A different homeschooling journey

As some of you know, I use the same kindergarten curriculum for my 2 boys. Doing it the second time brings back many wonderful memories I had with Zech. As I teach the same content and do pretty much the same stuff with Nathanael, things got into mundane mode and I started to ask myself how else can I make it different for Nathanael who's so different from Zech and how can I improve with the same content.

Here are some stuff I've done differently this time.

Nn for nest

Nathanael made 2 cards and gave one to his neighbor.

Making edible bird nests, just in time for Easter.

Watching 'Sid the Science kid' DVD on birds was something I've done with Zech. That episode inspired me to make a nest with Zech.

With Nathanael, the nest is bigger with plastic eggs. :)

The bird craft looks more elaborate too.

Tt for turtle

In this unit, Nathanel learned about perseverance. Stitching a foam dog requires patience. He managed to complete it in a day. Part 1 before his nap and part 2 after his nap.

He enjoyed being a turtle and pretended to hide in his shell when a predator (that's me) came along.

Another variation of a turtle. Not much space to hide though.

The same snack I've done with Zech before. With experience, the presentation is much better.

Making a trip down to the Live Tortoise Museum at the Chinese Garden was something I wanted to do with Zech but didn't get around to doing it.

Field trip with Nathanael on a very warm afternoon.

As usual, his favourite activity was feeding the animals. He was very fascinated with how the tortoises have no teeth but have a hard beak that can bite off your finger. Feeding these reptiles allowed him to see the inside of the tortoises' mouth.

We caught two mating. An early lesson on reproduction for Nathanael.

The Chinese Garden is a great place for kids. Previously, it was recommended to me by an Australian mum. Haha! Such an irony.

Uu for Us

I taught Nathanael how to make percussion instruments other than the usual shaker and tambourine. Inspired after attending a concert with Zech, I set out to teach Nath how to make a straw whistle and a guitar.

He turned out to be pretty good at it. :)

Together we made a personal album. Zech did this too but used an album I bought from the bookstore.

He started learning how to write his name during this time. As his name is long, I broke down the task for him. Writing 'Nath' is good enough.

As this unit focused on us, Nathanael started drawing people on his own. Something I'm very proud of because Zech couldn't draw at this age then!

Dd for dinosaur

Many many activities that can be done but I've pushed some of the activities to the mid-year holidays so that Zech can join us. The Natural History Museum as a field trip for the boys and dino fossils excavation are in line during the holidays.

What we've done differently so far from the first time I did it with Zech...

These are 2 of the 'high level' crafts I almost regretted doing. I did most of the work and I hate doing these but persevered for the sake of Nath.

Making a clay dino.

Not that great a result but the process of learning definitely outweighs the final product.

There are some activities that deserve a second mention here.

Dino sensory play. Always a hit with the boys!

Nath's more creative than Zech definitely. Here's his version of a dino cake.

The volcano experiment with baking soda and vinegar. The boys were just intrigued by the effect.

As Nathanael approached his 4th birthday, we began on the unit on Oo octopus.

This was the time he learned how to write his entire name.

He can now write his name independently. This boy is going to be neater than his big brother I think based on his grip and strength when writing. He spends more time writing, doodling and drawing on his whiteboard and easel board too. Every child is really different.

To praise the Lord with a tambourine, we used and modified Nath's craft from Sunday School and turned it into a personalized tambourine. He enjoyed using it to sing and praise the Lord.

An octopus craft using paper plates and crepe paper.

We made a trip down to the Sea Aquarium just to see the octopus and to learn more about the marine creatures. The plus point then was I didn't need to buy a ticket for Nath as he was a few days short of 4 years. :)

The first thing Nath asked to see was the shark. He was here before just last year so this was his second trip.

Close up with the dolphins. Nath has always been confused between a shark and a dolphin. He has seen a pod of dolphins in Australia before but never underwater like this. A close encounter allowed him to tell the differences between the two creatures.

Was surprised there was a colouring corner near the Ocean Dome. Thought it was there only during the holidays.

And the star of the day is none other than the octopus! It's really an amazing creature.

Zech did this ocean picture too but he wasn't into drawing so I cut out shapes for him to paste. Nathanael is more into drawing and asked me to teach him how to draw a tortoise, jellyfish and fish. He used his hand prints to make the octopus. I cut out strips of green paper for the sea grass and guided him to glue some sand on the ocean bed.

Finally, we read the book 'Swimmy' and retold the story using the craft. We took turns to retell and pretended to be Swimmy and the big black fish.

Teaching the same content the second time allows me to recall, reflect and improve on my teaching style, based on a child's needs and learning style. Nothing is perfect and every moment presents a learning point and I'm humbled by that..

Cultivating a love of reading

I remember the early days of reading to Zech. As early as 8 weeks old in my womb, we diligently took turns to read to him every night.

Now at school-going age, it is a challenge to cultivate a reader let alone an avid one. But I want to take up this challenge because it is that important despite the fact that boys tend to read less than girls. I'm still exploring and I think the key lies in interest. The content matters, be it fiction or non-fiction.

Last year, Zech started reading early reader books, which sustained his attention. I noticed at Zech's age, children can recognize and read a wide range of vocabulary so it's not so much about the difficulty level of the books. But how can kids continue to read for more than 5 minutes on their own with books that contain more words than pictures? The early readers serve as a bridge, linking picture books to chapter books.

This year, I introduced more Roald Dahl books to Zech. Previously, I had read 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' to him.

Zech started reading 'Fantastic Mr Fox', then 'The Twits' and now he's reading 'The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me'.

When Zech was reading 'Fantastic Mr Fox', he wasn't that keen. He read aloud to me almost every night. Towards the end as the plot reaches the climax, he was more motivated. However with 'The Twits', Zech was very willing to read the book independently in school and has moved on faster than our read aloud session at night. To make sure he understood what he read, I asked him to either reread to me or summarise the chapter for me. Now he's reading 'The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me'. He started on his own, using the silent reading time in school. I was surprised when he voluntarily shared what he read with me. I guess the story must be captivating. I've not read this book before so in a way, I'm reading along with him. Recently, I noticed Popular promoting Roald Dahl books, selling $13 per copy. Bookdepository offers a better price, selling about $8 to $9 a copy. I've placed an order for a few more books to be added to Zech's reading list this year.

On his own, Zech has continued to read picture books and other non-fiction books. He has been borrowing regularly from the school library, much to my delight. In my reading plan with him, I want to introduce other classics to him. I was thrilled to find these at the library. They are great starters! So easy to read Zech completed the book within 15 minutes.

Recently, Zech read a local poetry book given as a Christmas present by a friend. Initially, I just wanted him to practice reading poems aloud since poetry recitation is a test component this term. Surprisingly, he was at this book for a couple of nights and even said his favourite poem was 'Ah Seng'.

Reading different genres is great exposure to children. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry etc. provide a wealth of vocabulary and transport them beyond their world, helping them put on other perspectives into the lives of others so different from them.  

I find myself as a mother always searching for good books to introduce to Zech. I'd love to have him grow up in the wonderful world of stories, a faraway land I immersed myself in when I was a child. It is a privilege to read and to learn. From the timeless tales of old to realistic fiction, from Bible stories to the truth found in the Word, it is important to read well and acquire a healthy reading diet. There's no better time than now. I think the next challenge is to motivate Zech to read the Bible independently.

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. :)