Lindsay's Preschool Lessons - April 12 - 16, 2010

I found the coolest mini-unit study on Currclick.com called From Caterpillar to Butterfly.  It's only $1.99, and worth every penny!!  (No, I'm not a paid advertiser, but I when I like something I let people know about it!)  :) 

I had been waiting to start this particular unit because I really wanted to find my Very Hungry Caterpillar book from a box that has been missing since our move.  Well...the VERY day that I gave up all hope of finding my own copy, and reluctantly decided to purchase another one, I went to our homeschool group's monthly meeting where we were having a Book Swap.  And the very book I needed was on a table labled "FREE"!!!!  Can you believe my luck?  I mean, it's not like the book would have broken the bank anyway, but still!  I never get this lucky!  I was really excited!!  Ok, so it doesn't take much to excite me.  :)  Moving on...

We started with B is for Butterfly.  Then moved on to C is for Caterpillar.   We are now going over the #7, and will move on to the Life Cycle of a Butterfly, Nutrition, Mazes, and Sequencing.  The booklet I downloaded also includes Narration Ideas for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, so that she can explain different concepts to me in different ways, using different mediums like play-doh, crayons, etc.

There are loads of other activities that we have planned that are outlined in the ebook, but I wouldn't feel right posting them on here since they're not my ideas.  :)  I urge you to get this and try it out.  It's small, so it's great for a mini-unit for the week.  :) 

Hope everyone is having a great week!!  :) 

Matching/Memory Game with CUPCAKES!!

For Easter, my mother gave the kiddos each a craft kit (GREAT alternative to giving them more chocolate, by the way).  Trey got a drawing set, Addison got a card making kit, and Lindsay (bless her heart), got a cupcake decorating kit. 

The kit came with a book full of really cool decorating ideas (which she'll probably use when she's a little older b/c they were fairly advanced), a piping bag with all the tips, and a silicon cupcake baking pan. 

When we drove up in the driveway that Sunday night at 9pm (after 3 1/2 hours in the car) , Lindsay was already asking where her apron was.  I promised her that we would get to them on Monday, and that she would be decorating in no time.  Well, we baked Monday night during dinner preparations, but had to let them cool overnight.  FINALLY, Tuesday morning arrived and she was going to decorate those cupcakes if it was the last thing she did!!  I had to beg her to allow me to at least get Addison to school first, and she reluctantly agreed. 
 

She was so excited Tuesday morning when we returned from dropping Addison off at school!  We donned our aprons, and commenced to frosting, sprinkling, (tasting), and decorating!  The sprinkles were flying in every direction!  I'm still picking them out of my hair. 

And as if that weren't enough fun, I had the wild idea of making our time in the kitchen a learning opportunity - not only about baking and proper kitchen procedures, but I wanted to include some of her language lessons into our baking.  So we made this cupcake matching/memory game!  We laid out all the cupcakes on the counter so she could match them up together.  Then, she ate one!  And since she was only allowed to eat one for morning snack and one for after dinner snack, she had to remember which one she ate first so she could eat it's match after dinner.  It was a really cool game that all the kids enjoyed.  :) 

A is for Apple

B is for Bee!

C is for Caterpillar (don't make fun of my deformed caterpillar!)

D is for Dora (who else??)

And our cupcake decorating session wouldn't be complete without a final tribute cupcake for her grandmother, "B" for giving her this lovely gift!! 

 

Thanks B!!!!

Sweet Dreams Spray

Ever had a child who just couldn't go to sleep?  I've had lots of experience with this.  I used to be a preschool teacher, and my own 4 kiddos could spot a monster a mile away.  Here's a little trick I figured out:  Sweet Dreams Spray and Monster-Away Spray!  It's cheap to make, and the kids love it!  (Sweet smelling house is a bonus!)

All you do is find a small spray bottle - the cuter, the better!  The travel size bottles work great because a little goes a long way!  I also love the old-fashioned atomizers.  Just make sure it's never had perfume in it....you don't want your Sweet Dream Spray to turn into a nightmare...bad pun, but I couldn't help it.  Moving on....

Get the spray bottle of your choice, and fill it with water.  Then add a few drops of vanilla, lavender, camomille, or another snooze-inducing scent.  I went to Hobby Lobby and purused through the essential oils section.  We now have Sweet Dreams Spray in vanilla and lavender, and we also have a Monster-Away Spray that has a more woodsy scent. 

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a label person...so of course I like to doll mine up with cute oval labels with pretty script lettering.  But that's just me....lol...

Lindsay's beyond daytime naps now, but when she was smaller, I would make a pallet for her in the floor of her room (not the bed...she would sleep all day if I let her in the bed), put a quiet box fan nearby, and spray a few times around the room, and then one in the air (about 5 feet) above her head....just enough so that she could feel it "kiss" her forehead.  She slept like a baby, and I never heard her complain of nightmares.  It helps a lot with the transition between playtime and naptime, and the subtle scents make falling asleep much easier.