We are a family with three 'wee winkles' exploring the pleasures and perils of educating at home using Scripture, Montessori and a lot of love!

Tuesday 2 August 2011

19 month activities

A few of the things Cherry has been up to.....

Some work on one to one correspondence.

Fine motor skills.

Cherry has been eating independently for quite a while but now she insists on being up at the table too.

Cherry loves to 'read' and (just like Mummy) likes to find little 'nooks' in which to do so (toy tubs, the laundry basket, empty nappy boxes).

And our little girl has decided to toilet train herself too!!!



Run Hare Run!

We recently found this book at the library and the children have really enjoyed reading it. Books are often the spark for learning activities in our house so when I suggested to Lamb that he do a brown hare like Durer, he was excited!

I sketched an outline for him to follow and we discussed the direction of the brush strokes then I set him up in the sun with the book for a reference and away he went...

When he finished I went over the outline in paint to make it clearer.


Away in Cobram part two

So we've almost done six weeks away from home!!!
We haven't followed any plan or theme really owing to the fact that it's difficult to have everything you need while staying away. I'm sure I'll be crazy planning once we're home but for now I'm trying to enjoy having all this extra time to just play with the children, talk to them and read them those extra five stories that always appear after the first four as if by magic. They have been deciding what they would like to do most of the time!

I tried Lamb on some addition puzzles but he was quick to work out how to cheat and hasn't asked to do them again.

We have also been working through the first ready to read unit from The Moffatt girls. Lamb has really enjoyed the activities from here and it really has encouraged fluency with his c-v-c words as well as introducing the concept of sight words.

We did some coin polishing which the children both loved. That night when Daddy walked in the door, Lamb ran and asked if he could have his money. My husband raised an eyebrow before Lamb explained, "I just want to clean it for you".

I have been meaning to get one of these sets for Lamb for a long time so I bought it for him before we left home and pulled it out on a rainy afternoon. He is very taken with it and gets it out every few days.

Another activity I pulled out during the two days we spend in a studio (I know a studio with two little children equals very little sleep as it's like a giant sleepover!). It's a set of cubes with holes and sticks that fit into them. I picked it up for $2 and the children immediately made helicopter propellers (Lamb even helped Cherry with hers after she pleaded with him "Wakka wakka?" which is apparently the noise that helicopters make).
I didn't get any snaps but the construction frenzy went on for several days with robots, fenced yards for the animals and planes.

Another cheap and easy activity....I found these balls with holes which are actually a cat toy and gave the children wool (with one of the sticks from the above activity) attached to the end. They got straight to weaving it in and out and both did really well considering they've never had an activity like this before!

Cherry decided to use hers as a necklace!