We Made a Book!

My mom recently brought over a box of stuff I had made in school.  Some of this stuff was from kindergarten!  As "Rupert" and I went through it, we came across a book I had made in the 3rd grade.  The teacher had constructed the book and I had written my own story and drawn my own illustrations in it.  Immediately, "Rupert" asked if we could make one for him.  What a fun idea!  I went out and bought some Con-Tact paper and we were ready to create!

We used:

1. The cardboard from a large pizza box
2. A few of our handwriting pages
3. A needle and thread
4. Rubber Cement
5. Con-Tact paper

First, we folded the handwriting paper in half and stitched it down the center so it would stay together firmly.  I decided to do this because the book I had made as a child was starting to fall apart, and I wanted this one to be stronger.

Then, we cut out two rectangles a bit larger than the folded paper.  These were to be the cover.  We set these side by side on the contact paper and wrapped it around them, and the cover was made!

Then we just glued the pages into the inside covers of the book and TA-DA!!  Our own book.

I have to say...I have a new appreciation for my 3rd grade teacher who made these books for 30 students.  I can't imagine making 30 of these at once!  One is cool.  30 doesn't sound so fun.  So, thank you, Mrs. Wolkenhauer!!

1st Grade: Week 28 Highlights

Bible: We've really been enjoying the daily devotions at kids4truth.com They have been such a blessing for us. Check them out! "Rupert" has also been reading his children's Bible for phonics this week.

Grammar: We were introduced to three more sentence types this week- the command, the question and the exclamation. "Rupert" practiced writing a sample of each of the four types of sentences.

Science: This week we talked about our sense of touch. We also did a fun little activity where I put miscellaneous items into a paper bag, and "Rupert" had to put his hand in the bag, and determine what was in there by using his sense of touch. We also talked about how sensitive our fingers are to touch, and did the activity again, but this time wearing a mitten on his hand.

Some of the things in our touch bag:

History: We read about the Greeks (Sparta and Athens) coming together to fight off the Persians, the origin of the Marathon run, and finally, the Peloponnesian war. We also played a Peloponnesian war board game that was in our Story of the World Vol.1 Activity Book.

Math: We reviewed our skip counting songs and double and triple digit addition with carrying. After doing a great job on that, "Rupert" asked for a challenge: a 10-digit problem! My little math master did his challenge problem perfectly! We called it our "monster problem", so when he was done solving it, he drew in a monster face around it. :-)

Kung fu: "Rupert" learned more of his double stick form this week. I finished learning it, and I'm here to say, it is tough! Keeping track of what your body is doing is tricky enough sometimes, then adding a stick in each hand and trying to make those do what you want them to...I don't know how any kid would be coordinated enough to get it down. But they do...and he is.

Social Opportunities: We took it easy this week and just had kung fu class, a baking/crafting playdate for St. Patrick's Day, and PE class.

Our St. Patrick's Day craft will grow parsley "hair"

Our cupcakes had rainbow colors inside!

1st Grade: Week 23 Highlights

Craft: We made valentines this week for "Rupert's friends. This craft was based on an idea we saw in Clubhouse Jr. magazine.

Phonics: I think we're having a reading growth spurt. "Rupert" is able to read a lot more than before, and this gives him the confidence to try sounding out new, harder words. It's a great cycle to be on! As we were in line at the post office this week, he grabbed a pamphlet and started reading what he could as we waited. The word "international" still trips him up, but he's got "shipping" down pat! LOL!

Grammar: "Rupert" began learning another poem this week. This will make 5 in all.

Science: This week marks the beginning of our human body study. We started by learning about bones. I am teaching "Rupert" the names of some of the major bones, about 20 in all. I am planning to do either a big lapbook for our human body study, or a collection of smaller ones. I'm not sure yet which.

This week we did a few projects to go along with our study: We made a model of a backbone complete with discs in between the bones and a spinal cord running up the center.

Here, "Rupert" is showing how the many bones work together to allow us to bend.

Our discussion went into how the nerves work and "Rupert" modified his model to show that the nerves in the arms and legs (the threads coming off the backbone model) are connected to the spinal cord, which is connected to the brain (the green spool on the right). It was amazing to listen to him explain to me how the nervous system works. He picked up on the concept very quickly.

We also learned that bones are made up of minerals. When the minerals are removed, the bone is no longer hard, but becomes rubbery. The calcium in this chicken bone was removed by soaking it in vinegar for a few days.

We did a measurement project to show that we "shrink" during the day and actually are shorter at night than we are in the morning because of the pressure that is on our bodies when we are in an upright position. It was pretty funny because we had measured "Rupert" in the morning, then came back to measure again at night and he was so excited to see how much he had grown over the course of the day. He was very surprised to find that he was actually about 1/2 inch shorter than he had been in the morning.

History: This week we've been reading about the early Greeks. "Rupert" made this Mycenaean shield and we have plans in the works for making a Mycenaean helmet as well.

Kung Fu: We are learning our 4th stick form. It uses two sticks and takes a lot more concentration to learn than the single stick forms we have previously learned. "Rupert's" focus is getting better, although he does still have a day here and there where he is totally spacey.

Social Opportunities: Besides all the real world social experience of being out and about, talking to all kinds of people of different ages and backgrounds, asking questions, and just generally experiencing the community around us, we had 2 playdates this week, art day, kung fu, story time, and play practice.

Feelin' Crafty

Here are a few of the crafts I've been working on to give as gifts this year:

Crocheted snowflake ornaments for my sister.

A poop duck for my husband's boss. I thought crocheting something for a man (and a construction foreman, at that) was kind of cheesy, but the thing CRAPS CANDY. Who wouldn't love that?

And finally, a potholder and dish cloth set for my sister-in-law.

Handprint Angel Craft

I found this cute angel craft, and "Rupert" was excited to give it a try. I told him how to do it, and he went up and made it all by himself. Fun and easy to do, and I love the Christmas verse on the front.

1st Grade: Week 17 Highlights

We took an easy week this week and did a gingerbread man theme. We read 2 versions of the gingerbread man story and compared and contrasted them using a venn diagram. I printed up gingerbread man themed math worksheets and other activities, and we made and decorated real gingerbread men.

Phonics: We continued working on the sight word flash cards.

History: We started on our Egyptian burial mask.

Music: "Rupert" got some beginning Christmas music from my former piano teacher, and has been having fun playing that.

ASL: We've been practicing telling a simplified version of the Christmas story in sign. In doing so, we've learned the signs for God, Jesus, king, shepherd, wise men, worship, born, savior and celebrate.

1st Grade: Week 16 Highlights

Spelling: "Rupert" took on two spelling lists this week and got every word right on the first try. It's funny how he can do that but then it doesn't transfer over to his writing (the fun writing that he does on his own). For example, he was wrapping Christmas presents for his grandparents and wrote "To grandpo Mik" instead of grandpa Mike. I'm sure it will all fall into place in time.

Phonics: I made a few sets of sight word flashcards and we put some of them to use this week. It has been a nice little break from the usual. I used the Dolch sight word list that I found here.

Math: More math worksheets this week. We also played with the abacus on "Rupert's" request. Today we went to the childrens book store and got a workbook that I think he will like.

History: We talked about the new kingdom of Egypt and a couple of memorable pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Tutankhamen. We'll continue with this chapter next week since I got a few videos on King Tut at the library that should be fun and interesting.

Science: This week we talked about reptiles. We read about iguanas and rattle snakes. Again, "Rupert" felt compelled to make a costume and taped a piece of green tissue paper to his chin so he could be an iguana with a dewlap. He is a funny guy! He also enjoyed making this lizard mosaic with beans.

Art: We did another water color lesson. We are really having fun with this. I think the big lesson for "Rupert" to learn is to relax and not be concerned with perfection. He sometimes gets frustrated that his art doesn't look the same as that of the lady on the video. He wants to copy her work EXACTLY. I keep reminding him that the great thing about art is that everyone's comes out differently, and we can appreciate the differences. Here's "Rupert's" painting:

And here's the one I did:

Already in the Christmas Spirit!

We recently bought the fixins for a Christmas wreath for our front door. "Rupert" was SO excited for the day after Thanksgiving (I made him wait...one holiday at a time, now.) to make his wreath! He could hardly stand it! So, first thing on Friday we got crafty and made this:

Thanksgiving is...

Well, from the looks of it, to me, Thanksgiving is baked treats. Here's what I baked today:

Pumpkin pies, brownies and cranberry bread. I can't wait till tomorrow!

Every year we put up this "Thankful Tree" and each day "Rupert" gets to write what he is thankful for on a leaf that we then attach to the tree. This year he was thankful for Grandma & Grandpa, Christmas, Wall-E, the piano, angels, Uncle Erik, Mom, Kiki (the cat), himself, Daddy, God, our house, planets, and Kiki again. Can you tell he REALLY likes the cat?

Oh! And we did a little turkey craft too!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day...

I got all the duckie finger puppets done, and their mother too! And heeeeeere they are...

Finger Puppet

Ok, so my aunt saw "the cutest little knitted finger puppets" at the children's bookstore the other day and asked if I could knit her some. I thought it would be fun to try, so I looked online for a pattern and found one for a duck. I think it came out pretty well. :-)

1st Grade: Week 11 Highlights

Sheesh! It has been so long since last week that I think I've forgotten what all we did. I think I'll just tell my story in pictures.

Here's the aftermath of our reading time on Monday:

We worked on double digit addition, which "Rupert" picked up on quite easily.

Then there was free creative time, which he LOVES! This week he was working on his life-size ninja turtle masterpiece. He made his goal and finished it by Halloween!

"Rupert" does his copywork twice a week at his little table.

A couple more things he made during free creative time. He was SO excited about Halloween this year and was really into making decorations to put all around the house.

On Friday, we went to the pumpkin patch. I was worried that there would be nothing left since it was the DAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN, but it was wonderful! Plenty of pumpkins, and no crowd...perfect!!

We carved pumpkins on Friday night. This was the first year that "Rupert" didn't mind handling the pumpkin guts at all.

My ninja turtle got to go to the Halloween party/parade at our local library, then after dinner we went to the carnival at our church, and to Grandma and Grandpa's house. He brought home more candy than I ever imagined...enough to give us all a good solid start on the road to diabetes. :-)

I'm sure this didn't help matters. We found this in a Halloween cook book at the library. It WAS good. :-)

I also joined "Rupert" in his Kung Fu class and I LOVE it! I am so excited that I get another chance to train in martial arts. Doing it with my son is so cool. It has always been a dream of mine to train with my kids. Now if we could just lure Daddy into it, what fun we would have!

Crocheted Candy Corns

I get a weekly newsletter from Lion Brand and these cute little candy corns were featured in a recent one. I could not resist! I made several of them, modifying the pattern a bit, to leave a small hole at the bottom so that the "stuffing" could be squeezed out. I bet you'll never guess what I stuffed them with. ;-)

1st Grade: Week 8 Highlights

We took this week a little easier than usual because we had a lot to do to prepare for "Rupert's" birthday party. "Rupert" wanted to make his own pinata this year instead of buying one, and we managed to finish our masterpiece in time for the party on Thursday. It worked perfectly!

Science: We studied kangaroos and beavers this week. Oooh, that reminds me: we still need to watch the video on beavers that I got from the library.

ASL: We learned the ASL alphabet and reviewed counting to 10. "Rupert" even taught it to his grandma and practiced it with his cousin.

History: This is the subject we dropped this week. We'll pick it back up next week when we have more time and attention for it. We did change the "natron" salt on our chicken mummy though. Here's a peek at what he looks like this week.

Grammar: "Rupert" is currently memorizing his 3rd poem. We are also continuing to learn about nouns and proper nouns. We are moving fairly slowly through this but he enjoys it because the lessons are quick and easy.

Math: I'm trying to decide what to do for math. "Rupert" knows how to add single digits. The problem is that he gets his answers by counting. He almost always gets the correct answers, but he doesn't have his addition facts down cold. I'm not sure if I should keep him here until he learns them (and risk math boredom, which he is already showing signs of), or move on and experiment with the next concept. He loves math, and I don't want to kill that by drilling him to death. Still thinking on this one...

Kung Fu: "Rupert" learned the last half of his new form this week, and it looked so cool, I had him teach it to me. I can't wait until we can take lessons together!

Phonics: We've started working with the silent e. We've been here before, but when we started first grade, I decided to back up and start with quite a bit of review. I think this has been beneficial to him, helping him to gain more confidence in reading.

Music: We finally got a piano back in the house last weekend, thanks to a wonderful friend of mine! I wasn't the only one to be excited about this. "Rupert" loves playing with the piano, and has been really impressed with my playing. For now, I am just answering his questions and teaching little tidbits. It will be interesting to see if this excitement for the piano will last or if it is just the newness of it that he loves. It sure is fun to watch him learn and get excited about it though. :-)

1st Grade: Week 2 Highlights

Things are going along quite well. This week Rupert wrote his Sunday School teacher a thank you note since this coming Sunday will be his last day in her class. He will be in the first grade class the following week.

We slowed down a bit in math to be sure that Rupert gets his addition facts down cold. He likes math and understands the concept of addition, we just need to work on memorizing those facts so he can spit them out in a split second. I think taking a little extra time here will really benefit him in the end.

Phonics is Rupert's least favorite subject. I'm not exactly sure why. I think he gets a little overwhelmed when he sees many words on a page and knows he as to read them ALL. To make it more fun for him, I had him act out the sentences we was reading, and although that took longer, he had more fun with it.

Grammar and Writing are going along well. So far I really like the materials I've chosen to use with him. He is learning about nouns and proper nouns, capitalization and punctuation, and practicing his listening and narration skills. He has also memorized a poem.

We talked about habitats in science this week and we made a diorama of a desert habitat. Rupert chose to add cacti, a camel and a rattlesnake to his habitat diorama. I think it came out cute.

In history, we learned about the Nomads and how they eventually became farmers. After learning all about them, we pretended to be Nomads, moving our tent from place to place in search of food. We found berries and hunted wild animals (AKA the family cat) to eat. Finally we settled in the "Fertile Crescent" and learned to farm. Rupert really enjoyed this little game, and I know that playing it really set the things we learned this week in his mind.

Sewing

G found 3 stuffed animals this morning that needed to be repaired. They each had a little hole in one of the seams, and he was in a "can-do", independent mood and insisted on sewing them up himself. Now, being that he is only five, my first thought was to tell him "no", and to do it myself, but I thought I'd let him give it a try, and you know what? He did a great job! Really, we don't give kids enough credit.

Sunday School Craft

I thought this was cute. They made these stand-up crosses and then decorated them how they liked in Sunday School yesterday. I love G's message...cute misspellings and all! :-)

Spool Knitting

G was looking at my current knitting project today and asked if I'd teach him to knit. I remember my mom teaching me to spool knit when I was little, and I thought it would be fun to try it. I don't have any spools around the house, so I had to get creative and make one from what we had...a toilet paper tube, some craft sticks, and some good old fashioned duct tape! Here's a picture of our home made spool:

I added the duct tape tips to the sticks so the yarn wouldn't slip off so easily. And here is how our project looks so far:
Here's a video on how to spool knit just in case you are like me and have forgotten how to do it.

Behavior Jar

Someone on one of my yahoo groups posted this today and G loved the idea. We took a small jar and pasted on some tissue paper squares with watered down Elmer's glue. Each time I notice G doing something helpful, kind, or having a good attitude, he gets to put a marble in the jar. Whenever I see him whining, complaining or being disobedient, we take a marble out of his jar. When he collects 25 marbles, he gets a quarter.

We've only had the jar for a couple of hours, but they have been a couple of the most helpful, cooperative hours we've ever had! Let's see how long this lasts!