Holy Week In a Glance

Holy week was a very low key.  We tried to keep the TV off as much as possible, and we read many versions of the Passion so that M could be familiarized with what the week was all about - Jesus' last week on Earth, His death and resurrection.  We were hoping to take the kids to Holy Thursday and Good Friday services but R was teething and M's mood was a bit off, so it didn't happen either days.

Resurrection Eggs

We did quite a few of the activities using 2 Teaching Mommies' resurrection egg printables.  We adjusted the amount of eggs a little bit to fit M's age (it is difficult to have 5 eggs that all deal with torture and death for a 3 year old).  All reading were using The Beginner's Bible.  Here's how mine were set up:

Egg 1 - Palm Sunday
Object: A palm leaf cut out of a piece of paper
Bible Reading: pg 427-431
Activity: Jesus & the Donkey Activity and Coloring Page

Egg 2 - Judas Betrays Jesus
Object: 3 dimes
Bible Reading: pg 432, 440-441, 446
Activity: Coloring Page

Egg 3 - The First Eucharist*
Object: a small barbie cup and a cracker
Bible Reading: pg 442-445
Activity: Cleansed by the Blood Activity and Coloring Page
*I just need to stress that in the discussion prompts from 2 Teaching Mommies they talked about it being LIKE the body and blood of Christ, wheras as Catholics, we truly believe that it IS the body and blood of Christ.

Egg 4 - Washing the Feet
Object: a piece of paper towel
Bible Reading: pg 437-439
Activity: None

Egg 5 - Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
Object: a picture of hands praying
Bible Reading: pg. 447
Activity: Bubbles to Heaven Activity & Coloring Page

Egg 6 - Good Friday
Object: a picture of the crucifixtion
Bible Reading: pg 448-452
Activity: Coloring Page

Egg 7 - The Stone in front of the Tomb
Object: a small rock
Bible Reading: pg 453-455
Activity: The Stone and the Tomb Activity

Egg 8 - The Resurecction
Object: an empty egg
Bible Reading: pg. 456-458
Activity: None

We also watched the animated Worthy is the Lamb - found on youtube.  M was not all that interested in it after a while.  It is sort of slow, and again, death is a really hard concept for a child her age to grasp.

We are doing 2 weeks of Easter Activities, so stay tuned for that!

Gardening Weeks In a Glance - 37 & 16 months

We did 2 weeks of gardening activities.  I wish we had had even more time since this was such a fun unit!

Preschool Skills
We used printables from Itsy Bitsy Learners (we downloaded it for free using a special promotion), Home School Creations, and Our Little Monkeys.

Motor Skills/Practical Life
Michaela worked on flower arranging by placing fake flower stems into the holes of a parmesan shaker.

Crafts
M made tissue paper flowers by crumpling pink tissue paper and wrapping green pipe cleaners around them for stems.  It turned out pretty cute.

Sensory/Messy
I gave the kids some planting containers, soil, fake flowers, garden stakes, trowels and cultivators, and watering can and let them play around.

We also planted some marigolds in a small pot.

Books
We read:















Field Trip
We went to our Botanical Gardens with a friend and her kids.  Ok, it was a few days before we started this unit, but it still counts. :)

Misc.
M has been walking around asking us questions as if she is teaching us.  It is pretty cute.  In this picture she brought her daddy some MegaBlocks and asked him to sort them according to color and size.  Too cute!

That's it for this week!  We will be focusing on Holy Week this week and then will do 2 weeks of Easter activities. :)

We'll be linking up to Preschool Corner as well as Tot School.  Visit their websites to find some more great learning activities!

Around Town Week In a Glance - M is 36 & R is 16 months

We did an "Around Town" unit this week, which included learning about the post office, library, grocery store, and restaurant.  I knew I was going to have a super busy week, so this was the perfect unit because it included a lot of independent pretend play or activities that she could work on while I was doing something else.

Monday - Post Office
We read the pages in Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town  that talk about the post office.
We also read Millie Waits for the Mail, a really cute book about a cow and a mail man.

We sorted mail, using index cards w/ our family and friends' names.  I cut little mailboxes out of paper lunch bags and labeled them A-Z and M sorted based on the first letter of their names.

We put "postage" on envelopes.  I put some fake writing in appropriate places on an envelope and then wrote a number in the upper right corner where a stamp goes.  (We used 11-20 since M still has a hard time recognizing those).  M then had to put that number of stickers as "postage".  Using stickers was great motor skills practice as well!

R was feeling left out so I pulled out our mailbox toy and had him practice putting the letters in.

M decided she wanted to send letters to two of her friends that are sick this week, so I pulled out some cardstock, stamps, and stickers and we made a couple of "Get Well Soon" cards.  Then we addressed, stamped, and put in the mailbox together.

Tuesday - Library
We read some great library themed books.















M sorted some of our books various ways, including by subject, size, color, and at one point even by room (potty books went to the bathroom, princess books went to her room of course).

Wednesday - Grocery Store
We went through our weekly ads and M cut and pasted things we needed to buy on an index card.  We went shopping later and she was able to use her special shopping list.

We read:















Thursday - Restaurant
M worked on a great practical life activity - learning how to set a table.  I took some of her pretend kitchen toys and traced them on a piece of aper.  She  put each item in the correct place and then practiced her water pouring skills.

We read:















That's all for this week!  I'm so excited for our Garden Theme next week!

We'll be linking up to Preschool Corner as well as Tot School.  Visit their websites to find some more great learning activities!

Healthy Bodies Week In a Glance - M is 36m & R is 16m

This week was all about keeping our bodies healthy and the professionals that help.  Instead of breaking things up the way I usually do (different types of activities on different days, ie. crafts on Monday, preschool skills on Tuesday, etc.), I did a different "theme" each day.

Monday - Doctors
We used several pieces from the Doctors & Nurses Preschool Pack from Homeschool Creations, including the Shadow Matching, Size Sequencing, Doctor & Nurse Puzzle, and Memory Game.

We played the Cover the BooBoo game from 2 Teaching Mommies using dot bandaids.

We read My Friend the Doctor.
We did some pretend play using a baby doll, medical accessories from M's vet toy, and a white dr. coat (one of my husbands white work shirts).

M played with our Dr. Potato Head

Tuesday - Dentists & Dental Health
We found a gold mine of activities at the Colgate website!  Most of these are take from the Educators-->Teachers tab, but many are on the Parents-->Family Activities page as well.

Fill in the Letter, Help Dr. Bunny Fill His Bag (patterns), Dr. Rabbit & the Plaque Monster Connect the Dots,

We set up Dr. Brushwell's Brushing Chart (Pg 4 of Bright Smile Today Family Take-home) and the B is for Brushing poster in the bathroom to help us keep track of brushing often and correctly.

We also used the Toothbrush Shape Match from 2 Teaching Mommies.

We read:
 The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist
ABC Dentist
Healthy Kids: Taking Care of Your Teeth (I paraphrased ALOT in this one).

Wednesday - Nutrition
We learned about our food groups and the difference between Always Foods and Sometimes Foods with the help of this food pyramid.  M was quite surprised and dismayed that many of her favorite foods were on the Sometimes Foods list!

We did a few of the activities at this neat website, including the Count the Fruit, and Letter Leadoff.

We sorted clipart images of foods that I printed off into the various food groups and then between sometimes and always foods.  I got the idea here.

Thursday - Exercise & Physical Activity
We learned that we have to move around and play alot in order to keep our bodies healthy and to keep our bones strong.  This is a great article if you are looking for ideas on how to stay positive when talking about exercise with young children.

We played the Curious George Monkey Moves game.  Both kids had a blast dancing and moving around!

It was a pretty busy day, so that's pretty much all we fit in, but I'm in the process of working on a new schedule for them, and I'm definitely planning on making sure we do a PE type activity every day!

Friday - Germs
We read the book, Germs are Not for Sharing.

We watched a few Sesame Street videos about washing our hands and sneezing into our elbow.  I found most of them at this link.

We learned the washing hands song.  M usually sticks her hand in the water for like 20 seconds, so hopefully this will help!

That's all for this week!  Next week we will be doing an "Around Town" theme so stay tuned!

We'll be linking up to Preschool Corner as well as Tot School.  Visit their websites to find some more great learning activities!