2012-2013 * * * Change is Good

MALÁKH ACADEMY

The 2012-2013 school year is under way all around the country. With Tot School we like to continue to learn throughout the year. At this age there are no requirements of what has to be done and when it should be done. So we are NOT back to school but continuing our learning with new curriculum ideas and a new school room.

This year we will be combining several different curriculum ideas from the following wonderful ladies who devote their time to sharing with others what has worked for them.

• 1+1+1=1
• Confessions of a Homeschooler
• ABC Jesus Loves Me
• ABC Mouse (This site is great for teaching PC use)

I am excited about our new set up and Bug is too as we can see here from his 2012-2013 school day picture. We have added a learning station for Bug who doesn't like to sit down for very long. Here he can choose to stand up and easily work on his activities. Above the desk is our calendar board. This is where we place our letter of the week (missing this week's letter thanks to a game of hide and seek,) verse of the week, weather chart and principles. We also have added alphabet cards with pictures for the letter sounds. He likes to point out his favorite letter Oo every chance he gets.

Next to his desk area we have what will eventually be his workbox area. Right now it houses additional papers and misc items for both Tot School and Mason's Monarchs (our non-profit). On top of this is where we keep our treasure chest of items for our calendar board as well as our storage boxes for stickers, glue sticks and dot paint. Our library books have found a home here too as they are out of reach of little fingers and much safer this way.

We will continue to use our Tot Tray's for weekly activities. In addition to his Tot Trays we have added discovery bottles, his letter, shape and number puzzles and his stacking pegs have all been placed on his everyday shelves. This are tools that he loves to use all the time and usually asks for as we enter the classroom each day.

Our window sill continues to house weekly books and Bug still has his bean bag chair. We have also added a section for our new Bible in Felt story board. No pictures of this yet but that gives you something to look forward to in the future. So until then...

Goose, Goat, Gnat - Gg Gg Gg

~Bug is 26.5 months old~

So much excitement this week as we completed the upgrades to our classroom (see our New Room post)Bug enjoyed the new setup and some of his new Tot Tools. We have previously used bingo markers for dot paint and they always made such a mess. Bug doesn’t like to get his fingers dirty and we have had the do-a-dot markers on the wish list for awhile. However, I found these really awesome paint sticks that are perfect… and even better I found them at the dollar store. So we used our new dot markers a few times with great joy and concentration.

                          

While we rearranged the room Bug found this sorter that has been on the back shelf for a little while. Each piece has a different texture to match to the board. He did really good with most of them and even called out the colors of the ones he knew.

 

The egg carton continues to find its way into Tot School. This week however, Bug finally discovered that each of the eggs has a little face and their bottom has a shape. We worked on matching up the egg to the correct holder and tried to match up some faces. The faces are a little hard, even for mommy. They are so tiny and faint.

Bug really enjoys identification and matching lately so we expanded on this and matched shapes to their blank spots in this nice lapbook. We also played a letter identification game - sort of like bingo - and Bug was able to identify all the letters we have reviewed and then a few more that are part of his name.

                       

MOM's FAVORITE:

This week Bug got to go to a workshop at Lowe's with his Papa. Usually these are reserved for the older grandsons but since they were building the Shrek carriage Bug got to go and share his love for Shrek. Papa showed him how to use the hammer and although I don't believe any nails were actually hit Bug did keep the hammer on the wood pieces. We even brought a kit home for daddy to do with him later on since daddy works most Saturdays.

Next week is actually the official start of our 2012-2013 session. We are looking forward to our new curriculum/schedule and the excitement it brings to watch this little man grow. So until then…

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here