Science Lab: Living or Non-Living

Hi! I'm Leslie- a homeschooling momma to a 5 year old girl and 20 month old boy.  The 2 are as different as night and day.  I share our adventures here to both inspire learning at home and chronicle our lives, because honestly, I never started the baby books and my kids will just have to look back on their childhood through this blog... ha! #keepinitreal

It's Biology week with Mother Goose Time!

Our week started with Living and Non-Living things. 

The Community Challenge question: "What do you think you need to live?" really solidified some discussions we've been having at home anyway.

Anyone else's kid saying, "Momma, I wish I had...." or "Momma, I want a..."

Not gonna lie... I've been singing an oldie but a goodie that my momma sang to me whenever I started a case of the "I wish I had..." or the "I wants..."

I sing the chorus to You Can't Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones.

My girl now sings that chorus all the time. LOL! 

Anyway, we had great discussion about what we truly need to survive .  We made hand motions for the main things we need to survive: 

food, water, oxygen, clothes, and shelter.

MGT sent 2 activities: a Is It Living? question board (with yes' and no's) and a sorting activity called Living/ Non-living Sort.  I combined the two activities.  Using the cards from the sorting activity, I had my daughter answer the questions from the Is It Living? question board.  By doing this, she could determine if something was living or non-living.

After sorting many of the cards, we ventured outdoors to find living and non-living things.  

I grabbed my giant Newsprint paper pad (that I hadn't used since taking art in college, but it has been the most helpful pad of paper lately!), a few crayons off the floorboard of my car, and had my girl look around outdoors.

Some items she found on the ground, some she saw, but all of them she sorted between living and non-living.  I just had to do the writing. 

As we were looking around, she came across this Katydid on one of our zinnias.  I thought it was a grasshopper honestly, but a friend of mine pointed out that it was actually a Katydid.

They are similar to grasshoppers, but the cool thing about this particular Katydid, is we've seen her before!  She has been in our garden quite a few times always perched on this particularly orange zinnia.

Avaleigh watched her new found friend for quite some time.  My daughter tried very hard to coax her new friend on to a stick but to no avail.  That Katydid was not wanting anything from my girl.

Taking time to observe and play in nature is one of the things I really want to instill in my children.  There is something that just makes me feel so good when I can step outside in the sunshine and just breathe in His goodness.

Hoping you get to breathe in some of that this week! 

Have fun with those littles! They won't be little for long I am finding out.

Science Lab: Exploring Sounds

Hi! I'm Leslie- a homeschooling momma to a 5 year old girl and 20 month old boy.  The 2 are as different as night and day.  I share our adventures here to both inspire learning at home and chronicle our lives, because honestly, I never started the baby books and my kids will just have to look back on their childhood through this blog... ha! #keepinitreal

Our schoolroom has turned into a Science Lab this past month with our Mother Goose Time curriculum.  This past week we explored Physics and had so much fun on our Sound Day.  

Our Day started with singing and dancing during our Community Challenge.

Watching my son stomp around and laugh gleefully was such a joy for this momma's heart.  I love when he gets involved with our learning.

We then made a string phone.  I have to admit .... I kinda did an "ugh" sigh when I saw this in the lesson plan.  Whenever I have done these in the past, it just hasn't turned out great, but I learned something new!!! Please allow me to share...

All you need are 2 paper cups and some yarn.  Punch a small hole through the bottom of the 2 cups and push the yarn through the hole and tie the end.  You have a string phone.  Now here's the kicker (maybe some of you already know this, but I didn't)....

You have to make sure the string it taut!  If it is loose between you and the person on the other end, the sound will not travel well.  Also, when placing the cup to your ear, have it kind of angled up towards your ear.  This allows the sound to not seem so muffled.   It took some experimenting to figure this out but that's what you do in the Science Lab: experiment!  

We played with our string phones for a long time!  We took turns asking each other questions through the phone and answering back.  It really was a lot of fun, and my girl took her phone with her everywhere the rest of the day.

My son on the other hand had lots of fun chewing on the cups. 

We ventured outside to listen to the Sounds of Nature.

There are so many birds, and you can hear each making their distinct call.  We might not know which bird is which but my girl could point out that the bird chirping was different than the last.

We could hear the water sprinklers going, water dripping, birds chirping, and cicadas making their sounds. 

While I prepped lunch, I gave them an assortment of baskets turned into guitars with the help of some big rubber bands.  This was our STEAM Station for the day. 

They had fun plucking the strings and seeing which sounds they created.

Our day ended with a symphony of Egg Shakers.  I just grabbed ones I made back at Christmas, and we just danced arounds shaking our eggs.  Some eggs are loud (filled with beans) while some are soft (filled with sugar) but they have been loved and played with for a long time.  

You can read about how I made them here.

Our week of Physics science lab started with studying Sound, but we also enjoyed experimenting with light, force, friction and gravity as well.  All of which will be amazing as we cover Physics in Classical Conversations this fall. 

Have fun experimenting my friends! 

Science Lab: Exploring Our Senses

Hi! I'm Leslie- a homeschooling momma to a 5 year old girl and 20 month old boy.  The 2 are as different as night and day.  I share our adventures here to both inspire learning at home and chronicle our lives, because honestly, I never started the baby books and my kids will just have to look back on their childhood through this blog... ha! #keepinitreal

Three years ago we started our homeschool journey with Mother Goose Time.

We started with this box- the Science Lab.

A lot has changed including some of the activities.  I actually blogged about doing this particular activity 3 years ago, and here it is again but with new graphics and twists on the activity from long ago. Here's how it went to you can try it today with your littles.

Scientists use their 5 senses to make observations; it's actually called "Qualitative Observations."

My scientist and her research partner (little brother, Everett), explored all sorts of items we had around the house using their 5 senses.

However, first things first... read a book.  Today I chose My Five Senses by Aliki.

As we read the book, the scientists pointed to that particular body part.

When talking about smelling, my kids  researchers pointed to their noses.

After reading the book and poking at all sorts of body parts, I cut out the 5 Senses Cards provided from MGT.  I laid them in front of my older scientist.  She would grab an item from the tray of research materials (aka anything you can find around the house), and then decide which sense she used when making observations of that object.  She would move the card if she used that sense.

For example, with the banana, she used all her senses except hearing.  

observing a banana

Observing how this candle smells... mmmm...... gardenias!

You can't have an observation day without SLIME.

Don't forget sound!  Grab those bells you have hidden in your cabinet!  That's where mine are and where they will be returning soon. Ha! #truth

We had so much fun with this activity!  It was a perfect one to coincide with snack time too.  Get those taste buds working!   My favorite part was watching her really chew her goldfish slowly, trying to think of words to describe what was going on in her mouth.

The scientists favorite parts:  eating the banana or ringing those bells over and over again.

Stay tuned for more adventures this month as we revisit the Science Lab!

Math with Mixed Ages

Hi! I'm Leslie- a homeschooling momma to an almost 5 year old girl and 19 month old boy.  The 2 are as different as night and day.  I share our adventures here to both inspire learning at home and chronicle our lives, because honestly, I never started the baby books and my kids will just have to look back on their childhood through this blog... ha! #keepinitreal

Homeschooling is tough with toddlers.
They're into all the things.  All of them.
I've tried to do our schooling when he naps, but it's hard when that is the time to get dinner, chores, and a few moments to reheat the morning cup of coffee...again.

I have loved how active our Mother Goose Time games are and how easy it is to incorporate my 19 month old rambunctious son with my cautious and studious little girl.  Flexibility. 
Teaching is always about flexibility.

As we observed Monet's Haystacks, we did an animal search and match math game.

I layed out 6 animal cards face down, and folded their matches placing them in a basket filled with "hay."  My son's task was to pull a card from the hay, and my preschooler had the task to find its' match from the upside down cards.  It challenged her memory and built up his sensory experiences. 

Our Pointillism day was inspired by A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat.

While observing the painting, I asked my girl:

"What stands out to you?' "How did the artist make this painting?" 

"What kind of weather are they experiencing?"

She pointed out the umbrellas as something that stood out to her.  Our math game suggested a parachute or sheet to hide button on, but with just the 3 of us, I used an actual umbrella to make this game work.

My son threw the foam die with pictures of our monthly manipulatives, buttons, on them.  He loves to throw all the things, so he threw the die, and my preschooler would climb under the umbrella to find the corresponding buttons.

We counted all the buttons she gathered (21) and then I let her create pictures with her buttons, just like Seurat used dots to make his masterpiece.

So thankful for Mother Goose Time and the ease I have to play and learn with my kiddos.
Hoping next school year will be just as easy as we venture more towards Kindergarten


Happy Learning!

Inspired by Monet

 Hi! I'm Leslie- a homeschooling momma to an almost 5 year old girl and 19 month old boy.  The 2 are as different as night and day.  I share our adventures here to both inspire learning at home and chronicle our lives, because honestly, I never started the baby books and my kids will just have to look back on their childhood through this blog... ha! #keepinitreal

Bon Jour! Today we traveled to France, made the French flag, learned a few new words in French, toured a bridge in our local native plant center, and created our own landscapes inspired by Claude Monet all thanks to our Mother Goose Time preschool curriculum!

Our day started out by finding France on our blow up globe from MGT.

After my daughter found it, we learned the words "Bon Jour!" and "Au Revoir" 

and practiced saying it and waving to imaginary friends out of our window.

We then compared the French flag to the Italian flag (which we learned about last week).  

Using torn paper and glue, my girl created the flag of France and I placed it on our wall.  

We had a beautiful picture provided from MGT of Monet's Garden in Giverny  .

Looking at this bridge inspired me to take my kiddos on a quick field trip to a local bridge that once overlooked a pond.   It's dried up now, but the ground is so fertile it has now transformed into a garden of the native plants of our area.  While we walked along the bridge, the children pointed to flowers, chased butterflies, and inspected plants.  

Although we didn't see any lily pads, we had a wonderful time exploring 

what God has graced us with here. 

When brother went down for his nap, my daughter and I headed to the table to make our own 

Water Lily Pond.  MGT supplied us with everything! Even this amazing bridge cut out.  The only supplies I brought to the table were scissors, glue, and crayons. 

I asked my daughter to study Monet's Garden in Giverny asking her:

-What colors do you see? 

-What things are pink? green? blue?

-How will you use your blue paper? green paper? What about the tissue paper?

-Will you make your own bridge or use the cut out?

Then we got to work.  I say we because I could NOT WAIT to use these materials to make my own artwork! :)   She drew a lily pad on her tissue paper and included a flower on it.  She needed a little help cutting it out which I did, but she also cut out some of it. 

I didn't take tons of pictures of the process since I was working on my artwork alongside her.

We did have great conversation!  She told me about the dead tree she was drawing, but that it could still produce orange apples.  The pond inspired her to make a frog on her green paper because you would find frogs on lily pads.  Using our Ed Emberly How to Draw Animals book, we went through step by step how to draw a frog, which she drew on her green paper.  I cut it out for her, and my girl glued her frog on her lily pad where he belongs. 

He's my favorite.

Our finished work. 

There is so much that I love about this lesson.  I loved making art, the conversation I had with my girl, traveling and learning French, and exploring a bridge and the nature surrounding it.

I am so grateful for the inspiration from our MGT lesson because these moments I treasure,

 and I know they probably won't remember because they are so little.

And that is the reason why I keep this blog.   They can look back and know.

Until then... have fun learning, friends! 

Preschool Art Studio: Printmaking

Hi! I'm Leslie- a homeschooling momma to an almost 5 year old girl and 19 month old boy.  The 2 are as different as night and day.  I share our adventures here to both inspire learning at home and chronicle our lives, because honestly, I never started the baby books and my kids will just have to look back on their childhood through this blog... ha! #keepinitreal

Oh my goodness yall....

This Art Studio box from Mother Goose Time is my dream in a box!  If you want to see what's inside, check out this post.  If you have a little who is into art, I would highly suggest getting it.  You could even get it as a Christmas or Birthday gift.  It's just awesome. 

We have already studied self-portraits, portraits, and today we dived into Printmaking

 (one of my favorite art techniques).

Our day started with this book that came in our box.  It has great rhyme, and shows how trying something new can lead to unexpected and amazing results.  Perfect for little kids.

My girl already knew what colors made what, but this book allowed us to have some great conversations as we read...plus cuddle time. Win Win.

I then told her today we would do study printmaking.

We played "I Spy" as we looked around the room naming prints. 

"I spy with my little eye.... a flower print."  It was on her dress, which led to the inspiration for her printmaking project.

MGT supplied us with the foam shapes, cardboard lid, and paper.

All I had to add was a glue stick and paint.  

I asked my girl what 2 paint colors she would like to use (red, yellow, or blue), 

and she chose blue and red.

She decided she wanted to make a flower.

Starting with a circle for the center, she then made a petal pattern design from the little shapes we had.  We worked on placing her design first before gluing it down so the result would be what she wanted.

Now the fun part!

Using a paintbrush and some of our fingerpaints, she covered her flower design well before turning it over and pressing it onto her paper.

"Momma! It looks like coral!"

Can you see it too?  The line design created by the print, especially in the middle of the circle of her flower, led to this thought. 

She made red flower prints, then decided to try blue.

The result was beautiful purple flowers.

She applied paint to her stamp with both a paintbrush and her fingers, because little kids always have to get their fingers in the paint.  That's also why you see little blue areas on the finished piece below....little blue finger painted flowers. 

I love it.

She decided to gift it to her Daddy when he came home from work.

He loves it too. 

What can you do with this?

Make cards, or do prints all over some big sheets of paper so you can have your own gift wrap!

Art can be made for arts sake, but also to bless others!  This is the perfect summertime activity to do on those rainy afternoons or when the kids say "I'm bored."

If you would love more art ideas, be sure to follow us on Facebook where I attempt to share a few times a week what we are doing.

Hope you have a blast printing with your kiddos!