Science Mini Books

Been BUSY working ahead on our Science mini books. I've loaded them up on Scribd if anyone is interested. The upcoming unit in Christian Kids Explore Biology is on Insects. We've completed units 1-3, covering the basics of Biology, Plants, and Birds and are skipping ahead to unit 7 to fit in the 3 weeks before Christmas. I hate leaving things undone to come back and try to catch up after vacation/break/holidays, so we'll get back to Unit 4: Mammals after the New Year. Maybe I'll try to work on those mini booklets soon too, but I should probably get back to paying attention to the little ones running around destroying an already chaotic and cluttered house. Oh, yeah, and making a grocery list and meal prep and stuff like that......just me......loving this little creative break and online escape...........

Weekly Wrap-Up

Trying to summarize months at a time was just too intimidating, so here is just a weekly wrap up.
MONDAY was MOPS, followed by drive thru lunch and a trip up to my sister's house [her kiddos were out of school] where we had way too short a time of cramming in the visiting and fun. Babies love love loved their soft, furry, half-grown kittens and the big girls found a few owl pellets for our bird science unit.
TUESDAY was our day 1 of the week after recovering from the 3 day weekend and clean-up, we had a bit of school done too.
WEDNESDAY was John's birthday, so we celebrated with a yummy cheesecake , but used cherry pie filling on the side instead of the gorgeous fresh strawberries.
THURSDAY was a wasted day, except for co-op. Thank goodness for our co-op teachers---my kids got art, pe, music, and science, oh, and tons of social interaction, so I guess it wasn't a wasted day, huh.
FRIDAY started out as a disappointment. Abigail was sick in the night so we were gonna have to miss the field trip to George Washington Carver, but my friend tripled her cargo and workload by adding in my 4 to her 2--thank the Lord for good friends!!! And i got to discover life with twins without my big helpers--not as devastating as I thought it would be, but I also got them to nap at the same time which is HIGHLY unusual, but let me mop the kitchen and feel good about that!!!
Now I get to blog and plan our grocery shopping for tomorrow--looking forward to some much needed hubby time and family time---hoping everyone stays healthy *shrug*.

We did read about a Chinese Empress and Beowolf as well as make plans for a pagoda birdhouse to build next week out of paper cups/plates/bowls.........behind on grading and lesson planning without 'my' computer, but still optimistic about next week-it will be better than this one...I hope....even if we have to make it thru a stomach bug.......God will provide the strength, willpower, and patience.......
Trying to enjoy each day,
Just me..........

International Postcard Swap

http://www.playingbythebook.net/international-postcard-swap-for-families/

English lapbook

To complement 3rd grade Rod and Staff, units 2 and 3 extra activities, I created THIS lapbook, called Building Blocks of English. The activity asks her to create a booklet--well, she'll make these mini books instead and paste them into a lapbook!! I thought that would be more fun and more presentable. I was in a hurry when making them, though, so hopefully you can understand them! I really should make more booklets about the various parts of speech that she is learning also, but oh well! She's been using the rules as copywork, so we may include those also.

The Mystery of History FREE

MOH vol. II has some free lesson plan samples online!
Thinking it would just be a snipit and knowing I would be ordering later, I hadn't cared to look--but today, I did just to compare to vol I and GUESS WHAT! Not just 1 lesson, but 9 lessons from volume II are in free pdf form! So--you want to try out MOH for 3 weeks? Or stretch it into 6? FREE QUARTER of History!! My guess is that you'll fall for the ease of the curriculum and want to continue with it--but if not, you aren't out any $$! We are planning on adding in historical biographies and fiction for my then-to-be 4th grader and 3rd grader. My kdger will just be around for the reading and possibly an activity.

Totbooks revisited

Totbooks? Lapbooking for toddlers............

Well, my 2yo now has an obsession with trains ever since he saw one up close and a bit too personal at a friend's house the other day. Apparently, his obsession is a love/hate relationship. He gets very excited when seeing a train or talking about Thomas the Train, etc. But at night? That's where the hate comes in---he is terrified of SOMEthing at night and all he can say is 'train' or "I hear it!!!!!!" at the top of his voice. If we don't get him to sleep before the train goes thru town, he hears the whistle and runs TERRIFIED out of his bed. Last night, we left the light on and it was fine eventually--we don't even live close to the tracks, but we can faintly hear the sounds. I guess spending the night at our friend's house is out of the question [sorry, Becky!!].
Well, we've tried just about everything these last couple nights and even went down to see the trains yesterday [none were running, but some were sitting on tracks]. TODAY?!? Making a Thomas the Train totbook. She has several other totbooks that would be GREAT to do--but they require more hands-on from mom than I believe necessary for this age :) unless of course, you have no older kids or babies needing attention!!!!!
My solution? Well, for future books, my 8yo can take charge and be the teacher {which she LOVES, by the way}, but for this one my 4yo and 2yo are just teaming up with mom. The 4yo can cut most of the booklets and she is now coloring a few of the trains [since the 2yo is DONE for the day and ready to cut the scraps]. I did the number line and will cover it with clear packing tape for durability. I will be mounting the shape cards on some cereal boxes and covering those in packing tape as well. In fact, if this becomes his favorite book, everything is getting taped for added durability. I have old blue file folders, so I'm opting for blue instead of plain. And we'll set it up like she does on her site [except I always print on draft, so my colors aren't so bright and pretty]. Big Machines may be in our future--and maybe even Handy Manny since tools are a favorite of my tot also!!!
HAPPY TOTBOOKING!!!!

Counting Caterpillar

New File Folder Game!!!!
Sorry, I haven't transferred it to a pdf file, but I have the word doc. if anyone is interested to try to get it via email attachment.
I got the idea from the Horizons 2nd grade workbook--there is a caterpillar to fill in the numbers when skip counting by 2s, I believe, so I decided we needed a counting caterpillar that they can do ALL and ANY skip counting on.
My 4yo can count by ones up to 20 while my 2nd and 3rd graders can skip count by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, 11s, or 12s----that is, up to 20x12!!!! Yeah, that goes beyond the multiplication charts, but why not!! There are prime numbers included but it was giving me too much of a headache trying to figure out if it was worth deleting those circles in order to save a page of printables, so all the numbers 1-110 are included, then just the multiples that go beyond that {up from 6x20 thru 12x20}. There are 5 pages of number circles that need to be printed on cardstock or glued onto cardboard and laminated [I'm awaiting a good packing tape deal for this job]. Then the 2 pages of caterpillar will just get cut out and glued into a file folder, also getting laminated or taped over. I may add a cover page as well for the outside of the folder and a little tab decor for the tab of the folder. The number circles will be contained in a zipper baggie in the folder.
Leave a comment or mail me if you want me to send this to you! I had great fun creating it on Word and look forward to putting it together with the kids!!

Confucius Lapbook

MOH Volume I, lesson 65 "Confucius"

Mini-lapbook time!!!

Homeschool Share has an ancient China lapbook that we will use just a few ideas from.

We recently read aloud Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore and may be looking for Little Pear and His Friends as a follow-up reader for the kids. I used Sonlight's read-aloud guide for questions and vocab lists. The kids just wrote out the vocab words to see the new words and then we discussed their meanings.

Now we are ready for Confucius and plan on watching Mulan and we may as well do a mini lapbook!! {even though Daniel is not finished, since we haven't hit on the lion's den or writing on the wall yet, but that is SOON!}

We used only 1/2 a file folder for this mini-lapbook--a quick one full afternoon lesson!
1>have 8yo dd start on Confucius copywork during the prior week
2>read MOH lesson on Confucius
3>fill in a couple mini books from homeschool share
4>cut out extra pictures and have 6yo put together lapbook
5>have 8yo finish copywork and put together lapbook

SIMPLE!! And I really think Confucius is well-known enough to require the extra time spent!!
The only item not at homeschoolshare or in MOH was the yin-yang symbol, although MOH mentions it. I googled it so my 8yo could draw one of her own to include--that is a very well-known symbol and I thought it important to explain as well.......
I will cover these easy mini-lapbooks with clear packing tape [again, my idea of laminating] and they will be ready to show at an upcoming homeschool event like Writer's Club or something. YAY!!

Ancient History -- Great Scientists

I've mentioned our MOH volume 1 before, but I just ran across another GREAT supplement to our ancient history studies!! And just in time for this 3rd quarter also! Her study of the Great Ancient Scientists begins with Thales, dated 630-543 BC, not listed in MOH, but a great supplement to the times at the end of quarter 2 or beginning of quarter 3. Then comes Pythagorus {MOH Lesson 64}, Anaxagoras {not listed, but between lessons 70-72}, and Hippocrates {lesson 77}. Quarter 4: Aristotle {lesson 83}, Euclid {not l isted, between lessons 86-87}, Archimedes {lesson 87}, and for next year's volume II: Ptolemy {90-168 AD}. She includes time line figures plus great reading and extras on each of these scientists--all in a free pdf download here.

Not doing Ancient History? She also has Middle Ages and Modern Great Scientists!! I will download everything she has for free now because she may not have them available later! What is great is she has intended this for the grammar stage students {1st-4th grades}, or they can be read alone by the logic stage students {5th-8th grades} and supplemented with other extras.

Bridge to Terabithia

I know there has been a recent movie based on this book, but I never saw it--never even wanted to. The previews were all too mystical for my liking--too forgetful of God and worshipful of His Creation and the mystical make-believe world instead......

But the book. the book.......hmmmm......

I've been pre-reading a lot of the juvenile and young people books in our library so I can know what may or may not be good for my 8yo dd {reading at a 5th grade level with mostly understanding}. She cannot get enough reading material for her liking and would be lazy all day with a book if I would let her. The problem is usually that she is just reading for the entertainment value and it could just be fluff---no real substance. Sometimes, that is okay, but I know there is better use of her time.

A REVIEW
When I picked up one of our library's copies, I noticed some blacked-out words. Someone had kindly inked over the 5-6 words that were questionable in their mind. Indeed, after looking intensely and reading the context, I saw these were words I definitely did NOT want my children to be reading, let alone KNOWING existed in this manner ~LOL~ If used as a read-aloud, I could easily replace or skip these few choice words. I could also explain them, but I do not see the benefit Paterson could have been thinking of when including them. The setting and mind-set of poverty was captured without the swearing, I believe, although I see the truth behind their usage.

And then I began......"Ba-room, ba-room, ba-room, baripity, baripity, baripity, baripity-Good. His dad had the pickup going..." The story is less about this magical land presented in the movie previews and more about the growing up of an impoverished young boy. It is his story. His thoughts. His family life. His friendship with a neighbor girl that brought him into a new growth. She shows him how to imagine--how to think. It is amazingly REAL, capturing who this young boy IS and the difference between his world and his friend's, yet all the while, the similarities. They share a bond of friendship that goes beyond any teasing from friends and they create a magical playland in the woods they dub Terabithia. It is a retreat--a playhouse--a playground where they rule as King and Queen. Yes, they spend hours of every day imaginable there in their wonderland, but the book does not dwell on all the aspects. There are imaginary creatures and they "pray" to the gods of the forest, yes, but not because that is their religion---that is what is found in the classic books she informs him about.

Church is only attended on Easter and Christmas and is a drudgery for a little boy who hates being stuffed into new clothes and trying not to snore through what he sees as boring. Heaven is what is obtained by believing in God, not a sacrifice made and committing yourself to Him. There are many questions raised for discussion about religion and Truth, but not explored enough to leave a distaste in my mouth for wrong explanations. It is left pretty much open-ended. These kids are uninformed on the matter.

Warning: I cried. I will not tell you the ending and I will not tell you what I cried long and hard about---but I was touched and the well-written award-winning book "Bridge to Terabithia" definitely has some depth and can be made into a good school read, IMO, although I don't know how long I will wait till letting my children have at it.

Apparently, there are all sorts of study guides that can be found also, like this one at Amazon, although I haven't looked at any of them.
And now, I am curious about the movie. Not for my kids, but for me---anyone see it? Does it go more along with the book than the previews let on?

Sketch Tuesday: Bathroom Cabinet Finds

Last week's assignment for Sketch Tuesday was something you find in your bathroom cabinet.

Daniel Lapbook--part 1

We have started our fall history---quarter 3 of volume 1 Mystery of History. Thus, the start of a new history lapbook about not just Daniel, but the Babylonian captivity and rulers and the food pyramid and general health information. Homeschool Helper has a Daniel lapbook and most of these links will be from there, denoted by an *. Since we are going in chronological order thru our history book, I'm trying to put it together chronologically also.

Book of Daniel accordian fold*
The Captivity of Babylon -- this is a group of notebooking pages that I got and I cannot find the site anymore. I will only be using page one and turning it into a booklet. If you want this pdf file, just ask!
The Ishtar Gate -- I made this book on word doc. and can email it to you if you are interested!! Information and picture gathered from bible-history.com.
We will be focusing on what happened with Nebuchednessar II, Daniel, and the food pyramid this next week, taking a "detour" to study Aesop and his fables the next week and continuing on with our MOH lessons--all those during Daniel's lifetime could add little activities to this Daniel lapbook, but the majority will be completed this week.
Food folder game This will be the second folder or a flap (for my preschooler). She may also have a Medley Match-Up game. The older ones will probably also need an extra flap or 2 in this folder for their coloring pages and activities I have found on the food pyramid.
GuestHallow.com has a free health unit based on the book "Food and Nutrition for every Kid". We will be using several of her mini books from her Nutrition lapbook--especially for my oldest:
Vitamin Storage Petal Book
Fats Chart
Fat Accordian
Nutrition Facts Book
Protein fan book
Protein Wheel
Vitamin ABCs long booklet
Saccaride Dbl Flapbook
Examples of saccharides dbl flapbook
What a way to incorporate Science into our school day!!
Change of names tab fold* I may save this for lesson 62 "Shadrach, Meshac and Abed-nego" along with The Fiery Furnace.
Lion's Den* -- a small unit on lions could be given with a classification of lions and what they eat, etc. This will probably be saved for lesson 67, "Darius I"
I will try to add more......but this will get our week started at least ;)

What to do for Preschool?!?

For my first child (girl), it was all about "starting homeschool"...buying kits...you know how it is....
Number 2 (boy) was not as ready for the writing and cutting or singing and nursery rhymes--he still has no interest in the songs and such! I didn't push it.
Number 3 (girl) likes sitting at the table--and has asked to "do school" since she was 18 months old or so. When number 4 came along (boy), it became necessary to have planned activity for the little two, but there definitely wasn't the funds to spend on a bunch--especially when we have so much laying around! Sure, they got some counting, sorting, etc. in their regular play, but it really should have some thought thrown into it too! And if they are within my sight, there is less likely to be a mess somewhere else!! So, a little mess at the table was fine :)
This past year, for the 3yo, she had a letter book. We kinda did a simplified version of the "letter of the week" curriculum that you can find anywhere and everywhere, including free online, but we definitely spread it out [over about 45 weeks instead of 26]. It's SO easy to do this.
Simplified Letter of the Week for age 3
I started out with an accordian folder that is labelled with the alphabet. In each pocket (a-b, c-d, etc.), I put in things that went with that letter. Any stickers I found, coloring pages, stories from old Highlights magazines or other magazines (i.e. a snake pamphlet was in the S file, some preschool letter cards we have were divided into each one, zoobooks filed appropriately, etc.). I also made sure to include one large printout of each letter in block form. A polka dot alphabet would work also. These letters were for matching letter stickers and maybe items that start with that letter which I usually put on my fingers for her to put on the letter (we used up leftover scrapbooking letter stickers and bought more letter stickers wherever and whenever I saw them on sale) and for cutting and gluing practice. You can go with these collage ideas too.
Where did she glue them? In a cheap wide-ruled notebook that we got on sale last summer. This was her Alphabet Notebook. After she glued on the letter, we filled the next couple pages with other drawings or stickers or color pages or booklets about that letter. For instance--following R, we had stencils of raindrops, cut outs of rectangles, and then rainbows I showed her how to draw.
A little over halfway through the alphabet, she started recognizing letters. She now writes her name in capital letters. We did not work on that--we did not spend a lot of time on this, even, but it was all she needed. You can go way more in depth than we did, but we kept it simple, knowing if it seemed too difficult, I wouldn't follow through. And we only did it on days she asked to do school or really needed some kind of planned activity.
What did my 2yo boy do? nothing really productive, but if he opted to be at the table, he was also allowed stickers, paper, glue, scissors, etc. After turning 3, I will help him start his own alphabet book!
Plans for Notebooks for age 4
In about 3 weeks, I will have a 4 year old. Since completing the alphabet notebook and recognizing most letters for PreK3, I think it is time to focus on numbers for a little while. I may use the same accordian type of system or we could just pull down all the preK wkbks sitting on the shelf. I will mix in colors and shapes also--one of those cheapie ruled notebooks will become her Preschool Book for this year--this REALLY cuts back on the mess of papers and "what do we do with this stuff" question. It also lets her use scissors and a glue stick :)
After this, we will go back to letters. I want her to see the lowercase and I have some wipe-off d'nealian sheets of all the letters that she can trace and try to write them. Maybe she will learn sounds. I plan on letting her watch some you-tube videos (there are adorable nursery rhymes, songs, etc.) and Starfall. We'll add in what we can, but a lot of things will probably be "taught" by my 8yo and 6yo as they take turns with the little ones and we will have newborn twins-- a new twist on daily life that I have no idea what it will bring!!

Just me.....and my ideas on a SIMPLIFIED PreK curriculum!!
Benefits of PreK? I believe it helps with a better ability to sit in Sunday School and other church classes and co-ops. It also teaches without pressure as long as you are laid back about it.
Get too laid back and not do anything? They may not be able to sit and use the glue at storytime at the library or other activities we like to go and enjoy. They will also need more of your help (cutting, etc) when you DO try to do something with them (or various other teachers they may encounter).
Don't forget about your preshoolers and toddlers this year!!
The ideas are really endless!

Marvelous and Necessary

In my 8yo dd's reading lesson today, she had the adjectives marvelous and necessary. The first question was "Think of some things that are marvelous. Write them." Her response? Mommy, Daddy, Luke, Rachel, Johnathon, God, Jesus, church, friends, Heaven, Me
Next question: "Think of some things that are necessary. Write them." school, chores, helping, playing, God, Jesus, church
Hmmmm. WOW! Not marking any of those out, but it's interesting to see what she sees as marvelous and necessary. I see that she understand the words because all of her other answers are correct......and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these marvelous answers, so I just found it necessary to share :)

Sketch Tuesday: Noisy Places

Our submissions for Harmony Arts Sketch Tuesday were drawn today. Submit your art of a noisy place by Monday!

8yo dd's Construction Zone

6yo ds's War Zone3yo dd's Bullets

Incentives for Reading

I grew up, like most adults I know, participating in the Pizza Hut Book-It program, enjoying a personal pan pizza every so often as a reward for reading. Homeschoolers can participate in this also! Sign up as individual homeschool families and reward your elementary aged kids!
Now--as mom/teacher, how do you determine their reading goals and keep track? Pizza-Hut is making it easier and easier! Printable reproducibles are available for any type of record keeping you want--monthly, by time, number of books or pages, plus you can teach them to write book reports with their easy forms also!! New ones for the new school year should be coming in august. NOW--they do have a cut-off point for signing up and will not approve you if you wait, so SIGN UP NOW!!!
And if ice cream is your thing (and you live near a Braum's), you can double the incentives by signing up for Braum's Book Buddies. We do this through our local co-op as it is less difficult than trying to get approved as an individual homeschool. This is for kids in 1st-5th grades and comes with stickers and charts for each of the 6 coupons for various ice cream treats.
Searching for any other free motivational reading programs, I also found:
-Sylvan's Book Adventure
You can do any incentives on your own of course, but these are even better IMO since they aren't coming out of my pocket *smile*........

Free American History Book

If you don't subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse e-newletters or magazine (digital and/or paper), I definitely recommend it for any homeschooler. The wealth of information is pretty incredible. This week's Freebie Friday newsletter had many things listed, but I thought I'd share a free history book from Bradenburg Studies. A Beginner's History of America covers American history up to the Civil War.

A Bit Spacey

I've always tended to be a bit on the spacey side--walking into the room and forgetting why I was there, pausing mid-sentence and not knowing what I was saying. Just this morning, I was cooking scrambled eggs and needed to go blow my nose [darn allergies + a hormonal break-down]. While in the bathroom, I'm looking at my hair, thinking it looks okay today--so I take out the mirror to look at the back of it, fluff it a bit, then head back to the kitchen....OH!! I was cooking eggs! Thankfully, they weren't burnt, just a little stuck to the pan........good grief!!
Anyway--this just leads me in to say we just finished our week of VBS--the Answers in Genesis curriculum called "Operation Space". It was awesome--our usual Sunday School attendance (adults and kids) is around 100 and every night this week, we had over 130 kids plus the adults. And many of these kids are unchurched! Most are public schooled. Most have no idea about Creation Science, just Evolutionary Science or a strange combination of the two. We were able to teach and lead these kids to God's Truths and show them that His Word is the Absolute Authority. We also had a special guest come visit on Thursday--Mr. Aken is an astronaut and has been in space 4 times, holding the record with 2 other guys for the longest spacewalk of 8.5 hours. He is a Christian and he shared some really cool pictures and info for us all. Pretty awesome for a little midwest town that doesn't even have a gas station anymore, let alone a street light--just a few churches and an elementary school.......
WELLLLLLLL.....now what to do with all the papers and STUFF that the kids come home with, have good info on and they really want to keep....hmmmm.......since I caught them drawing planets on their free Saturday morning, I asked if they wanted to do a space lapbook (really, astronomy was supposed to be our summer science and it never has happened). SO---into my file of space lapbook stuff I've collected and back to homeschoolshare for more relevant booklets. If you're looking for more fun, yet school-like space stuff, search learning page.com for their space stuff--grades PreK thru 3rd grade math, science, and language worksheets. It's free to sign up, but you do have to log in.....great simple math review for those not doing regular school right now--all with a space theme!!
Now, we are not sitting down and DOING school today, I just started printing pages (always printing an extra for my master notebook) and my eldest has a clipboard of some planet stuff to do whenever and however. She's started gathering all her color pages and other papers from this week, adding them to her clipboard. My 6yo boy with have a file folder here close to my desk and so will my 3yo girl--eventually, probably having a ziploc baggie for all the things they cut out. Currently, I hear my 8yo daughter "teaching" crafts and having class at the dining room table--my 3yo has her new treasured bible [a Gideon New Testament] and insists on carrying it everywhere. Making paper airplanes may not be constructive, but it is definitely keeping them busy......and hopefully, they'll decide to do a little more of the stuff I printed for them. If not, we'll tackle it on some free afternoons when they need planned activity ;-)
Now that I've made it thru a week of late-night VBS, I am in desperate need of a week-long nap (LOL)......or maybe just a Saturday afternoon nap, so the little one and I are headed upstairs soon so i can be totally spacey and relaxed, perhaps get some rest so the hormones and emotions will not break out and take charge of my cloudy, allergen-filled brain----ahhhh, to be weightless and floating on a "cloud"....I think I may have found my lamaze "happy place"!!!

Fine Arts free mini unit

I was referred to this site from my subscriber exclusive email from Homeschool Freebie of the Day and WOW!! They are giving away a mini unit (about 6 weeks) over Monet and Mendellsohn. So grateful for some more freebies in this area. I'm lacking in teaching any kind of real art, music, etc. Most of that comes from our co-op, for which I am ever so grateful. BUT, the art and music appreciation could really use some expanding. Let's see if I implement this one anytime soon :) I think the kids might enjoy it!!

language arts with games

We've done several little file folder games lately and have a few more in the works....I think the lessons stick better in the kids's minds when they have a hands-on activity. It also makes mommy/teacher seem a bit less of a stick in the mud and "summer school" more attractive.

1st grade
Pathways Phonics/Reading, lessons 105 and 108 teach the consonant digraphs "sh" and "ch". Then, lesson 120 teaches "th" and "wh". I used Lapbook Lesson's Rain Shower Digraphs for the "sh" and "ch", then used the blank ones to make "th" and "wh" umbrellas. We used his workbook page clip art for the drawings on these raindrops. We turned the umbrellas into pockets by cutting them apart and stapling, then contact papering the fronts. The raindrops were pasted onto cereal box cardboard and contact papered as well. We have added a half a folder to fold down in order to continue adding more umbrellas inside later--room for 4 more as of now. Mine looks nowhere as nice as the sample pictures on the site--just do what you can!!

Pathways Phonics and Reading, lesson 125 taught plurals that you add "es" instead of just "s" to. I decided this deserved a file folder game for my hands-on 6yo boy. I made up a not so pretty (but functional) Ice Cream Shop, adding "-es" game. I'm sorry, but I did this all by hand and not on the computer--but here is the explanation: You just use a file folder--put a cover on the front and I label my little tab so it can be filed and found again later. Holding the folder up like a regular 8.5x11 paper, you open it and paste your homemade ice cream cones along the bottom. I wrote the letters s, x, z, sh, and ch on these cones. Explain that words that end in these letters cannot just have s added to make them plural, you need to add es. I made ice cream scoops in various colors (glued onto thin cardboard and covered in contact paper) with various words on them like brush, fox, etc., being sure to not use words that need their consonant doubled like bus (those may be made later). I also made cherries with the letters "es" on them, so he puts the scoops on the right cones and then adds cherries to them. Later, for the doubling consonants, I may make nuts with the extra letters--we'll see!! All the scoops and cherries are held in a baggie that I stapled to the folder. You can get a lot fancier--but this worked for us!

2nd grade
We haven't been adding much fun in for my dd, so I decided I needed to look for something in her upcoming lessons. Tomorrow we learn contractions in Rod and Staff Phonics, unit 4, lesson 14. I found this lesson plan and thought it just PERFECT! I hope I feel like pulling it off well--if not, I'll be faking it and hope it sticks to their brains anyway. Contraction Surgery

Also for Phonics, beginning in lesson 20, she will be learning homonyms. They list 25 sounds in that first lesson, so those are what I am using to create Hatching Homonyms, a game that I am trying to partially do on the computer in order to save and share. The nests will be brown pockets with the pronunciation written on them (25 in all). The words and definitions are on eggs and they need to be put into the right nest. If you want these word eggs, please just email me and ask--I have them in Word documents (6 pages=52 words and 2 blank eggs). I will be doing the nests with pronunciations by hand since it is easier with the different symbols. I may use little brown paper sacks cut into nest shapes and, of course, contact paper to preserve them.
My kiddos help with the making of their own file folder games and lapbooks--it's not just me doing all the work. Depending on the difficulty and their age, I may do some of the cutting in order to have a NICELY done game that will last longer. I also do the contact papering since that is not cheap stuff and it's easily wrinkled.......your kids (or yourself) may or may not like artsy crafty things--to each his own, this is just me........