"I See the Farm Animals" Emergent Reader Book

I just finished another emergent reader book that I wanted to share! This one features the sight words I, see, and, the. Animals are Dandie's favorite thing, and I know she's going to love this one when she sees it. Can't wait to show her! Dandie has been working hard on learning her first sight words. It's so fun to watch her as she learns to read. And she's so proud of herself!

Here's a page from the book:

Click here to see the entire book.

I Like Fall! Emergent Reader Book

My oldest daughter, Dandie, doesn't have school on Fridays, so I was hoping to sleep in this morning. Hoping. Yup, didn't happen. As usual, the girls were up at the crack of dawn. 5:43 a.m. to be exact. Sigh.

And what does Dandie want to do on her day off from school? School. And not play school, either. I know I should be overjoyed by that, but I honestly did not have anything prepared for homeschool this morning. So I fed the girls breakfast, made my coffee, and finished up an emergent reader book I started last night while I ate my breakfast. This book is about fall (since Daisie has been working on the letter f this week), and uses the sight words I, like, see, the (sight words both girls are learning right now).

Click on photo for link

Letter F Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

I firmly believe that learning occurs in all environments, not just in the classroom or around the dining room table doing worksheets. There are so many teachable moments in everyday life; we just need to take advantage of them!

Since my oldest is in kindergarten, I have a lot of time to spend one-on-one with my youngest. We've been doing some homeschooling, loosely following This Reading Mama's Pre-K Reading Curriculum. (You should check out her site if you haven't already! She has lots of great literacy resources for preschool and elementary ages.) This week is the letter f, along with sight word the.  Here is a quick grocery store scavenger hunt activity I created to go along with the letter f theme.

Letter F Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

Canning Salsa

My house smells so absolutely wonderful right now! Cumin, roasting peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onions...mmm.  Today I'm using up some of the last of my tomatoes and peppers from the garden to can salsa. Making your own canned salsa isn't rocket science by any means, but there are a few rules that you must follow if you want to avoid any foodborne illnesses. Here are a few things that I've learned along the way.

Five Senses Activity

Earlier this summer we did a short study of the five senses. I designed a rather simple book for the girls to explore their senses and how they work. They really enjoyed making their books, so I thought I'd share with all of you!

(link to book here)

Sight Words: I, like, and, the, see

At the beginning of the school year, Rachel's kindergarten teacher sent out a list of sight words they would be focusing on each quarter. Yay! Something I could work with her at home! The first quarter's sight words are I, like, and, the, see. After an unsuccessful search of the web and Pinterest for some activities for these specific sight words, I decided to make a few worksheets of my own.

The first one is a cookie sheet (or refrigerator, or whatever kitchen appliance you can stick magnets to!) activity. Secure the worksheet to your magnetic surface using either magnets or tape. Poster putty works well, too. Have your child search through your stash of alphabet magnets to find the letters that spell each word.

(link to worksheet here)

For Everything There is a Season

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted..." Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

I woke up this morning to the first day of fall. Actually, I didn't realize fall's official arrival was today until I read a friend's Facebook post wishing everyone a Happy Autumn. And it's not like it snuck up on me. The signs have all been evident: singing cicadas, cooler nights, new shades of color on the trees, shorter evenings, and darker mornings. The girls are in school. My garden is giving up its last offerings of the year.  

Fall has always been bittersweet for me. Of all the seasons, fall most clearly signals to me the passing of another year. But why is it getting to me so much this year? Maybe it's because I turned 40 a few weeks ago. Or perhaps it's because it was Rachel started kindergarten. And Allie starting her first year of preschool likely contributed to it as well. All momentous milestones in our lives. All signs of passing time. For everything there is a season.