Wednesday, September 30, 2015

How To Be a Good Friend with Mother Goose Time, and She Reads for the First Time!



This week we focused on being a good friend using our Mother Goose Time curriculum. There are so many things that stand out to me about this curriculum, but what really caught my attention this week is that it's not purely academics...There is a HUGE social studies component as well as science. The kiddos can learn the appropriate academic objectives they are working on through play/crafts/interest-based writing and reading, which is truly what it should be in the young years.

One of our lessons was the Sharing Box. 


Tiny B had a perfect opportunity to practice her fine motor skills as she pulled stickers off of paper and placed them on her sharing box. 


Strong B had no problem doing this, but it was more of a challenge for Tiny B. This week her orthopedic doctor emphasized that she needs to build muscles in her hands...so important for a child with cerebral palsy, even a mild case such as hers. 


They loved collecting things that they like from the backyard, such as branches, grass, rocks, and flowers. Part of the beauty of homeschooling is using every opportunity to take to the outdoors! 


They came back inside and sorted their findings, and without me even asking, shared their found items! I didn't even have to prompt them. What an important skill for siblings! 




The Keys to Friendship game had so many levels of skills...counting, letter recognition, color recognition, turn-taking...



I extended the game by having Tiny B give examples of the character trait every time she received a key. My passion in teaching is differentiation, and I just love how Mother Goose Time has such opportunities for this!


They played for an hour and have played so many times since this lesson. I keep each game in a freezer bag and label it. There are lots of games in our arsenal now!


In my last post I explained how I'm just not motivated or crafty enough to find art activity materials for everyday use. Tiny B is going through a feeding tube weaning program which I will write about in future posts. It leaves me exhausted to my core, and therefore having materials GIVEN to me every day is a dream come true! Hooray for more fine motor skills practice and materials that I don't have to hunt down at the store!






I left the best for last...I had the privilege of seeing Tiny B read something for the first time! There were so many reasons for my excitement...The lowest grade that I taught was 3rd, so my students came to me reading for the most part. But the main reason for my excitement is that any time Tiny B does something for the first time, I become somewhat maniacal! The prognosis she was given was not good, and every day I thank God for the miracles He's given to her. 

Tiny B does the Math and More and Literacy and More add-on books, which are for ages 4-6. You can see the total JOY in her face as she reads the three words! Pot. Pig. Parrot! 


She's been reading her F and P book, and her book with the easy decidable/sight words which also come with the program. The pages are colorful and fun.




The kiddos have had a fantastic week of learning, and I cannot wait until we start our new theme next week...Into The Orchard!

Stay tuned for posts about her feeding tube wean. You will be amazed.

*I receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.






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