The ABC Bunny

Mac has been rowing The ABC Bunny this week.  

She's really enjoyed completing the pre-school activities related to the book!

 Tracing Skills

 Insects versus not insects sort

 To help her self check, I added matching star stickers to the insects/not insects cards. 

Matching "baby" animals with their "mamas"

I hesitated giving her the "words" for the 3-part cards, but she did outstanding matching them up with the correct card.  She did receive a little help from big sister! 

Tracing the alphabet while singing! 

Lastly, she enjoyed listening to The ABC Bunny song!

The ABC Bunny activities can be downloaded at Homeschool Creations! 

Cards For Soliders

This summer, I began brainstorming of ways to incorporate community service into our weekly homeschooling schedule and I really wanted it to be age appropriate for the girls (ages 5 and 3).  While scanning the Internet for ideas, I stumbled upon this blog, Cards for Soldiers, and knew instantly this was perfect for our family!  

Here's the blurb from Cards for Soldiers' blog:

"Cards for Soldiers was started in January 2006 by the a group of friends and scrapbookers on a scrapbooking message board to support our troops deployed to the Middle East. Now a one woman owned Non-Profit Corporation the mission is to send handmade, blank cards to deployed units for the soldiers to use to write to family and friends. It's been a big hit with the soldiers! Please join me in my program to support the troops! Check out the details, schedule and address below. Thank you for encouraging those who put their lives on the line on a daily basis." 

  

The girls had the best time making Halloween cards for our soldiers!  

 This is such a wonderful way to give back to all the men and women who sacrifice their time and family for our freedoms.  And even little ones can help show their appreciation!  

Cards for Soldiers will be accepting Halloween and Thanksgiving themed cards until September 10. 

Dr. Suess's ABC

For Mac's first week of school, we're focusing on the alphabet.  She enjoys all Dr. Seuss books, especially Dr. Seuss's ABC. 

I brought back out the alphabet rice sensory activity, which she loves!

 These jumbo tweezers are great for fine motor skills.

After completing the puzzle, she moved on to scooping the rice from container to container.  These containers are the salad containers from Chick-fil-A...a nice way to recycle and they are perfect for numerous tot school activities too.  Don't forget to bring home the lid too. 

Creating a rice castle for her princess. 

The rice sensory bin kept her busy for over an hour!  If you don't mind cleaning up a mess afterward, it's a must tot school activity!

My girls really like watching their favorite books on YouTube!

First Day of School 2012

 Izzie's First Day of School Interview:

I am 5 years old. 

The yummiest food to eat is: cookies

My favorite show to watch is:  Dora The Explorer

I love when I get to read:  the Bible

The best thing about school is:  having a good time

The worst thing about school is:  nothing

The coolest person on earth is:  Mamma

I am really super good at:  math

My favorite color is:  pink 

The best place in the world to be is:  France 

When I grow up I want to be:  around the world explorer

If I could do one thing all day long it would be:  have fun playdates 

I really, really do not like to eat:  carrots 

My best friend is:  Haven 

Jesus is:  God 

When I was little I use to:  nurse 

Three words that tell about me:  nice, funny, kind 

This year I hope to learn:  Spanish  

Mac's First Day of School Interview:

I am 3 years old. 

The yummiest food to eat is: strawberries

My favorite show to watch is:  Dora and Diego

I love when I get to read:  Brown Bear, Brown Bear

The best thing about school is:  going outside

The worst thing about school is:  nothing

The coolest person on earth is:  Nana

I am really super good at:  riding my bike

My favorite color is:  red

The best place in the world to be is:  Sharp Shopper

When I grow up I want to be:  a mommy

If I could do one thing all day long it would be: going to Sharp Shopper

I really, really do not like to eat:  carrots 

My best friend is: Camdyn

Jesus is:  in the clouds

When I was little I use to:  sleep with my baby dolls

Three words that tell about me: sharing my toys, eating my favorite foods, sharing my pajamas

This year I hope to learn:  how to get healthy

Moments to Remember...

Some of my fondest memories as a child were spending nights under a "blanket tent" at my aunt's house with my brother and cousins!  We had the best time building huge elaborate tents to "camp" in and even talked her into allowing us to build a few outside on the patio...sleeping outside in a blanket tent....priceless!  

Well, let the tradition continue...

Izzie and Mac's first blanket tent! 

Reading bedtime stories by flashlight...inside the blanket tent! 

It's night number 5 and they're still sleeping under the blanket tent!

Picking Leaves

Mac had the best time picking leaves for her caterpillar, her imaginary caterpillar! 

Moments to Remember...

Our little entertainer! 

TOS Review: VocabularySpellingCity

VocabularySpellingCity is an amazing educational website that enables parents to add individualized vocabulary and spelling lists. Children of all ages and learning abilities can use their own personalized lists in a variety of learning activities that help to reinforce and correct spelling and word meaning through fun learning games.

VocabularySpellingCity features: 

• Over 42,000 spelling words with customizable sentences and definitions.
• A REAL person who says each word and sentence.
• Free home pages for parents to save lists.
• Training videos.
• Free printable handwriting worksheets.  
• Free teaching resources with lists and lesson plans.
• Twenty-five games to play online or to print. 
• A free forum and newsletters.   

Many of the features listed above are FREE, but the Premium Membership is the best way to get the maximum benefits of VocabularySpellingCity.  The Premium Membership is only $29.99 per year for up to 5 students in your family.  With membership, you will be able to differentiate instruction for each student, keep record and activity tracking for each student, have full access to all the learning activities, games, and features, and not have to worry with any commercial ads! 

Please, take a few minutes to watch this video about the Premium Membership, as it explains in detail all of the outstanding features of VocabularySpellingCity. 

Izzie has begun a new spelling curriculum and I'm thrilled to incorporate VocabularySpellingCity!  It is the perfect way for her to review the spelling words.    

How Izzie (5 years old) is using VocabularySpellingCity...

She begins the lesson by using the "Teach Me" feature, which says the word, spells the word, then uses the word in a sentence. 

Afterward, she chooses one of the many Premium Activities that help reinforce the specific spelling words. 

Premium Activities

Sometimes, she sneaks in a few games!  Having fun, while learning...equals one happy little girl and one super happy mom! 

Then, she practices writing the spelling words.  With just a quick click of a button, I have printable handwriting sheets for the specific spelling words.  

Lastly, she takes the on-line "Spelling Test", which again says the word and uses it in a sentence.  She simply types the word in the space.  She's only 5 and does get easily frustrated with trying to find the letters on the keyboard.  So, she begins by typing the spelling words, but after a few words and when the frustration kicks in, she spells the words out loud to me and I type in the correct spelling word for her. 

I would recommend the Premium Membership from VocabularySpellingCity!  It's a great supplement with a ton of educational features to reinforce spelling in a fun way!  My favorite features include: 

• Differentiated instruction by creating personalized lists. 
• Games that are specific to each list. 
• Each student can work at his or her own pace. 
• The many printable options. 
• The ability to track progress. 

To see what other Crew Members had to say, click HERE.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a free Premium Membership from VocabularySpellingCity in return for an honest review.