We are excited to do our Kid Cook Real Food Ecourse this summer! My kids are now 5 and 7 and they love eating, so why not teach them some very handy ways to make food by themselves.
I previewed the first lesson for beginners and I'm pleased to say that Katie Kimball is an excellent teacher. She takes the children step by step through the process. She uses fun phrases and easy motions so the kids can remember how to use the tool as well as the proper safety of it.
My kids are always wanting to be more independent in the kitchen and I feel like this course will give them the confidence and foundation to be able to make their own food and even to serve it to the family eventually!
I felt like those programs helped to prepare my son for further reading.
We started the Pre-Reading from All About Reading, but in between having baby #2 and trying to juggle life I didn't stick with it. He had his letter recognition and sounds down well so we were in a good place.
During Kindergarten I dabbled in various phonics reading curriculum.
Nothing was really helping him desire reading and when we came to new words with different sounds he became very "non-teachable" and almost refused to learn to read new sounds.
I was tired of fighting him and decided to take a break.
We started 1st grade and he was still not advancing like I thought he should.
I was discouraged and disappointed that I hadn't figured out how to help him learn to make reading an enjoyable part of his life.
I absolutely LOVED reading and I wanted that for him.
I had remembered All About Reading and so I had him take the free placement test.
It looked like we should start Level 1. But as soon as I got it, I realized that we could start level 2 and he would be just fine.
The first thing I noticed was that the activities with each lesson were different for EVERY lesson!
Herman the Frog showed up every so often to encourage and provide a funny story to keep the kids engaged and interested (He's on the front cover in the top picture on the left side).
Each lesson starts with a title like Lesson 8- Three Letter Blends.
Then there is the objective: In this lesson, students will learn words with three letter blends.
There is a list of what is needed for the lesson like workbook pages, word cards or story books.
Then there's a Before You Begin section that gives some teaching ideas and examples for the lesson to be taught. Then there is the Review which includes going through all the notecards for the lesson (Phonograms, Word Cards and Previous Concepts). A great addition to this program is the free app for pronouncing the phonogram sounds.
The Previous Concepts utilizes the white board with magnetic letters for dividing words.
Then starts the New Teaching.
There are a number of exercises using the white board magnetic letters.
Then there is an activity to complete from the Activity Book.
This one is called a Word Flipper. There is always a little prep work for the activities, but I just cut them all out the week before and put in a folder to be used on the day we do the lesson.
Then it's time to practice reading words from the lesson on the word cards to be filed in the Reading Review Box.
Another extra is a Practice Fluency page.
Be sure as the adult to do a Read Aloud time sometime during the day to reinforce expression, fluency, time spent with your child and enjoyment of a book!
And lastly, put a sticker on the Progress Chart.
Now, this may seem like a lot to do in one day, but honestly, it doesn't take more than 20 minutes. And if it takes over 20 minutes, then find a good stopping spot.
I actually set a timer. That way, I know we get our reading time in and we don't work too long or too hard.
I don't include the Practice Fluency page or the Read Aloud time in our regular All About Reading time.
So we started this curriculum in December and within a few weeks, my son was excited to have All About Reading time. And within a few more weeks, my son was starting to pick up books on his own, even chapter books.
I know I presented a lot of information, but here is what we liked best about All About Reading Level 2:
*Open and Go program (minimal prep)
*Daily success
*Hands on learning
*Variety of activities
*Funny stories
I honestly was a little nervous to see if my son was really going to move ahead in his reading, but he shocked me and embraced the teaching with enthusiasm.
This program has 5 components of reading that were very well integrated throughout all the lessons in the book:
1. Phonological Awareness
2. Phonics and Decoding
3. Fluency
4. Vocabulary
5. Comprehension
My son passed this level with flying colors and he is all ready and very excited to start level 3.
I would recommend this program for any reader, but especially as in my case a reluctant and somewhat resistant reader. I would now say he is neither of these!
I asked my son what he liked about All About Reading Level 2 and this is what he said (video):
This summer I've been wanting to figure out a good schedule for cleaning, cooking, learning time, outside play, time with friends, swimming lessons, camping, etc. Yes, we have a busy summer ahead.
I'm excited to take a break from our homeschool and hang out with friends. However, we still need to keep up with the house chores. I picked some very easy tasks that my kids can do while I try to do some of my own chores.
Here are the weekly chores:
*Disinfect lightswitches and door knobs
*Clean windows and doors
*Wipe cupboards and doorjambs
*Collect garbage
*Bring in garbage and recycle cans
*Sharpen pencils
We also have daily chores like:
*Get dressed
*Make bed
*Vacuum the blue carpet (back door/laundry room area)
*Clean bedrooms (see this great chart)
*Laundry- bring down, fold and put away
*Empty dishwasher, as needed
There are a few other things, but I know this will keep my kids busy and the house clean!
BUT here's the FUN thing I did! I made cleaning caddies for the kids!
I went to the dollar store and picked up a caddy, cloth, brush and spray bottle. I also added a magic eraser to each caddy.
I filled the spray bottle with a little bit of vinegar, some lemon essential oil and lots of water. It sprays a very light mist.
I will go over each thing in the caddy and show them how and where to use them. For the first few weeks I will be closely watching how they use their tools.
My kids absolutely love to scrub and clean and I think they will love these!
PS. My kids are ages 5 and 7 so this is perfect for them.
Will you get your kids cleaning this summer?
Here's a great series to teach your kids how to do chores:
Katie Kimball has yet again produced an amazing resource for parents and KIDS! I am so excited to start this Kids Cook Real Food Ecourse with my kids. I love to cook in the kitchen and I have invited my kids in the kitchen, but I feel I need more guidance on HOW to teach them. So, I bought this course and I'm so impressed with all the information and videos that are available.
I own almost all of Katie's ebooks and I must say, I have made some fantastic recipes from her collection. She uses real food and everything is tasty and easy to prepare. She lays everything out in simple steps and answers many questions you might have along the way.
This new Kids Cook Real Food ecourse embraces all of Katie's sure to please recipes and simple procedures to help our kids learn how to cook also. But this course offers so much more than an ebook. We get to see Katie teach a group of children how to use knives, mix, pour and bake food.
If you want to get a taste of Katie's teaching style and some safe ways to teach kids to use knives, you can click this link to FREE knife skills videos. These are only free until June 6.
Also, you can purchase the Kids Cook Real Food Ecourse between May 30 and June 6.
Here are just a few of the resources you will find in the Kids Cook Real Food Ecourse:
There are lessons for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.
There is a full video along with printable instructions for directions as well as flashcards for learning new information, shopping lists and a curriculum map.
This ecourse is fully comprehensive for teaching young kids skills in the kitchen.
What are the payoffs?
*Help getting dinner ready
*Confidence
*Life skills
*Math and Reading skills
*Time spent together
*Good food
*Much, much more!
So be sure to check out the FREE Knife Skills videos and look for more information about the Kids Cook Real Food Ecourse when it is available May 30- June 6!
We have been having so much fun this year using Which Way USA from Highlights magazine. It is like a fun tour of each state. If you have ever seen any Highlight puzzle books, you will see that this is similar, but each puzzle visits a different part of the state and there is a contest going on between these 2 kids and several other team opponents. The puzzles are fun, sometimes challenging, informative and something that my son and I look forward to doing. Sometimes we work together and sometimes he does it alone.
Some of the puzzles need you to consult the state map. So usually when we start the book I read through all the information on the map while he flips through the book and FREE guidebook that I get in the mail (see at the bottom of this blog post). It's a lot of information, but in the book we need to use the map again and I teach him how to search for information. Sometimes I have a real map and we find the places that are mentioned by using the grid on the map. We also utilize Google and look up images of cities, landmarks, and other interesting facts. It's SO much fun!
And we are also learning the state capitals. I bet you can tell I enjoy this as much as my son.
Every month we get about 4 books, but we usually only get through 1 or 2 a month.
What comes with this resource?
*Large United States Map (we laminated and put on the wall)
*Which Way USA book that you record information for each state you "visit"
*A key chain with a license plate from each state (you can use the code to access online games, but we don't really use that)
*A book for each state
*A large map of each state
*And lots of knowledge!
My 7 year old son says he loves to learn about each new state. It makes him excited to go and visit them some day.
He's holding the key chain, but you can't see the license plate tags on it.
We practice our map skills with real maps that we get FREE (see below).
I can't tell you how much my son looks forward to our Which Way USA times. We do the puzzle book about twice a week. He has a lot of interest in travel and I do hope we can visit some of these places someday.
I started something new this year called Morning Time.
It may not be new to some of you and actually it's something that I used to do when I taught Kindergarten, but I called it Circle Time.
However, I think Morning Time in homeschool has much more to it.
I probably started off doing too much so we are doing much less now, but basically we learn Bible verses, poems, and our character value (Character Concepts).
I also read a devotion, a Bible story or our science book (Come and See).
We light a candle, sing (and dance), pray and try to cultivate what Pam Barnhill has modeled in her podcast and ebook- Truth, Goodness and Beauty.
Pam Barnhill from Ed Snapshots has expounded on this idea with an ebook with a short video course on how to set up a notebook and also an excellent podcast with inspirational guests and free printables.
Here are a few videos of the poems my kids memorized this year:
I am so excited to start sharing the good news of God's Word with my kids through the power of ...stick figures! When children engage in learning by thinking, listening and drawing, they will deposit more of what God's Word teaches into their hearts.
I was given the opportunity to review the Resurrection study.
We are using the Beginner series which is for preschool and Kindergarten age.
My son has a blank area for drawing and my daughter has the traceable drawings.
Each teacher lesson is very simple.
There is a title and a memory verse at the top of the teacher page.
There are 4 sections for 1 lesson.
Each section has a title, read aloud (from the Bible), discussion and what the students need to draw.
There are also words to look up in a Bible dictionary and lesson review questions.
The students have a title and 2 boxes on one page and 2 boxes on the second page along with the review questions.
We did 2 sections one day and 2 sections the next day and the review.
What we liked about the lesson was it was simple both in content and drawing.
What is needed for this study:
Bible
Bible dictionary
Grapevine study book (teacher and 1 for each student)
colored pencils
dry erase board
dry erase markers
My kids really enjoyed these lessons. They asked lots of questions and were very interested in the story that was being told. They were very intent when they were drawing and they were able to remember things during our lesson review and were quick to go back to their drawings to explain their answers.
I thought the lesson plans were simple and easy to follow and were very appropriate for this age level. My kids have been excited each day to do our study so I know this will be something that we will be "sticking" with!
*I was given this product from Grapevine Studies for review. All opinions are my own.*
Get a FREE elesson from The Resurrection for The Last Supper!
GIVEAWAY:
I am giving away one teacher and student ebook set of the Resurrection lesson!
You get to choose the level: There are 6 levels- Traceable, Beginner, Level 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Please see this link for more information: LEVELS
