Terrific Tuesday

Today we remembered that we had an aircraft carrier with a bunch of supersonic aircraft, which is an excellent connection between aircraft and boats.  My husband built it with his father when he was in elementary school.  This turned out to be a great find, since RJ played with it ALL DAY and we used it to explain what the bow, stern, port, and starboard were.

Mindful Monday: Week 6 Lesson Plans

I think this will be the last planned week of our Transportation Theme.  I'm really happy with how it has been going, but I think this is the last of the material I'd like to cover.

Monday: Park by the Train Tracks/Airport, S is for Space Shuttle Alphabet page,
Tuesday (Clean Master Bath, Diapers): Boats: ships pick up the booster rockets and fuel take from the shuttle out in the ocean
"Boats" (Robbins, 1989; book),R is for Rocket Alphabet book page,  Banana Boat Song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpg-KIKD5gU), Banana Canoes, "Float around in Canoes" (Song, http://stepbystepcc.com/boat.html), Boat Lacing

Float Around In Canoes - sung to "Ring Around the Rosey"

Float around in canoes,
(move in circle clockwise)
We are wearing no shoes.
(continue moving clockwise)
Upstream.
(move counter clockwise)
Downstream.
(move clockwise)
We all splish SPLASH!
(Drop hands and fall to ground)

Wednesday (Baby Co-op): Shape Sailboats, "Have you ever seen a sailboat?" (Song; http://stepbystepcc.com/boat.html), B is for Boat Alphabet book page, "A History of Water Travel" (Book; Rossi, 2004)

Have You Ever Seen A Sailboat? - sung to "Did You Ever See A Lassie?"

Have you ever seen a sailboat,
A sailboat, a sailboat?
Have you ever seen a sailboat
Waving its sail?

Wave this way and that way,
Wave that way and this way.
Have you ever seen a sailboat
Waving its sail?

Thursday (Big Kid Co-op Day):  Make Clay boat/ship

Friday: Sink or float experiment, Paint clay boat (once dry), Anchor Daisy Chain (http://www.first-school.ws/activities/alpha/a/impactaposter.htm) with numbers on Chain, Deviled Egg Boats

Weekend: Swim Lessons; Boat Rental or Ferry Ride

Mindful Monday : Week 5 Lesson Plans

Aircraft are still in full force. This week we're going to focus on helicopters and space shuttles.

Monday: Helicopter pretend play, Helicopter books, helicopter song

Tuesday (Cleaning): Lego Helicopter, Helicopter Lacing, Helicopter Matching page, tearing paper for paper mache,

Wednesday (Laundry): Clay Helicopter, Help make a space shuttle out of a box and paper mache, decorate inside "controls", design rockets for balloon rockets

Thursday (Co-op Day) Pretend play with the space shuttle, toilet paper roll shuttles, Balloon rockets, freeze dried ice cream (astronaut food), dehydrating fruit (also a cutting exercise), Clay Shuttles.

Friday: Baby's Dr. Appt., Morning Errands, Talk about how astronauts have to stay healthy , R is for Rocket Alphabet Page, S is for Shuttle Alphabet Page

Also, I found that my big lesson planning chart was really cumbersome, took more time without payoff, and not necessarily helpful for what I am trying to do, so I've reverted to this simpler plan in the text of my blog entry.  Instead of reviewing each activity, I'll blog about the really notable ones (good and bad).

Fun Activity Friday: A review of the Petaluma Speedway Fieldtrip

A few weeks ago, when we were learning about cars, specifically race cars, we took our son to the Petaluma Speedway to see a real dirt track oval and experience a race.  Given how much he loves the Pixar movie, "Cars", we figured it would be a big hit AND it fit well with the theme.

One lesson that really hit home was that race cars are extremely LOUD.  We were fortunate that we bought some ear plugs on the way there because the initial reaction to the noise was rather tearful.  No amount of preparation for the noise level really prepared him for the roar of the engines.  The earplugs worked great though.  While at the racetrack, we also learned what the different color flags mean to the drivers, and that cars that look similar in style race together.  We also touched a piece of the track that had sprayed up.  I was a little disappointed that the pits were not visible from the stands, because that would've been a great way to see how the cars get gassed and how their tires are changed with tools.

What I really enjoyed watching was how the experience was played out in the car on the way home (before he fell asleep that is).   While we are not going to be regulars at the track (I'm not really into watching cars go around in circles), this was a fairly inexpensive family activity that also promoted and solidified his learning.  I wish I had done a little more research ahead of time so that I could have shared even more of what was going on, but at the age of three, I think the lessons he did learn were developmentally appropriate, and he might have been lost with more detail.

Mindful Monday: Week 4 Lesson Plans

The transportation theme is still going strong and engagement in the materials and activities is still high. We've had a busy couple of weeks with playdates and errands, so we're still talking about aircraft. I also realized that we haven't been doing a lot of letter and number recognition activities, so I'm trying to add more, starting with the A is for Airplane page that we did last week. Here's the plan for the week.

Monday - Errands and Cleaning Day. Airport/travel pretend play since we'll be finishing up the Laundry.
Tuesday - Playdate! I'm sure that Transportation vehicles will be out in full force.
Wednesday - Cardboard Lacing Airplane construction, H is for Helicopter Letter Page. Library Day - pick out more books about airplanes, helicopters, space shuttles, and boats. Build Helicopter out of legos.
Thursday - Co-op Day, maybe airplane and helicopter (and letter) sculptures after nap
Friday - Pool play date! Grocery shopping.
Weekend - Arrange Airplane Visit (?)

Timing Tuesday: A Routine Revision

As our baby recently started eating solids, I needed to amend our routine a little.  We have been generally following this sequence of events to keep us organized.

6:00 Wake/Nurse Baby
6:30 Exercise / Shower /Get Dressed
7:30 Kids Wake Up Time, Get Dressed/Suncreened
8:00 Breakfast & Pump, Calendar time, Feed cats, water plants
8:30 Feed Baby Breakfast/ Free Play
9:00 Playground/Outside time
9:30/10 Nurse Baby/Reading Time
10 Baby Nap/ Theme Activity Time
10:30 - Snack Time
11 Continued Theme Activities/Play with Baby/Maybe do some chores
12:00 Nurse Baby
12:30 Lunch Time
1:15 Story Time/Nap
1:30 Nurse Baby to sleep
2:00 Put Baby down for Nap
3:30/4 Nurse Baby/ Snack Time
4:30 Backyard Time (water play)/Free Play (if too hot) or Errands
5:00/5:30 Dinner Prep/ Playdough/Sensory Play
5:30/6 Nurse Baby
6:00/6:30 Dinner
7:00/7:15 Clean up time
7:30 Bath Time
8:00 Story Time
8:30 Bed Time/Nurse Baby
9:00 Put Baby to Bed
9:30 Parent Time
10:30 Parent Bed Time








I also made a few changes to my rotation, since we started a baby co-op and a big kid co-op and get a CSA crate, which changed my grocery shopping day.  I also made sure to add in a day where my free time is spent writing up the lesson plans, as you might have noticed from my last two "Mindful Monday" Posts.  We've tried to keep the major chores out of the weekend, but when we don't finish something vital, we do use the weekend to catch up.

Mondays - Lesson Planning for the Week
Tuesdays - Diaper Laundry, Week 1: Kids Bathroom, Week 2: First Floor Bathroom, Week 3: Master Bathroom, Week 4: Laundry
Wednesdays - Week 2: Laundry, Week 4: Projects, Week 1 & 3: Baby Co-op
Thursdays - Week 1: First Floor Dusting & Floors, Week 2: Co-op Host Day, Week 3: Second Floor Dusting & Floors, Week 4: Co-op Field Trip, CSA Pickup & Process, Meal Planning
Fridays - Meal Planning cont., Grocery Shopping
Saturdays - Week 3: Hamster Cage
Sundays - Lawn & Cat Litter

Mindful Monday: Week 4 Lesson Plans

Our Transportation Theme is transitioning between Trains and Airplanes.  We left all three railway sets open and added the airport to our microcosm, building on how all the transportation systems mesh. 

Here is a look at the general plan for the week.

Monday: Park by the Airport (and RR tracks) to see Airplanes flying over, Draw a transportation picture, How long is a diesel engine?, Plan City Play (with trains, roads, and airport)

Tuesday: Read Planes, Gliders, Helicopters and other Flying Machines (Terry Jennings), Balloon Experiment, The Airplane has Great Big Wings Song, Plan City Play (with Airport), Airplane Concentration

Wednesday: Paper Airplanes, Read Going on an Airplane, Sing I'm a little airplane, A is for Airplane (first page of Letter Book), Packing a Suitcase Activity (with Laundry Day), Airport Dramatic Play

Thursday: Co-op Day - no planned curriculum

Friday: Pilot on the Airplane Song, Oak Meadow Park (They have a full sized airplane for kids to climb around on), Other songs in the car, Banana Airplane Snack

Sunday: (Tentative) Go see a friend's airplane, Styrofoam or Paper Towel Roll Airplanes.

Want more detail?  Click here.

Worthy Wednesday: Momma's Favorite Toys for the Theme

Given my son's long-standing obsession with all forms of transportation, we have no shortage of cars, trains, and airplanes and the like.  That is one of the things that makes this theme an easy one to start with as we have the materials needed for pretend play.  We even have a Power Wheels Lightning McQueen. One set of toys keeps coming back to my lesson plans (and is pulled off the shelf by the three year old on a regular basis), because it is great for independent play related to the theme.  We are fortunate to have collected a large portion of the Plan City Road and Rail system.  I do wish that we had a few more road pieces, but between the Airport, Gas Station, Fire Station, and Eco Town (with segues, bicycles, an electric car charging station, electric train station, and Eco House), as well as a bunch of trains, trucks, cars, airplanes, and construction vehicles.  I love this toy company because it's made from eco-friendly rubberwood with vegetable based dyes and the toys are simple without a lot of bells and whistles to distract. I would love to have the set in a daycare setting too, as it does hold up. My son loves this toy company because he has the versatility to make his own world out of the components.

Note: It doesn't always look so arranged.  I set it up when our son was napping when he first got the mat and the eco-town for Christmas.

Mindful Monday: Week 3 Lesson Plans

This week is all about Trains.  This was a nice smooth transition from cars and trucks and buses thanks to our day trip to San Francisco yesterday, which included a ride on both buses and trains.  I plan on keeping the train sets out (He has three - the Plan Toys Road and Rail (wooden), a Fisher-Price Geo-Trax set, and a legos track for a lego Thomas train) the whole week.  Here's our general plan:


Monday: Follow up on our Transportation Fun in San Francisco, playing tourist on the way to the park, read a great detailed book about different kinds of trains, learn a song about drivers of different forms of transportation, and play with various train sets.


Tuesday: Picnic lunch and a working small scale steam engine.


Wednesday: Shapes train and Train Books.


Thursday: Co-op day and grocery shopping day - no curriculum


Friday: Measuring vehicle sizes, making train whistles, and painting signs that allow trains and cars to interact.

For more detailed lesson plans for the whole theme so far, click on this link.