Crafts & School Days

Bean Craft

Ali's name on the left... her black bean ant is eating 'hot dogs' and 'plants' and has a happy cloud at the top.

Ben has ants, a spider, a palm tree, a green & white bird, and a cloud...

We all really enjoyed this one!

Ali & I were doing some layered cutting during Ben's nap.

And a highlight of my week... Ben has conquered the potty!! Since taking this picture he has almost filled the chart... good job buddy!!! 2 down, 1 to go.

When they get 10 stickers in a row, they can choose a treat from the 'treat drawer'... usually a mint, a piece of gum, a couple skittles, or a lollipop.

Ali is well on her way to independent reading.
As with Ben's, she has added a few since this was taken too. We are proud of you Ali bug!

While snapping pics for the week, I went ahead and took this of the chore chart. It includes... folding and putting away their clothes, setting & clearing the table, cleaning up books & toys, and emptying the dishwasher. Ben shares in each of these responsibilities except folding clothes. They do not get rewarded for chores... just learning to help take care of the family just like Dad & Mom. Besides right now, they love working along side me... it isn't always easier to have them 'help', but I am always amazed at what they are capable of learning & accomplishing.

Often Ali will ask to dust.

Our supply shelves hold... paints, play clay, puzzles & games, paper, scissors, all marking utensils (baskets hooked to the right side), workbooks, scooping/pouring tub, and Ben's favorite right now, glue.

It is all at their reach so they can learn responsibility... and while my hands are occupied they can still be creative. I don't allow them to say they're bored... once I read that boredom is just laziness of the mind.

If anything is misused on the shelves, they loose the privilege to use the shelves as the consequence.

Atop our shelves is the marker board where Ali's morning copy work is written. She keeps a journal each day where she writes this information in the morning and ....

... an index card holds the afternoon copy work. The index cards hold scripture, sayings or songs, and the 50 states so far.

We are playing around with the abacus right now for math and we have a few workbooks that we use every couple of days, but for 'school', that is about it.

Right now I'm slowly introducing an education routine. My plans are to revamp the schedule this summer for a little more structure this fall.... like with our sight words, grammar, & science. Right now, those are hit & miss and science is just fun things like baking, and little things I find online for kids.