Teaching Tuesday: COUNTING down to Christmas

I love using the calendar to teach basic skills.  It is full of teaching opportunities.  For the month of December I have added something to our "Calendar Time".  It is a Christmas tree that needs decoration.  Each day we will find the number of the date and cover it with an ornament.  This will reinforce what we are working on during our math lessons and be a fun way to count down to Christmas.  To make this countdown I used the free print out here.  I printed it on card stock so it would hold up throughout the month (remember a 4 and 2 year old will be the ones using it).  Then I glued the Christmas Tree onto red construction paper.  Then I punched out the circles using a circle punch.  If you don't have a circle punch you could cut them by hand.  I placed them in a baggie.  I then hung the tree and circles next to our calendar.  You can find a similar idea here that uses sight words and stars. Check back next Tuesday for more ideas on how to use the calendar to teach important math and language skills.

Thankful

I am so thankful for a little girl with bed head and breakfast on her face, still able to pull off some bling (see the one earring).

I am thankful for a baby boy who still looks handsome in a spit up covered bib and faux-hawk.

I am thankful for a big brother who is learning new things everyday and growing up way too fast.

 I am thankful for a husband that is very understanding when the roast is left in the van instead of being placed in the fridge, the chicken lasagna is left un-made, and allows his wife to spend the day Christmas shopping with her mom.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Teaching Tuesday: Rewarding

I have to be honest homeschooling has not been the easiest thing on my to do list the last two months.  After bringing home Levi, I was scheduled for umbilical hernia repair surgery.  It was scheduled two days before Levi turned 6 weeks old.  The surgery went well and Levi only had one pumped bottle and I was back to nursing him.  The recovery from the aforementioned surgery was much more then I expected so about all I got done for a week after was nursing Levi (and watching lots of HGTV).  I am so thankful for my husband and mother who pitched in to cover the other duties I was leaving undone...except for school.  I had to redo my sketched out plan for the year as we were at least a week behind.  So between adjusting to our new addition and recovering from surgery, juggling school has been tricky, but we have pushed ahead.  It hasn't been without rewards either.  This week Landon sounded out whole words for the first time and his face lit up with excitement.  Elaine has been doing lots of pre-reading "things".  She recognizes letters on things and "reads" them.  She also loves to "read" books to Levi.  I think she is going to be more like me in that reading just clicks for her.

All of these things have been rewarding but I have to tell you they weren't the things at the top of my list as I sat down to reflect on these last few weeks of homeschooling.  It was over hearing Elaine sing "God is so Good" which we had just learned that morning during our school time.  That simple song is filled with so much truth.  

God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good,
He’s so good to me!

He cares for me,
He cares for me,
He cares for me,
He’s so good to me!

I love Him so,
I love Him so,
I love Him so,
He’s so good to me!

I praise His Name,
I praise His Name,
I praise His Name,
He’s so good to me!

 

As a child I also sang a "He answers prayers" verse.  It was so sweet to hear her singing these truths.  I also had a very good conversation with Landon about what happens when people don't trust in Jesus.  This wasn't a scheduled or planned lesson, it just sprang from some questions he was asking on the way home from the grocery store.  Academics are important to me.  I want my children to have the skills they need to accomplish whatever God calls them to vocationally, but I know it is all in vain if I don't take the time to point them to Christ first.

 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  

Psalm 106:1