Weaver Interlock: Pre-K Week 3

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2)) 

This week we concentrated on putting on our listening ears and looking eyes. I decided to let Hannah use silly putty and masa flour in a pan to have some sensory work to help her listen. It actually worked quite well. She kept her hands busy which freed up her ears to listen better. The Weaver lesson focused on the first day of creation, how God made light and how light provides colors.

We worked on patterning, which is an area that she hasn't quite grasped yet. We also concentrated on the concept of one.

As we get further in the Get Ready for the Code book the handwriting is getting easier. She's getting more confidence which makes her more willing to do the work.

She absolutely loves Hooked on Phonics. The lessons are super quick, brightly colored and the cd-rom takes it to another level of fun for her. 

We worked on counting to ten with manipulatives. She really enjoyed working with all of the bright colors and different textures. She has counting to ten down.

 She got to do some fun painting with a rainbow of colors, the finished product is mostly brown from all of the color mixing.

Random cuteness at the park.

 

Hannah had her first official week at Awanas. She is having a blast and is soooo good at memorizing. I'm totally shocked at how well she is doing. It's very exciting. We work in her workbook twice a week and then work on the memorizing the rest of the week and I drill her on the way to the meeting. I love the lessons that Awanas teaches and the fun environment they provide.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-k Week 2

((Hannah is 4))

((Danny is 2))

The second week of preschool flew by. It was a lighter week as far as Weaver was concerned. The main topic this week was the Trinity and how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all helped in the making of our world. I had never actually paid attention to this detail of creation so it was enlightening to me.

We started off with helping mommy fold the laundry. This took alot of concentration. We did many activities that focused on helping.

 

We worked on learning biggest to smallest. 

 

We used our bodies to express smallest and largest.

 

 I created a chore chart like the one you might have seen on here.

As the child is done they flip up the tab and it says "done". This is a great, simple and motivating way to get little ones to start helping around the house. The yellow chart is for morning, it includes making the bed, putting clothes in the hamper, brushing hair and teeth. The blue chart is for the evening, it includes picking up toys, putting clothes in the hamper, brushing teeth and going potty before bed. This really helps with setting a routine and gaining responsibilities.

Working on more activities for biggest to smallest.

 

Working on her preschool workbook.

Doing her phonics work in her Get Ready for the Code book. I love these books! It really drills in the letter and the phonics sound. She is picking it up very quickly. The only downfall is all of the handwriting. This is a an area of major struggle for her. I'm not concerned but it's just difficult when the workbook requires so much, but we get through it. 

The weather is still super warm here so we're making sure to have a lot of outside time and we picked some plums and had a snack.

All in all it was a great week. We actually skipped Wednesday's lesson and moved it to Thursday. Luckily the lessons are so light we just added it to Thursday with our phonics and workbook work. We're having a blast so far.

Weaver Interlock: Pre-K Week 1

(( Hannah is 4 ))

(( Danny is 2 ))

We survived and thrived and I couldn't be more happy. I finished planning our preschool year in mid August and waited a long 2 weeks before we could begin. I decided that since daddy had to work on Labor Day that we would use that day to start preschool. That way we could get a full week in right from the start. 

The curriculum that I chose is called Weaver Interlock. It is a Bible based, hands-on, pre-planned program for preschool and kindergarten. The Bible is "weaved" all throughout each lesson, hence the title. My husband was homeschooled from kindergarten through 7th grade and they used Weaver throughout that time. My mother-in-law still has all of the volumes so I looked into it to see if it would fit our homeschooling needs and it was exactly how I wanted to homeschool. At least that's the plan. I do not believe that the preschool program Interlock existed when they were using Weaver so I was excited to find out about it. I thought it would be a great way to get our feet wet. I found a copy used online for a great price last year. When I read through the lessons that Rebecca Avery, the writer, wrote I fell in love. It is a beautifully written curriculum and I can't wait to learn right along side my little ones.

The plan is to use Weaver Interlock 3 days a week and then we use the other 2 days for phonics and play. The Interlock lessons take an hour at the most and the phonics days take 20-30 minutes at the most. So far, so good. For phonics we are using Hooked On Phonics Preschool Edition which I also found used online and the Get Ready for the Code workbooks. 

Our first day was off to a great start.  We started with some errand running in the morning and a stop at the park. I plan on doing school time with Hannah while Danny takes his afternoon nap. That way I can really concentrate on her with little distractions.

Once we start school time we start with calendar time. I found an adorable calendar at Michael's and used a 40% off coupon so it was a great investment. Used a bunch of velcro and 3M command strips to stick it up in a calendar corner. I also posted a bunch of Carissa's at 1+1+1=1 calendar time songs for learning days of the week, months and 100 days of school chart. I also went through all of Interlock and printed the memory verses so we can work on those.

The first week of Interlock consists of learning about God our Father, how much He loves us, how He made the world for us and appreciation for our own fathers.

Here Hannah is drawing a picture as a gift for her daddy.

As part of the lesson daddy had to give Hannah a special gift to explain the special gift that God made for us, the world. Hannah's special gift was a set of Hello Kitty rings she had been eyeing at the grocery store for quite some time. She was so surprised!

Another part of the lesson was to associate different daddies around the world and I added in how different daddies look different and also how daddies of adopted children may look different but still love their children as their own. Yes that is Brad Pitt pictured below, he was a great example of an adoptive father. What do you do? Also, on a side note Hannah looks just like me as a little girl in the cutting picture, it's the angle because she doesn't really look like me at all.

 

One highlight of homeschooling is you can snack while your work.

Our second day of school included a Homeschool Mama meet up where we got to take professional pictures for a great price. Still waiting to receive mine. It was neat getting to meet other homeshcool mamas and see other homeschooling friends. Hannah and Danny on down on the left.

My goofy grapes.

 

On mornings that we stay home I like to get some table time in so that Danny can participate too and Hannah can get in some extra fine motor/sensory work. I play fun VBS or kiddy music in the background. This day was play-doh and beans and lasted a good 30 minutes. Great morning!

This is a picture of my prep. I read over the week on Sunday to make sure I have any odd supplies I might need to if there is a field trip coming up. Then the morning of, after breakfast I read over the days lesson and read the Bible reference verse so I know what we are covering. Then after lunch I pull it back out along with the printables I printed in August and organized by day and week and get everything prepared. Another reason why I love doing school time after lunch is that it gives me plenty of time to properly prepare for the day.

This collage was an example of God's beautiful world and how God and Jesus were together to make the world and how Jesus also came to earth. The writer and I both know that these concepts might not be completely understood  but it is laying a solid Biblical foundation to build on in the future. Plus it helps me understand more as well.

For part of the math lesson we went on a "shape walk" around the yard and had to stop and swing. 

Another day that started with errands and a stop at the park while we still can before the rain sets in. This is her first time swinging on the monkey bars by herself.

This is Hannah's least favorite thing to do. Handwriting/Tracing/Coloring. But she gets through it and I don't push her. We're working on hand strength exercises to hopefully make this more enjoyable for her. Here she is working in her Get Ready for the Code book.

Reinforcing the shapes that she already knows with some sponge painting.

We had an amazing week! I'm so excited that I found this program and I look forward to our year ahead.