Flashcards v1.0 complete!

I made my first round of flashcards for the kids tonight. It wasn't too hard, just a little time consuming, but only because I made image cards and had to search for and resize the pictures. I used Word and formatted the pages into 3x5's. I made a card for each uppercase and lowercase letter, then made a separate image card. Each image card has a picture that corresponds to one letter of the alphabet and reverses to show the uppercase and lowercase letter. I used pictures of family members for some of the letters, which is cute. I'm betting N's will be the letter 'C,' though, since I used a picture of Lightning McQueen to represent the word 'car'.

I'm planning on using these for recognition of uppers and lowers, matching of the two, and then beginning phonemic awareness (aka, what sound does this make?). Eventually, I'd like to make similar cards for other phonic categories (blends, etc.)--first I need to find out what all those categories are! I also need to use the cards to discuss alphabetical order--I'm thinking some type of alphabet train game might work for that--including being able to insert a missing letter into an alphabet sequence.

I would also like to be able to incorporate the flashcards into some type of file folder game. Such games are new to me, but they look cute, portable, and good for a little bit of independent learning. The trick in this house will be to teach the kids to TAKE CARE of them and NOT RIP them and NOT TEAR THEM TO SHREDS so that Mommy finds pieces of our cute, portable file folder games all over our lovely home. Can you tell this has been a constant lecture here lately?

It all starts with the pencils...

Today I ventured out to Lakeshore Learning. My intention was to just pick up some of those jumbo pencils that fit so well into little hands. There was so much stuff that was cool (and educational, says that little rationalizing voice in my head) , that over an hour later ending up leaving with more than just the pencils.

Our new school stash includes:

• Washable tempera paints in the primary colors (red, yellow, blue), black, & white. They had some nice paint holders that coordinates to the paint colors, but I'm planning on using some of the 8 million egg cartons I have stored in the laundry room. I just *knew* I would find a good use for them one day!
• 3 kid-size paintbrushes
• 2 Daily chore charts & 2 packs of stickers (N picked smileys, R chose hearts) from Creative Changes, Inc. The hippy chick in me likes the reusable factor.
• 'Tiny Transport' stickers--these were a total impulse purchase. N was so excited by these little stickers, so I knew they would become a great incentive for him later. Plus, he's so cute when he really, really likes something.
• A pencil sharpener, which somehow in all our years of marriage we have somehow neglected to have in our possession. Makes ya think we're bold, ultra-decisive pen people, huh? Nah, T is a pen hoarder so everywhere he goes he ends up bringing home a stash that could keep those ancient monk scribes busy for decades. Only a slight exaggeration. Really.
• 2 different styles of pencil grips to encourage proper writing 'posture'

Oh, and can't forget,

• 2 jumbo pencils!

I also hit up Target for their super back-to-school deals. It's crazy to me that it's not even the middle of July and back to school is in full swing here. That's a definite reminder of yet another reason why homeschooling rocks! Anyway, I can't fully berate our crazy 200 day school year that starts in the middle of the sweltering FL summer, because yeah, whatever it takes to give me some rock-bottom prices! We got 10 boxes of crayons (they were that cheap!), colored pencils, watercolors, and blank index cards to make flashcards. And against all my house- and hair-preserving mommy instincts, I bought the kiddos blunt scissors--cool flame ones for R and a blue pair with a blade cover for N. I tried to convince him to get the blue flame version but no go. I may go get them anyway for S to use in the future.

Now I just need to start planning how to utilize our new supplies with some activities that are fun (and educational, says you know who)! ;)

Upcoming plans

School:

• alphabet flashcards--recognition of upper/lower; matching upper/lower
• alphabet bingo--work in the sportsmanship theme (more about that another time)
• Prayer bins--I love this idea from Joy. I have been way too lax in making prayer a regular part of our daily lives. This seems like an easy but thorough way to incorporate a variety of prayers into our routine. Since my little ones can't read yet, it would be nice to put a name on one side of the ID tags and then a little picture on the other.

Behavior:

• Fighting--Daily, three sad faces=? Maybe no dessert for R, as she looooves dessert. Not sure what a good incentive would be for N.
• 15 minute pick-up at the end of the day. Remaining toys go into time-out basket.
• Bedtime routine. Need a visual reminder of our routine. Then if R & N follow without problems they can put a button from mommy's jar into their bedtime jar. Once all my buttons are gone, they get a treat (time at park, zoo, a small new toy, etc.). Maybe we will pre-choose the treat and put a picture on their jar?