Day: May 28, 2020

Kindergarten Home School Week 11: Thursday

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Home School 57 d

Our home school day honestly felt a touch too simple. We were scattered with our schedule, and did almost everything out of workbook pages instead of getting as hands-on as I like, but there’s always tomorrow… Here’s a rough outline of how it went.

9-9.30: ELA. Travis’s writing page was devoted to a favorite Star Wars character, which kept him happy. We took the time to emphasize the beginning sound of each word before writing it, then he finished with 15 minutes on Lexia.

Home School 57 a

9.30-10: Math. After filling out a workbook page on bar graphs, Travis graphed some of his Legos. Please note that normally I am not an advocate for weapons as toys, but Travis sure did love graphing his light sabers and ninja swords.

Home School 57 c

10-10.30: Snack/recess. It was hot enough for little sister to fit in icy play.

10.30-11: Specials. Travis filled out a loud and soft singing exercise for his Music teacher online. Then he watched a few videos from his Spanish teacher about colors and how to say “my name is”.

11-1 – Lunch/free play.

1-1.30: Social time. A Zoom call with a friend really did him good.

1.30-2.30: Science. After coloring a workbook page about a coniferous forest, we set off into the real woods!

Home School 57 b

The goal was to spot any of the animals from the page (we were thinking more along the lines of squirrels, less so black bears). Plus we found signs of conifers!

Home School 57 f

He also made an “obstacle course” for ants to crawl over.

Home School 57 e

Our walk wore us out, so that was it!

Yummy Edible Frozen Excavation

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Frozen Berry Excavate (3)

Travis used to love hammering into ice as a toddler, and today was Veronika’s first opportunity to do the same. This time, as a twist, I made the game edible.

The night before, I froze berries in individual compartments of an ice cube tray. I also made one larger block of ice full of berries in a Tupperware container, hoping to add some variety.

Frozen Berry Excavate (1)

It was a hot and humid morning to head to the patio with our icy treasures. I simply set the blocks of ice out on a shallow tray, and gave Veronika her toy hammer and screwdriver (to serve as a chisel).

Frozen Berry Excavate (2)

At first everything was frozen solid, so she wasn’t very interested after an exploratory tap or two.

Frozen Berry Excavate (6)

But thanks to the weather it all soon started to melt. This was great because it meant Veronika felt like her hammering was really making a difference, even though the sun honestly did most of the work.

Frozen Berry Excavate (8)

When she reached the first berry, she immediately needed to give it a try!

Frozen Berry Excavate (9)

Whoops! The blackberries were a little sour. Then she discovered she could mash and smoosh the berries that had been released from the ice. This was even more fun!

Frozen Berry Excavate (12)

The melting ice cubes became almost like paint, too, since the dark blue of the berries left swirls of color behind.

Frozen Berry Excavate (10)

All in all, this was a gorgeous pause in morning sunshine, part sensory play and part snack!

Frozen Berry Excavate (15)

Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip

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Cinnamon Yogurt Dip (1)

Kids love to dunk their food in sauces, and this easy dip is a great way to make sliced fruit taste even better.

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces non-dairy vanilla yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons agave nectar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  1. Whisk together all three ingredients in a small bowl.
  2. To serve, drizzle over slices of fruit, or place in a dish on the side for dipping.

Cinnamon Yogurt Dip (2)

Funny Song

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Funny Song (2)

No doubt your toddler has firm opinions about favorite songs; Veronika certainly does! It’s amazing how quickly kids pick up on lyrics, not just when they are correct, but also when they are slightly off. One great trick for brain development is to sing a familiar song, but make one or two words different and silly. Then see if your child notices!

So today we didn’t have wheels on the bus. We had wheels on the… plane? This got giggles. Definitely use props for added laughs. For example, “Sun, sun go away” was silly to sing when she had the rain umbrella out.

Funny Song (1)

Did Old MacDonald have a farm… or a castle?

Funny Song (5)

Did the farmer have a dog named Bingo… or a cat instead?

Funny Song (4)

Veronika enjoyed most of the silly verses, but sometimes she wanted a song to stay true to the original. Twinkle twinkle little… cookie?

Funny Song (3)

This actually earned Veronika’s grumpy face! She loves stars so much that she wasn’t ready to hear a change to the lyrics. So we quickly went back to the original.