PreK - Week 23

This week we finished up Unit 3 - Abraham and His Descendants and started Unit 4 - Jacob's Family in Egypt. First we read about Jacob stealing Esau's blessing and then running away from home, Jacob's ladder, Jacob marrying Leah and Rachel, and Jacob's 12 sons. We also read about Joseph's coat of many colors and his brothers selling him as a slave.

One thing that was really cool this week was that on of the theaters in town is doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this year. The official show doesn't start until March, but the last two weeks of February they did free preview shows for county residents. We took Samuel and he absolutely loved it! It was a good performance and even though it was somewhat modernized, Samuel was able to follow the story and knew what was going on because of his Bible stories earlier this week.

This was a review weeek in language arts so we didn't learn any new letters. He did a couple of worksheets and some copywork to review the letters he's learned so far.

Our new memory verse for the next couple of weeks is Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

We've continued reading and enjoying The Adventures of Reddy Fox. Samuel still gets so excited when I pull this book out. Hopefully he'll enjoy the others in the series when we get to them as well.

In math, we worked on recognizing and drawing shapes. Samuel already knew his shapes so it was more of a review for him. We also started learning how to sort objects according to their attributes. For instance, one day we took several of his train cars and sorted them by color, then we mixed them all back up and sorted them by how many wheels they had, then we sorted them by whether or not they carried cargo, etc. He had a lot of fun with that.

Working on one of his art projects. We wrote his name on a piece of black paper and then he used a nails to punch holes in his name. Then we put a yellow piece of paper behind it so his name would show through. It was supposed to illustrate that even though we try to hide (or run away like Jacob) God knows our hearts.

Sorting trains for math

Working in his Rod & Staff workbook

This was probably Samuel's favorite art project that we've done so far. He made an Egyptian collar out of a paper plate. He actually took his time painting and decorating and didn't rush through it like most of his projects.

He loved modeling it for us later!

Working on copywork

Doing a language arts worksheet

Sorting Legos for math

PreK - Week 22

This week we continued with Unit 3 - Abraham and His Descendants. We read about God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Isaac marrying Rebekah, the birth of Jacob & Esau, and Jacob stealing Esau's birthright and blessing. We also continued working on Proverbs 20:11 as our memory verse.

For handwriting, we've been learning the letter O this week. Samuel has been doing a great job with his writing. He has really started to slow down and take his time and it makes a huge difference in the results!

In math, Samuel has been learning the concepts of more and less. We've been looking at two groups of objects, deciding which group has more or less depending on the day, and then how many more or how many less it has. It took him a little while to get the concept, but he's pretty good at it now.

We're still enjoying reading about Reddy Fox. This week, Granny Fox caught a chicken for Reddy's dinner, but then she left it behind while she chased a rabbit. When she went back to get it, the chicken was gone and she was very mad that someone took her chicken. For one of our activities, Samuel had to draw a picture of Granny Fox being mad and you'll see that in the pictures coming up. He had a lot of fun with it!

In science this week we learned about the sense of smell. We experimented by smelling different things around the house (spices, flavorings, etc) and also read several library books on the subject.

Practicing writing o's

Working on his O letter sheet. This activity comes from Sonlight LAK. He had to choose the pictures that started with the letter O and glue them on the paper. Why would they use opossum as one of the pictures for a child just learning to read and write? He got so upset with me because I told him to use that one and he kept insisting that it starts with P not O. Once we got that straightened out, everything was fine.

Working on math - I was giving him two different sets of legos and he had to count them, write the number, and then tell me which had more.

Math again only with fruit loops this time

And math again...this time he was counting sets of spoons and forks

After reading our chapter in Reddy Fox, I wrote at the top of the page "________ feels _______. Granny Fox feels _________." He filled in his name in the first blank and said that he felt happy and was playing games then he filled in that Granny Fox was mad. He drew pictures to illustrate each sentence.

The finished product...the top picture is Samuel feeling happy. He is on the left and is wearing his UT backpack and is in the field playing games. The person in the middle is a scarecrow. I am the person on the right and am taking pictures. I don't know why we don't have legs. Usually he draws people with legs, but who knows what he was thinking that day.
The picture of Granny Fox is on the bottom. She is on the left. I'm not sure what the other person? animal? on the right is and Samuel wouldn't tell me.

PreK - Week 21

This week we started Unit 3 - Abraham and His Descendants. In history we read about how the people spread out after the Tower of Babel. For one of our activities, Samuel had to learn to pack an overnight back and then go on a "journey" just like the people did when they left the Tower of Babel. He liked learning to fold clothes and pack and is looking forward to the next time he goes to Grandma's house and can pack all by himself!

We also read about God calling Abraham to leave Ur and go to the land that He had promised and how God would make Abraham's descendants more numerous than the stars. In science, we learned about stars. We read a few library books about them. We also did an activity where Samuel laid on the floor and shined a flashlight on the ceiling as his star. He made it twinkle by flashing it on and off, made a falling star zoom across the ceiling, and many other fun things. He really liked that activity.

We started memorizing Proverbs 20:11 - Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is good and right. We've talked about how Abraham's actions of following God showed that he was a faithful and righteous man.

We also learned the letter J this week. Samuel has actually been taking his time with his handwriting this week and is doing a great job. We're also still reading and loving The Adventures of Reddy Fox. Samuel gets so excited each day when I pull out the book and can't wait to see what happens next. I've really been suprised at how well he listens and pays attention since there are very few pictures. Adam and I may start trying to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to him at bedtime if he continues to do well with Reddy Fox.

In math, we've started comparing sets and learning about how to figure out one more or one less. Samuel is doing a great job with it and seems to enjoy math.

And now, for the big announcement....Samuel finished Hooked on Phonics 1st Grade this week! He was so excited and called Daddy at work to tell him that he was done with his book. We will be starting Hooked on Phonics 2nd Grade next week.

Working on his J letter sheet

Working on a page in his Rod & Staff workbook (readiness skills)

Packing his overnight bag

Coloring the picture on his handwriting page

Practicing math - I gave Samuel a card and he had to count out the right number of legos and then tell me what number would be one less

Another Rod & Staff workbook page

PreK - Week 20

This week for history, we read about the tower of Babel and how God confused the people's language and told them to spread out. In language arts & handwriting, we started learning the letter D. Samuel did a great job but he does tend to get lowercase d and b confused. I just started telling him to think carefully before he would have to write a d or b and he did a lot better. He still confuses them some when he reads too, but I'm sure he'll figure it out in time. We continued learning numbers 1-10 in math. Once he learns how to write his 2's and 3's the right direction he'll be doing great. He can make them perfectly only backwards. We had a short week of school because of a lot of different stuff going on so I don't have as much to share as usual.

Samuel working on his D letter sheet

Practicing writing D's

Working on phonics