Mommy Preschool- Week 1

So fall is here, or at least it is suppose to be according to the school :) Hard to believe when its 100 degrees outside! Fall is not only my favorite season but I am one of those dorks that loved starting school, picking out new folders, notebooks, I still as a grown up love to go thru the school supply section! Just gets me excited- I know I'm such a nerd! I am especially excited this year because we have decided to have "mommy preschool". To everyone their own opinion, but I just have a thing against traditional preschools (maybe because I used to direct one but regardless we have decided that it is not for us) One of my most fav things in the world is developing curriculum for classes so this decision for us was a no brainer... just as in the past I have shared different ideas & projects I have decided that I would choose some of my favs to share with my blog world...
 So we kicked off our first this week & here were some of the fav's:
1- Sticky Numbers
Used cardstock to make a long row. Wrote the number on top of the card & she had to put the correct number of stickers in the correct number box.

SHe was VERY proud of herself! (only making one mistake!)

#2- Hard vs Soft & Float vs. Sink
I had a pile of things hard and soft and she had to separate them into the correct containers. I also used tricky thinks such as play dough which is soft with a hard container to see how she would problem solve. She chose to put playdough in soft "because you don't play with the container!" lol.  I repeated the same activity filling the containers with water & she had to try & figure out which ones floated & sank.

#3- Differences in Fruits & Veggies
First we talked about that was a fruit & what was a veggie and what makes them different...
We had a bowl full of a variety of different fruits & veggies & she had to separate them in to the correct fruit or veggie plate. Talked about how they grow, what they smell like, who/what eats it... This was awesome because after we plated them I told her she could try any of them, she tried more different things than she has ever been willing to try before!

#4- Money Mix
I took a veggie tray & filled the dip part with change (Quarters, Nickel, Dime & Penny) and she then had to separate them into the correct section. For every one she got in the correct spot she got to put in her piggy bank (You better believe that we hit up the $ store later that day! LOL) She really like this!

Along those same lines...
#5- Acts of Kindness
In my attempts to teach her about money I stumbled upon the idea of a homestore. I liked the idea but I thought it needed something more so I turned it into Karly's Acts of Kindness. Whenever I see her doing something especially kind that I did not ask her to do, I give her money. She then can use the money to buy something from her acts of kindness box.

You can see there are prices & colored stars. So if she gets a green star she can find something in the box with a green star to buy or she can save her money and get a silver star item... this is AMAZING!!!! And working INCREDIBLE! For instance she randomly told her Dad "Daddy I really like your hair cut, you look nice" He gave her .25, yesterday she picked up trash that was sitting of the table without being asked she got .75, today she held the door for an elderly man so I gave her $1.00. She is now always looking for ways to help! And she is starting to get the beginnings of earning money & saving. I really am loving this idea more & more. But I'm gonna have to get more rewards here soon! ;)

#6 Eating Fractions
I work a lot with her on numbers & math topics because I know the statistics of girls who struggle in math. We made a Quesadilla & then I let her use the pizza cutter & we learned how to make 1/2 & 1/4... This was a huge hit! She likes getting to eat her projects! LOL.

So these were the highlights of our first mommy preschool week! Hope you enjoy them :) Stay tuned & please share ideas, I love finding new creative things! There is nothing more rewarding than watching that spark go off when she 'gets' it!