Week Eleven

Weekly theme: reptiles
Vocabulary: rattle, slither, shed, cold-blooded, oviparous
Practiced skill: Letter recognition for third week, word recognition
Music: TBA
Mini-goal trip: local serpentarium
Audio book: Second half of Peter Pan

Week Ten Synopsis

Although this week was relatively relaxed, Aidyn learned and experienced new things. This was our second week focusing on the alphabet and Aidyn now identifies many letters. He can also sing a rustic version of the alphabet song. Additionally, he is working on common word recognition while I sprinkled words on ordinary objects in our home such as chair, couch, pillow, oven, bed, wall, pantry, sink, and toilet.

He spent some of his time this week at playgrounds playing with other children, watching a little league baseball game and swim meet, and interacting with other preschoolers at our library's storytime.

Also, we took a mini field trip to the local animal shelter and the town fair.

Overall, I enjoyed the relaxed environment of a delight-led "curriculum," but I think Aidyn learns more with a plan. I may draw out 20 activities and he only chooses to do two, but for us, that's still better than no plan at all.

Field Trip

Yesterday afternoon we visited the local animal shelter. Although it used to be the city pound, it has recently became a no-kill shelter. Aidyn, his dad, and I walked along the corridors of kennels and greeted all the dogs, cats, and chickens. I believe these field trips build empathy and social awareness of the plight of homeless animals. Responsibility for these animals start at home with proper care of our own pets. I hope that Aidyn continues to keep a special place in his heart for animals.

Week Ten, Day Two

Today was a surprisingly productive day. I created word cards for common objects in our home and applied them to each object. I took Aidyn on a Tour of Words, and he was able to identify all the words based on where they were placed. He surprised me with "wall" as it was just the word wall on stuck on a random piece of wall. We also did couch, door, window, pantry, bed, oven, chair, toilet, and sink.

Then, out of the blue, Aidyn sang a rustic version of the Alphabet Song over and over. I had no idea how much he knew and was able to perform.

Later, we played with his wooden puzzle boards, and he taught his stuffed duck all about shapes, letters, numbers, and colors. It was adorable to observe him being the teacher.

Overall, although the day was relaxing and unplanned, we accomplished much learning, teaching and imaginary play.

Week Ten

Weekly Theme: a convoluted assortment of delights as the appear (monkeys, firefighters, Easter, spring, puppets, etc.)
Music: Asheba: Soundtracks of Lullabies of Caribbean/Worldbeat style
Practiced skill: Letter recognition and phonics for the second week
Book on Tape: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Week Nine Synopsis

During our first week in complete delight-led learning, Aidyn and I were free to explore themes as they presented themselves. Since he had recently fixated on monkeys, we adopted that theme and allowed it to lead us every which way. On a whim, we purchased a playful monkey suit for him that he has been wearing off and on. He rambles about in his best monkey impersonation. This imaginary play has encouraged him to eat "monkey sticks" and emboldened him to try kiwis, which he now loves. Additionally, we read several monkey books and perused a Zoobook about different kinds of Old World Monkeys (a nice throwback to anthropology for me!).

Also during the week on bike rides, we opened ourselves up to whatever lesson the world would present to us (with a little help from Mama). For instance, during our bike excursion, we hunted for letters and called them out on sight. When we passed the water tower, we both exclaimed our town name. On the way to the bike path, we frequently pass a fire station where the trucks and sometimes uniforms and firefighters can be easily seen, and we have conversations about the role of firefighters to the community.

Aidyn has become a fan of Meet the Letters and can identify several letters at random.

With Easter approaching, we have discussed rabbits and eggs. Aidyn painted some "eggs" (construction paper cut in the shape of eggs) and has learned to crack an egg all by himself (and clean the mess up afterwards!).

Throughout the week, Mozart filled our background with lovely, vivacious symphonies. Later, an animated singer/songwriter/folklorist musician from Trinidad colored our air waves with his beautiful children's songs.

We have a stack of assorted stories to enjoy this weekend that cover all the above subjects: monkeys, firefighters, the Easter bunny, and the letters.

Week Nine Activity

Yesterday, Aidyn's monkey suit finally arrived in the mail. We tore open the package and proceeded to dress him as a monkey that minute while his cousin, uncle, and aunt were here. In full monkey costume, he ran around making monkey noises. Requesting a banana to eat, he said, "monkeys love bananas!" He spent a good while parading around like a monkey. I think this interactive imaginary play is beneficial to his learning about monkeys and their habits, and the best part is: he doesn't even know he's learning!