Sensory Bins

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April 1, 2019 By Jennifer 8 Comments

Sensory bins are a great activity for little ones.

We used to have monthly and seasonal themed sensory bins.

We also made a nice frugal light table out of a plastic bin and electric strand lights.

My husband made a little table where I could fit in a plastic tub.

I would gather materials from the dollar store and set out some spoons and scoops for the kids to play with loose parts.

Sometimes, I would gather items to go along with a unit study, like cars, dinosaurs, The Wizard of Oz.

Since I made sensory bins for my own children and know they have no allergies, it was no problem. For items for larger groups, I would make sure there were no wheat allergies or the like.

Why Sensory Bins?

Sensory play allows children to explore, discover, imagine, create, and learn – while engaging their senses.

Sensory play can be used to help kids calm down. We often used a quiet sensory toy during read aloud time or while waiting to occupy busy little hands.

They’re educational – helping kids develop important skills like language, emotions, fine motor, social, body awareness, science and math, and more.

Sensory play is great for special needs! Many therapists use sensory activity with even adult patients.

Sensory Bin Bases

I saved packing materials like styrofoam and bubble wrap.
Dyed rice or pasta.
Dried lentils
Dried beans
Sand
Oats
Bran kernels
Coarse wheat kernels

Sensory Bin Fillers

Themed items:

bells
plastic and wooden beads
ribbons
small boxes
stickers
die cut shapes
plastic planter decor (hearts or stars)
marbles
pom poms
decorative pebbles
shells
toys

Our Monthly Themed Sensory Bins:

Make sure you store your bins away from pets!

My kids loved playing with the sensory bins until they were about 8!

Linking up: Blogghetti, Pinventures, Inspo for Moms, Farmhouse, Our Holiday Journey, Modest Mom, Welcome Heart, Create with Joy, Squishable Baby, LouLou Girls, April Harris, Abounding Grace, Timeless Mama, MaryAndering Creatively, Meghan Weyerbacher, Purposeful Faith, Our Three Peas, Gingersnap Crafts, Over the Moon, Jessi’s Design, My Life Abundant, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Becoming Press, Worth Beyond Rubies, Soaring with Him, Welcome Heart, Mary Geisen, Raising Homemakers, Penny’s Passion, Creative K Kids, TFT, Apron Strings, Debbie Kitterman, Crystal Storms, Rachel Lee, Try It Like It, Faithful Pursuit, Coffee With us3, Anna Nuttall, Answer is Choco, Simply Sweet Home, Della Devoted, RCH, Momfessionals, Fireman’s Wife, CWJ, Lyli Dunbar, Counting My Blessings, Life with Lorelai,

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How We Do Math

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September 3, 2015 By Jennifer 5 Comments

Math is very important for productive members of society.

I think many homeschool parents are intimidated by teaching math, especially as kids get older and do more complicated work.

Here’s how we do math in our homeschool – from preschool to high school.

Primary curriculum is Singapore workbooks, Life of Fred, and VideoText.

$How We Do Math in Our Homeschool - From Preschool to High School$

We do lots of supplemental work with games, manipulatives, and apps.

We love notebooking along with workbooks and drill to ensure our kids know their math facts and concepts well to move on to higher level math coursework.

We love keeping math journals. We do special math projects around seasons. We do fun math activities during the holidays like Valentine’s and Easter. I like to incorporate cross-curricular activities for further review. And we love playing with food. The kids like Montessori math games.

Preschool

We focus on counting: cardinal and ordinal. We play and make math fun.

There is little writing. We draw, play with shapes, identify, play matching, games, sing songs, play apps.

Alex begged for a math workbook like his sisters. Luckily, I found Singapore K was just right for him!

$Singapore Math Kindergarten$

He would beg to do so many pages each day that he completed both workbooks in just a few months!

Elementary

I follow the natural transitions of my kids’ learning.

We’ve loved Singapore Primary Math since the beginning of our homeschool journey.

My children have been ready for the Book 1 Set by the time they were 5 years old.

A complete set of Singapore Primary Math for one grade level consists of two softcover textbooks and two consumable workbooks. There are also teacher manuals and homeschool schedule booklets.

$Singapore Primary Math$

We love notebooking with Life of Fred math.

I read the books aloud and the girls complete the Your Turn at the end of each chapter together with printable themed notebooking pages.

The elementary set of Life of Fred math are 10 books with titles beginning with the alphabet A through J.

Life of Fred is fun reading: it’s a narrative following the character Fred through adventures that entertain as we learn math concepts.

So, the math concepts in Life of Fred are interspersed with fun stories, life skills, cross-curricular information. We all love it!

We reinforce math concepts with fun store bought, printable, or homemade manipulatives.

Place value, money, and fractions are easier to grasp with visuals.

The girls love learning math with music, doing special activities around the holidays and seasons, and playing math apps on their iPad minis.

Middle School

Singapore Math changes after Book 6, and I didn’t like the look of Books 7 and 8. I don’t like their two options for high school either.

These Life of Fred Intermediate books are a great new addition to our math shelf. They weren’t around when Liz was at this level.

I find it funny their titles continue the alphabet with KLM.

These offer a great transition to pre-Algebra and higher math.

I love the Intermediate and “Before High School” sets of Life of Fred.

Liz completed Fractions, Decimals and Percents, Pre-Algebra I with Biology, and Pre-Algebra 2 with Economics in two years.

Middle school is a rough time and we have to make sure all the basics are memorized and all the concepts are learned well. This is super important before moving on to high school math.

High School

We love continuing Life of Fred math for high school. I have just purchased the last of the series for Liz as a supplement to her other math work: Beginning and Advanced Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry. I also purchased Calculus, which is listed as college-level, but it tells the story of Fred’s baby years and we wanna know! There are also books on Linear Algebra and Statistics.

We use VideoText Algebra and Geometry for college prep high school.

The Algebra program gives these credits: pre-algebra, algebra I, and algebra II.

The Geometry program gives these credits: geometry, trigonometry, and pre-calculus.

It was always highly recommended by homeschoolers I knew for high school math. The videos are a little dry, but the lessons cover all the material needed. Both Videotext algebra and geometry can be completed in two years.

Liz went through VideoText Algebra in a little over a year. She and her dad worked through one lesson each school day.

We’re lucky that I’m a history/language arts/biology person and my husband is a math/chemistry guru.

Liz completes her video lesson and notes during the day and then she works through the text with Dad before dinner each evening. There are also quizzes and tests.

We teach to mastery, and review as needed.

Visit my Math Journals Pinterest board:

Follow Jennifer’s board Math Journals on Pinterest.

Resources:

What are your favorite math activities?

Linking up: Life of Faith, A Life in Balance, The Educators Spin on It, Living Montessori Now, Simple Life of a Fire Wife, What Joy is Mine, Diamonds in the Rough, F Dean Hackett, ABC Creative Learning, True Aim Education, The Natural Homeschool, Adventures of Mel, Teaching Mama, Raising Homemakers, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Frog’s Lilypad, Wondermom Wannabe, Hip Homeschooling Blog

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Kindergarten Boy Fun

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April 22, 2014 By Jennifer 5 Comments

Alex has been loving school lately.

I make sure I set aside at least an hour of uninterrupted one-on-one time with him every day.

We play trucks.

And we have to have an audience!

He recently announced that he wanted to do math.

So I got out the Unifix and Cuisenaire and we counted and colored blocks.

He loves All About Reading and we reinforce his learning with blend ladders and our movable alphabet.

I made this with Lauri letters and phonograms tiles similar to these letter tiles. I got the case at Walmart, similar to this scrapbook organizer case.

These ladders are fun for reinforcement of the sounds.

I love the time we spend together, learning and exploring.

Recently, Alex has started saying to me: “When I was a boy…”

I asked him what he meant. What is he now if not a boy?

“Mama, when I was three, I was just a boy. I’m a big boy now.”

Linking up: Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Crystal and Co.

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Preschool Listening Skills

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January 24, 2014 By Jennifer 3 Comments

I’m not really all that metacognitive about teaching my kids listening skills. I’m sure it works better some days than others despite the fact that I don’t actively incorporate this into our school time.

I recently have had some lightbulb moments when I noticed my son was learning on his own how to listen actively.

I want to to practice Listening Skills in our homeschool.

And I love his interpersonal skills. He often reprimands me, but kindly: “Look at me, Mama!” and then he tells me or shows me what he wants. This is a great skill that my husband and I should really have mastered with four kids. In this age of rampant ADHD and behavioral disorders, many parents and teachers would rather treat the symptoms instead of solving the problems that cause these disorders, whether imaginary or real chemical deficiencies.

I am learning to be a better listener with my children. I know they require my undivided attention and deserve my respect when they speak to me. By looking directly at my kids while they speak, I am teaching them to respect others who are speaking – and that’s a great life skill.

I am so pleased that my children are learning to listen so well and I vow to be more diligent to keep them active and attentive listeners as we continue to practice these skills.

Preschool Listening Skills with Games, Nature Study, and Learning

My three-year-old son, Alex, really did well with listening to directions with Funnix Reading and Math this week. I love how it offers clear directives and teaches listening and following directions just as much as reading and math skills. He has his little pointer and follows what the “teacher” tells him. It’s like a dialogue and he did wonderfully for his first lesson. We’re also thoroughly enjoying All About Reading Level 1!

Alex and his six-year-old sister, Kate, played so sweetly together with the light box and rainbow blocks. They usually power struggle with each other, but they took turns and listened to each other well. I was a proud mama.

We practiced being quiet and listening to the birds, wind sounds, and the crunchy snow beneath our boots on our snowy nature walk. He whispered so he didn’t scare the birds and deer we saw on our hike. He pointed out lichen and leaves and the frozen pond to me with dancing eyes.

More fun ways to work on listening skills:

Simon Says games
Directed coloring pages (Alex likes the ones from 1+1+1=1)
Narration with or without props (like puppets!) – we also like to discuss and review body parts at bathtime with bath puppets.
Following directions with chores
Helping in the kitchen (with kid-sized tools!)
Q&A after Bible lessons
Montessori sound matches and studies
Music, instruments, and composer studies (we like to discuss the high and low notes, fast and slow tempo, and different instrument sounds)
Looking speakers or teachers in the eyes and repeating what is said so it is understood and then completing the direction
Go on a Letter Walk and point out things that begin with a certain letter

Do you have any tips to improve preschool listening skills in your kids?

Essential Oils to help with attention:

Vetiver
Cedarwood
Lavender
Brain Power
Frankincense

ProSchool Membership - Productive Homeschooling

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Christmas Preschool

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December 11, 2013 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

Bubba is enjoying our Christmas themed work this month.

Today we drew our gingerbread family. Big sister cut them out for him.

Then he took a “reading break” on the sofa. He loves looking at the pictures. He has lots of his favorite books memorized.

reading a book

Preschool Printables:

Meet Penny Free Nativity Pack – Lifetime Premium Membership for $15
1+1+1=1
Confessions of a Homeschooler
Homeschool Creations
Candy Canes pack from 2 Teaching Mommies (and lots more Christmas printable packs in the sidebar!
All Our Days
The Moffat Girls ($ with some freebies)

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Preschool Math

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December 11, 2013 By Jennifer 2 Comments

We focused on math this week.

I got organized and had him match up some base ten blocks with printable counting cards I found here. He really enjoyed it and did so well!

Of course a cube found its way into his sleeve. Silly!

He is really, really into counting lately.

He likes these base ten blocks and we have Cuisenaire rods too. I am looking for cards and lessons to go along with those. I think some may find their way under the Christmas tree.

He really loved these counting cards I found online. They are colored to go along with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom unit. He jumped out of the way and didn’t want to be in this picture.

Upside down counting? Whatever works. He used these cards over and over this month!

He loves this little wooden counting box. He didn’t want his picture taken. But then he wanted to see the picture and then he laughed.

What are your favorite preschool math tools?

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What Does the Fox Say?

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November 25, 2013 By Jennifer 2 Comments

Welcome to November Poppins Book Nook!

This month, the theme is Animals and Pets.

My son, Alex, is pretty obsessed with foxes. Apparently, Ylvis is too.

Win/Win.

I made a Fox unit for my son.

Check out these sites for foxy fun:

Fox printable craft by LearnCreateLove.com
Fox Christmas Card by Positively Splendid
Fox Activity Pack by Mudpies and Make-up
Fox Printable Masks by Kitschy Digitals ($1.50) or get FREE here: Jan Brett
X if for Fox Bible Verse Printable (coincides with MFW K) by Mama Jenn
Origami Fox face
Fox in Sock unit study by MPM Ideas
Fox in Socks unit by Homeschool Share (scroll down)
More Fox in Socks by Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
Fox hot chocolate party printables by Hostess with the Mostess
DLTK fox craft
Fox maze from Education.com (and other pages too! Get More Fun Kindergarten Worksheets from Education.com!)

Library books Alex begged for and read with Dad:

Media to go along with our Fox unit:

Coloring a paper fox:

Counting foxes clip cards:

How many foxes in the box?

Learning fox facts

A fox maze. It was a little hard.

Singing and acting out “What Does a Fox Say?” with puppets

Check out the other Animals Units this month: Enchanted Homeschooling Mom – 3 Dinosaurs – Monsters Ed – Chestnut Grove Academy –Growing in God’s Grace – Royal Little Lambs – Life with Moore Babies – Teach Beside Me –The Usual Mayhem – Fantastic Fun and Learning – Kathys Cluttered Mind – Toddler Approved – Growing Book by Book – Adventures in Mommydom – Edventures with Kids –Learning & Growing the Piwi way – A Gluten Free Journey – Preschool Powol Packets – To The Moon and Back – Our Craft ~N~ Things – Fresh Farm Adventures – Are We There Yet? – Afterschool for Smarty Pants – Hopkins Homeschool

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Montessori 2.5 Years

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September 11, 2013 By Jennifer 2 Comments

Alex had lots of fun this summer!

He went to preschool nature camp with Dad at Ogden Nature Center.

We learned fun stuff at library Dig Into Reading sessions. We learned about other countries, history, language, art, animals, and more!

Alex made mashed potatoes almost all by himself. That cool knife? They’re over here. We have 2 of that one and 2 of this knife and the kids love them!

Alex still loves Tot School and Animal ABCs and Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

He’s snuggly and likes to watch the iPad with sister

He gets so excited when our cat, Sinéad, allows him to pet her.

Alex helped in the garden lots. He helped dig up our potatoes.

He likes to help Liz with science. They do experiments together. He dropped the antacid tablets in the water/vinegar solutions to learn about concentration

A rare moment of peace between these two

Watching Tori play Reading Kingdom

Alex has a lot of freedom. I try to make sure he’s learning by all the everyday things we do. I want him to love learning and never get discouraged or frustrated. We limit our seatwork since he’s an active little boy!

Check out our Logic of English review…

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Preschool is Hard to Teach

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July 25, 2013 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

Preschool is the hardest level for me to teach.

I love the exploration and excitement that comes with this stage.

I miss naptime! My kids all relinquished naps at the ripe age of two. Nooooooo!

It never occurred to me to not have my tots and preschoolers “do school.” They begged to have their own schoolwork and, if left to their own devices, wreaked utter havoc on the house. I’ve had friends who didn’t encourage their preschoolers to do much of anything, and, well, it shows.

Thank God for blogs. They helped me survive those preschool years (and still going strong for Alex, sort of), and now I feel like a preschool pro. Sort of.

But I love teaching older kids. It is what I went to college for, more by default, but still. I could wax philosophic about literature and history all the livelong day. I have a bachelor’s in English literature and a master’s in secondary education.

The problem with preschoolers?

They. are. so. demanding.

You can’t tell them to just go read or play alone for a few minutes like with older kids. They need constant attention. (so do teens for that matter)

It wears on my ever last nerve.

The constant “Mama! Mama! Mama!” The never-getting-to-use-the-bathroom-alone thing.

It wears me down.

I loathe pushing swings. My mind wanders to all the “more important” (read: selfish) things I could be doing.

I know I am selfish. I loathe myself for being selfish.

No one sees when I cry out to God: “Increase You and decrease me. Let me shine for You. Help me to overcome myself.”

I can only run to my Father for comfort and snivel and whine and be a big brat about my own kids who are only being children, themselves, hungry and tired and needing a hug.

I don’t really want them to grow up so fast.

I can barely remember when Elizabeth was a preschooler and all of a sudden, she’s 12 and doing high school work already!

Tori and Kate look half grown and to hear them talk, they already know everything. And Alex doesn’t want to be 3 anymore. He wants to grow quickly so he can drive monster trucks.

I want to make memories with my babies. I want them to remember their childhoods fondly and grow in their relationship with me and their dad, God, and each other. This is, after all, why we are homeschooling.

I want to calm down and sit and watch my son play with his trains. I want to snuggle on the sofa and listen to Tori read – without pressure or tears or correction. I want to let Kate have an improv jam session on the keyboard and guitar without wanting to scream. I want to thoughtfully answer Liz’s never-ending questions about everything without impatience. I don’t want to lose them or their hearts. I want them to still want to ask me questions or say, “Look at me, Mom!” when they’re 15, 20, 30 years old.

The benefit and drawback to having preschoolers with older siblings is that they are constantly challenged. I am amazed at how much they can do and understand. I am too content to let them follow along in the older sibs’ footsteps. With this whole delight-driven schooling thing, I too easily let tot school and preschool fall between the cracks. Is it detrimental to their formative years and early education? Maybe.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

I could waste days beating myself up over how great those preschool blogs and Pinterest pins are while my son just wants to do math and science and writing and art with his sisters instead of putting pipe cleaners into the holes of an empty cheese container. My favorite is the argument over how he needs the same advanced apps on his iPad mini as his sisters. Sometimes I feel superfluous and other times like there’s not enough of me to go around. But often, the chores get done more quickly with teamwork!

So, I envy all you Pinterest preschool mamas with your messy crafts and darling handmade Montessori toys. I’m up in here having guilt trips while scraping Nutella out of our dining room bench crevices and scouring the art paint out of drinking cups.

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Tot School Summer

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July 10, 2013 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

Alex helps Dad in the garden.

Alex picked me a pepper.

He has a stack of papers by his table. He picks and chooses what he wants to do. Some are from past lessons. We’re on H, but he’s doing the cutting page from E.