if I could get her interested in doing something more than once.)  And, as I mentioned in Miles' post this week, I'm learning that if I don't have something completely prepared at the beginning of the week (as much as is feasible), I am REALLY BAD about following through with it!

I also struggled a bit this week with how much was too much content-wise for a three year old.  I had planned on doing some fire safety things, like talking about what to do if you hear a fire alarm, stop drop and roll, etc., but Sophie is very much in an easily scared phase right now.  I was very concerned about giving her something to be afraid of.  I mean, honestly, I can see her being terrified of the smoke detector because it had the potential to be noisy.  So, I went with my momma gut and decided to hold off on some of the things we had planned for the week.  I will share some of the links at the bottom of the post, because there were some great ideas.  I just didn't feel comfortable doing them with Sophie at this point in her life.

Bible and Character

For Bible, we read about God creating people.  We are working our way through My First Hands On Bible. We are keeping a Bible journal together, and I think it may be one of my favorite things.  I got the idea from Wildflower Ramblings. 

We also continued memorizing Psalm 23 and Psalm 139:14.

This month, we are focusing on attentiveness as our character trait.  Pretty much this has just meant using the word and demonstrating what this means, but also brushing up on our ability to pay attention by playing lots of Memory! She loves her Disney Princess Memory and her Dr. Seuss Memory games. 

Reading the Alphabet Letter F

This week we mostly just did our Reading the Alphabet curriculum, with a few swaps to include more firefighter activities.

Sight Word Poke. She takes this very seriously. She loves getting to use a pushpin.

Rescue the Alphabet Game. This letter identification game was a huge hit! I put our alphabet magnets on the refrigerator and told Sophie she was a firefighter who had to rescue the letters from a fire.  She would stand on the opposite side of the kitchen and I would say, "Quick! Rescue the T!" She would run, find the T and bring it to safety on the dishwasher. She got really into it!  Miles played with his magnets, too.

Practicing F.

Melissa and Doug Firetruck Puzzle.  Miles "helps" making the puzzle super challenging. ;)

Syllable Count and Clip Cards. 

Sight Word Maze. 

Firetruck 20 Grid. She rolled the dice and added the appropriate number of unifix cubes.  Once again, she made the pattern totally on her own.

Firefighter Patterns. She has the AB patterns down great now, so I introduced ABC patterns and she picked it up right away. This is from the Firemen Printable Pack at Homeschool Creations.

Firetruck Craft. Sophie loved painting this firetruck and then putting it together.  This was the first time she decided she wanted to paint something particular instead of just free paint, and both of us were really proud of how it turned out. 

Additional Links

Practicing Fire Safety with Dolls 

Easy Fire Safety Activities for Kids 

Fire Safety with Preschoolers 

Sparky.org - free apps, activities, and more! 

Fireman Number Recognition Game 

Linking up at 1+1+1=1 Tot School Gathering Place, Homeschool Creations PreK and Kindergarten Community,  and Teaching Mama's Everything Early Childhood

BIG Tot School: Transportation

This will be Sophie's last "BIG Tot School" post.  We are finishing up the Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum and will start our new curriculum next week.

Bible and Character

This week was all about self-control - a big one in this three year old's life right now (and her momma's for that matter!). Using a transportation theme we talked about having self control using a traffic light - STOP-THINK-OBEY. With Miles, we made traffic lights to remind ourselves.  She also made and ate a traffic light snack made with graham crackers, icing, and M&Ms.

We also read and played about Joshua and the Battle of Jericho.  This (oldie but a goodie) video is one of her favorites!  For our memory work, we continued working on Psalm 23.

Literacy Activities

Name Train. Sophie really enjoyed making this name train craft, and it turned out really cute! I wrote the letters in her name onto the cars with pencil, and she traced them and put them in order.

Uppercase/Lowercase Letter Sort. Using our letter cards, Sophie sorted uppercase and lowercase letters.

Do-a-Dot Activities. From Homeschool Creation's Transportation Preschool Pack.

Math Activities

Number Train. Putting the cars in numerical order.  From Homeschool Creation's Transportation Preschool Pack.

Three Piece Vehicle Puzzles. From Homeschool Creation's Transportation Preschool Pack.

Transportation Pattern Block Mats. Sophie is really enjoying these pattern block mats from PreKinders.

Dump Truck Counting Mat. From Measured Mom.

Other Activities

Will It Roll? I gathered a variety of small objects, and Sophie experimented to see what would roll down a ramp.  We got to talk about why some things roll and others don't.  She really enjoyed this, and it reminded me that I really need to add some more science things into our plans - she really loves when we do!  PreKinders had a printable recording sheet where Sophie drew one item that rolled and one that didn't.  

We also played with some transportation stamps and did some cutting practice. We had planned on doing some painting with toy car wheels followed by a "car wash" (with both kids!), but honestly, I chickened out of the mess. We had a rough week and I just wasn't up for it!  But we will try it again another week...I wish I hadn't bailed.

Linking up at 1+1+1=1 Tot School Gathering Place and Teaching Mama's Everything Early Childhood.

Our Preschool Plans (K3)

Well, I've given in.  The more I plan and organize for Sophie's learning activities in the fall, I realize that we have crossed from Tot School to Preschool.

Our transition started as an organizational need - I couldn't figure out how to leave her learning materials out in a way that she could make selections without having Miles get into them.  So I started holding back the materials and just giving her the next activity.  However, at the same time, I wanted her to know what to expect and be able to take some ownership of our activities.  Most of our learning is done together, not independently, so we weren't quite ready for true workboxes.  But, in reality, we are using a modified version of workboxes as a way to organize and structure our learning time.  I'll share more about this after I have a few weeks to perfect our system, but so far it has been working really well for us.

Beyond organization, our activities are looking more and more "preschoolish" as well.  Sophie is on the verge of starting to learn to read.  She knows all her letters and sounds, rhymes words constantly, and can recognize and spell her name.  As we finished up the Fruit of the Spirit curriculum and I searched for our next steps, I realized I really was looking for a preschool curriculum - one that would help us start our journey into learning to read (a process that totally overwhelms me!  I was mostly an upper elementary teacher and have very little experience with students just starting to read.)  I also realized that if she were going to "school" instead of staying home with me, she would be going to Preschool (K3).  Cue the emotional monologue about how my baby is growing up WAY too fast...

So, here we go, we are officially doing preschool at home this year!

Schedule and Routine

Sophie wants to do Tot School/Preschool every single day except Sunday - and then only because we are not home in the morning!  Some days she will keep wanting more activities for two hours.  Last week, we went through everything I had planned for the week by Wednesday at 9 am.  She will repeat some favorite activities, but really likes the surprise of something new (even if it is just a slight modification).

Even though I know needs for preschool do not require activities everyday, Sophie has come to expect them and loves them, so, following the lead of the child, I am planning activities for five days per week.  I will have lots of flexibility built in, and if opportunities come up that disrupt our plans, we will take them and push off our plans to another day.  However, I want to be prepared with enough material to feed her curious and willing mind all week long!  

We used to do our Tot School time when Miles took his morning nap.  This gave us perfect, uninterrupted one-on-one time.  However, with Miles trying to drop his morning nap, it is throwing a kink in our perfect schedule.  I'm trying to work out how to keep him safely occupied so that I can work with her, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.  Some of the items on his Tot School shelf require supervision, so I can't just let him explore those things.  I'm thinking some busy box/bags are in order.  I'm also working to include him in as many activities as I can, or a modified activity simultaneously. They both love doing the same things as each other!  It will fall in place.

Our Preschool Resources

I know this is a long list - we certainly will not do everything from all of these resources.  I have always really enjoyed the process of piecing lessons together from lots of great places, so these will be my main sources of ideas.

Before Five in a Row (BFIAR).  I have had my eyes on this guide for a long time.  I love the literature-based approach using these classic stories.  I cannot wait to share these great books with Sophie and there are so many fun resources online and in the guide.

Reading the Alphabet.  This FREE program looks PERFECT for Sophie.  It is described as a "PreK reading curriculum designed for those Pre Kinders who already know their letters and letter sounds, but who are not ready for a faster paced, full-blown Kindergarten curriculum."

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I plan to begin using this whenever Sophie is ready, even if that is several months down the road.

Teach Your 3 to 7 Year Old Math. This book had some great suggestions for hands-on math instruction using the Montessori approach.  It seems really helpful to me in providing a progression of sorts, helping me know where to start!

MathStart Level 1 Books.  I just discovered that our library has this entire set!  I'm really looking forward to reading these with Sophie to help introduce some math concepts.

My First Hands On Bible. We will be using this during our family devotions and occasionally doing some extra activities to go along with and reinforce during our preschool time.  We'll also continue our Scripture memory and catechism questions from My First Book of Questions and Answers.

I'm also looking for something good to use for teaching character.  I'm considering Playing with Purpose. Everything else seems a little too old for Sophie still.  I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a good one! :)

Lots of other ideas for science experiments, fun themes, art projects, and other activities from great websites and things I found on Pinterest, as well as lots of manipulatives, games and learning toys we have already.  

Right now I'm thinking we will do BFIAR every other week or so, with the in between weeks being used for themes Sophie is kind of obsessed with (think ballerinas and princesses), topics she has taken an interest in (musical instruments, doctors and human body), or seasonal/holiday activities.  Some of my favorite sites I'll be using for activities include:

This Reading Mama

Measured Mom

Homeschool Creations

Wildflower Ramblings
PreKinders

1+1+1=1

Activity Mom

Delightful Learning

Writing this all out makes it look so formal, but to Sophie, we will still be "playing preschool." The majority of our day is still spent in free play and simply living life at home and around town. My guess is that an average of an hour a day will be spent on preschool (even then, only because Sophie is asking for more!)  Even though my plans are more formal, her love of learning is still top priority.  If one of these things doesn't work, we will change our approach, and if the day comes that she needs a break from any formal learning, then we take a break!  (Though somehow, at this stage, I don't think that would fly!). We'll "officially" start in a few weeks after spending some time with family. I'm really looking forward to it.

BIG Tot School: Farm Theme

This week in our Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum we were talking about Gentleness and learning Psalm 23.  This one will take us a few weeks to learn, but Sophie is already doing a great job.  We also played "Follow the Shepherd" and talked about how we follow God like sheep follow a shepherd.

Literacy Actvities

Emergent Reader.  We used this super simple emergent reader from Measured Mom and Sophie loved it!  Her face after she read it all by herself is priceless! She was so proud. (The text says, "A chicken." with a picture of a chicken, for example - obviously she was not reading the animal words but was using the picture, but it was a perfect first step for her!)

Initial Sounds Farm Fences.  This idea from Stir the Wonder was a hit!  I had put the popsicle sticks together ahead of time, but Sophie helped me "build" the fences by making playdoh balls and standing them up.  (Playdoh is the way to my child's heart...).  Then she put a letter in front of each fence, and matched up the farm animals to their correct "home" using the initial sounds in their names. She played this multiple times independently after our first time together.  

Farm Poem. We wrote a farm poem together using the "I am" model from PreKinders. To draw the pig, I drew one with simple shapes one step at a time, and she tried to mimic my drawing.  I thought her pig turned out great!

Rhyming Cards. From This Reading Mama's Farm Printable Pack

Spelling Animal Names. From This Reading Mama's Farm Printable Pack.  This was one of the first times I really encouraged Sophie to match the letters from left to right (rather than just matching up letters as she found them).  It took several gentle reminders, but I think it is important I start guiding her that way as we move past just letter matching into forming words!

Math Activities

Farm Animal Pattern Blocks.

Measuring Sensory Bin. This was the world's simplest sensory bin, but Sophie spent HOURS playing in it this week.  No exaggeration.  It started as a tin full of popcorn kernels and some measuring cups, and eventually some Toob farm animals made it in there.  We talked about how the bigger cups could hold more than the little cups and how it took multiple little cups to fill a big cup. Easy peasy, but the favorite activity by far.  I gotta do this more often!

Feed the Pig Counting Activity. Sophie was so meticulous to get the correct number of kernels right in the bucket "so they didn't get a tummy ache."

Roll and Count Farm. From 3 Dinosaurs Farm Printable Pack. 

Other Activities

Animal Matching. We matched our Toob animals with the pictures, and on another day matched the mother animal to the baby animals using these cards from This Reading Mama's Farm Printable Pack.

Shadow Matching. From Gift of Curiosity. This was the most challenging shadow match she had done, as some of the animals had similar shapes and were in similar positions. I was pleased that it actually stretched her a little bit and gave us a chance to describe what we saw in the pictures.

The week wouldn't have been complete without a visit from our neighborhood ducks. These little guys were born this Spring and have made themselves at home on our street. They have obviously been fed a lot, because they are not scared of people at all.  They followed us up to our porch!  It was actually a little bit eerie, to tell the truth! But of course the kids love it! 

Linking up at 1+1+1=1 Tot School Gathering Place and Teaching Mama's Everything Early Childhood.

BIG Tot School: Rainbows

We are still roughly following the themes of the Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum, but honestly, I am only doing a few of the activities.  The curriculum is fabulous, and I highly recommend it, but I wish I had started it with Sophie a bit earlier.  She's just ready for more! We'll finish out with a couple more of the themes I think she will enjoy and then we will move on.  I'll share more about our plans for the fall soon!

This week was all about Rainbows and God's Faithfulness.  Our story was Noah's Ark, and we basically just read it and talked about God's faithfulness to Noah and how the rainbow showed us his promise.

Memory Work
- Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23.  She has this one nailed and gets excited to say it each morning during our morning board time!
- Ps. 56:3 (portion) was our new verse for the week.  "...in God I trust; I shall not be afraid..."
- Colors of the Rainbow (ROYGBIV) - I found this great video and song to help teach the colors.  We've been singing it all night! (She even requests it as her bedtime song).

Literacy Activities

Watercolor Letters and Circles. I made a page with her name in rainbow bubble letters for her to paint as well as a page with circles in rainbow colors to match.  She loves tracing letters especially, so this was a hit.

Print Awareness Activity. I don't have any pictures of this great activity from This Reading Mama's Rainy Day PreK Pack, but it was really good (and simple!).  Basically, she painted a rainbow (pretty much her favorite thing ever) and cut apart the words "I see a beautiful rainbow".  Then I mixed them up and as I read them to her, she rearranged them back into the right sentence and glued it down as a caption for her picture.  This was a really great listening exercise for her, as well as starting to see how words go together to make sentences.

Rainbow Rice Name Hunt.  I shared about this great activity on Activity Mom.  This was one Sophie pulled out every single day! 

Syllable Count and Clip.  Also from the Rainy Day PreK Pack, this was Sophie's first attempt at breaking words into syllables.  I didn't know what to expect, but after a few examples she was doing well.  It is definitely a skill we need to keep working on in the future, but she seemed to enjoy clapping to count the syllables in each word and then meticulously placing the clip perfectly on top of the correct number.  This poor perfectionist comes by it honestly...

Initial Sound Matching. From the Rainy Day PreK Pack.

We also did several other printables from the Rainy Day PreK Pack, including rhyming, "spelling" words with do-a-dots, and pre-writing tracing sheets.  Sophie really loves her activities, and so do I! (Not paid to say that or anything...just seriously like them!)

Math Activities

Rainbow Pom Pom Sorting/Fine Motor.  Using a set of tweezers, she sorted the pom poms into the correct cup.  The tweezers were just the right challenge for her!

Graphing with Skittles. Even though she really had no concept of graphing, she enjoyed this sorting and counting activity mostly because she got to eat the Skittles at the end! Get the printable here from Mom on the Move.

How Many Raindrops? This counting activity was from the Rainy Day PreK Pack.  Sophie would choose a card and then place that many glass beads ("rain drops") onto the mat.  Then, she would trace the number with a dry erase marker.  She really enjoyed this one and wanted to play for a long time.

Other Activities

Fizzy Rainbows.  This was, without a doubt, the star of the show this week.  I gave her a pan of baking soda and cups with colored vinegar and she used an eye dropper to drop the vinegar on the baking soda, causing a fizzy reaction.  She sat for almost 45 minutes doing this!  This will definitely be a repeat activity! (And a great one to keep her occupied if I need to do something like make dinner!)

Rainbow Do-a-Dot. From Gift of Curiosity. 

Sophie is wanting to do Tot School all day long at this point.  This week, she worked through all of the activities I had for the week by Wednesday morning.  I'm going to have to figure out a system that gives her plenty to do, but also doesn't require me to plan 800 things for the course of a week!  I'm trying out something new this next week, so we'll see how it works!

Linking up at 1+1+1=1 Tot School Gathering Place and Teaching Mama's Everything Early Childhood.

BIG Tot School: All About Me Theme

We jumped back in with the Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum themes this week.  It was all about the Good News of the Gospel with an All About Me Theme. Here's what we did in addition to some of the activities from that plan. 

 Literacy Activities 

X is for X Ray. We made an X out of q-tips and talked about how an x-ray shows doctors what our bones look like.

Uppercase/Lowercase Matching Puzzle. This fun puzzle was from the Target Dollar Spot.  She had lots of fun with this one and invented her own fun ways to play!  The first day she pretended it was a lake and she was a frog and had to jump over it to get the right pieces.  The next time we played the pieces were "pies" and she wanted me to pretend like I couldn't find the matching piece to make my "s pie".  Then we would come up with something yummy (or silly) that started with that letter to talk about what the pretend pie tasted like.  LOVE the imagination this sweet little lady is developing! 

Rhyming Word Mats.  Rhyming has taken off in a big way in our house.  She doesn't always get it right, but she is constantly telling me that two words rhyme.  She gets better and better every day, but she really enjoyed this activity from PreKinders.

 Name Puzzle. 

Math Activities

Body Part Patterning. We continued working on AB patterns with these body part pattern pieces.  She really got these figured out this week.  We will probably move on to ABC patterns next time! (I cannot for the life of me find these printables again!  I just reorganized my Pinterest and they are nowhere to be found. If you know the source, please comment so I can share!)

All About Me Puzzle. I found this clever idea to cut apart a picture and stick it to Duplos at LMNO Preschool.  It was a little challenging at first, so I started by giving bigger pieces (2 stuck together already) until she was ready.  Working a puzzle vertically was a whole new challenge for her, but she loved seeing herself and making a few intentionally silly pictures as well!

Melissa and Doug Dress Up Bears. We used these to talk about small, medium, and large.

I Am Special Book. I found this great printable All About Me book to use with Sophie.  We did it together, as there were several parts that were too old for her, but we enjoyed it.  This was really the first time I have seen her color something specific instead of just draw circles or lines around things.  She loved tracing the letters and did a great job with her drawings! 

Other Activities 

Body Part Puzzle. She cut this body puzzle apart and put it back together again - she wanted to call him Humpty Dumpty.

Investigating Fingerprints.

Lifesize Sophie. I had her lie down and I traced her full size.  Then we drew on her clothes, face, and colored it in.  She was so proud to hang it on the wall to show Daddy!

Next week we will learn about Rainbows! 

Linking up at 1+1+1=1 Tot School Gathering Place and Teaching Mama's Everything Early Childhood.