Lesson Eleven: Catching Up!

Narrator: He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought… doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more!

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

 

Let's catch up on our missed weeks, shall we? What better way to go about it than to show you through pictures! Enjoy!

 

We hiked up a giant hill, last month, in Montecchio, Italy so see the original Romeo and Juliet castles. My little adventurer and I had a wonderful time. We picked leaves, saw some amazing views, counted stairs. Outside learning days are definitely a favorite!

 

We are working on responsibility and doing things ourselves .What a better way to work on this than making chocolate milk?

 

This was a fun project! It was a Pinterest find that we really enjoyed!

 {Here is the link for this project}

 

I don't remember where I saw the idea for this little owl. If you know, please let me know and I'll give them full credit. I know I saw it somewhere...

Anyway. It's a simple concept that he loved once he saw the finished product.

 

We worked on our sequencing too! Thanks to Team Umizoomi, we LOVE patterns! This is just example of our pattern making.

 

Another project that I know came from somewhere else! I had them all saved in my phone and then a certain little sidekick deleted all my pages. {SIGH} So, now I have zero memory on where these fun things came from. Again, if you know, please tell me!

This was a multi-step project. First, we painted the bubble wrap..

 

Then we turned it over onto our construction paper and he got to "bam" it! Always fun!

Once it dried, I cut them into "corn" shapes and had him glue it all together. Ta-da!

 

Of course, we had a noodle turkey for Thanksgiving!

 

Here's a peek at the beginnings of our Christmas. I'll post a full Christmas blog after we return from our vacation.

This is our new little felt tree. It came in a book that I read while he decorated.

 

Nothing says "Christmas in Italy" than lots of hot chocolates for the sidekick and cappuccinos for the momma! It's the little things that make our adventure here so memorable.  

 

Hope to see you back here after the new year! I have lots of new plans and ideas to show you! Merry Christmas from Italy!

Week Eleven: Weeks Go By...

"DOH!"

Homer Simpson

 

 

It's been weeks, my friends! Oh my! I was doing so good writing every week and getting our lessons done and then...BAM! We got busier doing other things, my laptop broke, and then the habit was broken. It was all downhill from there. But, here I am now! We haven't been doing as much schooling these past couple of weeks. He hasn't really wanted to and I didn't want to push him. Plus, I wanted to give us both a break and a re-energized plan for the new year. We've painted here and there, we still read, we sing songs, dance. So, we're still happily learning.

 

I had all these great thoughts about what I wanted to end with for my last blog of the year (we'll be vacationing for Christmas this year and probably won't recover until after the new year). Of course, now I can't think of anything insightful. I have spent my days loving my time with my sidekick. I know my days are numbered. Not only is he starting a part-time daycare program but all too soon, he won't even want to spend his every waking moment with me. So, I've been holding on to these days hoping to imprint them into my memories. It's a 50/50 whether that will work since I can barely remember what I ate yesterday. Surely, these memories are a little more important though. :)

 

I have struggled with time management this last month. I blame Winter. It seems to take twice as long to convince myself to get out of our warm bed only to be cold the rest of the day. Especially with my little heater curled up next to me. So, more often than not, I'm cutting out some errands only to spend an extra day out to get my to-do list done. Hopefully, I can get my act together soon. I'm getting my sidekick a responsibility chart (this one) but maybe I need to make myself one as well! He loves to help and I want him to show him that we notice and appreciate it.

 

I suppose I shouldn't sit here and ramble on, wasting all of our time. :) I hope your holiday season is wonderful and I look forward to showing you lots of new things come January! See you soon!

 

Merry Christmas from Italy!

 

 

Week Ten: Paint, Glue, Velcro..OH MY!

"Progress is progress, no matter how small"

 

This week was another crazy one (I'm seeing a pattern here, anyone else catching onto my ever-growing craziness??). Never the less, we did some fun projects. Even a few that are a continual learning process. Yay!

 

Look! Look here!:

 

 

 Our new weather board! The sidekick has a lovely window that brings in the sunrise every morning. So, this board is our first step to learning about weather! We've mastered the "no, you may not go outside without pants on. It's cold today." lesson, so now we are trying this! We come to the window every morning after we brush our teeth. It's been quite the fun little addition to our morning routine.

 

 

 

I velcro'd the back of the felt pieces so he gets to pick out the right one and do it himself. It's our favorite part.

 

 

 We, officially, said our farewells to warm weather with this "I" is for ice cream art project and one last trip to our local gelato shop before they closed for the season.

 



One of the sidekick's gifts from his birthday was a cool set of gears! We love GEARS (thanks to Team Umizooomi)! These will be fun on our rainy, snowy, cold days that are on their way.

 

 Veteran's Day was Monday. In our house, it's more than a day off. It's a day to make our veteran feel extra special and to remember those who have given their all for the sake and safety of our country. So, we made a special wreath for our hero.

 

 Practicing our cutting skills! Still really hard work.

 

 Yes, my sweet sidekick, its a circle. And yes, my darling, you can put your face through it. You're definitely my kid...

 

 

 

We are thankful for our Italian military family and for all the soldiers who came before them.

Things we learned this week:
We talked about being thankful. Granted, he thanks us all day long (for his juice, his dinner, handing him his blanket or toy. He's quite polite). We talked about Boo-dad's job and how lucky we are to have such a great soldier. I don't know if he understood, but it's a place to start. More thankful talks will be coming in the next few weeks as we work our way to Thanksgiving.
He picked up on the weather really quick! He notices the sky more whenever we go outside and even noticed the sun was out by seeing the shadows in our yard.
I plan on setting up his gears in such a way that he has to connect two gears that are on opposite sides. It'll be fun to see how he comes up with ways to connect them. We also have a new set of wood blocks so I'm sure some new block towers will be seen on here soon!

Here's where I found some of our ideas:
The link for our set of gears: http://www.amazon.com/Gears-%C2%AE-Beginners-Building-Set/dp/B00000DMCE/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1384284630&sr=1-1&keywords=gears+toy

Veteran's Day Wreath:
http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/?s=veterans+day+wreath&search=Search

Lesson Ten: Keepin' On Keepin' On

"I can not teach anybody anything. I can only make them think."

-Socrates

     With the holiday season about to trample upon us, I feel like our schooling days are about to become fewer for a month or so. But instead of stressing about this, I'm taking this time to re-vamp some of my lesson plans. It's been exciting to see how my sidekick learns and what he enjoys the most. I'm super excited to take this time and really tailor some projects just for him. Of course, it's all been for him but these first few months were, more or less, testing the waters.

     I am overjoyed with how he's taken to our "school". I love how he gets excited when I start setting out our tools for a project and how he's learning to focus on the project in front of him (instead of the TV {which we always turn off anyway}, or the dogs, or whatever else his little mind picks up on).

     We have both grown over these past few months. He's picked up on letter sounds, he recognizes his shapes and colors faster, he can count higher, he still loves to glue and paint. I've learned more patience (there's never enough!), I've learned, and still learning, the best ways to teach him, to look to him to lead the project, just to let him lead! He's an amazing little human and this experience has enhanced every part of our lives.

    Not that it has been all happy days! Some days I've struggled to get him to sit for an entire project. Sometimes, I still struggle letting him use copious amounts of glue just for the sake of letting him do it by himself. There have been days (sometimes a few in a row) where I don't even want to sit down and work with him. But, I always do and I'm always rewarded with his smile as we hang his project on the wall. That, in itself, is all this momma needs to continue.

    Just know this, you're doing great things. Whether you made it less than a month or less than a week! Whether, you've taken weeks off because you felt burned out from it all. You're doing great things. Keep it up! Their little minds are brand new and just waiting for all the fun things you have to show them. But the best thing you can show them is love. Corny, I know. It's true though! Show them you're proud of the things they do and the silly (to us) things they bring to show you. Play with your sidekick. We may not sit and do school but I can guarantee that we play every single day.

    Setting up lesson plans, and then actually doing them, has been hard work! Here are some of my favorite places to look for ideas...

My inspiration for this whole adventure:
 http://www.mudhutmama.com/preschool-homeschool-weekly-lesson-plans-age-3/

There are some great things here:
http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/

There are some great sensory recipes here and tons of other good ideas:
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/

And of course, there's always:
https://www.pinterest.com/

   Next week I will {hopefully} be able to tell you about my re-invented lesson plans! Wish me luck!

Week Nine: Staying In and Still Having Fun

A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.

My Lost Youth (1858)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

 

     This past week we got to decorate pumpkins and cakes! The weather stayed rainy for most of the week so we were stuck inside. But we made the best of it and tried some new games. Also, we cuddled and watched lots of movies. :)

 

     Have a look:

 

 

 He got to paint and paint his very own pumpkin! After some drying time, we worked on where the eyes, nose, and mouth go.

 

 Rain, rain, would not go away! So, I covered some shapes in contact paper and threw them on the floor! Fun, right? Well, I actually cut out smaller matching shapes of the ones on the floor and let him pick them out of a bag and then go find the match. He loved it!

 

 Painting with corks. Which we have an abundance of, living in Italy and all. :) We painted a fall tree in hopes that the trees around here would take a hint and change colors already!

It was birthday week! He painted and decorated his own little cake here and we talked about how old he is while we put on the candles. He helped me make (and eat) the rice krispie treats and his "real" cake for his party. Such a great little baker, I have. :)

Things we learned this week:
Rainy days can be cuddle days but sidekicks need to do something with all that energy. We spent lots of time running around our basement and jumping on his trampoline. With the rainy season still upon us, we will be looking for lots of new inside things to entertain us.
I am discovering new things he likes to do. Like helping me bake, helping me clean, new ways his imagination is growing while playing with his toys. It's so fun to see new things he enjoys and letting him take over.

Lesson Nine: A Letter of Love

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.

Le Petit Prince (1943) (The Little Prince)

My Sweet Sidekick,

     You are officially three! I am still adjusting to how fast your little life has flown by. You're no longer fully dependent on me for your every need, you no longer need my help with some of the smaller, daily things. Instead, you help me! It's a bit sad for this mommy. BUT! My dear child, I am so proud of you. You astound me daily with your smarts and your silliness. Let me think back to some of my favorite moments.

     One of my favorites is the word you've made up for when something is just too good for one word. "Cool-mazing" has become a household word and we love that you came up with it, all on your own.
     I love your need for family hug time. This is where you crawl up into one of our laps and then call the other over, "Come hug, Momma". And then you wrap your sweet little arms around us with plenty of "aww's" and kisses. It's always a sweet moment and I'm so glad it happens often in our home.
     Some of my favorite phrases are: "how are you?", "what's wrong, baby?", "me sad" (it's just so adorable when you say it!), "come hug!", "kiss! mwah!", "love me!", "aww, so happy Momma!" (this happens every time we hug), "aww, so sweet!", "it's so cute!". This list goes on and more is added to it daily. Your witty, funny, emotional, loving, and just plain amazing, kid.
      One of my favorite things about you, is how you love to help. Anything I'm doing, you must be a part of it. Whether its putting away the dishes, fixing dinner, bathing the dogs, cleaning the house. I love how you want to be big even though I wish you'd just stay small a little longer.
     I'm sure I could think of a million more because you do things daily that I wish I freeze each moment to ensure it's safekeeping in my memory.

     Now, to brag on you a little. I can't help it! You're so smart for such a small human. You know your entire alphabet and can recognize both lower and uppercase letters. You can count to 29 in English, to 10 in Italian, and to 5 in your own language. You can count to 10 on your fingers. You have the uncanny ability to know how many of something there is without really seeming to count them. You know so many shapes, including pentagon and trapezoid. Any color of the rainbow is already known in your smart little brain. You can sign "smart" and "thank you". You know how to say "hello" (ciao) and "please" (por favore) in Italian but you understand much more than that. You love to paint, to create, to make a mess. You are also very polite. You always tell us "thank you" when we've given you something you asked for. You'll even say "you're welcome" for us! You've picked up on "I love you" which you say "love me" back to us.
   
     Before we had you, I knew I wanted to be a mom. It was a deep feeling that I knew only you could fulfill. For the first year, I think I just stared in amazement that I finally had you in my arms. For the second year, I held you close and showed you this big world and was amazed, yet again, at how you were mine. For this third year, I have stood back a little. I let you explore while I watched on trying to see the world through your eyes. I held you hand but let you lead me. Every year, every day, every single moment with you is a gift. My heart is overfilled with love for you. You have brought your daddy and I closer together than ever before. You have showed me what love truly is. You have given us the chance to relive our childhoods and to give you more than we had the first time around. It has been so FUN to have you and to watch you grow. To watch you figure out this world around you, to see you think, to see you play. To get to be a part of your life is a blessing.
     We aren't perfect parents in the least, but you have given us something to strive for. We want to show you that you can do and achieve anything in this world. In order for you to do this, we must believe in that as well. We must do everything we can to SHOW you that you can do anything. We must give you every opportunity to excel. Oh baby, we will do just that. Don't you worry. You deserve the world and more.
    
     I must end this somehow. I know I have forgotten things that I knew I wanted to say to you. But know this, I love you. Simply. More than life. More than anything. You are amazing. You are smart. You have a smile that makes my every day into something wonderful. You have a laugh that can turn around any bad day. You stole my heart before I even saw your face. You alone know what my heart sounds like from the inside and it's you that I hold most dear. I wish I could hold you close forever. To protect from the bad things that are sure to find their way into our happy little world. But I must let you fly. I'll catch you when you need me though. I'll always be here. Happy Birthday my little love. Wishing you everything this world has to offer.

I love you.

Love love,
Mommy
    

Week Eight: Keeping it Easy

I came to realize that exaggerated concern about what others are doing can be foolish. It can paralyze effort, and stifle a good idea. One finds that in the history of science almost every problem has been worked out by someone else. This should not discourage anyone from pursuing his own path.

Theodore von Kármán

The Wind and Beyond, 1967

 

 

This week we tried some new things, reinvented some things we'd done before, and watched eggs. It was all very exciting!

 

Have a look:

 

 We've done this sun project, earlier this summer. So this time, same concept, just different numbers. We worked on 11-20 this time (we did 1-10 the first time). He recognized all the numbers and matched them perfectly.

 This was a fun project! (Link below) You pour glue into a plastic lid, add dots of food coloring, mix around with a toothpick, and then let them dry for days and days. The colors smush together a lot during the drying process but it was still a lot of fun!

 

 Just a simple "g" is for garden.

 

 This was an interesting one for us. The egg on the left is sitting in vinegar. The right is in water. Day two brought bubbles, by day four the shell of the vinegar egg was squishy.

 

Day five or so (the sickness had set in, so I may have lost a day). The shell of the vinegar egg broke open but the yolk stays entirely intact! So strange. The sidekick didn't really understand what was happening but Mommy and Daddy were fascinated. The sidekick just liked poking the eggs daily and was very surprised when the vinegar egg was squishy. {"Oh! Mommy! Soft!"}

 

Things we learned this week:

School doesn't have to be done at the table every day. We are still playing outside when we can and have had lots of fun crunching leaves. Science is still a very new concept for the sidekick so, I'll slowly keep introducing some new experiments along the way.

I am also really enjoying looking for new things for us to do when I have the time. It's been fun to incorporate new ideas into what I've already got planned and see it all work out. The sidekick is very flexible and will follow along with almost anything. That helps make this adventure of ours so fun!

 

Where some of our ideas came from:

Egg experiment:

http://www.mudhutmama.com/preschool-homeschool-lesson-plans-week-8-age-3/

 

Wet glue suncatchers:

http://www.housingaforest.com/painting-on-wet-glue/

 

But for the full instructions on the suncatchers look here:

http://babbledabbledo.com/?s=cosmic+suncatchers



Lesson Eight: When Mommies Get Sick

You are disoriented. Blackness swims toward you like a school of eels who have just seen something that eels like a lot.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy text adventure game (1985)

 

     Yep. This momma is sick. Annoying runny nose, irritating scratchy throat, dizzy-inducing fever, and of course a sidekick who doesn't understand these symptoms and just continues on with me slowly following along behind him. Gotta love him.

     Needless to say, this it why this week's writings are a bit late. That and our crappy Italian internet. I don't know what we'll do with ourselves when we are back in the land of 3G/4G or whatever the kids are calling it now. But, I digress.

     I've been such a slacker these past couple of days. Mostly, because I'm trying not to touch anything that anyone else will touch closely after me. Which is hard when you have a toddler who invades your space constantly. My amazing husband, graciously, takes over in the evenings. He'll make dinner, make his own lunch for the next day, and allow me to sit and rest. Yep, gotta love than man.

     I try to keep up with the most essential house chores. Keeping the kid alive, feeding said kid, dishes, laundry (if really needed). Anything past those though...I'm out. I'll catch up next week.

     It's nice to take a break but I feel like I'm just leaving a trail of sickness behind me. I'm not really, since I sanitize rooms as I leave them. Haha! I don't want my boys getting sick. I'm miserable enough. I don't need to get better and then deal with their moaning and over-exaggerations of pain. They don't do "sick" very well. No man does!

 

     As for schooling, we've taken a week off. I'll work this missing week back in towards Christmas when my planning starts to get sparse. Next week is birthday week, so I'm really trying to recover before then so we can have lots of fun. My sidekick will be THREE! I don't know how I feel about this. I guess I better think on that.

     Ok, back to the couch I go. Until next week, friends! Hopefully, I'm not so disoriented and can complete my thoughts again.

Week Seven: New Ideas

A boy’s will is the wind’s will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-My Lost Youth (1858)

 

  

This current week plus last week equal this week's work. We got a little busy around Wednesday (last week) and finally got some extra time to work on finishing up some projects (this week). Never the less, the sidekick and I are getting the hang of this homeschooling stuff.

My projects usually come from MudHutMama but she took a couple of weeks off from her letter crafts around this time, which is okay! I just know that my sidekick really likes these so I got creative! I went back to the letters we already worked on and came up with new ideas so we could review them. It turned out really well!

Have a look:

 

 

 "d" is for dragon!

 

We went on a "D" scavenger hunt after making our dragon. We used our trick-or-treat bucket and collected things that started with D. I had to get him started but he found the duckie, dolphin, and dog all on his own! I'm a proud momma!

 

I covered a paper in tape and then let the sidekick paint, paint, paint! After it dried, we *slowly* peeled off the tape together to reveal the lines. "Tracks Momma!". And yes, they were driven on before put on the wall of his masterpieces. :)

 



Halloween is coming up so we started some theme crafts!

We counted and glued 16 ghosts!

(Yes, I'm aware they look like Pac-Man ghosts. But hey! I'm an 80's kid!)

 



Our counting ghosts were a little boring so, I got creative again, and we made "real" ghosts! We crumpled paper (which was fun for the sidekick) and then, simply, covered the crumpled paper in a paper towel and taped it shut. Then, I drew a couple of faces and let him copy on the rest of them.

 

I think they're adorable!

 



While I was getting our ghosts together for display, my little sidekick glued an "o" is for oval and then colored more oval shapes on top with his new markers. We also spent some time searching for "O" things. He really likes finding and putting things in his bucket (Just in time for trick-or-treating!).

 

 

Things we learned this week:

We can finish a project any time! We are back on track now and already have some fun projects done that we can't wait to show you! I think, though, it was a good little break for us. I don't want him getting bored with school. And even though we both love an easy routine, it was good to change it up. He was excited to get back to it and that makes me happy.

 

Have a good week! See you soon!

Lesson Seven: Momma's Got Some Tricks Up Her Sleeves!

I cannot stress enough how much I don’t have plans.

-Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

 

     When I started getting ready for our homeschool adventure, I knew it would take a lot to keep him entertained with the idea of "school". After co-teaching 18 3-year olds (gasp! I know.) for over a year and spending almost three years in a preschool/daycare/after-school care environment, I had learned a few tricks from some amazing women.

     The first was to get organized! Now, I must tell you, I'm not the most organized person. I do try. I can achieve it for a while but, once I need to find something again, I tend to make a mess.

 

 

     Above, is my planner. Notice the scribbles? And the arrows? And this is a good week! Ha! BUT! It's planned and my ideas are written down. Heaven knows they aren't safe in my head! This is where I started. Super big thanks to MudHutMama for helping me get started! It was her website and this planner for a couple of weeks before I even started tackling the making of things!

 



     These were some of the first things I made for my sidekick. The color circles are for matching, we have upper and lowercase letters for matching, as well. I have numbers in word form and in dot form for some reading/math practice. Also, shape matching. We like to match. :)

     These handy boxes are my keeper of all things. The top picture is my art stash. It's in our garage where I can easily grab markers, paints, playdough, etc. Things we use pretty often go in here. It's quite full. I also stack all our paper on top so it's readily available for the sidekick to make his masterpieces.
     This bottom picture is my homeschool stash. It's upstairs in my messy "room of requirement". Here are all the things that I may (or may not) need to accomplish our schooling. You can see our pattern blocks, leftover rainbow rice, other art things, and also some future projects (that I should probably work on completing so he can use them!).

     I have much more scattered and tucked into places around my house. I keep a file folder in a cabinet next to where we sit and do school each day. In it I keep around three weeks of planned out work. Such as his crafts and the things that need to made ahead before he gets his hands on them. I make good use of things we already have (like using his toys for our letter scavenger hunts) and try to reuse everything I can. I am in the process of covering all his paper things (color circles and such) so they will last longer. Contact paper is an amazing asset.

     I must say, I wouldn't have most of this fun stuff without the help of my mom. She sends me all the things I can't find here in Italy and are not worth the shipping price to buy online. I don't thank her enough but, pretty sure, she knows I'd be lost without her.
    
     Trust me, if I can do this homeschooling stuff then so can you! It's great fun and a wonderful bonding and learning experience for you and your little(s).

    

Happy Homeschooling!