7.31.2010

Adding Bible lessons and some worksheet links

I decided to make a change to our Thursdays. I am adding a Bible lesson to this day. We are using the Alice in Bibleland books as the guide for our lessons. If you don't have these books or don't want to use them you can easily use the Bible to read the story or any other Bible story books.

So week 1 we are going to do the story of Creation. We will read the story, do a coloring page and talk about what the story was about.

Here are some coloring pages you can choose from:
http://www.coloring.ws/creation.htm
http://www.theideadoor.com/Coloring%20pages/fr07feb33_creation.jpg
http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/draft_lens9573001module85423571photo_1266469126Genesis_coloring_pages.jp


And here are some worksheet printables that we'll be using this week as well.
http://www.kidzone.ws/prek_wrksht/pre-print/pre-print-horizontal.htm
(except cutting we'll be tracing)
http://preschoolpalace.org/images/scissor%20skills%20-%20straight%20line%20fall%20theme.gif
http://www.ziggityzoom.com/images/activities/letter_A.gif
http://www.ziggityzoom.com/images/activities/Alphabet_b.gif
http://www.ziggityzoom.com/images/activities/letter_C.gif

Grocery budget for this week

Last week I was over in our grocery budget. I spent $75 (including the chicken I posted about the other day) at Food Lion and $17 (pullups and a few snacks for the house) at Dollar General. We opted to save the gas money from driving an hour to Walmart and stick to shopping near home. It cost a little more but it evened out with the gas.

This week however I was visiting my family so I was already near WalMart. I did pretty good this week. I spent $72 but that includes some school supplies and sunscreen that I needed as well. I stuck to my grocery list though so I'm proud of myself!

What I bought:
Lettuce
Tomato
Bananas
bell pepper
2 big packs of top sirloin that were on sale for $5 each
loaf of bread
box of tea
bag of rice
cheese
gallon of milk
cool whip
Jello (4 boxes, to make Jello jigglers)
Jello pudding (to make a chocolate eclair cake)
graham crackers
pack of cookies
chocolate frosting (for the eclair cake)
bottle of marinade
paper plates
plastic cups
box of apple pies (groan. My son begged for an apple pie all day long. I don't know where he say apple pie or why he wanted some but all day he asked to eat apple pie. So I picked up a box of those apple pie snack cakes)
2 cans chef boyardee
pk of juice
tortillas
2 pks toilet paper
jiffy cornbread mix
salsa
pencils
modeling clay
folders
glue
paint
paper bags
notebook paper
sunscreen

7.28.2010

Rotisserie chicken

When I was grocery shopping this weekend I decided to make a little "splurge" purchase. We're trying to cut down on our eating out but that doesn't leave a night off for me and we all know that we moms need a night off once in awhile. So I stopped by the deli and got a cooked Rotisserie chicken for $7. Then I picked up a package of Uncle Ben's rice that you cook in the microwave for 90 seconds for $1.25. The chickens are on the smaller side so our family of 3 ate half the chicken and the pack of rice for supper that night for a total of $4.75. Much better than a meal out at a restaurant that usually costs around $20.

The other half of the chicken I shredded up for some chicken soup. I didn't have any egg noodles but I had half a box of lasagna noodles in the cabinet , so I took the lasagna noodles, broke them up into smaller pieces and put them in a pot of water with the shredded up chicken. I added some chicken bouillon, garlic powder, onion powder, and some herbs and let it cook. The total for this meal was around $4.50 or so when you add in the price of the spices. Our family of 4 (we have a house guest, Chris' 10yr old cousin, this week) ate out of this soup and there is at least enough for one more meal, most likely a lunch for me, CJ and our house guest this week. So that brings the cost for one meal of the soup down to $2.25.

So this $7 splurge item gave us at least 3 meals. I think I'll have to "splurge" a little more often.

7.27.2010

Chore Chart

I have been toying with the idea of making a chore chart for CJ. He loves to help do things around the house and he loves sticker charts so I decided it was finally time to give him his own chores. I took a piece of poster board, cut it down a little and used my yard stick to make a chart. I left empty spaces so that I can add new chores without making a new chart. I decided to go with the little star stickers because I can peel them off at the end of the week and start over. You can get a pack of 400+ for around $1 plus $0.50 for the poster board so it cost a total of $1.50 to make this chart.

Right now his chores are:
Get Dressed
Make Bed
Brush teeth (he gets 2 stickers each day for this one, one in the morning and one at night)
Pick up toys (2 stickers here as well, we do toy pick up after lunch/before quiet time and before bed)
Put clothes in hamper
Set Table (there is a possibility to get 2 stickers here as well, one at lunch and one at supper)



He also has some other "chores" that he helps me with during the day but I decided not to add those to the chart because they aren't consistent every day things he *has* to do, if that makes sense.
Sort clean silverware and put in drawer (forks, spoons, measuring spoons and butter knives only)
Take clothes out of dryer
Help Vacuum
Fold wash clothes and dish rags

One more thing I also started this week is quiet time after lunch. CJ gave up naptime way before he was even 2 and by mid-afternoon he is super cranky. So today I set the time for 20 minutes, turned on the TV in his room and put him in his bed. He stayed in there for the whole 20 minutes, laying quietly on his bed so I'm hoping this will help with the crankiness.

Last note- I'm going to be making a few changes to the curriculum guide tonight. I will leave up the old guide and repost the new one when it's finished. It's basically the same with just a few tiny changes.

7.22.2010

Preschool Week 1 Detailed Guide

This is our week 1 detailed guide for Preschool.

Theme- Animals
Life Skill- Proper Hand washing
Physical Skill- Walk in a straight line touching toe to heel
Cooking Lesson- Make PB Sandwich
Vocabulary- Letters A,B&C
Reading/Oral Language- Read a book about animals out loud together
Math- Numbers 1-5
Hands on Skill- Trace straight line
Handwriting- letters A,B&C
Craft- Animal Paper Bag Puppets

Monday-
Introduce new Life Skill: Show child how to properly wash hands. Continue to teach this lesson throughout the rest of the week until it becomes habit.

Handwriting: Show child how to write letters A,B&C. Practice writing these letters together using a dry erase board (or paper/pencil)

Coloring: Color animals together. Practice staying in the lines. Talk about each animal and their sounds as you color.

Tuesday-
Physical Skill: Demonstrate how to walk in a straight line touching toe to heel. Have child repeat the action.

Vocab: Worksheet- Find & Circle letters A,B&C on the page. Alternatively you can use pages from a magazine, newspaper, etc.

Wednesday-
Math: Count out loud to 5, Worksheet- color groups of animals. Count the animals while coloring.

Reading: Read a book about animals together out loud. Encourage child to repeat sentences or certain words.

Craft: Make animal Paper bag Puppets. [Supplies needed: paper bags, construction paper, glue or glue sticks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, etc to make faces]

Thursday-
Hands on Skill: Trace straight lines

Cooking lesson: make PB sandwich

Friday-
Review handwriting, vocab & math lessons from the week.


These are some sites I like for Worksheets:
http://www.tlsbooks.com/preschoolworksheets.htm
http://www.kidslearningstation.com/
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/handwriting.htm


These are some additional items I'll be purchasing to use as an addition to our curriculum:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JZCG/ref=oss_product
http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Wooden-27-Piece/dp/B000GIJ4Y4/ref=pd_sim_t_5
http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Lace-Trace-Shapes/dp/B000O7KR0W/ref=pd_sim_t_3

Preschool Curriculum

I have been searching and searching for a curriculum for our 3yr old. But everything I found was either too expensive or not what I was really looking for. So I decided to throw caution to the wind and create my own. Afterall, isn't that one of the advantages of homeschooling? At first I was hesitant about doing a more structured curriculum with CJ but again, one of the joys of HSing is being able to adapt the schedule as needed. This guide that I have created is just structured enough to give me a plan for the day rather than a set in stone curriculum.

So here's how it's broken down. Written out in a list like this it's going to look like a lot but it's spaced out over the entire week with no more than 3 lessons a day. It would be easy to change the days around, adjust the lessons for your child's needs, etc. My personal goal is to have the lessons done before lunch so the afternoon is free for free play, etc. Each week will also have a theme.

Overview of the week-
Life Skill (personal care, manners, new chore, etc)
Physical Skill
Cooking lesson
Vocabulary
Reading/Oral Language
Math
Hand's on lesson
Handwriting
Craft

Monday-
Introduce new Life Skill
Handwriting
Color Page (that goes with the week's theme)

Tuesday-
Physical Skill
Vocab

Wednesday-
Math
Reading
Craft

Thursday-
Hand's on lesson
Cooking lesson

Friday-
Review of the week's lessons

The except to this guide is the last week of the month. (or every 4th week) This entire week will be a chance to review all the new things we have learned. So it will look something like this:

Monday-
New Life Skill
Coloring Pages

Tuesday-
Review Physical skills for this month
Review letters/words

Wednesday-
Review numbers (or math lessons)
Reading
Craft

Thursday-
Review hands on skills
Cooking lesson

Friday-
Fun Day!!
This day will be dedicated to focusing on doing something fun.

I will post the first week's detailed guide soon.

7.11.2010

This week's menu and budget total

Let's start with the menu for this week.
Sunday- Tacos
Monday- Chicken & Rice
Tuesday- Swiss Steak
Wednesday- Cheeseburgers, Fries
Thursday- Homemade Pizza
Friday- Baked Potatoes, Salad

Lunches:
Corn dogs, Hot dogs, Pasta, Leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:
Magic in the Middle Cookies, Chocolate chip pound cake

And now on to the grocery total:
Walmart-
1 gallon milk 3.18
freezer bags 2.48
juice boxes 1.68
cheese 1.96
bacon 2.08
hot dogs 1.50
sour cream 1.12
salsa 3.00
tortillas 1.14
pasta .88
bell pepper .98
3lb onions 2.98
Angel Soft 1.18
juice 3.47
pull ups 8.47
paper plates 2.48
plastic cups 3.00
5lb flour 1.58
5lb sugar 2.54
cheese 2.50
can pineapple .67
juice boxes 2.88
1# hamburger 2.48x2
tomato sauce .56x2
tomato sauce .26x2
carrots .88
corn dogs 4.47

total 63.70