Christmas Unit Study

It is very hard for me not to go overboard for Christmas.  However, one of my goals for this season is to keep it simple so that stress will not rob me of my joy.  Keeping that in mind, here is our homeschooling plan for December 2011:

Bible Study & Activity
- Read Luke 1 - 2
- Operation Christmas Child - get the children to help fill a shoebox with gifts and donate it to children in need.  A great book to go along with this would be Miracle in a Shoe Box by Franklin Graham.

DAYS BY THEME

Most of these ideas I got from Easy Fun School's Christmas Symbol Unit which can be found here.  It is a full unit with 25 days of learning based on Christmas symbols.  I am transferring the ideas we will use here just for the sake of my personal organization.

Gifts

- Read Matthew 2:10-11 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and  presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 

- Discuss how the wise men worshipped God before giving gifts to him.  We need to make sure the worship comes before the shopping and gifts.  How can we make this happen?

- Read: The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry

- Phonics - Use four parts of a gift to write words with a particular sound (the sound would be written on the bow).  Obviously, as seen in the pic below, this could also be used to write math sentences.

(via First Grade Parade) 

- Craft - Have the student write and draw a picture of the best (non-toy) gift of all:

(via First Grade Parade)

Christmas Trees

- Christmas trees symbolize that our God is eternal and we have eternal life through his Son when we put our trust in him.

- Read: Luke 2:52, 2 Peter 3:17 - 18

- Discuss: How do we "grow" as Jesus did?

- Sing "O Christmas Tree" (one of our favorite Christmas tunes around here!)

- Craft - Make a popsicle stick Christmas Tree.  Directions here.  

- Phonics - Use a Christmas tree to spell out words.  Use the entire word written on the "stump" of the tree.  

Shepherd's Staff

- The candy cane is a symbol of the shepherd's staff.  The colors symbolize the blood and purity of Christ.
- Read: Psalm 23:1-5
- Discuss: Jesus as our shepherd.
- Discuss: the legend of the candy cane.  
- Do: Hang candy canes on your tree. We do this every year and we never call them 'candy 

canes' anymore. When people come to visit, we ask them to take a shepherd's staff off of our 

tree. Then we tell them why we call it that and what the colors mean. It is a beautiful, non- 

offensive way, to share your faith with others. (from Easy Fun School)

- Craft: Make a soft and scrunch candy cane (do this with the toddlers).  Instructions here.  I'll probably make this cane a little smaller and add the poem found here.  

- Make candy cane playdough and wrap it in mason jars for gifts for Merrick's friends.  How-to here.  

Star

- God proclaimed his truth in creation by lighting up the heavens with a star that announced the 

birth of Christ the King.  

- Bible: Look up scriptures that show other ways God has revealed himself through creation.  

- Do: Study stars. What are they? What are some of the constellations?  

- Craft: Paint with Christmas cookie cutters (toddlers can paint with us!).  Maybe even use these star paintings to make gift tags.  

(via)

Nativity Scene

- Read Luke 2:6-7

- Discuss - Where were you born?  What were the surroundings?  How do they compare with those of Jesus?  What would you think about Jesus if he had been born in a palace?  Why was he born in a stable?  

- Make a gingerbread nativity scene.  Here is a web site with a template for the manger and a recipe.  Here is another option that may be a bit more kid friendly.

Baby Jesus

- Read Luke 2:7, 11-12

- Make a bowl of ornaments with 25 different names for Jesus.  Instructions here at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar.  Lots of other Christian Christmas crafts (for Momma!) there as well.

Reindeer

- Use this reindeer handprint craft for a phonics or math activity.  Similar to the gift idea above, we could write number sentences or phonic phrases on the legs

Hot Chocolate

- Writing activity here.  I like winter because...

- Hot chocolate addition idea

Gingerbread

- Gingerbread alphabet writing worksheet here at Kindergarten Crayons

- Gingerbread phonics activity and printable here at First Grade Parade

- Great gingerbread activity ideas over here at Babbling Abby including these:

Handwriting Activities
- Make a birthday card for Jesus
- Make a Christmas card for a friend or family member.  Great printable here.  Another idea using thumbprints to make reindeer here.  


Crafts
- Make handmade ornaments


Food
- Baby Jesus Haystacks - several recipes here.
- Candy Cane Cookies - recipe here.


Preschool Activities
- Worksheets from Confessions of a Homeschooler
- Christmas Tree Shapes here
- Fun way to get out the wiggles here at Oopsey Daisy Blog

- Great ideas here, including the Christmas light pom pom color match

Misc (aka things I couldn't resist including, but not sure if I will EVER get to them)
- Handprint snowman ornament idea here at eighteen25

- I soooo want to make something like this with the children this year:

(via)

- Would LOVE to make this plate from First Grade Parade

- Nativity Mural - turn this bulletin board into an art project (possibly on a canvas?)

- Probably the most precious Christmas plate I've ever seen (which could easily be painted on a canvas as well):

In addition to all these ideas and links, I have a folder full of free Christmas downloads from Teachers Pay Teachers.  I won't link to every one I downloaded for the sake of time.  But, if you head over there and do a search for Christmas (then sort by grade level), you will hit the jackpot, I'm sure.

Oh well.  So much for the idea of simplicity, am I right?!?

Attentiveness Unit Study

Since the beginning of school, I have been pretty frustrated with Merrick's inability to pay attention during "class".  At first, I thought, "Oh my goodness!  Maybe my kid has ADD!"  But, when it came time to play Hot Wheels or make a marble run, his ability to focus was uncanny.  

It was during this time that I had one of those, "I'm so grateful we homeschool!" moments.  With just a little bit of research, I was able to put together a unit study on Attentiveness.  Though it was very tempting, I knew I didn't want to punish Merrick during his times of inattentiveness during school.  I didn't want him to associate school with bad feelings or experiences.  Instead, I tried to find a way to put a positive spin on the situation.  Instead of going the "Stop getting distracted!" route, I decided to say instead, "Are you paying attention like a monster?"

Here are some of the things we did during our Attentiveness study:

Bible Scriptures

- Here are the main scripture we focused on during the week:

Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end you will be wise.

Proverbs 19:20

To help Merrick remember the scripture, I made a little handwriting worksheet for him to copy.  You can click here to download the copywork.

And, since we're on the roll of giving away worksheets, here is a Read it, Trace it, Glue it worksheet I made.  To download this printable, click here.

Monster Day

As I mentioned before, bringing monsters into the picture at any time helps draw Merrick's attention.  I found a free (!) monster packet on Teachers Pay Teachers that really helped us with this theme.  The packet was written to help with first day expectations and manners.  We used the many monster pages that focus on listening.  

During the week, we constantly talked about what it means to listen with our whole bodies.  Here's the definition we came up with:

                        - We listen with our brain by thinking about what the speaker is saying.  

                        - We listen with our eyes by looking at the person speaking.  

                        - We listen with our heart by caring about what the speaker is sharing.  

                        - We listen with our mouths closed.  

                        - We listen with our hands in our lap.  

                        - We listen with still bodies.  

To download your free packet by Kathleen Pederson, click here. 

To go along with this packet, we played a game we made up called Monster Freeze Frame.  I put on music while Merrick walked around like a monster - as crazy and loud as he could be.  When the music stopped, he had to stand completely still, hands by his side, and face me (I would stand in different places each time) with his mouth closed.  What a simple game, right?  It's crazy how much he enjoyed it.   

Here's Merrick acting like a monster:

And listening with his whole body:

Yes, his shirt is actually that dirty.  Don't ask.  I have no idea.

A great book that went well with this monster-day-attentiveness-theme is In One Ear, Out the Other by Michael Dahl.  We found it at our local library, but you can check it out here.  What a cute book!

Craft Idea

For a craft, we made telephones!  Thankfully, I had a few green bean cans onhand.  I simply bought a roll of thin string at the hardware store for around $3, got a hammer and a nail and voila!  Instant phone!

To make the phone, hammer a nail through the top of each can to make a small hole.  Cut a 10 - 12 foot piece of string.  Thread it through the hole in each can.  Tie a know on the inside of the can.  Make sure the string is taut when "using" the phone.

I tried to use this craft to teach Merrick that you can't talk and listen at the same time (it's impossible to use the tin can telephone this way).  As always, however, he proved me wrong.  "Yes, you can Mommy," he declared, "Look."  He proceeded to talk into one tin can and listen to himself through the other tin can.  Darn.

Treasure Hunt

- Another fun activity was having a treasure hunt.  I bought a couple of very inexpensive prizes and placed them around the house.  Merrick had to listen to each of my directions (hop like a bunny 6 times, then turn left) to find his prize.  

Links

You can find other game ideas like this one on the Kids of Integrity Attentiveness Page.  This is where we found most of our ideas.  Another great link is the attentiveness study at Hubbards Cupboard.  She also has studies on bring orderly, teachable, and obedient.

Books

Here are some books we found helpful during our study:

- Listen and Learn by Cheri J. Meiners M.Edu

- Listen, Buddy by Helen Lester

- Just Listen by Minifried Morris

I hope this helps!  Let me know if you use any of the ideas or if you have some different suggestions!  I'd love to hear them (because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to do this unit again soon with my other two kiddos!).

Thanksgiving Unit Study

For November, I plan on teaching about the history of Thanksgiving for the first two weeks.  After Thanksgiving, we will do Five in a Row's The Cranberry Thanksgiving.  I hope to use plenty of games and activities to teach Merrick not only what a joy this season is, but how the traditions of Thanksgiving came to be.

Thanksgiving Facts (What I'd Like My Kindergartener to Know)

- "Pilgrims" left England in search of religious freedom.
- 102 colonist (including one baby born at sea) were aboard the Mayflower, the ship that brought the pilgrims to America.  They were at sea for 2 hard months (66 days).
- Pilgrims - I would like him to learn about the pilgrim culture.
- The Mayflower landed at Plymouth,  Massachusetts.  Massachusetts is a part of New England.  New England consists of 6 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and, of course, Massachusetts.  I would like him to be able to locate New England on a map.
- The Wampanoag Native Americans were already occupying the land and had been for 12,000 years.  I would like him to learn a little of the Wampanoag culture.
- The pilgrims suffered through a very, very hard winter.
- One Native American in particular, Squanto, helped the pilgrims.  He brought them seeds and taught them how to fish.
- The first Thanksgiving feast probably took place around 1621 (though some believe it was actually 1623).  The settlers and Native Americans both brought food to the feast, enough to feed 53 settlers and 90 Native Americans.
- Some of the foods that may have been served at the first Thanksgiving feast are: fish (cod, eels, bass), fowl, venison, berries, fruit, vegetables, beans, maize, and squash.


Here's how I plan on introducing this information to Merrick:

The Mayflower
 - Map out the route in which the pilgrims may have taken on the Mayflower (Geography)
- Learn about the states in which the pilgrims first lived.  Discuss the location of New England. (Geography)  Use the printable here.
- For the life of me, I can not find the source of this idea, but here you go: make a Mayflower French Bread Pizza.  Get a slice of french bread pizza (or cover a half of a slice of french bread with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni) and bake.  After removing it from the oven, poke two wooden dowels through 2 slices of mozzarella cheese and into the pizza (to make sails).  Adorable!
- Lovin' this Mayflower book (First Grade Parade):

Pilgrims 
- Do a Venn diagram to compare pilgrim boys and girls OR pilgrim children and children today
- Make a pretzel log cabin.  Here or here.

- Must, must, must make this little pilgrim (once again, as seen at the First Grade Parade):

Indians
- Read Nickommoh!  Then, make an Indian headband, make a teepee, play tug of war, and have a "dance party" (as my 2 year old daughter would say) around a fake fire.
- Web site with info about the Wamponoag Indians here.
- Technically, the Wamponoag Indians didn't live in teepees.  But, it would still be fun to make some!

We could either make them out of cardboard like this:

{image source}

...or go nuts and build a 6 foot tall teepee like this:

{image source}

- How to build a teepee here,  here,  here, and here.

- Native American napkin holders

{image source and printable}

- Great info and directions on how to build a construction paper canoe and teepee using Indian symbols:

{image source and printable}

Gratitude / Bible Study
- Memory scripture: Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; 
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.- Keep a gratitude journal (Handwriting and Spelling).  One way to do this might be to make this Gratitude mini book here.
- Make a turkey.  On each feather, write something for which you are grateful.

Crafts 
- Read Gus the Pilgrim Turkey (or Run, Turkey, Run), then decorate a turkey in order to disguise him.  Example here.
- Love this!  Make a "Give Thanks" banner.  Just print, color, and hang.  Printable here.

- Make corn out of painted lentils and cardstock

(image source)

- Would LOVE to do something like this:

(image source)

Food
- Great time to talk about food groups and the importance of eating a balanced meal.  Great worksheet here (along with many, many other worksheets and activities)
- Popcorn Balls - these may have been served at the first Thanksgiving.

(image source)

Handwriting/Reading/Phonics
- great Fall ideas from Peterson Kindergarten
- Thanksgiving handwriting sheet here.
- Phonics prompt and printables (First Grade Parade)

- How to catch a turkey from, you guessed it, First Grade Parade:

- Thanksgiving secret message printable here. 

Math

- Subtraction worksheet here
- Anther beginning subtraction worksheet here and here and here and here.
- Color AB, ABC, and ABB leaf patterns here.

Just Plain Fun
- Gourd games at Family Fun.

Lapbook Ideas
 -  Church matchbook - Front: Why did the pilgrims leave England?  Inside: Child's answer
- Vocabulary book - pilgrim, Indian, Mayflower, gratitude
- Acrostic - write a word that describes thanksgiving for every letter in "Give Thanks"
- Mayflower - write 4 facts about the Mayflower
- Geography - Map of the voyage of the Mayflower, map of New England

Pumpkin Unit Study

In this house, we get ri-ci-dic-u-lously excited about Halloween (yes, I did make up that word...that's just how excited we get around here).  And, thankfully, there are a TON of Halloween printables and ideas online (free!) that we can use to help make homeschool fun.  Here is the majority of our game plan for our Pumpkin Unit Study we'll be tackling next week:

Bible Study

 - Just like last year, we will be doing the Pumpkin Parable with our church small group.  You can find more info on this here on our family blog.

 - We'll also make a "Christian Jack-o-latern" this year.  You can find the printables for this at this awesome blog, 1+1+1=1.  

Math

- Game: Roll the Dice - in this game, you roll dice, add the numbers together, then color the square on the pumpkin, scarecrow, or spider with that number.  Merrick can't wait to play this game!

- Game: Pumpkin Poke - another free game from Teachers Pay Teachers.  

Reading/Phonics

- Fluency Game - I am loving this game!  The kids pick a card and then, depending upon which space they are on, read the card in a different voice (scary, goofy, monster voice).  And, bonus - it's another freebie.  Grab it from Debbie's Dabblings.  

- Pumpkin Pie Rhyming Game - students match pairs of rhyming words, then record their answers (handwriting!).

- Short and Long i Word Sort - This is a simple cut and paste worksheet.  The student cuts out pictures and puts them under either a pumpkin (short i) or pie (long i).

- Pumpkin Compound Match - students practice pairing two words together to make a compound word.  Then, they record their answers on the answer sheet (more handwriting!).  

Handwriting

- Pumpkin Spinner Game - this is a fun game to help with early graphing skills and writing simple pumpkin vocabulary words.

Art & Crafts

For our art projects, Merrick will be painting a pumpkin using a marble as seen here on 1+1+1=1.  If you remember, Merrick loves marbles.  

- We may also make a Halloween spider handprint like this one here.  

Toddlers

- While Merrick is doing his schoolwork, the twins will be enjoying Pumpkin Baggie Games found here at the Me and Marie Learning blog.  

In addition to all this, Merrick and I have checked out 327 pumpkin/Halloween themed books from the library to read together.  We will probably also use our 5 senses to write different descriptive words about the inside AND outside of a pumpkin.  Also, we'll be having a Halloween Homes Cool Day with our homeschool group.  We are very much looking forward to that.  On that day, we will measure a pumpkin, weigh a pumpkin, estimate how many seeds are inside, see if a pumpkin floats or not, and make a pumpkin glyph with our friends.  I'll write a separate post for that.  

Have a Happy Pumpkin Day!