Are you ready for a sappy post about why I love homeschooling so much? If not, you might want to skip the next few paragraphs.
We started the Letter I, and then two days later I went into labor. Needless to say, homeschooling got put onto the back burner. We spent the next week enjoying the new baby and learning our new normal. We snuggled. We connected. We cried. We played. We fought. New babies bring on so many new emotions… for everyone in the family!
While we did take some time to regroup as a family, we also jumped right back into homeschooling! You might think that it was a little soon to continue working through the Peaceful Preschool, but honestly, Jennifer took the work out of lesson planning when she created this beautiful curriculum. Honestly, I felt like returning to a feeling of “normal” would be good for my kiddos.
I took my expectations and lowered them immensely… and then I lowered them again. I continued reading the recommended books and implemented whatever corresponding activities I wanted! No pressure. It’s summer. Kids need to be outside, but I also want them to feel a sense of normalcy. And so we continued with the Letter I.
Before going into labor we read the book Inch by Inch. My toddler had fun pointing out the worm in each picture, and my son had fun walking around the house with a ruler and measuring everything. We talked about how many inches were in a foot (again) and also introduced 1/2 inches (This concept was beyond him, but it never hurts to just show him and move on. He’s now been introduced to the concept!).
I then took a pencil and traced pictures from the book. My son and daughter had fun water coloring the pictures, and then my son practiced his fine motor skills by cutting out the paintings. We then used mod-podge to glue the pictures down and create a scene. We talked about depth of field. Which images should be in the front and which ones should be in the back. “If you put the bird down first, it’s going to be hidden by the grass.” “Things that are farther away appear smaller. Things that are closer appear larger.” This might have been one of my MOST favorite activities yet!
Then baby came.
With the responsibilities of a new little one, I had fun asking my two year old to be mommy’s helper. She practiced sorting by putting away the silverware from the dishwasher into the drawer.
When I was back on my feet (this was MUCH faster than my previous two deliveries), we had fun reading Ice Cream Summer. This book sure does have a lot to discuss!! It encompasses history, cultures, math and reading. We had fun making ice cream cones and practicing our addition and subtraction. “If mommy gave you 4 scoops of ice cream and 2 fell on the floor, how many are left?” “If I had 2 scoops of ice cream and you had 3 scoops of ice cream, how many scoops do we have?”
While my son was busy helping me cut out scoops of ice cream, his sister was busy burying her hands in grain. She loves squeezing it and scooping it. Her fine motor skills continue to amaze me… she’s a master at small legos and she just turned two!
The weather was beautiful so we took advantage of it and used the chalk paint their Nana got them as a big brother/big sister present. I just love how kids have no concept of what is “right” and “wrong” in art. Their use of color is amazing!
We finished up our unit with a little handprint art. Of course we had to carry on the ice cream theme!! I drew the cones with markers and then layered their handprints on top of it… you can’t just have ONE scoop of ice cream!
