Week Seven - Travel - Read!

This week we return to the summer over-arching theme with travel or things that go. We will discuss all things that move, planes, trains, cars, boats - you name it.

Topics to get the week started: what is your favorite way to "go"? How would you get across the country, over the ocean, to the store, etc? What do you think moves the fastest a car or a train, a plane or a boat? There are different words for the people who are in control of vehicles - a car has a driver a boat has a captain, plane- pilot, train - engineer, etc. When you grow up you will learn to drive a car, is there another type of vehicle you would like to drive/pilot/captain?

The books this week are: On the Road by Susan Steggall, Along a Long Road by Frank Viva, Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat by Phillip Stead, The Last Train by Gordon Titcomb, The Trucker by Barbara Samuels, My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann, Going Places by Todd Parr


The sight words for the week: go, where, away, jump, can, ran, ride, there, with, went


Here is the sight word book for this week:

Go

Enjoy!

Week Six - Dinosaurs - Read!

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday week. We are getting back into the swing of things slowly (I miss having family close by - but not more than my kids who do not understand why they only have my attention during the day). I decided to try to make everyone happy and break from the overarching theme of summer and throw in dinosaurs. My little man loves them, and I have fun when he has fun - so hopefully this will make the transition easier.

Items that can be covered this week; dinosaur names, differences between dinosaurs (meat eaters vs plant eaters, walk on four legs vs two legs, horns vs no horns, etc), size of dinosaurs (what do they compare to today), etc. The best thing to discuss with kids about dinosaurs is the unknown. There are still dinosaurs to be discovered and things that might never be known (what did they sound like, what color were they, etc) and that lets kids use there imagination without fear of being wrong. It also can spark an interest in science and the discovery of it all.

There are a ton of great books on this topic, but our family favorites include: Dinosaur Train by John Steven Gurney, Dinosaur! By Peter Sis, Ten Terribel Dinosaurs by Paul Strickland, The Magic School Bus and the Time of the Dinosaur by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, How Big Were the Dinosaurs? By Bernard Most. I am always looking for suggestions, because these are winners so if you have anything to add - post in comments!




The sight words this week are: funny, who, will, came, did, what, say, do


I hope that you are enjoying seeing your preschooler learn sight words and build a foundation for reading. This has been a great journey for Little Man - he is reading more and more every day as he becomes more confident about knowing the words. Remember to make this fun and supportive. This may not be your child's time to read the words on their own, but the more they hear them from you the more they will grow. Here is the free book of the week:
Dinosaurs

This week we will make a dinosaur egg, a relief painting, and I will introduce you to some great songs, movement and shows that are for young kids and have taught the adults in my house (I mean me) a few things. You don't need much that you won't find in your home, so relax and enjoy. I will leave you with a little laugh. 

Week Five - July 4th - Read!

Can you believe we are at week five of summer already? The time has really moved. This week we are at the beach celebrating Independence Day and I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about holidays. We will talk about holidays throughout the year and talk about why we celebrate and traditions for our families - with the main focus on the 4th. These will be shorter than normal so I have a chance to spend time with my family.

Prepare yourself for July 4th crafts that include noise makers for the parade (break out the left over popsicle sticks from week one), screen printed tee (white tee and paint for a cute 4th themed outfit), and a firework painting (paint, straw, water).

Books this week: Fourth of July Mice by Bethany Roberts, Happy 4th of July, Jenny Sweeney by Leslie Kimmelman, Hats off for the Fourth of July by Harriet Ziefert, A is for America by Devin Scillian

Sight Words: come, pretty, please, must, new, want, get

Here is the book this week: 

The 4th of July

Enjoy!

Week Four - Beach - Read!

Let's hit the beach! If your weather is anything like ours, the weather week seems more appropriate, but maybe this will serve as a nice get-away. I will need it after these three days of rain. Remember when you were "single" (this is how I refer to before kids) and rainy days were the best - pjs, a good book or movie? Now, I would rather take my kids to the dentist then spend another day inside.

This week we will make some sand dollars (need: white paper plates and some form of barley or tan construction paper), a sun catcher (construction paper and paint) and a personal ocean (a clear jar with lid, baby oil, glitter, and a plastic floating toy).

The books for the week are: On the Way to the Beach by Henry Cole, A Day at The Beach by Ed Briant, At the Beach by Mandy Stanley, Sunny Bunnies by Margie Blumbert


Sight words for the week: find, here, the, for, to, well, am, be, our, at


Here is the book for the week: 
Beach

Tomorrow we will get crafty. Have a good day - and here is hoping we survive rain-ageddon. 

In case you want to share!

Week Three - Weather - Read

This week we will focus on all types of weather, especially weather we see in the summer. Think, rain, hot sun, clouds, hurricanes, tornados, etc. If you see weather (and obviously you will unless you live in a bunker) over this time period make sure you talk about it with your little ones. A quick easy way to have the conversation is turn on the weather channel - see what they say about your day and others around the country. Ask your child to guess what each weather graphic means and why they think that. Then go outside - does it match what the saw on TWC? If so what do they see that matches the graphics shown on tv, what else could have been included? If not, which graphic should have been used, why?

I found a couple of great experiments and a fun craft for this week. There is not much needed that you don't probably already have in your home: construction paper, cotton balls, yarn (or any type of string), a hole punch (you could work around this), and a resealable glass jar.

The sight words for this week are: big, not, is, in, it, no yes, was, now, too.

Here is a quick story to help reinforce this week's words:
The Big Boom

Also, as a reminder here is a link to some sight word flash cards. I mentioned in an earlier post about placing these on the wall but they are also great for playing reinforcing games. One we like at our house, is picking one of the words we have learned from a bowl (using the flash cards) and then being a "word detective." You can be a word detective in the grocery store, errands, while you read a book together or around the house. Just have them bring the flash card they picked with them and find its match.

Books this week: All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon; Blue Sky by Audrey Wood; Split Splat by Amy Gibson; Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane by Joanna Cole; Hide and Seek Fog by Alvin Tresselt; Albert by Donna Jo Napoli

Week Two - Night Sky (space) - Read!

It is time for week two and exploring the night sky. This will be fun because kids are naturally curious about the sky and I found some great activities to keep everyone involved! We will review the planets, stars, and space travel.

Also, this Sunday is Father's Day so I will also be including an activity to create a custom gift (or card) for Dad.

Look forward to; launching rockets (pick up a film canister or two at your local drugstore, and some Alka-Seltzer tablets to be prepared), Father's Day craft (card stock, and some of Dad's favorite snacks), and choice between some great crafts (paper towel roll, glitter glue [nice but not needed], construction paper).

Books this week: The Best Book of Spaceships by Ian Graham, Rocket to the Moon by Lerryn Korda, The Sky is Full of Starts by Franklyn Branley and Felicia Bond


Sight words this week: up, look, down, a, and, saw, are, so, that, was


Here is a story for the sight words: 
The Night Sky

Have a great day! Tomorrow, let's get crafty.

For sharing!

Week One - Summer (seasons) - Read

The goal of this week is to talk about things associated with summer, and the differences between the seasons.

The sight words this week are: play, run, we, I, you, me, my, ate, eat, they. 


Here is a quick story you can print that incorporates all of the words for the week:

Summertime

Here are some of the books for the week: Swimsuit by Kit Allen, Daddies are for Catching Fireflies by Harriet Ziefert, Season Song by Marcy Barack, Flip Flop by Dana Meachem Rau, All Around the Seasons by Barry Saltzburg

Make sure to include any of your suggestions in the comments. See you tomorrow with a super cute popsicle craft!