Last week we officially kicked off our homeschool year here in Plankerville. That's right folks, Planker Academy is up and running. We're still working out some of the kinks, like what routine works best for us and what activities get the most bang for their buck, and I KNOW it will be a learning process but I'm grateful for the 3 year old year to play around with it and see how it works for our family.
Last week our theme was the Letter A. Since we went through a little trial and error with lots of stuff, and I still have lots I want to get to, we're continuing the theme this week with lower-case a. I figure two weeks for each letter still isn't too much. I'm still trying to decide if we're going to follow the order of the alphabet or mix it up...like I said, lots of trial and error. Thank goodness for a play-based approach and very inquisitive kids since I feel that makes it a little easier to bump and roll.
The A is for Alligator craft was a big hit with my boys...
...they love anything that involves animals and glue. We're planning to create an alphabet book with our creations over the course of the year.
The apple painting was also a hit...
...my mantra continues to be "process not product" :-)...
They had a blast stamping with apple slices and eventually getting to snack on some apples too.
Something that's really new to me but seems to be very important is the sensory bin. It didn't disappoint...
...this one was filled with airplanes, apple cards with numbers, army men, letter As, and rice. They had fun making "mountains' out of the rice for the army men to crawl on. Matching up the number of toys with the number on the apple cars was also a success.
I tried to work on some writing with them and that was successful for about 30 seconds. I'm going to hold off on that for a while or just save it for when they seem interested in trying it. I don't want school to feel like a chore to them right now so we're sticking with the things that engage them.
We spent LOTS of time, as usual, with books, blocks, and puzzles as well...all important learning vehicles as well.
Our "circle time" routine has been quite engaging for them so far. We start our school time with the pledge, the calendar...
...some songs, the weather, and a devotion. That routine seems to be a winner at least so far and I continue to be pleasantly surprised with how much they like it.
Over the weekend, we whipped up some play dough with This Reading Mama's recipe...
...and I'm looking forward to doing some activities with it this week as well.
Last week's field trip, totally unrelated to the letter A but still totally fun was to the Norton Museum for the Wheels and Heels exhibit...
...the boys loved spotting toys they have at home thanks to their dad's hand me downs...
....Mickey apparently has some collectors items...
It was our first experience playing with tracks along with the hot wheels cars...
...I have a feeling it won't be too long before our house includes some tracks too...
They had a TON of fun!
I couldn't resist talking them into climbing into the box...
...they have no clue what Barbie is but it sure made a funny picture if you ask me :-).
They were suprisingly interested with all of the other artwork there too which was fun for me. We especially liked the Chihuly ceiling...
...stunning, right?
I'd say our first week was a success. Wish us luck as we tackle week 2.
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