Ll for leaf and Aa for apple

We've whizzed past 3 units and are now at unit 6 Tt for turtle.

Flashback to Ll for leaf and Aa for apple.

Leaf activities

We collected leaves for Ll leaf unit.

Thank God for the parks, gardens and playgrounds near our home. We never lack leaves.

So what did we do with the leaves?

Leaves rubbing of course!

Pressed the leaves and make a leaves booklet. The sweet gum leaf was air flown from Australia. :) Collected a few from our last trip. The rest of the leaves were collected from Ang Mo Kio Garden just next to our block!

Nathanael learned to arrange the leaves according to size.

Having fun cycling through dry leaves.

Science experiments

Did a couple of leaf experiments to show how a leaf will wither and die once it leaves the plant. The importance of the leaf remaining in the plant is an analogy to how we should live and grow in Jesus. And how can we not grow our own plants? Took out my cherry tomato and sunflower seeds and we planted them in small pots.

Bought some celery from the supermarket. Added some blue colouring and left it in a jar for 2 days.

See the blue stain on the celery? We cut it open to further illustrate how the celery takes in water by travelling upwards.

I covered a part of a potted plant with a clear plastic bag, water it and the next day, we observed the water droplets on the bag itself. This concept may be a bit abstract for Nathanael to comprehend but it was an interesting discovery for him.

Writing

Learning how to write Ll was easier.

Making patterns with unit cubes is his fav.

Book activity

After reading "The Leaf Man' from the library, we followed up with a counting activity.

Nathanael's creation with the leaf man.

Inspired by the book, we created these.

On to unit 4 Aa apple, you guessed it. Apples galore!

Apple activities

We looked at the inside of an apple, identify the apple core and estimate the number of seeds. I cut a cross section of an apple and Nathanael was amazed to find a star inside. He had fun with apple printing.

We also did a simple picture graph and made a comparison of the number of apples.

Arranged the size of apples from the biggest to the smallest.

This was a unit with many activities for snacking.

Making fruit salad.

Cooking apple sauce and eating them with his fav cheerios.

Making car apples.

Mr Apple Face

The apple unit was a great way to introduce other fruits. We made a fruits poster.

As I read Galatians 5:22-23, I was pleasantly surprised that Nathanael was familiar with the verses and in fact, could name me some of the fruits of the spirit. Sunday School had done a fantastic job!

The apple tree (still in the process of bearing fruits) next to our dining table is used to encourage the boys to 'bear fruits'.

See the piece of paper Nathanael was holding onto? He made a card for his special friend and even wrote the first letter of her name on the tree trunk, which was traced using his hand.

Writing

We usually start with forming letters using concrete objects such as pattern blocks, pebbles, twigs, marbles, etc.

Then we move on to using do-a-dot makers to print the letters.

These dot markers are really wonderful. Bought them in 2011 from Amazon. Zech enjoyed using them and now Nathanael's using them. :)

Before writing with a pencil, Nathanael will trace the letters on sandpaper and on the salt tray first.

Then he traces his letters on a worksheet printed from http://mamasmonkeys.blogspot.sg/p/mfw-k.html.

Once he's more familiar with the formation of the letters, I proceed to the whiteboard, where he uses the markers to form the letters.

Finally, he writes them on the MFW handwriting student sheet. I don't do all these in a day. Usually spread the tasks out in 2 days.

Book activity

We read the book 'Apple Farmer Annie' from the library. A beautiful picture board book.

I set up a farmers' market for Nathanael to sell his apple products. His mummy and papa took turns to be his customers.

The fun element is important for preschoolers and especially at Nathanael's age, I want him to enjoy learning more than any other objectives I have. As long as he enjoys school, is motivated to learn and stays in Jesus, he will grow and bear fruits. :)

What really matters...

What does school in the mainstream mean for me and the boys?

I've always been very mindful of getting trapped in the rat race. Recently, I got acquainted with a mummy who sends her 7 year old boy to many enrichment classes. Zech has half the load of the poor boy. I would love very much to sign Zech up for drum class, basketball and martial arts. But I often stop short of the final step. I usually do some intensive research, sometimes even to the extent of calling the school. Then I spend more time scrutinising our schedule and decided not to. At least not now.

If I were to put in an extra class, that will definitely eat into our family weekend time. I try my best to protect our weekend time. With the amount of time Zech spends in school in the afternoon, our mornings are often short and our night time routine is cut down to the basic of just reading, devotion, prayer and sleep. The mornings are spent doing work. Homework if there is, revision and piano. The boys get to play together for 20 to 30 min before Zech gets ready for school at 11am.  By 12pm, he's off to school. It's sad he hardly spends time playing on weekdays. That's why I try to schedule in 'play' on weekends. Be it hiking, cycling, scooting, or just having fun, it's more crucial than ever to ensure the boys get sufficient play and a good workout.

10 weeks of school just flew past. Zech has survived 10 weeks of school joyfully and has eased into the school system. Term 1 in school is fine because there isn't any stress. Marks are not recorded and work is easy. Zech comes home very happy almost every day. He's motivated and looks forward to seeing his teachers.

We were initially worried if he would adapt to school as he was not looking forward to school at all last year. But our worries were unfounded. His form teacher speaks well of him. He enjoys most of his lessons, especially PE. He shares about school all the time now. We are very glad to see our boy growing up into a responsible and helpful child. I have never imagined my Zech as helpful before but you know what? He is! He shared with me instances of how he brought his hurt friend to the care corner and how he used a pair of scissors at the canteen to open a packet of biscuits for his friend. I do wonder many times, aren't all these qualities more superior than my academic standard of a good pupil? My educational background and later on, my teaching career, have placed me at a disadvantage as I soon recognised. I have seen the best and expect the best. Even though I often prioritise character as of utmost important, I sometimes unknowingly retrace my steps to the academia. It takes one or two incidents to jolt me back to my senses. The after-effects of those incidents were never great.

It helps that the school environment Zech is in places high value on the well-being of the pupils. The Principal's emphasis on the joy of learning on more than one occasion, Zech's very loving and thoughtful form teacher and the strong partnership of the school and parents all forge a very healthy and vibrant school life. As parents, we are very delighted and excited to be involved closely in the school programmes. Last year, we prayed together with Zech for a form teacher with a heart for God. God has given Zech a very dedicated and experienced form teacher who not only teaches well but also prays with the class. These little things in Zech's school life matter a lot and has taught me to see beyond academic excellence. Simply trusting the Lord's heart when we can't trace His hand requires me to step out and live out the faith.

It takes conscious effort to pull myself out of the rat race. I need to remind myself often why we have chosen the path less travelled during the preschool days and not let the forces in the system here carry me away. I need to redefine my standard of a good pupil instead of focusing on fine-tuning the mechanics of Zech's written work. It's never easy, for me at least, to look beyond the careless mistake and gives the child some space and time to develop the meticulous trait.

School is a journey made up of memories and experiences that help one steer through life. The values that bear the mark of a man are what define success in life and carry us through to eternity. It's no coincidence we have been using the life lessons from "The Squire and the Scroll" starting this year. A wonderful resource to have!

The language is powerful and the battle portrayed in the story is so real in life. Choosing to live for the Lord, pursue purity and integrity are important for manhood. These timeless values are the ones that will ultimately see our children through their lives, no matter where they stand in society.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart...will receive blessing from the Lord...Such is the generation of those who seek Him. Psalm 24: 4-6b