Workboxes

I have decided to use workboxes for our PreK/Kindergarten version of Jungle School, and I am SO excited to have our system finally up and going!  

We recently moved, and lost two rooms in the process (our school room and storage/teaching supply room that was the baby’s bedroom too.)  This means that our living/dining area is now our school room as well.  My husband is a trooper and very supportive of having “school-stuff” in any area of the house, however, I wanted our new space to be as organized and streamlined as possible.  Our house is a high traffic area with many visitors any given day of the week, and with a soon-to-be-walking/reaching baby, I needed a portable, self-contained system to house most of our daily “stuff.”

Here is what’s working for us:

The children each have a file box, with ten hanging folders.  I didn’t have laminator access the day I was setting up,  and remembered Marcy Cook’s quiet tiles.  I cut some velcro into 9 tiny squares and attached the rough side to the box.  (The tiles are lined in felt, so even if the velcro comes off...say from a velcro obsessed baby sucking on them...they still stick.  hehe)

I labeled the folders in this order (1, 2, 3, 4, Snack, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), and put the corresponding tiles inside.  Once opened they are easy to tell apart as Levi has blue numbers and Aryelle has pink.  However, they had a little trouble the first day figuring out which box belonged to whom, so I surprised them with a special sticker on the front (Star Wars/Princess respectively) for the next day.  Amazing what a little sticker can do!  hehe

Every morning we start the day with our Calendar Notebooks, then the children go and bring their workbox next to their chair.  They open it up and get out their first job.  When it is complete they put it back in the correct folder, take out the number tile and stick it on the front of their box.  They normally have to do their jobs in order, but I get to veto and change the order if necessary (usually, “Levi, the baby is sleeping, let’s skip ahead and do job #3 (reading) together.”)

Each night, I put any papers, supplies, etc. in their folders for the next day.  Any items that are too big for the folders go in a little basket that sits on top of their box.  It is so nice to have everything we need right there!

There is a ton of information on the internet regarding Sue Patrick’s workbox system.  I have had this filed in my brain ever since reading this post from Carisa at 1+1+1=1,  and the way other 

Bible Memorization Reward - Heart Date!

I’ve been thinking for awhile on how to approach bible memory this year.  

In the past we’ve been part of a larger group, so the easiest was for all of us to focus on the same verse every week.  However, with two more “official school years” under his belt, Levi has already memorized our alphabet verses.  So, I was looking for a way for them to have flexibility in their verses and to work at their own pace.  I also wanted to motivate my children to memorize scripture, but didn’t really want to use “stuff” like sweet treats,  money, etc. as rewards. 

Enter the lightbulb moment (thank you Holy Spirit) ... a Heart Date!

I created this little worksheet to slip into our Bible Memory binders.  Every time they memorize a verse, or “hide it in their heart” like Psalm 119:11 says, we write the verse inside their heart.  When they have 5 verses written down, we celebrate with a heart date.  Each child gets to choose an activity they love or that is “dear to their heart,” and include whomever they choose.  Some ideas we brainstormed were:

- bake a cake with Mamita

- have an entire afternoon of playing with Papito

- invite some friends over for a tea party

- go to the movies as a family

- go bowling

- have a picnic at the park

- make bananas spilts

- have a lego party

So as you can see, it doesn’t have to be some expensive outing, mostly engaging with your children in something that they enjoy doing.  If it is easier for your family to make a list together beforehand, go for it.  My children are still young and easily swayed my enthusiasm.  hehe  

Here are the printables (with a couple options so you can customize them depending on how fast your children memorize scripture.):

Heart Date sheet (w/5 verses)

Heart Date sheet (you fill in how many verses)

First Week of School

Well, it is official...We finally had our first day of school!  A couple of weeks after anticipated, but due to birthdays and sickness, not to mention boxes filling the house, unpacking, and preparing for this Saturday's yard sale...we did it!

There is nothing like the fun of new pencil boxes, crayons, and school supplies!

I surprised them mid-week with our new "Kindergarten" set of manipultatives...Zoobs!  It was a team effort to open all the bags and get them in the tub.

 After that, it didn't take long for the creative brains to flow, and the baby to chew.

Here is the princess, complete with suspenders.  HA!

We also had our first Fun Friday of the year, and decided to make some cookies together.  

2011-2012 Curriculum

I don't know why, but this year has been the hardest to plan so far!  I've been dreaming of the day I would have my very own Kindergartner, and now that it's here I feel like a first year teacher again.  That's the fun thing about homeschooling I guess, every year you ARE a first year teacher!  (Yikes, hadn't really thought about this before.)  Even though they are your children, you have most likely not had the exact same combination of ages, personalities, and circumstances as the year before.  Woohooo!  Nothing like a challenge.

Anyway, here is our current curriculum plan for the year with my 4 year old PreK and 5 year old Kinder:

Bible: 

-Grapevine Studies Old Testament Beginning Book

-Learn OT book names

-Memory Verses

-Hubbard’s Cupboard verses recorded by Matt

-Steve Green’s Hide Them in Your Heart

Language Arts: 

-Zoophonics (dot 2 dot, Level A sentences/Coloring page)

-Picture Dictionary

-Heidi Songs color/shape books

-Starfall

-You Can Read by 1+1+1=1

-Word Family Minibooks by Hubbard’s Cupboard

-Hooked on Phonics

Writing:  

-Kidwriting at every opportunity

-start Mrs. Meacham’s mini-lessons mid-year

-Science Journals

-Thankful Journals

Math:

-Pattern Block Books

-Marcy Cook (Early Skillboard, Math Tiles)

-Workjobs

-Number Journals by Hubbard’s Cupboard

Science:

-Animal Investigation Binders (add Zoophonic’s animal friend every week)

-Habitat theme, one per month (add spanish vocab. in calendar)

-Science with Sid, weekly theme and experiment

Art: 

-TLC Alphabet Book

-Monthly directed drawing

Note:  I hope to go through and explain how we use some of these components over the next few months.  I will add a link on this blog post everytime I make an update.

Jungle School is back in action!

Okay, so my perfectionism has been keeping me away.  I told myself I was not allowed to post anything until our house was unpacked and I had tied up all of last year’s loose ends.  

What loose ends?  HA!  We left for California four days after school was out in May, and ended up extending our stay because of a medical emergency in the family.  Not to mention, we found out we were moving, however, neither myself or my husband was in the country to pack up.  So, he came back to Panama early to pack up, move us, and then get our apartment painted, fixed and ready for us to move in.  Sound a little backwards...welcome to Panama!  hehe  Yes, it was not what I would consider a well planned, strategic move, but I don’t exactly how many things here would fall under the “well-planned” category.

Well, I just couldn’t take it anymore and pulled an all-nighter on Sunday night.  For the first time in six weeks, I can see the top of my dining room table, and walk around the living/dining/hallway without tripping over boxes because they are ALL unpacked.  Luigi’s office looks amazing as well, and our school stuff all has a system and a spot in the office and NOT the dining room!!  Woohoo!!