History: Earliest People

Here are the activities for the first chapter of the Story of the World Vol 1 Earliest People.  (Based on the Activity Book Vol 1) [Affiliate link]

Map and Activity Sheets 

I took a photo of Mavi’s interpretation of the nomads living inside a tent and with a campfire.

 

Cave Painting

The book also suggests that you try cave painting (pretend) as a means of communication or recording of events. 

LEGO Project

As much as possible to we love to incorporate LEGO in our work. So here we made Jericho, the first city… just as the book described it.

 

Jericho, the First City in LEGO Bricks

After reading the first chapter of The Story of the World Vol 1, Mavi created this. This is how he interprets Jericho, the first city built by the earliest people (nomads) who became farmers in the Fertile Crescent. 

“Soon, farmers discovered that it was best to build houses close together so they could help each other to water and tend their fields. These were the first villages.”

 

“Because they were afraid that they may be attacked and robbed by bandits, they built stone walls around their villages. These were the first cities.”

I will post the rest of the activities we did in line with the SOTW Earliest People.

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History and Geography

Teeny Weeny Tot School

Vito is 10 months.

I decided to start sharing what Vito has been doing.  He just can’t stop moving, the main reason why I would hesitate to take his pictures.  Major milestones as of the moment (1) he starts to walk (2) he can say “mama” and “dy” (3) and can follow certain hand gestures/signs. 

Here’s Vito practicing how to remove the disk from the pole.  He couldn’t figure it out yet so he would just turn the pole into different directions so the disk will come out. And once they’re out he would line them up on one side. 

Here, I’m showing him how to stack the disk.  All he could ever do is how to remove the disk from the stack LOL.

 

Open and Close.  He’s practicing how to open the container and closing it.  To encourage Vito, I place a horse figure so he can try to take it out from the container.

 

We’ve been reading books for months, so he knows how to navigate through the pages of the books.  This is a good practice for the pincer grasp as well.

 

He talks a lot when he holds a book and loves to point at the pictures!

Duplo Transfer.  An unsuccessful activity LOL. He’s move interested on the bowl rather than the Duplo.  We’ll try this again though, using different materials this time.

  

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REVIEW: Sink and Float Experiment using LEGO

It is a known fact that my son LOVES LEGO.  He loves to think that he can make anything with LEGO.  And one of the MAJOR discoveries that we have this year is that we can incorporate LEGO bricks in our homeschool activities.  Because I find it helpful to use LEGO bricks into our schooling, I decided to add a few more to his collection so we can create more stuff together. You can see some of our works in our Geography lessons and our ever famous Eiffel Tower.

I cannot tell you how happy am I when I was asked to review the visual tutorial of the sink and float experiment of LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester. This idea never crossed my mind at all!  And what made it more exciting is that it involves water play (who doesn’t like water play?)!

 

The visual tutorial is similar to the instruction booklet that you get whenever you purchase a LEGO set.  The directions are simple and since Mavi can read, he did the experiment on his own (I end up being the audience LOL).

So he made his raft out of his brown bricks with details of green.  He made it float and later on added objects in the raft and moved them around to test whether the locations would make the raft sink or float.  The tricky part is when he needs to balance the items in the raft so it won’t sink! It took him gazillion of tries to finally succeed :)

Mavi had so much fun doing this experiment and would love to do this again and again. We would laugh so hard every time we fail!  And even I as an adult enjoyed the activity.We are so glad we did this experiment.  It is also a good way to bond with little ones :)  After which, Mavi was like “Mom, can we do more experiments?”, “Mom, can you think of more activities with LEGO?”.

I will definitely look for more science experiments using LEGO bricks. And LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester is one place where I can look for those amazing ideas.  And hopefully in the near future… we’ll be able to visit the place and try out their exciting learning activities!

Language and History Books

My books from Book Depository arrived yesterday. We were able to work on some grammar lessons using First Language Lessons Vol 1.  I have heard good reviews about this book (and the series) so I’m giving it a try.  The tools used in the book are memory work, copywork, narration and grammar (leading to a Charlotte Mason’s principles).   I observed the  A LOT of repetitions though. But that’s fine with me. I have nothing against that technique worked for me, especially with mathematics.  In case its too much for my son to handle I’ll just skip some pages LOL.

For our history, I got The Story of the World Vol 1.  I love world history and I can’t wait to use this with Mavi.  I bought a hardcopy of the book but purchased a PDF version of the activity book so I can reuse it with Vito.

Will update more on this as we progress. Happy Wednesday!

Teaching Addition within 10

Here’s a little recap of what Mavi has learned of our Math lessons for the past weeks.  And  the best part of it is that Mavi has learned how to do mental calculations! Yehey!  I’m so happy that he has discovered this all by himself.  He’s like “I’m using my brains to count Mom”.

We are using Singapore Math workbooks, and we use manipulates as well.  Read here if you want to know how we integrated workbooks and manipulatives. We’ve been using manipulatives for some time (Montessori and other learning materials) and now that he is older, we’re going to use less of these. 

Anyway, here’s what he has learned so far:

Ways to Add

• Number Bonds. We’ve studied number bonds before so it was easy for Mavi to apply his knowledge once we’ve touched Addition.  You can also get a free NUMBER BOND ACTIVITY SHEETS by clicking this link.

• By counting on from the greater number.  This is something new for Mavi.  I told him it’s a trick that he can use to add numbers.  He liked it and he’s been using it ever since. 

Making Addition Stories

Another part of the lesson that Mavi really really love doing was making stories! Favourite characters in his stories were his classmates and the dinosaurs lol.  This is an introductory part for problem solving which we will be doing as we progress.

Next would be subraction. I wonder if he will like it in the same way he did in addition.

Life Cycle: Organisms

 

We started our Organisms Unit early this week and it was a joy Mavi had a great time learning about the living organisms and the different forms of life. I like that we will only have a few activities here. Focus on the quality, making sure that the child truly understands the concept behind the activity.

The key concept of this unit is for the child to learn that there are other organisms besides human and animals. That these organisms thrive and reproduce for survival. The following are the activities that we performed for the unit:

LIVING AND NON-LIVING

Objectives: To be able to sort the living and the non-living objects.

Task:

1. Describe the characteristics that makes an object a living organism.
2. Distinguish objects that are non-living but have been created from living objects (wooden cabinet).
3. What are the three important requirements of a living organism to thrive or grow?

Vocabulary: animal, living, non-living, organism

 

ANIMAL FAMILIES

Objective: Classification and sorting of objects, in order to group them into larger groups (Families)

Task:

1. Discuss the families of the animals, what do you call the father, the mother and the baby and their group.
2. Comparing the animal tracks. Those with round shape, hoofs or prints with toes.
3. Classifying animals whether they live in land, water or sky.

Vocabulary: family, group, classification

   

ANIMAL HABITATS

Objective: Comparing where animals live.

Mid this year, we have conducted a study of the different habitats of animals around the world.  You can view our lesson here and here.

Next week, my son and I will work on the human body.  Still part of the Life Cycle theme… that evolves around organisms. 

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Calendar: October Schedule

I printed this calendar and posted it in Mavi’s room.  He loves looking at schedules and is looking forward for me to put a star on it once we’ve accomplished something.  So in October our lessons would be:

• Math:  shapes, ordinal numbers, number and shape patterning
• Grammar:  First Language Lessons (we will be using Montessori Grammar Symbol for this)
• ART:  artist study, crafting, random painting activities
• History:  SOTW
• Science:  Human body (organs, skeletal system, teeth), plants, natural environment

Our Science Curriculum (K-6, Kindergarten to Grade 6)

For a change, I made plans/curriculum for Mavi’s after school lessons.  I think I need this for I am about to start schooling Vito as well.  What happens here is that we discuss the topic and he will work on the tasks or lab experiments. Finally, he answers the activity sheets.  The tasks should be done with minimal help from Mommy.  This will encourage him to think for himself, work on his own and start to make decisions.

Note that even if Mavi’s knowledge in Science is way beyond his age, I started with the K lessons so as not to miss the little things.  Anyway if we’re done ahead of time because he knows it already, we will proceed to Year 1 level even before the school year ends.  So here are the things we need to accomplish for this year :

Life Cycle

• Living and Non-living things
• The Human Body
• All About Plants
• Nature and Environment

Water

• Water Cycle
• Oceans
• The Weather

Earth’s Crust

• States of Matter
• Minerals
• Rocks
• Discovering Dinosaurs (Dinosaurs, Geological Times)

Earth’s Moving Force

• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Continents and Oceans
• Hazards

The Story of the Universe

• Universe
• Solar System
• Earth
• Land and Water Forms

Applied Science

• Science and Math, Tools of Discovery
• Physics, Observation, Electricity, Magnets
• Technology, Machines, Inventions
• Natural and Man Made Environment

Source:  The curriculum is based on Math/Science Nucleus

Math Curriculum 2014-2015

Sharing Mavi’s Math curriculum for this school year.  In our home math is done as a supplemental study after school.  We don’t exactly do it everyday but I have weekly goals for each scope noand I am making that Mavi accomplish that task per week.  This post also serves as a reminder for me, in case I will look back 5 years from now for Vito’s Math curriculum as well :D

We are still using our Montessori Math materials and still adapting the philosophy.  But I just feel that need that Mavi needs to more forward.  As what Susan Stephenson said in her book Child of the World

“This child nearing the age of six or seven is passing beyond what is known as the sensory-motor developmental stage, when movement and exploration through the senses is a basic need in all learning.  Now he will gradually move to a cerebral exploration, giving up the manipulative materials according to his personal timetable. The years 6-12 are relatively stable, and the main academic work can now be done.”

With Math, I allow Mavi to use manipulative materials (Montessori and other learning materials) if he wishes to.  But I want him to learn how to do mental counting as well. 

• Number Patterns
• Number Bonds
• Addition within 10

• Subtraction within 10
• Shapes and Patterns
• Ordinal Numbers and Position
• Number to 20
• Addition and Subtraction within 20
• Length
• Mass
• Graphs
• Number to 40
• Multiplication
• Division
• Time
• Number to 100
• Money

If you have been following my blog, you know that we’ve done some of it in the past few years though play.  Right now, we’re working on it with workbooks and lots of additional activity sheets(homemade).  

So in times that we don’t work on Geography and Science, Mavi and I are definitely working on serious Math. Oh and yes, we’re using Singapore Maths… literally :D  I ordered a few workbooks used by students in Singapore from Popular Bookstore. Remember that we used to life there so I’m a little bit aware of what kind of books to purchase. And I have relatives living there as well.

Will post more as progress.

Montessori Grammar Lesson

At home, we’re using the Montessori approach in teaching the English grammar.

Below are some of the materials we used:  grammar symbols, grammar booklet, strips of papers and Sharpies.  The symbols are made from foam crafts which I painstakingly form and cut.

Instead of grammar farm, we used Legos and animal figures set-up in an Arctic/Antarctic Expedition.  From here, I made Mavi identify the nouns.

I made this definition cards for his guide.

 

We created the sentences based on our set-up and Mavi labeled each word using a grammar symbol.   

And I made him work the other way around, Mavi creating a sentence using the symbol sequence I made.

Surprisingly, he enjoyed this activity.  He enjoys identifying the correct grammar symbol and loves creating sentences.  We will be doing much of this work and as he progresses, I’ll introduce adverbs, conjunction, pronoun, interjection and preposition.

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Discovery Basket: Blue

 

Bright Beaming Toddler Week 2

Mavi is 16 months old.

Theme: Jungle| Vocabulary: Vines| Color: Green| Letter: B | Number: 2 |Nursery Rhyme: The Little Nut Tree

 

MONDAY

Theme: Jungle
Vocabulary Word: Vines
The theme for this week is Jungle and the vocabulary is Vines. I introduced to  him the theme by showing pictures of jungles and vines, read a book related to the theme, sing songs and do some activities related to the theme.  Per usual, Mavi immediately got excited seeing the pictures.  He pointed out to the written words and tried identifying the letters all by himself.  It's just confusing to teach him the vines versus the jungle by just looking at the pictures  because I mistakenly printed out similar pictures of jungle and vines, plus they're all green!  I should have printed out a more discreet picture of the vines.

Anyway, he can properly say "vines".. as in "vayyynnnns" but he didn't manage to say jungle correctly, he's version was "dader".

Months ago, husband and I were able to buy the book "Just Like Me".  It was on sale, so instead of 1k rsd, we bought it for 500rsd only.  I used this book as my tool of teaching him the Jungle.  It's about an armadillo, lost in the forest and is looking for something that looks like him.  He likes this because it's a look and feel book and he loves to rub his fingers on the photos' surfaces.

 

TUESDAY

Shape: Green
Up until now, I find it difficult to teach Mavi about colors.  I don't know if he can understand it yet because he doesn't respond that much . I mean, he can point at the colors I'm asking him first, then the second time around, he will miss out.

To introduce him to the color green this week, I first tried to show him my cut-out of leaves printed in green art paper.  Then I started to put glue into it and demonstrated to him the proper way of putting it in the paper.  But he wasn't interested on the leaf or on the gluing activity.  Instead, he finds the glue stick more fascinating and he  took it away from me.  He played it for the rest of the day, and gets mad if I ask for it.

When he was already calm, I attempted again on teaching him the green color by showing the square shape that we have on our previous lesson.  When I have his attention, I showed him the green colored pen, the green colored-crayola stamps and the green crayon.  I told him "Mommy will color the square GREEEEN".  Then I started putting stamps on the square and shaded it with a green crayon. Enticed, he took the stamp from me and started tapping the paper with the stamp.  Sadly, the stamp was too small, I expected that it would produce a larger and more visible stamp, but it's too small and so light that Mavi can't barely see the effect if he taps the paper with the stamp.  When he was tired, he took the crayon and started doodling on the square.. and on the table as well.

This is what he loves to do most, removing the cap from the pen or glue stick and putting it back again.  He keeps doing it again and again, somewhat fascinated and that he can do it by himself.  I allowed him to do it anyway, so he can practice his hand and eye coordination.  I tell you, he's really good at it.

We also did "find a green color object" activity.  We looked around the house for toys and objects that's colored green.  Everytime we see one, I would say "green car", "green cup" etc.  Then we collected those objects and put it in the paperbag.  Since he likes car, I also cut out  square shapes from a piece of green art paper and constructed a car.  He doesn't like pasting the squares on the paper, but he loves the end product... green car.  Even if I use stickers, he doesn't know how to paste the on a surface yet. . Hmmm, I wonder why.  And I wonder how I  can teach him to do that.

Wednesday

Letter: B

Letter B was introduced and I didn't print the letter, I just wrote it and made him trace the letter with his finger.  He already knows the letter so teaching him was not that difficult. Same thing as letter A, he matched the right hole for the letter B by successfully dropping the letter B on it.

Since we still got enough time, we read his favorite Nursery Rhymes book and ask him to identify the letter B on the writings.  So far, he's doing well with the letters because he didn't miss any.

Thursday

Number: 2
As I mentioned earlier, to prepare for this lesson, I printed out two sets of matching frogs and clover leaf pictures on a piece of green colored art paper.  I put numbers 1 and 2 at the center of the picture.  These actually have dual purpose, first that is for counting, and then the other for our matching game.

When I showed it to him, he was amused.  I showed to him the frog in sequence, "1 frog", "2 frogs"... "1, 2". In effect, he keeps on pointing at the numbers and saying it out loud. After I while, I tried showing to him that we can match the two items.  I demonstrated this by placing the two frogs together at one side of the table and the clovers on the other side.  Unfortunately, he couldn't get the idea.  This is the first time he encountered a matching game so I know that he couldn't grasp the thought at first.  I kept on pairing the frogs and the clovers... but he just grabbed the frog and run away shouting "2!" "2!".

That afternoon, after his nap time, we draw the number 2 on a piece of paper.  I let him held the colored pencil and moved his hand to draw the number 2.  Then I cut out small squares on a piece of green sticker and instructed him to paste it on the paper below the number.  I peeled the sticker; put it on his finger indicating that he should paste it on the paper.  I guided his fingers while he put the sticker, and then we counted "1 square", and then followed by the second square "2 squares".  When we were on our last number 2, he immediately run to his other days and doesn't want to do the counting activity.  He definitely doesn't like the sticking activity and he still has difficulty in pasting the stickers.

 

Friday

Nursery Rhyme: The Little Nut tree
I posted the rhyme on our learning wall, and I kept on reciting it to him every time he plays around the house.  He keeps on pointing to the tree picture that I put beside the poem.  He's not much into the poem, even on the previous poems that we've been reading.  I think the reason for this is that there's not much picture or colors on the printouts that made.  Mavi usually prefers a book and sad to say, English books are scarce in this country :-).

We didn't do any motor skill today for I was not feeling well. Mavi just spent the day doing free-play.  Still, I wasn't able to plan for motor skills activity because I didn't have the time to prepare.  Hopefully by next week, I will be in the mood to do some fun activity with him.

The Geological Times

By now, you all know that my son is into history… the beginning of times.  I’m thinking of feeding this current interest and I find myself introducing topics which are unplanned.