This year I decided to write my own curriculum for Little Sweets. I will be using my ideas and incoroporating ideas I see from other preschool websites. One theme I will be doing is a letter of the week. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this theme, but I have decided to go ahead with it. I want to make it clear that this will not be the only way that I will be teaching language arts. While I think that knowing the alphabet is important. I do not agree with a phonics only approach. Learning to read is so much more than knowing letters and their sounds. I plan on including other language arts activities in my posts. I also plan to have a Bible theme section. I would like to intergrate Little Sweets interests into the curriculum, so I plan to include an other acticvities section too. I hope you enjoy my posts.
A is for Apples
Language Arts -Alphabet Books
I picked up some great alphabet books from the library this week. I thought this would be a great way to introduce the alphabet and the letter of the week theme. Here is a list of great books I got at the library:
Bruno Manari's ABC by Bruno Manari
Alphabet House by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Max's ABC's by Rosemary Wells
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
Here is a list of great apple books we read this week too.
Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Ten Red Apples A Bartholomew Bear Counting Book by Virginia Miller
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
I taped a picture of a coconut tree onto our refridgerator and had Little Sweets put the letter A on the tree. Each week I will have her put another letter on the tree. This is a great way to retell the story Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Confessions of a Homeschooler has a big tree in her house that she uses. I adapted her idea to use with my abc theme. I am using magnets because I don't have the space to make such a big tree.
Science- The Inside of an Apple and Apple Tasting
We read an awesome book called Apples, Apples, Apples, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. The book is about a family that goes apple picking. The book has a lot of factual information about apples in it. One thing it showed was what the inside of an apple looks like. Little Sweets was so excited about the seeing a star in the apple in the book. We cut our own apple open so she could see the star in a real apple.
We also tasted three different kinds of apples. I wish I had pictures, but I forgot to take some. She loved the red delicious apple and the gold delicious apple. She refused to eat the granny smilth apple after she tasted it.
Math- Counting Apple Seeds
After we read the Big and Little Book I had Little Sweets sort pictures of big and little apples.