Outdoor learning with Zech - part of K2 homeschool

Science has always intrigued most boys. As a little girl, I was never into Science though I remember catching so many earthworms with my friends I could put them in an empty chalk box. I hate insects but even as a teacher in the past, I'd keep mealworms and caterpillars in the classroom just so that my pupils can learn first-hand about their life cycle.

As a mother of 2 boys now, sometimes I'm rather amazed at myself. I never like to be under the sun. However, I could spend the hottest part of the day at the Botanic Gardens with Zech searching for worms and snails. It was so hot these little creatures would much rather hide under the soil than come out looking for food.

I didn't give up. We went back to the same place on a Saturday and had the most fruitful time ever. We spotted a snail and some millipedes in a pile of leaf litter and later found an earthworm in our pile of leaf litter sample. All these in a matter of an hour!

The boys examining some sample of the leaf litter and discovering what it's made of. Love the outdoor learning!

 



 

 

We saw a monitor lizard rummaging for food. To Zech, this is no longer a novelty I guess. He has seen it several times. Isn't he fortunate? I have never had this kind of experience as a kid.



 

 

Recently, Zech was introduced to the topic of plants. We started with learning about flowers.

These are the Usborne Science books which came together with MFW.

Taking apart a rose, as recommended in the Science book, is the best way to learn about the petals, sepals, stamens and pistil!

Coincidentally, my mini rose plant started budding. We started observing its growth every day.

 

 

Aren't they pretty?

One of the activities recommended in the teacher manual - examining beans. It's just so wonderful to be learning together with your child. I've never seen how the inside of a bean is like. Zech had a good time peeling off the outer coat of the beans.

The boys had their first gardening experience.

Taking turns to scoop the soil into a pot.

All ready! Hopefully we will see it sprouting soon.

 

The world outside is so alive and yet in our busy life, this simple fact passes us by. We've been talking more about plants and flowers in our conversations recently. There are so many common flowers in Singapore and I find myself really lacking in this field of knowledge. Except for bougainvillea, frangipani and hibiscus, I recognise nothing else. But in our world of technology, we can easily find out more about the wonders of God's world. Science has never been more interesting for a SAHM.



K2 - 1st week of homeschool

We have completed the kindergarten curriculum for MFW last year. Now we are moving on to first grade! Seems fast but looking through the contents for MFW first grade, I noticed a lot of it can be used for K2. There are some challenging ones in the later part of the units, which I'll probably skip or do next year. Compared to last year, there's definitely a lot more writing this year.

We started the week slow and easy on revision and introducing new subjects such as Science and Art. Zech loves the Science textbooks and wanted me to read all to him. The exploring outdoors part is even more exciting for him and that's done on Fridays.

It's the last year of homeschool for Zech before he goes to Primary One next year. I want to treasure the time we spend together learning, having fun and overcoming challenges. It doesn't matter if the contents of the material are difficult or easy. It matters if my child has no character with a shallow spiritual foundation.

Really glad that this set of curriculum came with a devotional book.

A verse from Proverbs accompanies each unit. I like that as Proverbs really contains much wisdom which helps to inculcate good character traits.

Some highlights of the week...

Zech enjoying free play with the unifix cubes and pattern blocks.

 



There's a recommended Art book in this set of curriculum but I didn't buy. Decided to plan the lessons myself with a focus on drawing and painting. For a start this week, we learned about Van Gogh, my favourite artist. This beautiful board book came in a set of 4.

Even my little one is fascinated with the pictures. Using our new ipad, we watched a video showcasing Van Gogh's paintings.

Here's Zech listening intently to the sounds Mummy gave and identifying the word.

Blending was hard for Zech when he just turned 4. After a few months, he could do it. Initially, I thought this practice, where he had to first listen to the sounds separately before identifying the word, is difficult for him but I'm so glad he caught on after a while.

A game I made up for Zech to learn the concept of more/less than.

Pasted numbers from 1 to 12 on the floor. Mummy would ask questions such as 'What is 1 more/less than 9?'. The little brother looked on, waiting patiently for his turn, as Zech the frog hopped on to the number then jumped either forward (more) or backward (less) before announcing his answer to my question. This is an effective way to learn rather than doing drills with worksheets.

Continued working on more/less than concept the next day with a simple game using the 100 chart. Zech used the token to move to the number and either add 1 more or subtract 1 less by moving his token forward or backward.

The week ended with outdoor learning at the Botanic Gardens. The super highlight of the week!

Digging the soil with a twig to look for insects.            Ant nest spotted!

 

We picked up a flower, leaf and small rock from the ground, threw them into the air two by two to see how the wind would affect them. Zech found out that the small rock dropped onto the ground first as compared to the leaf and the flower. He concluded the small rock was the heaviest, which caused it to fall onto the ground faster than the leaf and flower. After that, I wasn't sure why but he became really ecstatic and kept on throwing the small rock into the air again and again. And since we are out, I let him play for a while.

We had our lunch in one of the pavilions and read two books about worms and snails. Then we talked about what reflection is, which was mentioned in the book, 'Wiggle and Waggle'. Zech requested to see his own reflection so we went down to the lake.

Finally it was time to go home. Here's a tired and sweaty but happy Zech.

During this first week of school, I discovered there were certain components that Zech does not really enjoy. I had a hard time with him just doing those stuff. I found out later my child does not like mundane work so I need to work on finding alternative ways to do mundane work creatively. That's a challenge to me and next week, hopefully, will be a better one than the first.