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1/17/2011 - Letter Aa is for Apple

I always get so excited when starting a new plan.  We're going to put our "workbox" idea on hold until we get our homeschool room set up (hopefully around mid-February) where we actually will have room for workboxes.  In the meantime, I'll just plan on doing whatever I can get done in a day with Little Buddy.

Our artist for the next six weeks or so will be Vincent Van Gogh.  I got some fabulous prints from Costco Photo Center's new Art & Image Gallery, and so we will be rotating through the paintings every week or so.  We also picked up a few books about Van Gogh from the library.  We are really enjoying Vincent van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by Joan Holub and Camille and the Sunflowers: A Story about Vincent van Gogh by Laurence Anholt.  We are also hoping to get Mike Venezia's Van Gogh in book and DVD soon as well.

I think we may review our composers that we did last semester.  I really enjoyed them, and repetition is great!  We may revisit Saint-Saens beginning in February.

Here is my plan for this week:

Monday

  • Introduce Aa as our letter of the week
  • Read the passage about Aa from My ABC Bible Verses (maybe at breakfast with Daddy?)
  • Work on memory verse while working on the corresponding coloring page from 1+1+1=1
    • "A soft answer turns away wrath." - Proverbs 15:1
  • Read Apple books (booklist found at Confessions of a Homeschooler)
    • One of our apple books is our science book for this week: How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro.  We will also be reading:
      • Ten Apples on Top by Theo LeSieg
      • The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons
      • Apples by Gail Gibbons
      • The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
  • Have an apple snack with caramel dip
  • Do-A-Dot Apple Page from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Tuesday
  • Go to MOPs.  The kids are learning about Jonah right now!
  • Read Apple books
  • Play Life on the Farm (when Button's asleep!)

Wednesday
  • Read the passage about Aa from My ABC Bible Verses
  • Work on memory verse 
  • Do devotional activity from 1+1+1=1 sorting our what words are good to use and which ones are bad.
  • Aa Playdough Mat from Homeschool Creations
  • Math Time from Letter of the Week Curriculum (here on out called LOTW)
    • Apple/Tree Pattern Sequencing
    • Apple Counting Practice
  • Read Apple Books
  • Apple Crisp Snack

Thursday
  • Read the passage about Aa from My ABC Bible Verses
  • Work on memory verse 
  • Do another Do-A-Dot activitiy from LOTW
  • Read Apple Books
  • Phonics
      • This is not a skill that I really am going to drill him on.  I just think it would be fun to try with him once or twice a week.  When it's no longer fun, we will stop (of course, that goes for all our activities!)
  • Make applesauce muffins together


Friday
  • Read the passage about Aa from My ABC Bible Verses
  • Work on memory verse
  • Aa Playdough Mat
  • Aa letter tracing activity or Apple Pre-Writing Practice from LOTW
    • Not sure how this is going to go.  I'm not going to stress writing, but I at least want to see what Little Buddy does with the challenge.
    • We may also do a finger tracing paint bag.
  • Foam Letter Building
  • Read Apple Books

Ok, so looking at all of this - I may just be a "tad" too optimistic about what we will accomplish.  I know that Buddy could do it all, but can we do it with a 16 month old in tow as well?  I don't know, but I'm up for the challenge.  We will definitely slow down our pace though if it feels like too much.
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