B is for Bear, Butterfly, Baker, & Bat

My intention when starting this mini-preschool program with Caleb was to start a new letter on each Monday. I would have all the books and the little notebook ready to go by then. Well, the library is not cooperating or maybe I'm not getting my holds in on time. My goal is to not spend any money at this level of homeschooling. All the books are being checked out of the library and to get them I am having to place holds all over our library network. Thankfully, I can do all this online. Some of the books are taking FOREVER to arrive at my local library. I guess I will try to have the little notebook ready on Monday and then read the books as they arrive. Whoo! Mixing things up is the spice of life isn't it?! Especially with a two-year old. ;-)

Go Here to see the Letter A.

Notebook pages:

Cover Sheet
Tracer
B is For Bear
Bear Coloring Sheet
Butterfly Coloring Sheet
Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly
B is For Baker
Baker Coloring Sheet
B is For Bat
Bat Coloring Sheet
0-5 Coloring Sheet
6-11 Coloring Sheet
Benjamin Franklin Resume (cute)
Benjamin Franklin Coloring Sheet

Books:

As you saw from the previous list I listed all the books one by one right in the post. I have decided it would be much easier to just link to my Amazon Store so you can actually see the covers and not have to keep clicking over. The link is below.

Go Here to see Letter 'B' Reading List

Note: I have been using the booklist from Brightly Beaming Letter of the Week Curriclum as a springboard for finding great books each week. Go Here to see the entire list.

The Sickies and Such

My poor sweet Caleb is sick with a cold this week. His nose is running like a waterfall and he can't seem to stop sneezing. When I woke him up yesterday he was acting like he was hungover or drunk. I hadn't given him any medicine so I figured the sickies in his head were making him feel woozy. Thankfully, he has been more willing than usual to get to bed on time and take good long naps. I am sure he will back to his normal, crazy self in no time.

I was a little unsure about starting Caleb's little preschool yesterday due to the cold but we did have a soft start. I introduced him to his "A" notebook and he found it fascinating. He just wanted to look at it and discuss the pictures. He then informed me that he wanted to color his "A's." He got cozy in his chair with his crayons and notebook and went to town. I think he colored a little bit on each page. As he did that I read to him from the Johnny Appleseed book and we both had a great time. I would count the first day as a success.

When Chris got home, I asked Caleb if he wanted to show Daddy his "school notebook." Caleb grabbed the notebook from me and ran to his Daddy. He opened it up and showed Chris all the A's. He even took Chris' hand and had him trace each A on one particular page. Oh, be still my heart! Chris is very happy with how things are going so far and he likes how I am doing the notebook and reading time.

I know we have only done this for one day but here is how I think the days are going go for at least a little while. Caleb and I will get the notebook out and he will color the pages while I read to him during that time. It looks like I might have to print out more coloring pages and check out more books to get through a week. I am not pushing for anything formal right. He is only 2! I want him to have fun and hopefully look forward to our "school time" each day. It is so much fun watching Caleb grow and become so interested in the world around him.

Week 1--Letter A

'A' is for Ant, Alligator, Anteater, and Acorn

Update: Caleb is quite sick with a cold today. I hoped to start today, but we'll just have to see.

Start Here.

Notebook Pages:

Cover Sheet
Tracer Sheet
Ant Coloring Sheet
National Geographic Ant Fact Sheet
A is for Apple Tracer Sheet
Apple Coloring Sheet
Alligator Tracer Page
Alligator Coloring Sheet
Alligator Fact Sheet
Anteater Coloring Sheet
Anteater Fact Sheet
A is for Acorn Poster
Acorn Counting Sheet 1 & 2

Books we are reading this week:

The Apple Pie Tree
Life & Times Of The Apple
Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend
Tiniest Acorn: A Story to Grow By
Dot & Jabber and the Great Acorn Mystery (Dot & Jabber)
The Escape of Marvin the Ape
From Acorn to Oak Tree (Welcome Books)

Go Here to see all these books in my Amazon store.

We will also be using some leftover Pinto Beans to work on counting, basic adding, and "building" letters.

The Boy Wants to Learn!!

As Caleb grows older he is displaying an absolutely insatiable desire to learn. He will play with his Letters and Numbers for hours on end. He wants us to sing with him non-stop and the reading, oh the reading. He wants us to read to him all day long. Sweet Boy! We are kindred spirits.

The only problem is that this constant desire to learn can also get to be a little pesky at times. Sometimes Mommy needs to get housework done or get dinner on the table. I found myself pushing Caleb's requests to the side way too often. I never wanted to squelch his spirit but I also couldn't let my other responsibilities go to pot.

While I was putting together our New Year schedule, I decided to schedule time each day for "school." For one hour each day we will go over his letters, numbers, reading, etc. in a more formal fashion. The learning won't stop after that scheduled time but at least there is a time slot that is dedicated to it each day. I have always considered homeschooling Caleb, but I never thought we would start this early. We will be starting Dec. 29th. Here we go!!

So, what will we be doing? I have created a little notebook that will cover a letter a week. We will work our way through that little notebook during the week. I have made the notebook in a way that Caleb can color throughout and hopefully grow to love it. (I will have another post with links to all the pages in the notebook including links to the books we are reading that week.) Each notebook will hopefully cover the letter, letter sounds, science, numbers/counting, history, and art (coloring). Feel free to come back each week to get ideas or snatch the pages I'm using.

Disclaimer: I am VERY GREEN at this. Caleb is my first child and the first child I've ever homeschooled. There is a large learning curve. But, I would love to have company on this journey. Join me and let me know what you think!!