Blissful E » preschooler

Posts Tagged ‘preschooler’

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10 Mar, 2010

watercolour painting

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Nikki asked to paint, so I set her and Michael loose with the watercolours.

Nikki also painted the reverse of that same page.

Her current style could be called 'saturation.'

2 Comments

Tags: preschooler, toddler

05 Mar, 2010

jam session

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Percussion instruments are all the go in our house!

Ben asked if I initiated the jam session. Not at all - my only contribution was getting down on the floor and pressing the "record" button. Nikki and Michael set up the instruments and began playing on their own. They just love music!

1 Comment

Tags: music, preschooler, toddler, video

03 Mar, 2010

Michael Foreman’s Nursery Rhymes

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Nursery rhymes are "the bottom-most layer of the comfortable hereditary clutter of mottoes, proverbs, and half-remembered tales that we use to ornament conversations throughout our lives, knowing that they are common currency." - Iona Oprie

Michael Foreman's Nursery Rhymes was a fabulous find on our latest trip to the library.

Nikki adores the funny sayings and memorable incidents recorded throughout. Michael enjoys the visual humor, for instance a rat shown walking from one relevant rhyme to another on the next page.

Nikki happily recites the rhymes for Michael, as in the video below.

She is also beginning to create scenarios of her own with the characters.

Fun-loving children + a book of silly rhymes = good times.

1 Comment

Tags: children's book, preschooler, toddler, video

26 Feb, 2010

have you any S-N-O-D?

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

With sharp-eared small children around, adult conversation can be a bit limited. Sometimes Ben and I spell things rather than say them.

That means, of course, that when we're spelling, it must be important.

Nikki heard some spelling and thought we were saying "S-N-O-D". She now thinks that S-N-O-D is very important.

Ben and I have no idea what we were spelling when our daughter heard S-N-O-D, but the acronym has clearly taken on a life of its own.

Sometimes when we're about to eat, Nikki will ask if we're having S-N-O-D. Or she'll ask if we're going to get some S-N-O-D. Click here to listen to Nikki's imaginary phone conversation about S-N-O-D (transcript below).

Uh, hello?
I'd like to get S-N-O-D, and Mama wants it too.
So... uh... we're pretty nice, so...
Have you any S-N-O-D?
Yeah? OK.
Bye bye."

If anyone, uh, has some S-N-O-D, I think my daughter's expecting some in the mail...

7 Comments

Tags: preschooler

24 Feb, 2010

reading together

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Nikki and Michael thoroughly enjoy the Rebecca Johnson / Steve Parish books Kent and Loni brought when they visited.

But mostly I took this picture so you could see Nikki's groovy trousers!

3 Comments

Tags: children's book, preschooler, toddler

22 Feb, 2010

memorizing catechism

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

We just finished the fifth week of our homeschooling journey, which we have begun with catechism memorization. Nikki and Michael both enjoy it and I think the Catechism for Young Children in particular does a great job of (a) breaking down complex doctrine into understandable pieces and (b) satisfying the endless curiosity of preschoolers and toddlers. The question and answer format is a natural learning style for curious littlies.

We have our lessons during lunch or immediately after, with Vi on my back in a baby carrier most days.

To begin, I open Starr Meade's book, Training Hearts, Teaching Minds and ask each of the questions we've studied to date. Nikki knows the answers so this is a review. Here is a video of her answering the first four questions of the Shorter Catechism in Modern English:

I then read the current week's question and answer several times. After that, I read the paragraph for that day (there are six short lessons, one each for Monday through Saturday). If things are going well, I will read two day's worth of lessons, because we don't homeschool on Saturdays, and usually there will be one or two weekdays where Vi needs extra attention or something else comes up.

Each of the daily lessons contains several Bible references to look up. As I was searching for a verse today, Nikki asked me, "Mama, what will happen when I can read?" Then she answered her own question, "I will be able to look up verses in the Bible!"

Following the paragraph lesson, I read the current week's question and answer two or three more times. Then I pull out the Catechism for Young Children and start at the top. Nikki has it memorized up through question 21, and Michael knows the answers to the first three questions. You can hear him in this video:

Recently I have been able to answer some of Nikki's questions about God or sin with catechism answers that she already knows. It's fantastic to see her fit the pieces into place, and it makes my job easier to have answers ready to give.

6 Comments

Tags: catechism, homeschooling, preschooler, toddler, video

19 Feb, 2010

sharing

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

3 Comments

Tags: preschooler, toddler

16 Feb, 2010

Nikki likes the LIKEaBIKE

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Robin asked for a review of the LIKEaBIKE we bought our children for Christmas.

The short answer is that the LIKEaBIKE is fantastic! A stress-free child-led introduction to cycling.

Nikki gained confidence by riding around and around the living room. Then one day she asked to take her LIKEaBIKE outside.

She practiced in the back garden, and later I shot some video as she maneuvered around a parking lot, down a grassy hill, and along a wetlands trail.

This short clip shows her riding, turning wide circles, and stopping.

Please note, this is not a compensated review, just a product I like.

4 Comments

Tags: preschooler, review, video

31 Jan, 2010

Nikki’s first swimming lesson

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Pictured below are a few of the activities from Nikki's half-hour lesson, with a bonus shot of her (only slightly distracting) fan club.

I asked Nikki afterward if she enjoyed the lesson. "Yeah, it was really fun," she replied, "except blowing bubbles, because I didn't want to get my eyes wet."

Thanks to Jen for encouraging us to start lessons sooner rather than later!

5 Comments

Tags: preschooler

27 Jan, 2010