Wolfpack Boys

ABCs

Each week I will add a picture of our letter puppet and song of the week to this post.

(to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Fill, Fill, Fill Your Boat with the Letter A

Ants, apples, and alligators

They all start with A

(to the tune of If You're Happy and You Know It)
If you see the letter B, Shout Hooray!

If you see the letter B, Shout Hooray!

B's for buttons and for bears

And barrettes in your hair
If you see the letter B, Shout Hooray!

I have a little camera that I take around with me
I snap a picture when I find
things that start with C
I take a picture of a cake
and cookies in a jar
I take one of a cow
and a big, shiny car!

Covil Preschool: Day 4

Emphasis-Colors
Book- Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Activity- Combining colors by placing bags of colored water on top of one another
Craft- Making colorful scarves using paper towels, colored water, and straws
Game- Dancing with our colorful scarves
Snack- Crazy Colorful Pie
Letter of the Day- B

Colors

Our Color Wheel

Yellow + Blue= Green

Dripping Drops

Fruity Pebbles Pie

Lazy Daze Festival

Firefighter E

A Ride in Safety Town


Cool Off Tent

A Pi-a-rit! The downpour that soaked us to the bone made us miss the show, though.

Covil Preschool: Days 2-3

Here is a synopsis of what we did last Thurs. and today at CP. I will try to keep up with posts throughout the year. The info will often be very similar on each blog, but I plan to make these into books next year, and would like both children to have the information. While it will be mostly redundant, I will do my best to add unique info ans stories when appropriate. On Thursdays we will be joined by our almost 3yo friend, JC. I'm excited about adding a third student! It made things more interesting on Thursday, and definitely added a dose of reality for the kids!

Day 2:
Emphasis- Shapes
Book- Brown Rabbit's Shape Book
Activity- Shape/Present Game
Craft- Make shape presents like Brown Rabbit
Snack- Brown Rabbits made from all sorts of sugary treats
Game- Planned game didn't work. Resorted to playing with balloons from Book Time, and the kids had a blast. They are still playing with them nearly a week later!
Letter- A, songs and flashcard game
Solo Time- flashcards and library book of his choosing




Day 3:
Emphasis- Alphabet
Book- Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert (During Book Time Eli correctly identified over half of the letters and told me the correct sound for all of the ones he could name. This is up from knowing only 4-5 letters last week!)
Activity- Matching food with the plate labelled with its correct beginning letter
Craft- Make placemats by dipping cut fruits and veggies into paint, and pressing on paper. Will be laminated this afternoon!
Snack- Fruit slices
Solo Time- PUZZLES! Eli has become a puzzle fiend. He spends hours on them almost daily, and does 35 piecers without any help or direction!

Our First Day of School

This morning commenced our new routine of Tuesday/Thursday morning preschool. We used the book Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Cauley as our main source. Our focus was rhyming, and the kids did a great job playing a rhyming game to cement their skills. Rhyming skills are an essential part of learning to read. We read the story, acted it out, played a rhyming game, made a fingerpaint craft, made a fun snack, and ended with a silly parade like the one in the book. The kids were to go and dress up as silly as they could, and come back for a follow the leader parade. This is what Eli came up with, with a little help from his sister.

I wish I could have recorded the giggles that came from Chloe's room as they assembled their costumes. They were absolutely contagious!

During his solo time, I worked on Eli's ABC flashcards with him. He gets very frustrated because he can't seem to learn them without a little work and a few mistakes. Imagine that. Poor guy has my complex when it comes to making mistakes! He is doing great, though, and will have it down in no time, for sure! Overall, the kids LOVED school more than I ever anticipated. If I could have a classroom of children just like them, I would absolutely make a career of being a real teacher!

Summer's (Un)Officially Over

We have had a wonderful summer filled with adventures, vacations, and no less than a dozen "firsts." It was incredibly busy, and blogging was the last thing on my mind. It's funny how we consider summer to be the season of rest, relaxation, and vacation, but it is by far the busiest! When we weren't away from home, we were either washing and packing or unpacking and washing. And those few times when we were home for extended periods we were hopping from pool to party to fun event and back to the pool! I have no intention of recounting everything on the blog, because if I made myself document everything, I would just give up altogether. I made a lovely photo album with beautiful memories of our very first family vacation, and am confident none of us will ever forget it. I will, however, record some of Eli's favorite firsts since firsts are so very important to me.

This summer Eli had his:

first ride on a subway
first ride on a subway while standing

first (and possibly only) ride on a Duck

first overnight camping trip

first Putt-Putt game with Daddy

first ride on a pony

first bike ride

first trip to the Air and Space Museum

first 4th of July fireworks (close enough to actually hear and see!)

first time jumping into the pool with no one to catch him

first family reunion

first wedding

It was such a spectacular summer, and we enjoyed it to the fullest. Now that summer is pretty much past, and everyone around us is preparing to return to the monotonous routines of fall (which I live for, by the way), I decided that we were ready to do the same. Tuesday and Thursday mornings will officially be Home School Preschool at the Covil house. As Eli puts it, I will be his "for real pretend teacher." I have no clear cut curriculum, but I checked out several teacher's books from the library to fill me with good ideas. My desire is to have Eli's phonics down by next summer, and Chloe reading. Although I cringe at the thought of long-term homeschooling, I look forward to spending my last year at home with the children learning and making fun memories together.