3 hours ago
Showing posts with label Preschoolers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preschoolers. Show all posts
"Today we're going to make butter!" she announced. "Have you done your arm workouts lately?" She put some fresh cream and salt in a mason jar, and one by one we took turns shaking it until we heard a thumping inside the jar. The bonnet-clad lady twisted the lid, and there it was - fresh butter.
She opened a couple more doors on the oven, and slid out a pan of hot gingerbread, and I still remember how good it smelled, and how satisfying it was with a little of our butter spread on top.
And that was my first memory of learning about the pioneers.
I think what made me remember that field trip so well was, in fact, the yummy gingerbread. There is nothing that can bring a historical period to life like experiencing a little piece of it through your five senses. I think taste is an especially good sense to include!
I am trying to think of ways I can give my kids the same effect for our school subjects this year, ways that I can help a topic stick in their minds using taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing. I have a whole post about including the five senses in learning on the Rooted Family blog this week, with really SIMPLE ideas, because I am all about simple homeschool activities. If a learning activity isn't easy for me to do with my kids, it probably won't happen. I hope the post can get your wheels turning and your creative juices flowing on how you can include all five senses in your homeschool day!
I also wanted to link a few of my favorite resources and products that I referred to in that post over here! So these are a few things that I'm trying to include this year.
(Some affiliate links below.)
Historical Figure Toys - Rainbow Resource sells these little toy sets that can correspond with different historical periods, and I have to admit I got pretty excited when I discovered this! I bought my kids the Revolutionary War soldiers, British and Continental troops, and I am going to break them out as we read more about our nation's founding this year!
Rush Revere Series on Audio - As we wind down our school day in the afternoons, I've been trying to remember to put on an audiobook while the kids color or finish up their copywork. Our favorite right now is the Rush Revere series! We are currently listening to Rush Revere And The Presidency which is a great one for an election year. We've also been working through the Little House series on audio. There is something about novels that makes history stick in the mind so much better, and it's also a great opportunity to give my kids practice at listening well.
Background Music - I love Kristi Hill's resources on teaching music appreciation for kids. If you aren't signed up for her emails, I'd recommend it - she sends out "Music Monday" emails with links and activity suggestions for different pieces of music. She also has playlists on Spotify which make great background music for a homeschool day!
Picture Books With Recipes - I'm trying to make note of the picture books we come across that include recipes, so we can make them together! "Thundercake" is on our list of recipes to try right now, at the back of the book by the same name. (If you know of any other picture books that include recipes, please tell me! Still trying to gather a list.)
Picnic Blanket - Getting outside is the perfect way to create sensory memories of our homeschool days, and I am finding our waterproof picnic blanket (that my friend actually got me for my wedding!) really useful this year - we are trying to do more of our school reading outside, and spreading a blanket amidst the grass and flowers makes it that much more enjoyable.
Five Senses Learning Ebook - If you decide you really want to get serious about including all five senses in your learning, I wanted to also point you to my friend Elizabeth's ebook on the subject! She has put together a "Five Senses Letter-A-Week Activity Guide" for the younger homeschool crowd. I haven't read the ebook, but I have read Elizabeth's blog for a while and she has a ton of interesting activity ideas. If you have preschool kids and want to make their learning more sensory and fun, I think her book would be a great place to start! I also asked Elizabeth if she had any encouragement to offer on this subject, and here's what she wanted to say:
What better way to learn than by captivating the five senses? By incorporating opportunities for your child to HEAR - SEE - TOUCH - SMELL - and TASTE as they learn, they're able to experience the world around them in a way that would not be possible with a textbook alone.
Just from my own educational experiences as a kid, I can say that she's right - I think including all five senses wherever possible is the most effective way to draw your children into the learning process in a way that will make an lasting impression on them.
If you have any favorite activities, products, or resources that incorporate learning through the five senses, I'd love it if you'd add them in the comments!
What memories do you have of a time when something you were learning really came alive for you?
P.S. Don't forget to check out my post on Rooted Family - I'm serious when I say including the five senses can be really easy, and I hope that post can encourage you that providing memorable homeschool experiences doesn't have to be overwhelming.
We got Wyatt the Usborne Children's Encyclopedia for Christmas, and he poured over it for two days. He asked me questions about all the pictures, and I told him what the words on the page said, and he was just fascinated. It was so fun to watch him learning just for the joy of it. While I think we will follow some sort of curriculum, I want to make sure we have plenty of interesting books around that fit in with what we are learning, to make the whole year more fun.
I've been making book lists galore, but today I wanted to focus on Usborne books! A friend of mine, Brittney, asked me if I would host an Usborne Facebook party, and it sounded like a lot of fun - so I've been going through their thousands of books and making a list of the ones I'd like to get for school next year. I'll share the ones I'm thinking about getting, but first, let's talk quickly about the ones I have, shall we?
Usborne Books We Already Have
The Children's Encyclopedia - Like I said above, this one has been a hit. I think it's the full-page gorgeous illustrations that have really sucked Wyatt in. I'm not going to lie, there were a few pages I felt the required more explanation (like the world religions or aliens pages), but they are easy enough to skip if you don't agree with or your child isn't ready for some of it.
How Things Work - This book is just so cool. It's a flap book, and under each flap it gives pictures and descriptions about how the different things in this book work.
Horses & Ponies and Weather - I bunch these together because they are the same type of book. These books have fun illustrations and less text because they are meant for younger readers - but I love it because the few words are used really well, and these books get a lot deeper into the topics than you would expect them to. They have a bunch of these on different topics, and I'm hoping to get more!
Birds Pocket Book - Have I mentioned that our family is really into birds? We don't know a lot about distinguishing birds, but we would like to learn more. All of my kids love flipping through the Audubon bird app on my phone, and this is like the book form!
Starting Chess (not pictured) - I forgot I had this one until I sat down to start typing! Derek is very good at chess, and I picked this up as a supplement for when Wyatt is ready to start learning (which probably is sooner than I think).
So those are the books I have, now on to the books I want.
Usborne Books On My Homeschool To-Buy List
These are the books that I would love to have as we introduce different subjects over the next few years, in addition to the ones I already have.
Science And Nature
The Outdoor Book - I think we would love this for ideas of activities to do outside and nature study!
Human Body Reference Book and Shine-A-Light Human Body Book - This is my area of interest (biology), so I think this looks fun. And the shine-a-light book adds an interesting element!
Poisonous Animals (etc.) - This is one of those great books for young readers!
How Things Grow - I think I need this book to help my black thumb.
Astronomy And Space Reference Book - I don't know if I even need to explain this. Yay for space!
100 Science Experiments - Someone told me I need this, and I think I do!
History
Big Picture Atlas - I think this will be good for context with different historical events.
Living Long Ago - I'm still not sure my kids grasp how different life was 200 years ago, so this looks great!
Christopher Columbus - One of the few American history books. Usborne, I know you are British, but more on the American History front please!
See Inside Exploration And Discovery and The Story Of Inventions - These looked really interesting to me.
Reading and Writing
Illustrated Grammar And Punctuation - We are a way off from needing this yet, but my grammar nerd is coming out! I love this idea!
Illustrated Dictionary and Illustrated Thesaurus - Same as above!
Illustrated Classics: Huckleberry Finn And Other Stories - This is one of a few classics collections that are condensed and rewritten for young readers, and I am really curious about them.
Miscellaneous (aka. Just For Fun)
Over 50 Secret Codes - I would have loved this as a kid.
Fingerprint Activities: Animals - This just looks adorable, and would be so fun for everyone, including the little two!
First Book About The Orchestra - The kids love Maestro Classics (#affiliate), and I think this book would be a great visual to understand the different instruments.
Big Keyboard Book - We are still hoping to teach our kids how to play the piano, and this looks useful!
I could go on, but you get the idea! There are just a lot of really fun books. Clearly it's probably going to take me longer than the next year to collect all these! Maybe I should retitle this post "Usborne Books For Early Elementary", because I think all of these will last well beyond first grade!
Now for a little plug - the Facebook party is tomorrow night at 8 PM EST, and Brittney has a bunch of fun things planned - including a drawing for a book prize! So if you want to check Usborne out, this is a good chance! If you comment below saying you want to join, I'll send you an email to add you to the party! Or if you have your eye on something and want to buy without attending the party...can you purchase through any of these links and select my eShow on the left before checkout? Because then I can earn discounts on books! (Shameless plug, I know.) Party is open until next Monday!
Do any of you have some Usborne books? What would you recommend to me for the elementary school years?
I'd love to hear!
P.S. Brittany also made me this handy graphic for Usborne books that go with different curricula! Pin this!
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