The Elves and the Shoemaker Unit Study

For letter E, we are focusing on a specific story entitled The Elves and the Shoemaker. In preparation for Five in a Row, I wanted us to practice rowing with a singular story and various projects and lessons revolving around it.

Yesterday was our first read-through of The Elves and the Shoemaker. During that preliminary read, Aidyn asked all sorts of questions to familiarize himself with the story.

"Why do they have pointy ears?"
"Why do they climb in the window?"
"Why do they help him (the shoemaker)?"
"Why did they leave?"
"Why are they small?"

We discussed the answers to the above questions and more. We talked about the value of helping people and the unexpected rewards that sometimes goes with it. But the key is, that the elves did not expect a reward; they were helping just because there was need.

Today we will re-read the story or another version of the story and add a mini-lesson related to it.

The Daring Letter D Among Other Things

Although this week is devoted to the daring letter D, we have mostly been enjoying spooky stories, as selected by Aidyn. He's at an age where the safe spook of a story thrills him, and hearing the creepy narrations (voiced both by David and I), bubbles him up with excitement.

As it turns out, we moved away from letter units and focused more on a singular subject from that letter. For instance, I made a vague connection with D by selecting books about the dark. All of the books chosen pertain to darkness though not all repeat the word enough to cement the phonetic sound of D. It doesn't bother me; I prefer this kind of learning. Our letter units might stay, and they might not. I may select a specific subject (or ask Aidyn to) that begins with that letter, but drilling the phonetics is not the priority.

This week, I have also selected our kindergarten curriculum that we'll be starting in August (if Aidyn were born just 29 days early, he'd be in public kindergarten this August). After much research, reading, comparing and contrasting, we have settled on Five In a Row (FIAR). Focusing on literature, it also introduces geography, ethics, values, science, history, and such. At the core of it is the joy of reading and the kindling of the warm connection that reading together provides. Since I've selected the curriculum, I have been hunting for the supplemental books for steals. I found a handful yesterday for about 75 cents each! My goal is to find the rest of the books (or make sure the library has them) by August.

Yesterday evening, I also introduced Aidyn to a new math manipulative called a Geoboard. The concept is simple enough. One one side of the board are pegs in the shape of a square with several pegs on the inside; on the flip side, the pegs formed a circle with one peg in the center. The idea is to stretch rubber bands on the pegs. Aidyn soon learned that he can make a straight line with a rubber band. Then, he discovered that pulling the rubber band to a new peg created a triangle. Playing with the geoboard, Aidyn experimented with different shapes (some I didn't even know the names of!) and made "pizza slices" with the circle side. At this stage, my only motive is to familiarize him with geometric shapes and lay the foundation for mathematics. I hope that this hands-on approach will help him grow to like and understand mathematics.

The Curious Letter C

Last week, we focused on C themed books. After several weeks of active homeschool days, C Week was a more low-key. Lounging in the late afternoons, we read books about crocodiles, cats, and creepy castles. Through Tomie DePaola's book, Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile, we not only met a crocodile but learned about Egyptians-their monuments, beliefs, and ancient rituals. In City Cat, Country Cat, we found that cats can lead double lives! Of particular interest to Aidyn was the book about creepy castles. Lately, he has been fascinated with "spooky" stories, a curiosity I believe to be a normal part of growing up in what may seem like a terrifying world for a little guy. Because of his request to hear more "spooky" stories, we'll be reading more chilling tales to satisfy his curiosity.

The Brilliant Letter B

Themes: bats, balloons, bears, butterflies

Social Studies: read about what builders do

Music: Hector Berlioz

Songs: "B-I-N-G-O"

Foods: bananas, blueberries, blackberries, bread and butter

Foreign language: learn the ASL sign for letter B

Books: Stellaluna, The Big Balloon Race

Math: the concept of "before"

Blue pocket chart: Upper- and Lowercase B, sight words such as big, bed, but, box, bear, picture of Big Ben

The Amazing Letter A

In an effort to teach phonics, whole words, and reading, I decided to take a slower, more enjoyable approach. This week we have focused on the letter A and have gathered topics starting with A. Through reading these books and being exposed to these sounds, he'll inevitably soak in the phonics. Here is what we have been doing since Monday and plan on continuing until next week.

Letter A

Reading topics:ants, alligators, albatrosses

Social Studies:reading about astronauts, discussion about what astronauts do

Art:reading stories about children who make art

Music:"The Ants Go Marching," and "Alouette"

Foreign Language:Learning the ASL sign for A

Math:Practicing addition

Food:applesauce, almond milk, alphabet soup, apple bars

Music:The Apples in Stereo

Blue Pocket Chart:sight words starting with A, pictures of the Alamo Mission and Angkor Wat, uppercase and lowercase A, picture of our friend Aurora

Field Trip:perusal of pet store aquariums

Applying the Nuts and Bolts

I started out this week teaching Aidyn phonics on an audio program. Though Aidyn followed along, grasped most of what sounds were being said, he lacked enthusiasm and slumped in his chair like it was a dreaded chore. I didn't have fun either. Reaffirming my love for whole-word approach, it is admittedly difficult learning about the "nuts and bolts" when we have nothing to apply them to.

Instead of focusing on the nuts and bolts, I am going back to whole-word approach and will point out phonetic sounds as need be. To help him naturally learn phonics, we will continue to:

-read living books
-read road maps, signs, billboards, etc.
-watch The Letter People videos
-play with letters, physically and through verbal games, rhymes, etc.

Busy Break

With Mama home on Spring Break, Aidyn and I have been busy people. This week, we did our quarterly assessments (which Aidyn strangely loved). It had been a full three months since our beginning of the year assessment, so I reviewed the same "test" to mark his improvement. Within only three months of time, he has learned so much more. For example, in January, he could identify approximately 15 letters (whether they were uppercase or lowercase) and now he can identify 22+ with confidence. Additionally, three months ago, he was a little shaky with his shape recognition, but now he can correctly identify all the major shapes. Before he could rote count to 5 and now he counts to 12. Similarly, in rational counting he made it to 8 and now makes it to 12.

I also took into account his marked gains in self-confidence and ability as shown in our recent Disneyland trip where he confronted old fears and faced new challenges. These things would probably not be measured in say, public school's standardized tests, but to me they are just as valid at showing intellectual growth.

We also revisited our large curriculum goal list and happily checked off close to 50% of our original goals such as: keep a small pet (our geck0), watch the cycle of caterpillar-to-butterfly again, go hiking, etc.

In all, I know where he stands and where we're headed. He's thriving and I am proud!

During this week, we've also read stacks of books at Aidyn's enthusiastic requests. We've reread a favorite of his: The Ghost-Eye Tree as well as Alligators All Around, The Beasty Story, Go Away Montsers Lickety-Split, The Art Lesson, The Knight and the Dragon, Oh, The Places You'll Go, and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

We've been crafty as well, making an assortment of fans using handprints, footprints, headprints (!), and the creation of animals using hand poses.

Today we plan on doing our annual egg-dyeing and Easter-themed storytime as we wait for the Easter Bunny to come our way!