A is for Apple

Hope is turning 4 on Septmeber 15th.  For her to attend Kindergarten at HOPAC, she must be 5 years old by the start of the school year. Next year she will miss that cutoff by 2-3 weeks. Therefore, she not only has this year home with me, but next year also.

 

I want my daughter to love learning. I want her to be engaged. I want her to love books and being creative and enjoy music and activity. I am not naturally a 'pinterest' mom, nor am I a teacher. I don't love or have a passion for crafts and creating fun things for my kids. I used to adore when Hope's speech therapist came over with all kinds of fun activities and let all of my kids engage - at least my kids were getting it somewhere! :) So this is a bit of stretch for me, but I'm feeling called to attempt a little bit of "mommy school" with Hope this year. I'm trying to really be intentional in these precious years I have home with my kids.

 

I'll document a bit of what I do, hopefully regularly, on this blog. It's mainly a way to keep track of different links I use and if it goes well, to reference it if/when I need to for Geneva. Feel free to send me ideas, links, blogs, etc.

 

At this point I'll plan a 'theme' and just see how long it takes to get through it. We're not going to direct our lives around having a regular 'school time' so it may take a few weeks just to get through the letter A.

 

For our Bible stories, I'll be using the JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE

A is for Apple

 

Printable color page: HERE

 

Bible: Read the creation account "The Beginning: a perfect home" -  GOD AS CREATOR.

 

Craft: coffee filter apples: HERE

Activity: make applesauce (incorporate counting/measuring)

Counting: counting activity - we will probably use beans, as those are always in my pantry

Sensory: I think I'll attempt a sensory bin. It will likely include various dried beans as the base and perhaps small laminated apples and both upper and lower case "A"s. I don't have a great Hobby Lobby near by to pick up cute other apple accessories. I'll throw in a few small plastic cups for sorting and maybe a sand shovel. Hope's not ready to start identifying 'things that start with A", thought that would work in a sensory bin for older kids.

Outside Play: I'm going to write in sidewalk chalk all the letters of the alphabet, with multiples of  both lower and upper case A. We'll try different activities - have her find and circle all the A's, jump from one A to the next, and probably a connect - the - dot type activity (so when I space out the A's, I'll make them in the shape of an apple)

Book: Check out the HOPAC library for a book on apples!

The Story of the Apple Star: HERE

Music:

Sing to the tune: I'm a Little Teapot I'm a little apple, short and round, I make a munchy, crunchy sound, If you bite into me you will see - I'm delicious as can be!

Apples (sung to tune of "Are you Sleeping?") Picking apples picking apples one by one one by one Put them in a basket Put them in a basket Oh what fun! Oh what fun!


Apples, Apples 
(Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle") Apples juicy, apples round, On the tree or on the ground. Apples yellow, apples red, Apple pie and juice and bread! Apples crunchy, apples sweet, Apples are so good to eat!

http://www.alphabet-soup.net/dir2/applesong.html