In order to curb some of the behaviors the "bug" has been exhibiting, I have decided to start introduce him to yoga and meditation to relax him before bed.
With his cast on, we'll start with some REALLY easy stretching and avoid the broken arm and once he's in his pj's and in bed, we will do a bit of visualization before letting him say his prayers and go to sleep.
"Let's go on an adventure... But instead of rushing up and out the front door, we'll take a journey into our imagination, a beautiful place in our thoughts. Lying on your bed, stretch you legs out to a comfortable position, resting easy like a doll, gently close your eyes. Although you are staying still and lying in your bed, imagine standing up and walking right out your door onto the beach. Feel the sand between your toes and smell the gentle ocean breeze. Hear the waves crashing slowly onto the shore, and the birds gentle chirp in the sky above you... Find a nice comfortable spot on your imagination beach to sit and watch the waves crash, the birds sing and the sand circle you..Now, nice and relaxed, drift to sleep."
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
ADHD & Med Free
Once you discover your child may (or has been confirmed) to be afflicted with ADHD, the whirlwind CONTINUES! I would say begins, BUT knowing a child with ADHD, the whirlwind had begun YEARS before the diagnoses.
I am a FIRM believe in our natural world, for hundreds of years people survived the SAME afflictions we have today WITHOUT medication, of course this was either because the medication did not exist or the diagnoses did not. REGARDLESS, we survived!
I do NOT like any medication, I find that our bodies were constructed to fight off, pain, discomfort and to some extent illness. I am not a radical-naturalopathic-hairy-hippie-femisnist-christian-homeschooling mom,, . I do vaccinate my children when necessary, Tylenol them when they are ill, and feed them junk WHEN I want too. I just don't take ANY medications myself, or have them prescribed unnecessarily to my family.
We plan to manage our son's ADHD medication free. And here is the plan....
Give shorter lessons and more of them, which makes it easier for children to stay focused. Focus is so limited at this young age anyway!
Acknowledge even partial success and extend approval generously. We have a marble jar that is WONDERFUL!
Compliment even in mid-assignment to encourage continued focused performance.
Make corrections with a light hand. Instead of “try harder next time,” try – I see how hard you tried. Keep up the effort. It’s really paying off.
Lots of smiling, make eye contact with child, or pat him on the back.
Alert child’s attention with phrases such as “This is important.”
Break down longer directions into simpler chunks.
Allow physically hyperactive children out of their seats for FREQUENT movement.
Compliment a child, publicly, at least once daily, on some organizational or attentional task or effort.
Take a moment or two once or twice daily to speak privately; give a two-second pep talk, mention something positive you happened to notice regarding his work, behavior, self-control, focusing, etc.
I am also planning a somewhat Buddy system for cooperative learning both at and above level.
I will not make excuses for him, but rather encourage him strongly to manage his own behaviors and succeed despite the challenges ahead.
I am a FIRM believe in our natural world, for hundreds of years people survived the SAME afflictions we have today WITHOUT medication, of course this was either because the medication did not exist or the diagnoses did not. REGARDLESS, we survived!
I do NOT like any medication, I find that our bodies were constructed to fight off, pain, discomfort and to some extent illness. I am not a radical-naturalopathic-hairy-hippie-femisnist-christian-homeschooling mom,, . I do vaccinate my children when necessary, Tylenol them when they are ill, and feed them junk WHEN I want too. I just don't take ANY medications myself, or have them prescribed unnecessarily to my family.
We plan to manage our son's ADHD medication free. And here is the plan....
Give shorter lessons and more of them, which makes it easier for children to stay focused. Focus is so limited at this young age anyway!
Acknowledge even partial success and extend approval generously. We have a marble jar that is WONDERFUL!
Compliment even in mid-assignment to encourage continued focused performance.
Make corrections with a light hand. Instead of “try harder next time,” try – I see how hard you tried. Keep up the effort. It’s really paying off.
Lots of smiling, make eye contact with child, or pat him on the back.
Alert child’s attention with phrases such as “This is important.”
Break down longer directions into simpler chunks.
Allow physically hyperactive children out of their seats for FREQUENT movement.
Compliment a child, publicly, at least once daily, on some organizational or attentional task or effort.
Take a moment or two once or twice daily to speak privately; give a two-second pep talk, mention something positive you happened to notice regarding his work, behavior, self-control, focusing, etc.
I am also planning a somewhat Buddy system for cooperative learning both at and above level.
I will not make excuses for him, but rather encourage him strongly to manage his own behaviors and succeed despite the challenges ahead.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Home-Made Bread Day
What a great reason to celebrate on November 17th. Find ideas for crafts, games, and other activities.
Crafts to Make:
- Make a collage by cutting out pictures of different breads and grains out of magazines.
- Try this Bread Painting Activity.
- Make creations using this Bread Clay Recipe.
- Make a Chef Apron.
- Make a Bird Feeder out a piece of bread.
Other Things To Do:
- Bake Bread!
- Visit a bakery.
- Set up a dramatic play area depicting a bakery.
- Talk about different shapes and textures of breads (for example, bagels, tortillas, bread sticks, pocket bread, etc.)
- Compare the tastes and textures of different kinds of bread.
- Make some Bread Pudding!
- Learn about the kids' food guide pyramid.
Teddy Bear Poem
A poem for your Teddy Bear
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy bear turn aroundTeddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground.Teddy Bear touch the ground
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, show your shoe.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do.
Teddy Bear run upstairs Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say your prayers.Teddy Bear saying prayers
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn out the light.
Teddy Bear sleepingTeddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say “Good night.”
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Balloon Day
Tomorrow is National Balloon Day and in honor of such…
Balloon Vampire Bat
Get two black balloons. Inflate one of the balloons fully; inflate the second only half way. Duct tape the tied ends of the balloons together so they form the body of a bat. Instruct the child to cut out two oval eyes and two triangular fangs from white construction paper. Have her cut two small pupils to sit in the center of the bat’s eyes, two triangular ears and a pair of wings out of black construction paper. Assist her in attaching these features to the body of the bat with black duct tape. Use the tape to attach a ribbon where the balloons meet. Attach the ribbon’s other end where you’d like the vampire bat to hang.
Balloon People
After your kindergartner chooses a balloon, inflate it. Direct the child to form a face by decorating the balloon with markers or stickers. Cut out a base shape to resemble a pair of feet from construction paper. Ask the child to color and decorate these feet with markers. Place a small hole in the center of the feet-shaped base, and thread the tied end of the inflated balloon through the hole. If the balloon does not stand up correctly, tape a coin to the bottom of the feet to balance it.
Balloon Octopus
Cut up several colored drinking straws into 1-inch lengths. Direct your kindergartner to thread these straws over eight separate pieces of string. Tie a bead at the end of each string to prevent the straws from falling off. Next, inflate a balloon. Assist the child in taping the strings around the balloon to act as arms of the octopus. He can then draw a face on the balloon to complete this fun octopus.
Balloon Bean Bags
Blow up a balloon to stretch it, then allow it to deflate. Attach a funnel to the balloon neck, then allow your child to pour in dry lentils until the balloon is completely full. Tie the neck of the balloon in a knot, then cut off any excess. Get a second deflated balloon. Cut off the neck completely and throw this away–making sure to save the bottom half. Using the bottom half of the second balloon, stretch it over the lentil-filled balloon. Make sure you are covering the knot you tied on the first balloon. Add more layers for extra security.
Hot Air Balloon
Place two long pieces of ribbon crosswise on a flat surface. Tie a knot where they meet. As your child to decorate a paper cup with paints or markers. It will act as the hot-air balloon’s basket. Pierce four equidistant holes around the paper cup’s rim. Thread the four ribbon ends through these holes and fasten with knots. Position an inflated balloon inside the ribbons. Glue the ribbons to the balloon surface to fasten.
Preschool Art
Have the children decorate blown-up balloons at the art table. Balloons can be decorated with glue and sparkles, beads, or other colouful shiny items. Have children use items of their choices as well. A list of Art-Shelf ideas can be found in our online E-Book available on our site.Once dried, the childrens’ balloon creations can be hung around the room. Or you can paper mache newspaper strips over the balloons and have children decorate them once dried. Pop balloons inside mache and pull out. Their balloon creations will never deflate.
Preschool Math
Keep a record and count how mant days it takes for the balloons to deflate. Count how many balloons you are waiting to deflate.
Science Experiment
Blow up a few different shapes of balloons. Place balloons side by side on top of a shelf but still visible to the children.If needed, tape or sticky tack to surface to prevent the balloons from falling or being blown around. Record how long it takes for the balloons to start to deflate.Does one balloon deflate faster than another? Have children draw pictures of what they see happen as the balloons deflate.
Sensory Activity
Once the balloons are deflated, place them in a sensory bin with other balloons. The other balloons can be filled with air, water, rice, popcorn kernels, oatmeal, etc.
Let the children FEEL the difference in the balloons;HEAR the sounds they make; SEE the difference in size, shape and colour and SMELL the balloons (4 out of 5 senses used)
Balloon Vampire Bat
Get two black balloons. Inflate one of the balloons fully; inflate the second only half way. Duct tape the tied ends of the balloons together so they form the body of a bat. Instruct the child to cut out two oval eyes and two triangular fangs from white construction paper. Have her cut two small pupils to sit in the center of the bat’s eyes, two triangular ears and a pair of wings out of black construction paper. Assist her in attaching these features to the body of the bat with black duct tape. Use the tape to attach a ribbon where the balloons meet. Attach the ribbon’s other end where you’d like the vampire bat to hang.
Balloon People
After your kindergartner chooses a balloon, inflate it. Direct the child to form a face by decorating the balloon with markers or stickers. Cut out a base shape to resemble a pair of feet from construction paper. Ask the child to color and decorate these feet with markers. Place a small hole in the center of the feet-shaped base, and thread the tied end of the inflated balloon through the hole. If the balloon does not stand up correctly, tape a coin to the bottom of the feet to balance it.
Balloon Octopus
Cut up several colored drinking straws into 1-inch lengths. Direct your kindergartner to thread these straws over eight separate pieces of string. Tie a bead at the end of each string to prevent the straws from falling off. Next, inflate a balloon. Assist the child in taping the strings around the balloon to act as arms of the octopus. He can then draw a face on the balloon to complete this fun octopus.
Balloon Bean Bags
Blow up a balloon to stretch it, then allow it to deflate. Attach a funnel to the balloon neck, then allow your child to pour in dry lentils until the balloon is completely full. Tie the neck of the balloon in a knot, then cut off any excess. Get a second deflated balloon. Cut off the neck completely and throw this away–making sure to save the bottom half. Using the bottom half of the second balloon, stretch it over the lentil-filled balloon. Make sure you are covering the knot you tied on the first balloon. Add more layers for extra security.
Hot Air Balloon
Place two long pieces of ribbon crosswise on a flat surface. Tie a knot where they meet. As your child to decorate a paper cup with paints or markers. It will act as the hot-air balloon’s basket. Pierce four equidistant holes around the paper cup’s rim. Thread the four ribbon ends through these holes and fasten with knots. Position an inflated balloon inside the ribbons. Glue the ribbons to the balloon surface to fasten.
Preschool Art
Have the children decorate blown-up balloons at the art table. Balloons can be decorated with glue and sparkles, beads, or other colouful shiny items. Have children use items of their choices as well. A list of Art-Shelf ideas can be found in our online E-Book available on our site.Once dried, the childrens’ balloon creations can be hung around the room. Or you can paper mache newspaper strips over the balloons and have children decorate them once dried. Pop balloons inside mache and pull out. Their balloon creations will never deflate.
Preschool Math
Keep a record and count how mant days it takes for the balloons to deflate. Count how many balloons you are waiting to deflate.
Science Experiment
Blow up a few different shapes of balloons. Place balloons side by side on top of a shelf but still visible to the children.If needed, tape or sticky tack to surface to prevent the balloons from falling or being blown around. Record how long it takes for the balloons to start to deflate.Does one balloon deflate faster than another? Have children draw pictures of what they see happen as the balloons deflate.
Sensory Activity
Once the balloons are deflated, place them in a sensory bin with other balloons. The other balloons can be filled with air, water, rice, popcorn kernels, oatmeal, etc.
Let the children FEEL the difference in the balloons;HEAR the sounds they make; SEE the difference in size, shape and colour and SMELL the balloons (4 out of 5 senses used)
Friday, September 23, 2011
Academic
MATH
An ability-appropriate level math textbook for each child. 4 days per week. — I am completely against math texts for young children, instead I would recommend a workbook, or series of worksheets.
Drill work on math facts, 3-10 min/day, 5 days per week (while learning math facts). — Starting as simple as rout counting.
Math reading: Each Friday or 2nd Friday of the month, as needed.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Phonics: (for beginning readers), daily.
Handwriting: (while learning penmanship), 2 days per week, Tuesday & Thursday.
Spelling: Monday, Wednesday & Friday. —To begin only AFTER ‘cvc‘ words have begun to be mastered.
Grammar: 2 days per week, Tuesday & Thursday.
Reading Practice and Literature: (read-alouds, personal reading, fluency reading, vocabulary development, reading comprehension, american and world literature) daily, integrated into other subjects.
Composition: 2 – 3 days per week, Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Use compositions to reinforce grammar instruction as well as for additional handwriting practice while your child is learning penmanship. —-NOT until fluency in reading is established.
Vocabulary: daily integrated into reading/literature, as well as other subject areas as needed.
HISTORY/CITIZENSHIP
Use a grade-level history (textbook daily or) complete 3 to 6 history history units per year. If doing units, spend 1-1/2 to 2 hours per day, 2 days per week (Tuesday and Thursday) for 36 weeks, incorporating reading, hands-on activities, art, music, and composition, as appropriate.
Integrate citizenship into history curriculum or complete one or two special classes per year.
Geography and Mapping Skills: Mondays
Current Events: daily
SCIENCE
Use a grade-level science (textbook daily or) complete 3 to 6 science science units per year. If doing units, spend 1-1/2 to 2 hours per day, 2 days per week (Monday and Wednesday) for 36 weeks, incorporating reading, hands-on activities, lab work, art, music and composition, as appropriate.
ART
Each Wednesday, as needed.
MUSIC
Each Monday, as needed.
COMPUTER SKILLS
Each Saturday and/or integrate into other subjects, as needed.
Keyboarding: daily (after child has learned to write in cursive and until he can type a minimum of 40 wpm with only 1-2 errors).
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Keep track of 75 minutes of physical activity per week.
Attend one or two special classes on Tuesdays, as needed.
HEALTH/SAFETY
Integrate into science curriculum.
ELECTIVES:
Bible: daily
Foreign Language: briefly integrate into lessons daily, as needed.
Field trips: Fridays or occasionally substitute for Monday – Thursday school day, as needed.
Social Activities: daily play time with friends after school, during field trips, Fridays, special classes, or weekends
An ability-appropriate level math textbook for each child. 4 days per week. — I am completely against math texts for young children, instead I would recommend a workbook, or series of worksheets.
Drill work on math facts, 3-10 min/day, 5 days per week (while learning math facts). — Starting as simple as rout counting.
Math reading: Each Friday or 2nd Friday of the month, as needed.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Phonics: (for beginning readers), daily.
Handwriting: (while learning penmanship), 2 days per week, Tuesday & Thursday.
Spelling: Monday, Wednesday & Friday. —To begin only AFTER ‘cvc‘ words have begun to be mastered.
Grammar: 2 days per week, Tuesday & Thursday.
Reading Practice and Literature: (read-alouds, personal reading, fluency reading, vocabulary development, reading comprehension, american and world literature) daily, integrated into other subjects.
Composition: 2 – 3 days per week, Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Use compositions to reinforce grammar instruction as well as for additional handwriting practice while your child is learning penmanship. —-NOT until fluency in reading is established.
Vocabulary: daily integrated into reading/literature, as well as other subject areas as needed.
HISTORY/CITIZENSHIP
Use a grade-level history (textbook daily or) complete 3 to 6 history history units per year. If doing units, spend 1-1/2 to 2 hours per day, 2 days per week (Tuesday and Thursday) for 36 weeks, incorporating reading, hands-on activities, art, music, and composition, as appropriate.
Integrate citizenship into history curriculum or complete one or two special classes per year.
Geography and Mapping Skills: Mondays
Current Events: daily
SCIENCE
Use a grade-level science (textbook daily or) complete 3 to 6 science science units per year. If doing units, spend 1-1/2 to 2 hours per day, 2 days per week (Monday and Wednesday) for 36 weeks, incorporating reading, hands-on activities, lab work, art, music and composition, as appropriate.
ART
Each Wednesday, as needed.
MUSIC
Each Monday, as needed.
COMPUTER SKILLS
Each Saturday and/or integrate into other subjects, as needed.
Keyboarding: daily (after child has learned to write in cursive and until he can type a minimum of 40 wpm with only 1-2 errors).
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Keep track of 75 minutes of physical activity per week.
Attend one or two special classes on Tuesdays, as needed.
HEALTH/SAFETY
Integrate into science curriculum.
ELECTIVES:
Bible: daily
Foreign Language: briefly integrate into lessons daily, as needed.
Field trips: Fridays or occasionally substitute for Monday – Thursday school day, as needed.
Social Activities: daily play time with friends after school, during field trips, Fridays, special classes, or weekends
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Scheduling for Homeschooling
A traditional school year is five to six hours a day, 5 days a week for 36 weeks or 180 days.
As a home-schooling family, we could have chosen to follow the same schedule of the local school, but we chose to customize a schedule to suit our family’s needs.
According to the state of Connecticut, we do not have to do every subject every day of the school year.
I have been struggling with the amount of activities in which to enroll my children and just beginning to face the realities that I do not have to enroll my children in every class or outside activity that their/my friends do.
I have decided to enroll each child in in only one pay activity per week. Of course I will schedule play dates and the like, and invite other children to sit in some of our activities and lessons, but I do not want these things to interfere with the educational purpose of home schooling.
Our Fridays will continue to be left for field trip days whereas, Monday through Thursday will hold the highest concentration of academic study. I do however, plan on teaching some things on Fridays and Saturdays.
I am such a planner that I cannot help myself about planning out everything. Of course, I do not anticipate a play-by-play daily run-down, but I will specify subject area topics for each day.
The amount of time spent on each subject depends upon the age, small motor skills, learning style, and abilities of each child (ranges as follows: 3-5 minutes for preschoolers, 10-20 minutes for 1st -3rd graders, 20-45 minutes for 4th – 6th graders, 45 minutes or more for 8th – 12th graders). Although Jonathan is at a preschool age, his attention-span, learning style and abilities enable lessons to run approximately 10-15 minutes.
The total number of hours spent each day in one-on-one instruction ranges as follows: thirty minutes in Kindergarten (broken up into several five-minute sessions), one to two hours in grades 1 – 6, two hours or more in grades 7 – 12. Again, more can be accomplished orally than handwritten for children with handwriting difficulties. In our planning, our TOTAL home-schooling daily agenda is two hours — which conveniently is the amount of nap-time for the baby.
The remainder of our school day is spent in independent book exploration, free play activities with his siblings and friends, complete own “chores”, exploring an instrument, create an art projects, and/or participate in any other activity that can be done independently. The television and computers are not available during the school day, and are limited to ninety minutes weekly, other than for educational purposes.
Some states require an excess of four to five hours of home schooling daily, thankfully Connecticut is not one of them. However there is a difference between “actual teaching time” and “school attendance” time.
As a home-schooling family, we could have chosen to follow the same schedule of the local school, but we chose to customize a schedule to suit our family’s needs.
According to the state of Connecticut, we do not have to do every subject every day of the school year.
I have been struggling with the amount of activities in which to enroll my children and just beginning to face the realities that I do not have to enroll my children in every class or outside activity that their/my friends do.
I have decided to enroll each child in in only one pay activity per week. Of course I will schedule play dates and the like, and invite other children to sit in some of our activities and lessons, but I do not want these things to interfere with the educational purpose of home schooling.
Our Fridays will continue to be left for field trip days whereas, Monday through Thursday will hold the highest concentration of academic study. I do however, plan on teaching some things on Fridays and Saturdays.
I am such a planner that I cannot help myself about planning out everything. Of course, I do not anticipate a play-by-play daily run-down, but I will specify subject area topics for each day.
The amount of time spent on each subject depends upon the age, small motor skills, learning style, and abilities of each child (ranges as follows: 3-5 minutes for preschoolers, 10-20 minutes for 1st -3rd graders, 20-45 minutes for 4th – 6th graders, 45 minutes or more for 8th – 12th graders). Although Jonathan is at a preschool age, his attention-span, learning style and abilities enable lessons to run approximately 10-15 minutes.
The total number of hours spent each day in one-on-one instruction ranges as follows: thirty minutes in Kindergarten (broken up into several five-minute sessions), one to two hours in grades 1 – 6, two hours or more in grades 7 – 12. Again, more can be accomplished orally than handwritten for children with handwriting difficulties. In our planning, our TOTAL home-schooling daily agenda is two hours — which conveniently is the amount of nap-time for the baby.
The remainder of our school day is spent in independent book exploration, free play activities with his siblings and friends, complete own “chores”, exploring an instrument, create an art projects, and/or participate in any other activity that can be done independently. The television and computers are not available during the school day, and are limited to ninety minutes weekly, other than for educational purposes.
Some states require an excess of four to five hours of home schooling daily, thankfully Connecticut is not one of them. However there is a difference between “actual teaching time” and “school attendance” time.
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