Tot School

J-jo is now 28 months and loves gluing and cutting.  He uses his beginner scissors from Timberdoodle, but has started using real scissors, too!  I debated purchasing the beginner scissors four months ago, but am very glad I did.  They have helped strengthen J-jo's hands and he is now ready to use real scissors. If you have a toddler who has never tried to hold regular scissors, then I recommend them.  They are confusing if you already have tried real scissors. 

J-jo's still confusing a lot of shapes and colors.  He can point them out if I ask for them, but he can't name them yet.  However, he knows 90% of his letter sounds (naming them).  This doesn't make sense to me, although he does watch a lot of Letter Factory and that could explain his letter sound knowledge.  He also does letter activities and crafts in the nursery on Classical Conversation days.  I need a good video for shapes and colors.  Anyone know of any?

Here's what we've been doing:

Decorating a gingerbread house.

 Scooping and pouring colored alphabet pasta.

 Reading to himself.  He loves to read.

 His new favorite puzzle. It came with the MFW K package, which I found used (but it hadn't really been used) for a great price.  I got MFW (My Father's World) K to combine Bear and J-jo.  We'll see how much J-jo picks up.  Bear is way too advanced for K language and math, but can benefit from Bible, character development, and the science topics.  She loves crafts.  This will be a more laid back, but structured school for us.  Montessori is ending up advancing her WAY too fast.  She gets concepts so quickly and we move on, but perhaps that isn't the best way.  I don't want my baby graduating too early!  I would rather see her happy, than have her burn out at age 6 on academics.  And J-jo isn't getting enough attention from me because I am trying to keep up with Bear.  I am really hoping MFW will help us.  In the Fall, I will get MFW creation to Greeks to coincide with the Classical Conversations Cycle 1; however, I will modify it so it isn't too much work for Bear and I will continue K with J-jo and he can join us for the hands-on stuff and any read-alouds he wants.

 Being silly.

 A great, loved tray.  (The alphabet pasta got switched out for red and green rice, which I was in the process of making.)  Pour, transfer back into pitcher with the spoon, or pour back via the funnel.

 The green and red rice.

 Pouring through the funnel.  He kept finishing the cycle and announcing "I do it again!"

 We spent all of last week doing the Gingerbread printables from Homeschool Creations.  I pick and choose.  I didn't take photos.  Below is a five senses gingerbread book we did.

I can touch my gingerbread baby (felt and foam pieces to touch).

I can smell my gingerbread baby (cloves, cinnamon, ginger).

I can see my gingerbread baby (bling, googly eyes).

 I can hear my gingerbread baby (he's missing his bell).

I can taste my gingerbread baby (we took a "bite" by tearing the leg off).

 Playing with the Rush Hour board - good logic puzzle as to how to fit them all back onto the board.

 latches board.  (Bear's Christmas present two years ago.)

 Finding the pieces of his ABC puzzle in the rice.

 See and Spell.  A favorite of his. 

We're also working on Truth in the Tinsel ornaments and  Jesse Tree readings.

linked to Tot School and Montessori Monday.