Bean Name Activity

I have a bit of Mommy Guilt on this one. When Kaden {our oldest} was starting his first, but final year of preschool...he knew all of his letters, the sounds that they made, & how to write his name. Now Preston {our youngest} will be starting his final year of preschool & doesn't really care to learn any of that. He is a little stinker when it comes to what he knows. I will play games & ask him questions, but he will tell me the wrong answer just so that I will leave him alone. Kaden used to love tell us everything that he knew.

I am feeling Mommy Guilt that Preston doesn't know how to write his name {I think!} So, over the next 2 weeks I am going to try to work with him a little more & try to get him to get excited about learning these things.

My niece just started Kindergarten & I saw this cute little project hanging up. I knew that Preston would get a kick out of it. Kaden liked it too! This was a great hands on activity that they didn't need my help. Preston LOVES using the glue all by himself.

All you need it glue, paper, a marker, & beans.

Kaden wrote his own name on his paper with the marker & I wrote Preston's. Then, they traced each letter with glue as we went along. After they traced the letters with glue...they stuck the beans on. Preston was in a great mood & we talked about the letters in his name.

Writing Worksheets

I found a link a while back & bookmarked it, but I have NO idea where I saw it! I have made a few different post about working on sight words & writing. I was going through my bookmarked favorites tonight & found THIS WEBSITE. You can actually MAKE your own writing worksheet. I am going to start making worksheets for Kaden's sight words! What an amazing tool.

Notebooks

For Kaden's birthday, my SIL made a cute notebook. It has come in SO handy when the boys want to draw, write, or color on something other than a coloring book. He loves it & uses it often. He is now using it to write his sight words that we have been working on.



I decided to make Preston one. I bought him a really cheap notebook & used scrapbook paper to cover it. I used stickers & paper embellishments that Preston chose to decorate it. I used regular glue for the main stuff & then I cover it with Modge Podge just to seal it.

Nature Walk

We live in an older neighborhood with a TON of different mature trees. On the way to school we were talking about how all of the leaves look different. All of the leaves are falling on the ground right now. Kaden had a homework assignment to collect a leaf, pine cone, or acorn, so we went on a nature walk to see what we could collect. Preston was picking up handfuls of leaves & Kaden was more selective. We talked about what we had. How leaves from different trees have different shapes & change to different colors. We found berries, seeds, & pine cones. The boys had a great time collecting different items. I had fun getting out of the house & spending some time outside. AND they were learning!!! Head outside & see what you can find before it gets TOO COLD!!!

Sight Words Part 2

Here is one way that we are using our new word strips {see the post below}.

I pull out 5 words at a time & put them up in an area where they can be seen easily & often....for us that is the fridge. You can decide how many you want to do. I try to get at least one of the more difficult words in each group & then some of the smaller easier words. I was thinking of changing the words every couple of days, but over the weekend we have done new words each day. Kaden is so excited & reminds me every morning that he needs new words.



First thing we did was read the words. Then, I had him write each word in his notebook. {I'll post about his notebook tomorrow!} Then, I have him use two to three of the words in sentences & write them down.



Throughout the day, we stop & read the words. If I notice that Kaden is having a hard time on one word more than others...we spend a little more time talking about that word. We also mix up the order once he has got them down...just to give him a bit more of a challenge & make sure that he is paying attention to each word.

This has been working great for Kaden, so I am going to create something for Preston to use.

Sight Words

My little man is now in Kindergarten. They are working on sight words & he is doing great. I found these word strips at the Dollar Tree. I picked up two different packages. One is labeled Pre-Kindergarten & the other is Kindergarten. They come in longer strips & I cut them down. Kaden loves practicing his words. If you have a little one who is learning their words...pick these up. I will be posting a few ideas to do with them.

Preschool Worksheets

I am always on the lookout for great websites with free printables. I came across TLSBOOKS.COM, a website full of printables. There are so many to choose from. The age/grade groups are on the left hand side. Once you select your grade...then scroll down a bit & you have the categories to select from. Kaden's school has been mailing him worksheets & I really wanted Preston to feel included. We have been working on the Preschool & Kindergarten worksheets. The boys love spending a little bit of time doing "homework" & they get special one-on-one time & attention.

I Spy

My Kaden loves the I Spy books. He could spend hours looking through those books. U CREATE posted this great idea from BRASSY APPLE. You make your own I Spy book. I am totally going to do this for Kaden's birthday in August! I just LUV it!


**Photo from Brassy Apple**

Fun with Marshmallows

I do not make it a habit to feed my children marshmallows for a snack, but I saw this somewhere & thought it was such a cute idea. It really got their creative juices flowing!

Here is what you need:


I set everything out on a plate for them & set them loose. Preston had fun sticking marshmallows on the toothpicks. After a little while, he ate every marshmallow as quickly as he could shoved them in his mouth. It was really funny!

Here is Preston playing...

Here is his completed project...


Kaden on the other hand...loved playing & building things. He made a robot, a tank, a canon, & tons of other shapes. Kaden enjoyed eating the marshmallow, too! Preston tried to steal some of Kaden's marshmallows...it was pretty funny!

This is his canon...


Here is Kaden's robot...

Cutting Practice

A little while ago I posted some cutting practice pages. Well, we have come up with the BEST practice ever! Kaden sits down & cuts out the coupons from our Sunday paper. I have noticed such an improvement in his cutting.

Cutting Pages

I have been looking everywhere for pages to help Kaden practice his cutting, but they were all incredibly boring....UNTIL I found this AWESOME website today. Here is the link that will take you to the Wonder Time website. It seems geared toward littler ones. They have a ton of fun things to look at, but if you go into the activities tab it will give you these three options:

Cutting Pages
Crafts
Games

The printables & crafts that I have looked at so far are so cute & fun. There is one where they cut out the fixings for a sandwich & then they can build the sandwich after. There is a cute place mat with a plate, silverware, & napkin that you could print out to go with the sandwich. Another on is animals & a barn. The doors for the barn can open & close. I really think that the boys will get a kick out of them & I hope that your kids will too!

***UPDATE***

Tonight we did the sandwich & placemat printables. I just printed them out in black & white & had the boys color them. Kaden (4 years) did the project all by himself & loved every minute. Preston (2 years) did really well. He practiced opening & closing the scissors & then he just cut the placemat all on his own. He loved it. I printed out a whole bunch of different printables & put them in my filing cabinet for later.