Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Our Moon Week in K

We thoroughly enjoyed the Moon lessons we did over the past 2 weeks.  It is still taking us a little longer than planned but I'm worrying less about that now as I see how much all of them are learning and enjoying it.   The whole family gets involved in this curriculum, which is just so much fun.  Every time we're out past dark the kids are looking for the moon and spouting off the facts they're learning.  I love it!

This week the Frank Asch moon books were the favorites.  Caroline thought they were adorable (and funny) and we read them over and over.  The little ones loved them too and now I have to work on getting these books out of their bedroom so I can return them to the library.

Caroline did this fun Phases of the Moon sponge painting craft.  I learned about it through the wonderful My Father's World Yahoo group.   Our craft time did get a little tricky when I had to quickly run in the house for a potty training mishap.  I told Caroline to sit tight for a minute but I wasn't specific enough.  I returned to gobs of paint poured out and little paint fingerprints on the wall.  Ugh!





We quickly got back on track and her project turned out beautifully.



I'm pretty certain that the favorite activity was making the Moon Cake.  This great idea came from Erna and her Simply Lapbooks blog.   They rest of the girls watched every bit of what Caroline was doing.  They were fascinated with the craters and the volcanic foam.  I wasn't sure it would taste good after she added the vinegar but it was moist and yummy.



Here is the finished product, complete with moon rocks (marshmallows).




One of the things I tried doing a little more this week was giving the big girls learning time with the twins, Courtney and Claire.  I had books or games set up in their workboxes with a little picture of one or both of the little ones.  It worked out well and I really have to remember to do this more often.  I am still really appreciating the workboxes although I need to get better at timing them the way I would like our schedule to unfold.

                            

Caroline is also learning sign language at our Friday Co-op.  It's a fun class and I love being in there with her.  She teaches her sisters what she learns in class.

                            

Book Basket time has moved beyond just the big girls.  Today I just had to snap this photo when the twins told me it was their book basket time.




Caroline also made a Moon Lapbook.  We worked on the different components throughout the lesson days and just put it together on the last day of the Moon unit.   I will post a picture of her lapbook here too.   We're already a few days into the Leaves lessons so I'm playing catch-up right now.  :)


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you guys had fun! We loved that unit too. I like how you have the flashcards up on the wall, wish we had room for those too. What co-op are you doing this year? I may be looking for a new one next year, I am sure it would be far for us but maybe we could make the trek one day a week! :)

Shannon said...

I love the moon phases. So cute. I know that my kids are going to love this because they already love the moon. A good song for this one would be "Moon, Moon, Moon" by Laurie Berkner. My kiddos l~o~v~e it.

It is such a challenge to incorporate everyone of the kids in with their various interest levels (and potty issues ;l ). That is the thing I struggle with the most. ... and we tried to only paint outside, but that sure does make it hard to do a lot of painting. I hear that Wal-Mart sells some washable liquid tempera in the stationary and supplies section. I bought mine online and they do not wash out, so we can't use them as much.

I think it is great that you are slowing it down and taking time to enjoy it. That is so hard to allow ourselves to do, but that is when the fun and learning really happen! Thanks for sharing!

Whole Hearted Christian Home School said...

Everything looks great! I love the, "Phases Of The Moon" and the "Moon Cake" I can't wait to do that with Jonah!