It was a good, albeit unusual day. We read Aesop's Fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper. We talked all about fables and morals. We read this story at least 6 times today. They LOVED it, far more than I ever expected. Reminder to self, get more Aesop's fables when we go to the library. They were then acting out the story while playing. I had them retell the story to me and I was blown away by how much they retained. This will become a favorite I think. We extended this with a mini lesson on insect characteristics and continued with the study of various animal types. We used the magnetic habitat to identify animal types, as well as some animal flashcards. We read information about alpacas, and compared and contrasted what we know about camels and alpacas, since they are related animals. We spent a lot of the day talking about animals, and finding out what we know about all types of animals. Pretty soon we will start putting our animal alphabet book together so they can look at it whenever they like. We also read a book about aircraft, to go with the A for airplane picture they colored today. While interested, they didn't enjoy that as much as the alpaca and other animals. We also did animal sounds and Old MacDonald at least 5 times today. Mason and Eliza are particularly good at the bear growl, and CJ is quite adept at making the turkey's gobble gobble sound.
Mason and Miria brought over a drum full of instruments today, so the day was also filled with music. We sang Alouette over and over, practicing the French body parts. We sang the Ants Go Marching, while they marched with their instruments. We sang the alphabet, and letter sounds. We also sang along to the Here Comes Science cd. It was a loud and fun filled day, though everyone had at least one time out for not sharing, and pulling toys away from someone else. I figure they can't all be perfect every day, but they have way more great days than not. Tomorrow we have playgroup, and we will be going to see the alpacas after that. Eliza and CJ love going to visit the alpaca, and Mason also seems excited. I hope they love it. We will also review what we learned about apples this week and do an apple counting activity tomorrow. There won't be a lot of time, so I am not planning too much. Next week we are moving to letter B, number 2, squares and the color orange. I think we will also do some study on pumpkins, since we still have a few growing in the yard, and we have them all over the house. Rich is going to help me set up a pumpkin scavenger hunt type activity in the house for next week, where they will have to answer questions and find a specific number of pumpkins. It should be a lot of fun for next Friday.
Speaking of Friday, and days of the week, we have been doing the calendar every day. On a small board I write today's date, day of the week, the weather after we discuss it, and what we are studying. I said yesterday was . . . and CJ said, "Yesterday was Wednesday, today is Thursday and I think tomorrow is Friday, isn't it Mommy?" I said yes, and he said, "That is good, we go to playgroup and farmer market on Fridays." Again he blows me away with something I didn't know he knew. Eliza knew all the words to a new song we have only heard a few times, and knew every single French body part we have sung so far. She looked at a box today, and told me it was a rectangular prism, and not a cube. She saw a picture of a triplane, and immediately noticed it had three wings. When I told her it was a triplane, she said, "Tri, like triangle and tricycle. Tri means three right Mommy?" When we were talking about certain animal traits we mentioned that one of the animals walks on four legs, and she said, "That means it is a quadruped, like a brachiosaurus on Dinosaur Train." When we discussed the traits of a bear and found out what it likes to eat, fish and fruit and honey, Eliza said, "That means it is an omnivore, because it likes to eat meat and plants. Just like us!" Pretty soon I will have to go back to school just to keep up with them. Mason is doing so well, and knows so much already. We went through several flashcards and he was able to identify most of the letters, and he knew what all the pictures were, many before Eliza and CJ. He is a very fast learner. I can't wait to see where these superkids are in a few months. If they all work together later in life, they will take over the world.
Looking forward to tomorrow to see how they all do at playgroup and seeing the alpacas. Meanwhile I have some apple books to go cut out for tomorrow. Thank you for spending some time with me and my meanderings. Please leave me a note, a suggestion, a question, or any comment you like. I think the way you all help me and support me makes this journey far smoother. You often have amazing ideas and resources, that only a group of moms and educators can provide. Thank you!
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