Day: March 26, 2020

Kindergarten Home School Day 9

Leave a comment

Home School 9 f

Hallelujah, we finally had what I would call a great day of home school. Travis stayed in a positive mood, we powered through lots of activities early while everyone was fresh, and there was even time for a baby gym class online with my toddler.

9-10: Check-in/ELA: After watching an online read of Clark the Shark, it was time to make a shark and feed it words! We loved this activity, first coloring in a shark and then cutting it out so the mouth was open with lots of jagged teeth.

Home School 9 c

I cut “fish” from construction paper and added a consonant/vowel/consonant word to each one. The rule was you had to read the word before feeding a fish to the shark.

Home School 9 d

10-10.30: Math: Still in high spirits, we tackled a math shape hunt before snack, looking for: 3 triangles, 4 circles, 3 squares, and 5 rectangles. Travis learned that triangles are much harder to come by than the others!

Home School 9 e

10.30-11: Free play/snack. Travis requested to play inside with Legos while baby sister had some sensory fun.

11-12: Science/Social Studies. First we watched a Mystery Doug video on the world’s biggest tree, than did the website’s weather mystery lesson. Using “clues” in each picture, Travis aced figuring out which season was which. He loved coloring the pictures in so much he spent 45 minutes on it! I had time to prep dinner!

Home School 9 g

He was on such a creative roll that we went ahead with social studies. After saying the Pledge of Allegiance and talking about the American flag, he designed a flag for our family. This is a great project for raiding the craft bin.

Home School 9 h

12-12.30: Lunch break!

12.30-1: Music. His music teacher had recorded a full 15 minute video. Travis confessed that this felt different than really being in the class, and I was proud he stuck with it.

1-1.30: Spanish/Yoga. The afternoon, as you can see, was super light as a result of all the early academia. We did a Spanish video counting to 7, and I roped the kids into a few yoga poses.

Home School 9 j

1.30-2.30: Outdoor time. We took advantage of gorgeous weather for a “sandbox” on the porch and other fun games, including a homemade boomerang.

Home School 9 i

The afternoon was now beautifully open for free play, a family walk, and chatting with friends online.

Please do let me know how home school is going, if your district, too, is closed for COVID-19!

Advertisement

Vegetable Tofu Pot Pie

Leave a comment

Veg Tofu Pot Pie (3)

This hearty pot pie is bursting with veggie goodness!

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 4 button mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 12 ounces extra-firm tofu
  • 1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, carrot, onion, and mushrooms; cook for 6 minutes.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the broth, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning. Whisk in the cornstarch.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and arrange in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish. Spoon the vegetable mixture over the tofu and pour the broth mixture on top. Veg Tofu Pot Pie (1)
  4. Cover with the pie crust, pressing against the sides of the dish to seal (Note: Wholly Wholesome makes a vegan pie crust that comes in a circular tray. Simply thaw at room temperature for about twenty minutes and you should be able to easily reshape it into an oval baking dish, if you don’t have a circular one). Prick the top of the crust with a knife or a fork. Veg Tofu Pot Pie (2)
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, until lightly browned on top.

Veg Tofu Pot Pie (4)

Paper Finger Boomerang

Leave a comment

Paper Boomerang (3)

Having recently tried out a real boomerang, Travis and I brought this little paper version to our home school “recess” today!

To make the boomerang, you’ll need a perfect square. Either measure with a ruler, or cut a piece of paper, fold it in half to form two triangles and then open back up again. Trace onto thin cardboard and cut out.

Paper Boomerang (1)

Cut out a boomerang shape, making sure to measure the same distance in from each side of the square. Travis decorated with crayons, rounded the corners, and then we were ready to flick!

Paper Boomerang (2)

We were surprised since we struggled with our store-bought toy, but this little one really does circle back to you! Because it’s so lightweight, you could even use it indoors on a rainy day. Note: We made the holder simply by cutting an additional strip of thin cardboard and folding in half.

Paper Boomerang (4)

Play Dough Sound Sensory Jars

Leave a comment

Easy Sound Sensory (12)

This project took us from morning to night since we tackled different portions of the game throughout the day! It all started when Veronika had a morning of play dough play while big brother Travis did home school lessons.

Easy Sound Sensory (1)

But she’s still more tempted to eat play dough than play with it, so I clumped it into a big ball and set it aside for another day. There we were with lots of empty little jars. They were the perfect vessel for… sensory play!

I rinsed out the jars while Veronika continued to play with the lids.

Easy Sound Sensory (3)

Once clean, I started filling each one with different items. In all, I had 12 little jars with:

  • popcorn kernels
  • marbles
  • beads
  • rice
  • coins
  • bells
  • dried beans
  • ground coffee
  • salt
  • sprinkles
  • rubber bands
  • sesame seeds

Other ideas might include: buttons, water, spices, Lego pieces, or bits of foam. It was a little tricky to set these up with Veronika watching, since she wanted to touch the items and many are choking hazards.

Once lids were sealed, she could safely play! First we just had fun shaking them, or tapping two together.

Easy Sound Sensory (4)

Then we shook each one in turn and divided them into two piles, one loud, one soft.

Easy Sound Sensory (5)

I could sense her growing frustration that she couldn’t get inside the jars…

Easy Sound Sensory (5)

…so we went through them one at a time. I gave a jar a shake and opened it up so she could see the item inside. Be sure to name the item, too! Bells, beads, and marbles seemed to especially intrigue her.

Easy Sound Sensory (7)

For bigger kids, you could even turn this part into a game. Give it a shake, and have them guess what’s inside. Travis trotted over for a try!

Easy Sound Sensory (8)

Bigger kids might also like to try a sound match-up. Narrow it down to fewer items (3 or 4), and have two canisters for each item. Can your child match them up? I didn’t expect Veronika to be able to do this, but did the exercise as an illustration in all the ways she can hear.

Easy Sound Sensory (11)

We could use lots of great vocab words as we played, like “jingling” bells and the “cha cha cha” of rice.

Easy Sound Sensory (9)

Of course then your child might just keep busy with the jars themselves for quite some time, which was certainly the case for Veronika. Like I said, this is a game that can last all day!

Easy Sound Sensory (10)