July Activities Part One: Of Shopping and Home grown foods

Lets go Shopping!  - Dramatic Play / Money / Community Helpers / Math

Needed Items:

• Saved boxes from old groceries
• Saved bags from previous trips to store
• Tables (already had)
• Shopping cart *optional* (already had)
• Pretend Money ($1.00 at Dollar Store)

How To:

• During Nap I placed all of the boxes and empty jugs that I had saved and lined them up on three tables pushed together.
• I placed the money tray and his toy computer with mouse at the front as a register and scanner.
• Placed his toy car at the door and the shopping cart at the entrance of the shop.
• I went shopping first to serve as a basic guide then stepped back and let them take their own trips!
• They had so much fun! 

Here we see Chandler getting into his car with Cassie, his baby. He was careful to buckle her in her car-seat first. He waved and told me he would see me when he got home from the store.

 He had his toy money in his pocket and he showed it to Cassie after he got her in the shopping cart. 

 He took his time picking out all the items he needed from the store. 

 Then it was time to pay for his purchase. 

 All bagged up and ready to go. 

(I know bad green momma! But all my reusable bags were in use!)

 Next it was time for him to be the cashier. He started using the mouse as a scanner on his own. What a great use of creativity!  He also got his art smock to be used as a vest to show he worked there.

 Making change.

 Thank you have a great day!

Where does food come from?  - Science / Community Helpers / Cooking

Needed Items:

• One ear of unshucked corn
• A few pieces of uncut okra
• A few pieces of uncut squash
• A handful of unbroken pole beans.
• A can of each food mentioned above
• Total expense. $3.64

How To:

• I set up the table you will see at nap time. When they woke up we discussed what they thought each thing was and where it had come from. We used our senses to smell, touch and taste the uncooked food and later do the same once our meal was cooked. It was a great chance for open ended questions.

This was the table I had set up. It was a great chance to talk about where food comes from.

 Cutting Okra under -VERY- close supervision.

 I cut the squash since it doesn't give easy like okra. He laughed as some of the squash was smooth and other portions were very rough. He said he liked the smell of it but it felt slimey.

 Shucking Corn! He was so tickled by the silk. He kept asking why the corn grew hair.

TADA! He found the corn! 

 He helped me wash the food and we had all that we prepared for lunch that day! YUM!

Here is my favorite picture of the 4th of July

Chandler's (Almost) 4 - Year Old Assesment

I do not sit down and do worksheets with my son, but I choose to do an assessment every six months to help get an organized look at where he was and where he is and where to aim for the future. It helps me see where he is struggling and gives me the chance to dive into my beloved realm of homeschool blogs, pinterest and other wonderful areas for new games and crafts for us to explore together. He will be four in in 26 days from today so I won't do another on him until he is closer to five. Meep! I can't believe how fast my little one is growing up! Alas, it just makes me cling to our cuddle time more!

I started with a three year checklist to see if he was on point for his age.

THREE YEAR ASSESSMENT 

 JUNE 27th, 2013 

 3 years and 11 months old

Communication:

1.  Follows 2 step unrelated directions -  Always
2. Identifies at least 3 objects from a broad range of categories - Always
3. Identifies objects by the sound they make -  Always
4. Articulates clearly, speech intelligible 80% of the time -  Always
5. Ask Simple Questions - Always
6. Comments on story when being read to -  Always
7. Spontaneously uses sentences of 3 to 5 words - Always
8. Tells first and last time upon request -  Always
9.  Knows family and friends names -  Always
10.  Knows words to short song or rhyme.

Cognitive Skills:

1. Points to 3 shapes - circle, square, triangle. - Always
2. Points to primary colors - red, blue, yellow, green - Always
3. Counts by rote to 10. -  Always
4. Demonstrates concept of one and one more - Always
5. Demonstrates concept of more or less -  Always
6. Looks at books, turning one page at a time, talking about story and picture -  Always
7. Imitates simple blog design produced by teacher (3 part bridges, 5 color train) - Always
8. Engages in symbolic play (chair used as car, can used as hat) - Always
9. Participates during large group activities - Always

Social / Emotional:

1. Gives name of a friend - Always
2. Follows rules without being reminded - Sometimes
3. Takes turns with peers with adult supervision - Always
4. Meets unfamiliar adults comfortably - Sometimes
5. Is helpful  to adults and peers - Always
6. Plays cooperatively with peers with adult help - Always 
7. Can express feelings verbally - Say happy, sad, afraid, angry - Always
8. Is a friendly, happy child -  Always
9. Shows affection toward others, sympathy if someone is hurt- Sometimes
10. Seeks help when experiencing difficulty, when sad or hungry - Always

Self-Help Skills:

1. Uses spoon and fork to eat -Always
2. Uses napkin to wipe mouth spontaneously - Always
3. Undresses self independently - Always
4. Indicated need to use the toilet - Always
5. Toilets independently - Always
6. Uses tissue to wipe nose - Always
7. Operates large buttons and zippers on own clothing - Sometimes
8. Pours from a small pitcher to a come - Sometimes
9. Washes hands with soap and dries - Always
10. Puts on his own coat - Always

Fine and Gross Motor Skills

1. Stands on right foot for 4 seconds - Always
2. Walks down stairs  by alternating feet - Always
3. Stands on left foot for 4 seconds - Always
4. Stacks 10 or more 1 inch blocks -  Always
5. Copies horizontal and vertical lines - Always
6. Draws a circle and cross - Always
7. Hops five feet - Always
8. Walks on tiptoe - Always
9. Throws ball forward -  Always

Going off of this checklist Chandler has mastered everything he should know at three except for a few areas that we are continuing to work on. Because he was doing so well on the three year old checklist, I let him have a run at the Prek - Kindergarden assessment and this is what I found:

FOUR YEAR ASSESSMENT 

 JUNE 27th, 2013 

 3 years and 11 months old

When checking to see if he knew his letters, numbers, or number sounds I pulled them randomly from a bucket so he couldn't just sing the song :-)

Uppercase Letters - ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

Lowercase Letters - abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 

Numbers -  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

Writing the Letters -   All but struggled with v and j 

Child can write 1st name -  Yes -100%

Child can rote count to - 29 

Child can count objects to - 44

Child can write numbers -  1, 7 , 10

Child knows these shapes -  Square, Triangle,Rectangle,Oval,hexagon,pentagon

Letter Sounds - AB-DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST-VW-YZ

The other chart was covering stuff the three year old assessment already did so that information has already been covered. I am super proud of my soon-to-be four year old! Just goes to show that children can learn through life and through play! My next post will be on Tuesday where I cover the rest of our June activities!