100 Wednesday at Home-Candy Corn

 

Grab your child's interest in 100 Wednesday with some fall candy.  Sort, create patterns, make rows of 10, count by 10's, count 10 pieces and much more.  Older children at home?  Have them create math problems with the candy pieces.  It's a sweet way to do math your child!  

Masterpiece Monday at Home

 

Masterpiece Monday is an important part of the MCP curriculum.  Art is very important to your child's development.  We connect art to math, science, literature, geography and so much more.  How do you start?  Start with colors.  

Introduce the names of primary and secondary colors.  Talk about warm and cool colors (don't do this all at one sitting😁)

Want to do more?  Invest in some inexpensive craft acrylic paints.  The basic colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purples, white, black and brown)  are what we use and then we will lighten and darken with white and black. Your favorite on-line superstore or craft store will have 8 x 10 canvases that are the perfect size for preschoolers.  

Build your child's vocabulary-canvas, palette, smock and art gallery.  We used to use Styrofoam egg cartons for paints and have moved to paper plates for easy painting and easy clean up.  Large yogurt tubs are filled with water to clean brushes.  A kitchen washcloth is used to dry brushes (they used to be white. Now they are beautiful) 

Try not to interfere with your child's work.  Try not to make suggestions.  One of the most important lesson children learn in creating art is decision making.  We tell them it is 'their art' and let them enjoy the experience of creating something that is uniquely theirs.  Big stuff for our preschoolers! 

Experiment with colors.  Food coloring and water.  It's that simple.  It's science.  Preschool science is about exploration, discovery and FUN!  

Sensory bottles!  Have some fun with colors and your child!  

Cookie Monster Sings C is for Cookie

This week we work on Letter C!

Busy Busy Bee

B-Grab a Book

100 Wednesday-Sorting, Patterns & Counting

We have thousands of items for the children to sort, create patterns and count (I'm not kidding).  What can you use at home?  Anything-coins, Legos, cereal, snacks (Cheerio, Cheez-it, Cheerio, Cheez-it), crayons, markers, all those pony beads in the craft bin...anything.  

Sort items.  Create patterns and count.  Have some fun finding things to sort and pattern with your child.  
 

Letter B---Bears

 

Letter B means bees, bears, biscuits, butter and Beanie Babies!  

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/09/b-is-for-beanie-babies.html

Your child can sort stuffed animals by color.  Have your child line up their soft friends from the biggest to the smallest.  Sort by fur and feathers and much more.

Learn about bears...

Ideas and info---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-bear-necessities.html

The Berenstains' B Book - Read Me A Story

Statue of Liberty Boat Tour

LEGO Statue Of Liberty

Fun Food Friday---A is for Apple Muffins

  

It's Fun Food Friday!  Try this super easy apple muffin recipe with your child!   

1 box spice cake mix

1 apple

2 cups applesauce 

Preheat oven 350*.

Have an adult peel and thinly slice the apple.  If you feel comfortable, allow your child to chop the apple slices into small pieces. When we cook at school, we give the children a plastic knife and a paper plate for cutting. Put the apples in a small bowl. 

Add a spoonful of the cake mix to the apples to coat. 

In a mixing bowl combine the remaining cake mix and the applesauce. Mix well and fold in the apple pieces.

Line or spray 12 muffin trays. Scoop into each muffin tray. Bake 18-20 minutes.

12-16 muffins

Found this at --- https://momcrieff.com/apple-spice-muffins-three-ingredients-delicious-easy/

Don't have a spice cake mix?  Use a yellow cake mix!

Yellow cake mix-add 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. ginger & ¼ tsp. allspice or cloves

I added a 1/2 cup of oatmeal to the dry ingredients and added a second apple. I consistently had 16 muffins and need 20-25 minutes to bake.  Enjoy some time in the kitchen with your child!  Yum-oh!

Making a Mess is Making a Memory

 

There is no doubt art is messy.  At home cover the table, your child and if you feel it's necessary the floor.  We invested in canvas drop cloths and cut them down to size for our school tables (I did zig zig the edges on my sewing machines to prevent fraying) Too much?  Use an old tablecloth to cover surfaces.  

Why is art important?

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/the-importance-of-art-in-child-development

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=113

Make sure you are including art in your child's preschool homeschool. 

100 Wednesday at Home

 

It doesn't have to fancy.  It just has to be fun!  

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2020/01/its-100-wednesday.html

How to write numbers---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2020/04/writing-numbers.html

A---Apple Fruit Factory Tour

A---Apples and America

 

At MCP we start the year with Letter A, apples and America.

Apples---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2019/09/mwf-morning-meeting-apples.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2013/09/ten-apples-up-on-top-2013.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/09/is-for-apple.html

America---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-apples-and-america.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2019/09/new-york-city-statue-of-liberty-tour.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2019/09/lego-statue-of-liberty.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2018/09/an-all-american-experience.html

MCP Homeschool Ideas---Our Centers

Are you homeschooling your preschooler?  Preschool is all about play.  Preschools are arranged in a wide variety of centers.  Our MCP students move freely from art to building to the library and then back to art if they desire.  It's a good size room with lots of kids. Your living space may already have centers or areas for your child's play.  Keep it simple.  If you search ideas for preschool homeschool space you'll get nine million results.  Your child is not interested in a 'pin worthy' space or something that qualifies for an HGTV series.  Your child needs space---not a lot but space to be creative and play. 

The MCP classroom is a calm and relaxed space.  We avoid the 'crayon flu' on the walls where classroom space is saturated with bright colors and lots of charts on the walls. A room that looks likes a box of sick crayons walked in and got sick all over the walls. Too busy.  Too distracting.  Would you want to work or live in such an environment?  

Remember it doesn't have to be fancy.  It has to be fun.  If you have the time, energy and space, you can change it up so your child remains engaged and interested in what you have planned.  It's new for you. It's new for them.

MCP Centers---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2019/09/our-room-mcp-centers.html

Art---is always best in the kitchen or outdoors.  Crayons, markers, paper, glue and scissors.  Create a collage box.  Random stuff for gluing.  Save cracker and cereal boxes for a sturdy glue surface.  

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-collage-box.html

Stop fighting the flow of the glue bottle---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/09/glue-bottles-and-glue-battles.html

Writing---an old coffee table, pens, pencils, paper, envelopes (save from your junk mail), recycle greeting cards.  Remember scribbles are writing!  

Home Library--If you have the time, energy and space try not to place ALL of your child's books in their reading corner.  We rotate books seasonally, with the holidays and when we can see the kiddos are tired of the library.  

We put books everywhere.  Kids are hard on books when they are incorporated into their play. This might not work for you and your child because the books do get a little more wear and tear when they are in a center.  More info---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-book-shelf.html

Grab a bed sheet and cover the kitchen table and place a basket of books underneath for a fun space.  Family room?  Is there space for a card table with a sheet?  (cover three sides and leave one open so you can see your child inside)

I love our building center!  

Building---Why are blocks important?

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2019/08/new-kids-in-blocks.html

If you have the time, space and energy switch it up.  Put the blocks away and have LEGOS, a train set or other building materials.  

Messy Tub---it's not for everyone because it's messy!  We use rice, sand and black beans but crinkle paper used in gift bags and baskets is fun and easy clean up!  Look under the 'Sensory' label for more ideas.

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/08/mcp-centers-messy-tub.html

Dramatic Play---does more than you think for your child's development.  

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/08/mcp-centers-dramatic-play.html

Keep it simple. Our castle, fire truck, rocket ship and pizza oven are large cardboard boxes.  Nothing fancy plus they fold flat and are easy to store in our attic space.  For more ideas check under our 'Dramatic Play' label.  

We hope this helps you and your child with your homeschool preschool.  

No Need for Worksheets

 

You never want to get on a plane where the pilot learned to fly from worksheets. ~ Todd Whitaker

https://learningprofessor.com/2018/09/03/the-problem-with-worksheets/

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=134