Here is something I am so excited about.  The Carolina Collector's Table from Pottery Barn Kids.  It is on sale for $99 and is being discontinued.  The first table I am using as my ABC table.  There is colored ABC pasta in the cubbies, and then I put items that start with that letter and the letter itself in various forms in the cubbies.  The cubbies are removable and so I purchased a second table and will not put the cubbies in because I wanted a sandbox like are displayed in Learning Express Stores.  I might also use it as a sensory table.  I will add more pictures once I get the other table completed.  

                                                                   Soon to be sandbox.
Got the inspiration of a having a sand table from the My Little Sandbox display in the Learning Express store we have here.

It has been so long since I last posted on here.  I plan to post weekly as soon as we officially start our school.  This will be our first offical year which means we will daily be having school in a brand new classroom.  We purchased a portable classroom off of craigslist.  It is 40x14 and came with completely finished...carpet, central heat and air, lights, 2 8x10 bulletin boards, 2 8x10 white boards, and hook ups for phone, cable, internet.  On Monday morning, the electricity will be finally turned on and I can really hit it hard getting it finished for the school year.  I will take pictures of our classroom soon.  I hope to start school within 2 weeks.

Valentine's Activities and Sensory Bin

February was a fun filled month doing Valentine's Activities and learning about the letter V.  I got many ideas from Confessions of a Homeschooler, 1+1+1=1, and Counting Coconuts.  I can't always remember who I got from what but I will do my best.  If anyone sees one of their activities or worksheet creations and I don't credit you, please let me know so I can give you the credit.

I have decided to try a sensory bin. I have seen several other bloggers who are using them and have really enjoyed looking at the ideas. I decided February was a good time to start one and have loved getting things to put in the bin. I do want to start a sensory tub soon which is essentially the same thing just a bigger area for the kids to inspect the items without getting them all over. Right now, with my 19 month old, I let them take everything out and look at it. She spends 30-40 minutes at a time several times a day, looking at it all. I add a new item every day. I got my idea for the sensory bin from 1+1+1=1 and Counting Coconuts.


If you want to see all the activities that we did in February for a 3 1/2 year old and a 19 month old, please check out pictures here Valentine Activities.  I will be explaining the different activities under each picture if I haven't already done it by the time you are reading this.

                            Juliet is placing Power Magnets on the letter V.                         

 Consfessions of a Homeschooler V Activity

Working with Chocolate Playdough

Playing with the Valentine's Sensory Bin

Educational Toddler Toys and Activities

Juliet learning how to stack different size cubes.

(Walmart find in clearence section.  Less than $5)

Romeo fishing for numbers.  I called out the number and he fished for it.

(Not sure where I got these.  I think from a thrift store for super cheap)

Making a picture with magnets.  The picture is from a multi pack of Paint Dot Pictures from Oriental Trading.

This is a great find from Ross's.  It is a shapes garage toy.  It comes with keys to unlock each garage door where there are 2 different shapes that are matching the color of the door and the shape above the door.  there are 12 different shapes in all.  He loves the keys and unlocking the doors.

Kumon cutting activity.

More toys, games, and activities to come.

Relaxing by the Pond

We enjoyed doing some learning by our pond.  It was a beautiful day with cool breezes.  So we took a sheet and some snacks along with books and ocean manipulatives and headed outside.  The wonderful thing about schooling at home, it is easy to pick up and go to any learning environment one desires.

Having lunch before learning.

Had to eventually take off some clothes as it got a little warm.
Romeo is lining up the ocean animals from largest to smalles.
Juliet is examining one.

Romeo and I played a matching game.  These cubes have ocean animals on each side.  We put
them in the cup and after shaking it, dumped them out.  Then we counted the matching pairs. For
every matching pair, the person got to pick one of the ocean vinyl animals.  The one with the most animals wins the game.

Juliet has nature items in the pail with different textures, but the pond was too inviting for her. 
This was her reaction to the wagon blocking her way to the pond.

Romeo tickling Juliet with Shamu

First Day of Tot School

Our classroom isn't completely finished yet but I did get the tot tray corner ready for Romeo and Juliet.  I am still organizing and decorating for our Ocean unit.  We went to the beach this summer and the kids loved it so decided to do some beach/ocean activities and books with them.  Enjoy our pictures.

Romeo's and Juliet's Tot Trays.

Romeo's activities for the day.

.

Juliet's Activities for the Day.

Beach Math Felt Set - Counting Activity

Juliet trying to take a piece of tape off of her foot.

Feed the Fish Worms

Each fish has a number on it.  Whatever the number is on the fish is how many worms it gets to eat.

I got this used from a thrift store and can't find a name on it.

Coloring with Kumon Coloring Books.

I love Discovery Toys.  This game is called "It's a Match" 

Cutting one of the pages from his Kumon books.

Practice Tracing with Kumon

Juliet playing with her straws by taking them out and putting them in the bottle.
I got this idea from 1+1+1=1 blogger who has really inspired me.

Just Starting Out

August 8, 2010

I am just testing the waters of blogging.  Because I plan to start homeschooling my 3 year old using tot school ideas, I wanted to share what we do with others.  Also, I would like to have a record so that as my children grow, we can look back at all they have done over the years.

Because I am very new to this, and am not sure how I will fit this in to my already busy day, it will not be a daily thing for me.  My son is only 3 and my daughter is 1 so homeschooling is not going to be a HAVE TO get it done year.  I am going at his pace and what he is confortable with.  I don't want to rush him and make him hate school.

Very slowly, pictures and posts will be listed.  Please continue to check back.

Thanks for your interest!

Erinn