OCEAN WEEK: PK-4

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Ana's Week

​School is officially back in session, but with the summer heat still bearing down hard on us in Columbus, GA, we couldn’t spend the week any other way than remembering back fondly on our weeks spent playing on the beaches in Hawaii over the summer. Not only do my girls both love swimming in the ocean, but Aria has remained fascinated with sea life and sea creatures since our ocean unit last year. This year, going to the beach and the aquarium in Hawaii towards the end of the summer only helped to renew that love, so Aria really responded well to the thematic activities this week.

We spent the other portion of the week working through our letters, numbers, phonics and Bible lessons, trying to assess what Aria was and was not responding well to and adapting as we went. I learned that Aria loves Bob books but hates the Teach My Preschooler phonics books (though some of those lessons will come in handy as she gets older). Overall, Aria knows her letters and numbers, but she struggles with having the patience to sit and write them properly. I think this will only come with time and practice. However, when it comes to identifying letters and practicing tallying in math, Aria excels and therefore seems to enjoy those lessons more. ABCmouse.com was a hit this week, as were the preschool phonics videos, both of which gave me time to focus on Skylar if she got upset or needed something. I’m still struggling to balance both girls while teaching, especially since Skylar is needy right now, but I imagine that I will learn ways to give both girls the attention they need as the year goes on (and if I figure it out I will share that information with you!).

As far as the ocean unit went this week, probably the most successful part of the week had to do with Aria’s interest in deep sea creatures. Toobs products produces a great tube of Deep Sea Creatures that Aria absolutely flipped over because they looked like monsters. Aria is a funny kid, as she has a current love of things spooky and monster related, so we spent much of the week looking up the videos and names of deep sea creatures and talking about the layers of the ocean (particularly the trenches). I loved that Aria was learning but she thought that it was fun! Both the girls played sea creatures together in the pool, played in our new sandbox together with seashells, painted octopus together, put letters in a shark’s mouth, played with ocean playdoh, and painted rainbow fish, so the entire unit was really wonderful for allowing kids of different ages to learn together.

Because Skylar has her own My Gym class during the week that requires Aria to sit by herself and watch for an hour middle of the day, I am trying to come up with learning activities she can do on her own during that time. Last year I filled a bag with toys and coloring items, but this year I wanted her to be able to work through school so there wouldn’t be an abrupt break from lessons. This week, I set up a box with ocean playdough, Aria and I made ocean layer bags before class that she could play with and study the layers of the ocean, and I packed sea life puppets I had made Aria last year for her to put on puppet shows by herself. She stayed entertained and busy the whole time, so if you have places to go during the week that require some entertainment, consider packing some fun lessons to go!
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The hardest part of the week, other than adjusting Aria and Skylar back to a school week, was dealing with having to be stuck inside due to the hurricane finally bringing rain our way during the latter part of the week. The girls wanted nothing more than to be outside playing in the sand and pool, so we instead had to do things like hit up the pet store to make sure that they stayed excited about the unit. We had a blast on Friday when the sun finally came back out! I’m glad that we started the year out on a unit that Aria was so passionate about, and I truly hope this week set the tone for the year!

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Jessica's Week:

​In honor of Montessori school starting this week (a part time addition to our homeschool lessons) we tried to slow down and make time to work on independent life skills. With the long list of fun themed activities and crafts available to this age group it's tempting for me to try and fit as many in as possible by doing most of the work myself. The Montessori method however is all about a child's independence and ability to peacefully self-direct through activities. As a keep it moving, get it done kind of parent, I struggle to be patient and wait for what seems like an infinite period of time while my child tries her shoes on the wrong feet, then puts the strap in backwards, then decides she needs to be sitting on the floor instead of a bench. She will get it right if you give her long enough, but I'll also feel ready to explode by that time. I know it's important so on occasion I force myself to walk out of the room (the temptation to help is too strong if I stay) while trying not to watch precious minutes on the clock tick by. This week we also found less frustrating ways of working in Montessori principles. For instance, our usual meal time routine includes asking Taegan to set her place at the table (a stainless steel set up is located in a kitchen basket she can reach), get everyone napkins and water (we have an accessible beverage dispenser with water for her to fill cups), and bring her plate to the kitchen sink after being excused from the table. There's a lot of Montessori there but I can easily think of more she could be doing. Chopping food with wavy cutter, pre-wash her own dishes in a bucket, etc. So one day this week I told her that she would be making her own lunch. A "fish" sandwich with crackers and applesauce. She cut the crust off her bread with a fish cookie cutter. I had her mix tuna and mayo in a bowl and then use a cheese spreader to put it on the bread. She also chose to add kale and tomato. She counted out 20 goldfish crackers and mom took a few moments away while she painstakingly figured out how to open the applesauce lid on her own but when it was all said and done we were both happy to see she could make a complete lunch with very minimal supervision. I also tried setting up each of our daily activities (ready to go with all necessary supplies) in the morning. Each project got a chair at the dining room table and Taegan got to make choices as she went from chair to chair choosing what we would work on next. Because it was her choice even the usually boring phonics folder generated unexpected excitement. As parents it’s not always easy to treat our babies like the capable children they really are but I'm hopeful that setting these good habits at any early age will make life easier on us all in the long run.