Count and Smash

Are you looking for an engaging counting activity?  Here it is.  Count and Smash.

 

 

 

 

--Your child will roll one die.  Have them count the dots on the top of the die. 

--Then, from a pile of pre-made playdogh shapes, have them count out the same number of play dough shapes as shown on the die. 

--Give them some kind of object for smashing.  (Luke is using an old cocktail muddler I got from my recently deceased Grandma Iris.  It works quite well for this kind of thing since I don't do much muddling.) 

--Then have your child count out loud as they smash their play dough shapes. 

 

 

And that's it!  This activity has really helped Luke get a better concept of counting. 

 

 

We'll graduate to two dice soon, when we start counting beyond 10.

 

I'm Teaching Again!

I'm sorry for the delay in blog posts this month!  We've started HOMESCHOOLING!!!! yay!

I am a teacher by profession.  I quit my job when my son Luke was born in 2009, with the intent to homeschool him when he was school age.   A few weeks ago, Luke turned 3, which means I get to start homeschooling him for preschool!  I'm wild about homeschooling.  Probably because I'm a teacher!  Teachers, can you imagine having only one or two (or 5 or 6) students?  The possibilities are ENDLESS.

Now some of you may say, "Wait a minute, you're an art teacher Genelle.  Are you really qualified to teach your children?" And to that I say,

#1  If you want, you can homeschool your child without a teaching degree.  Follow the Learning Standards for the state you live in.  It is overwhelmingly complicated to educate 20+ children by yourself at once so we must have gifted professionals to tackle that seemingly insurmountable task.  But you can educate your own small brood on your own if you want.  Really.

#2   I graduated college with 169 credits.  I was a business major first, so math is covered.  When I switched to education, I couldn't decide on which path to take.  I took loads and loads of education classes, but in the end, I went with my heart and passion and I chose an emphasis in art and French. I got certified in both (Art K-12 and Secondary French).

I'm so thrilled to be teaching again.  I have printed out all the learning standards for preschool and have them all 3-hole punched and organized with tab dividers in a smooth new binder.   I've made Luke's portfolio and have already started filling it with "evidence" of his completed "benchmarks"! 

I printed this portfolio cover at Kinkos and slid it into the front of his 3" 3-ring binder portfolio.

 

Here Luke is working on a math lesson.  This Melissa and Doug Magnetic Pattern Block Kit is a wonderful tool that Luke got from his Grammy.  We use it all the time.

 

 

 

 

Luke is adding his own orange square border to his snail page.

 

 

 

 

 

 Pattern blocks teach children about shapes and geometry, as well as develop their visual discrimination skills.

 

 

Did you home-preschool any of your children?  Do you have any great tips or ideas to share?

I'd love to hear all your great ideas.