This week was another easy-going summer week for my son and daughter. The learning in our home never ends and we like it that way! However, Blueberry Ball has been sick most of the week, so I kept it all to whatever he wanted to do. Whenever he got bored, I gave him options to choose from of things from our summer school stash. I like that at this age, it works!
- Monday, he asked me to make another Sight Word Parking Lot.
I tried to involve Raspberry Bug in the fun this time around by adding words that she was familiar with as well. She didn’t understand the concept of the cars and words together just yet, but after initially trying to tear up the paper, she had fun pointing at and recalling the different words.
This was frustrating for Blue, however. He specifically told me, “Mommy, you made the parking lot too big!” I think it was too overwhelming for his math-minded little brain to see so many letters and words all at once.
It’s a little difficult for me as a teacher to have two separate word lists for them. I didn’t do this on purpose. Red fell in love with an app that her grandmother purchased for her on the IPad called Endless Reader. Honestly, I didn’t know she was ready to start on sight words (she was just under two when she began recognizing them).
Most of her sight words are from the dolch list, but some are extras they added to get words in all the A-Z categories. I think once we get every package on Endless Reader, she will have all of the common kindergarten sight words plus some, but until then, there will just have to be a gap.
Blue ended up sounding out a couple of words, then just playing with his cars.
- Tuesday, we did some more with our Sight Word Popsicle sticks per his uninfluenced request (I love those ❤ ).
It didn’t last long, as his fever came back that day and he got tired. I’m just glad he was excited to try this activity again. I turned the folder back and we only focused on the lower-case side.
- Wednesday we did the first page of his new “Step Ahead Golden Workbook” called “I Can Read“.
First of all, the title intrigued him a great deal. Daddy bribed him with a new Game Boy and Pokemon game as soon as he learned how to read well enough. He did the first page with ease! He was able to either sound out or recognize the common sight words used, and we did the picture-word connections together.
He began almost immediately getting frustrated and confused at me pointing out individual words, so instead I circled each word in turn as we came to it. This idea had great success. Now if only I could do that with books….
We have the “Numbers 10 to 100” workbook that he already has been working on and enjoying. Some of these worksheets I have him write directly in, and some I have placed in his Dry Erase Notebook for continuous use.
I love these workbooks. Especially for summer time. It keeps things that I don’t have to print on hand at all times. Plus they were only three dollars or so each at the store. “Home School On A Dime”, right? They come with stickers too.
Some have a specific theme or page in mind, and others are simply reward stickers. Blue loves the sticker incentives. Kind of like the Activity Boxes we did each Tuesday last year. I love that each sticker generally has a designated space. It works his hand-eye coordination and his fine motor skills.
These are workbooks that he needs assistance with still. They require some reading skills that he has not yet acquired, but he is up for the challenge, and most days, so am I. The idea is to prepare him this summer (as much as possible) for the first grade curriculum I purchased for the upcoming school year.
I’m not concerned about his math skills so much. The math section largely covers review of some things he has already learned, and introduces new topics slowly.
The reading section has a list of words he should know by the end of the year, but requires an adult to do the majority of the reading anyway (even for end-of-the-year testing). I just want to get a head start on sounding words out and on the sight words themselves. I think he’s going to do great!
- Red did lots with her markers, dry erase board, and chalkboard. I’m so glad she finally stopped eating markers and chalk! She spent at least an hour each day doing some kind of art. I also wrote down individual sight words for her to recognize. She likes that activity, but only for a few minutes at a time before she wants to try and write them herself =).
- Thursday we read a few books together, but they both slept for most of the day.
Mommy just caught up on some extra housekeeping and organizing she’s been putting off.
And today, like most summer Fridays, is our lazy/fun day. We are at Grandma’s condo enjoying the amenities. I did bring the new workbooks, however, just in case!
I can’t wait to see what our next week looks like. Each day, we get closer and closer to our new school year. YAY!
What does your summer review look like?
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