Happy New Year: Lesson Planning

Happy New Year everyone! This last year has been a year full of blessings, joy, and favor! The Lord is Good and He is Faithful!!!

There are a lot of new and exciting things the Lord is doing in my life and in my family! I will be launching a preschool for a well established Christian school. I am very honored and excited to be opening a preschool (once again!) and directing the program. There are some great ministry opportunities that lie ahead!!

I know my time is going to be stretched with licensing paper work and lesson planning for the blog, so I wanted to start the new year organized! I am happy to announce my lesson plans are done for the month of January! :) I pray that I will organize my time wisely so I can get all the licensing items done and also not let our learning activities fall through the cracks!

I just started this blog four months ago. I am still learning what works for me. I first started by posting once a week, but I learned it was too much information for one post. This time around I will be posting 3 times a week. One post a week on Bible, ABCs, and Theme. 

Here is a look on how I layout my lesson plans.

I used an old lesson layout that's why there are so many blackouts. This layout was from when I was teaching on Tuesdays and Thursdays last school year. I like to see the whole week (or in this case month) on one sheet. I made this lesson plan layout on my computer using Word. Nothing fancy! 

To organize my blog posts I color coded each post. Material content for the Bible posts are in purple. ABC related content is in green and theme is in blue. This way I can look back and make sure I cover all related material in each blog post.

This is what the blank lesson plans look like before writing on it. 

I also made files to organize all the teaching and crafting materials. As I prep each activity I will file it away in the corresponding file! When it's time to do that activity it s all ready together in one place!

I love to hear how you organize your lessons whether you are planning lessons for homeschooling, preschool center or a blog!

Thanks for your support and stopping by! Hope these ideas inspire you!  

Blessings,

Erica

Love to hear from you!

Follow on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam

Christmas Tree Theme Crafts and Activities

Theme: Christmas tree

Bible: 25 Days of Christmas

Math: shapes and colors

Sensory: Christmas tree sensory tub

Crafts: pinecone ornaments 

Bible:

For the month of December we have been doing the 25 Days Of Christ In Christmas! E opens an envelope a day; inside the envelope is a small ornamnet and puts it on his little Christmas tree. I share with him the meaning of that Christmas symbol. To learn more about this advent activity click here: 

http://mylittlesonbeam.blogspot.com/2013/12/25-days-of-christ-in-christmas.html?m=1

Math:

A fun and interactive way to learn colors and shapes.

Craft:

I love how these pinecone ornaments turned out! I squeezed the glue on the pinecone and E placed the extra small pom poms on. When the Christmas tree

Pinecones where all dry I hot glued string to the top. We made a few of these to give to friends and family. I personalized it by adding the letter of their last name.

Sensory Aticity:

Made a little sensory tub activity to go along with the Christmas tree theme. I hot glued wire onto green pom poms and wrapped wire on button shapes for ornaments. For the snow I just used salt and fake fluffy snow you can buy at any craft store.

Note: the wire I used turned out to be too thin! I would recommend using a thicker gauge wire. A wire as thick as a paper clip might be better. E was getting a little frustrated that the wire would bend as he pushed it into the foam pinecone. 

Here are a just a few more crafts we've been making this month for gifts:

E painted wood frames (.99 cents from Michaels!) to give to the grandparents. I will place one of the pictures we took during our 2013 family photo session.

I wanted these frames to be 100% one of a kind from E. So, I let him pick which colors he wanted and let him paint the frames the way he wanted. When he said he was done I put that frame aside to dry. I layed out buttons, pom poms and felt flowers and he chose the ones he wanted to put on the frame. I love how unique they came out! 

We are using these bags to hand out little gifts for his buddies and cousins. 

For the month of December I took a break from organized lesson planning and we just made crafts and enjoyed spur of the moment activities. After New Years we will start up again with letter of the week. The theme for January will be winter and space!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope these ideas inspire you! :)

Blessings,

Erica

Love to hear from you!

Follow on Facebook

https://facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam

DIY Christmas Gifts {stocking Stuffers} for Children

 I've been busy! Made these great "Little" gifts for an Artisan Fair that took place this last weekend. 

These  learning activities make great gifts and stocking stuffers! Most of the materials, to make these gifts, I bought at the Dollar store, Walmart, and the bargain bins at Target! These are lots of fun to make and easy to put together!

Child, using their pincer grasp, will place colored pipe cleaners in the holes of the strainer. Parents discuss colors as child places them in the strainer. 

BUY IT! My Little Strainer learning activity is now available for sale on my etsy store!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/174823335/busy-bag-my-little-strainer

Buy it! My Little Shapes and Colors is now for sale on my etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/188206782/busy-bag-colors-shapes

This activity is LOTS of FUN and is a big hit with my 2 year old!! 

Match the clothes pins to the corresponding color shirt! 

BUY IT! This activity is now for sale in my Etsy shop!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/196986302/my-little-laundry-bag

I was inspired by a Pin on Pinterest from Come Together Kids, where she made "magical" playdough as party favors! I love this idea! When I made the playdough, with my son, it was too Sticky. The blogger from Come Together Kids also mentioned that one of her batches came out too sticky too. I think the ingredients should  have only called for 1 Tbs of oil instead of 1.5 Tbs? If you bought this at the Artisan fair I hope you read this before you make it! If it is too sticky you will just need to add more flour until it becomes the consistency of playdough.

Here is the link to the recipe:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866384748/



The Christmas Miracle playdough cupcake kit includes:

-1 silicone cupcake liner

- paper cupcake liners

- xsmall cupcake liners

- 2 cookie cutters

- 7 candles

- 2 small glitter tubes

- 1 bag of confetti 

- 1 bag of the dry playdough mix

Here are the links to the science experiments and recipes you can make with the items in the Science Kit.

Liquid or solid? (Oobleck):

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866508809/

Color Explotion:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708865313646/

Balloon Blow it up:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866615836/

Gelatin Sensory Fun:

(you can add any objects of your choice)

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866642881/

Instant Snow: (from the Dollar Tree)

Homemade Paint:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866151197/

Homemade Fingerpaint: 

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708865950894/

Sidewalk Paints:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708865955993/

****Update**** want to buy this kit? It is now available in my Etsy shop! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/174616880/my-little-apples-sorting-kit

Hope these gifts inspire you to make something personal and special for the children in your lives! :)

Merry Christmas!

Blessings,

Erica 

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Facebook:

https://m.facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

25 days of Christ in Christmas

I was in the hunt for an advent activity for my two year old son. I was looking for an idea that was Christ centered. There were two activities I was thinking about using: The Jesse Tree and The truth in the Tinsel. Both are great ideas and I will do them with E at some point. But for this year I wanted something simple and I wanted an idea that incorporates what he will be seeing during the month of December. So, I decided to do some research and come up with my own activity which I'm calling: 25 Days of Christ in Christmas. I made a list of 25 symbols we see during the "Holiday" season and I researched to find the meaning of the symbol which will link to our Savior Jesus Christ.  

Here is the list of the 25 "Holiday" symbols:

1. Evergreen Tree

2. Heart

3. Poinsettia

4. Wreath

5. Christmas Tree

6. Christmas lights

7. Holly Leaf

8. Drum

9. Fruit

10. Christmas globe ornament 

11. Gingerbread cookie

12. Santa clause 

13. Stocking

14. Rudolph 

15. Tinsel

16. Snowflake

17. Snowman 

18. Angel

19. Baby Jesus

20. Bow

21. Bell

22. Candy cane

23. Star

24. Crown

25. Gift

 

I wanted my son to see Jesus during Christmas since that's why we celebrate Christmas to remember and celebrate our Savior's birth. I went on a hunt to find a small ornament for each Christmas symbol. There were a few I couldn't find in the size I wanted so I just made them (wreath, baby Jesus, and the crown). The rest I found at the Dollar store, Michaels and CVS.

For each symbol there will be a meaning that links to our Savior Jesus Christ and a scripture verse. The last 8 ornaments will tell the story of the manger.

Since I just finalized what advent activity I was going to do a week ago, this activity is in progress. Follow My Little Sonbeam on Facebook to receive the meaning behind each symbol and scripture verse. 

If you haven't started an advent activity with your little ones, join us! Purchase an ornament for each symbol above and follow us on Facebook! I will (try) to post by 9am, Pacific Time, every morning on Facebook.

Here is Day one

Merry Christmas!

Blessings,

Erica

Follow on Facebook

https://facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam

November Week 3&4

Alphabet: Jj

Theme: Thanksgiving

Bible: Give thanks to The Lord...

Alphabet:

What you need:

-Unflavored gelatin

-water

-Food coloring

-Jewels

-Jars

Follow the directions on the gelatin packet (I used water instead of juice), pour the mixture into three jars, add food color, of your choice, to each jar and place jars in freezer to cool down a bit. Once jars are cooled down (5-10 min) add jewels and let Jell-o set in the fridge.

Once the Jell-o was set I placed the jars in a tray and we observed and talked about the jar, jell-o and jewels. I then used a butter knife to loosen the jell-o out of the jars and E had a go at the Jell-o! 

As he played we talked about letter Jj and the items that start with Jj.

Theme: Thanksgiving

I made these every year with my students. These are great gifts (keepsakes) to give to parents, grandparents and love ones! I made a few with E and we will be giving them to grandparents and we will be keeping one Of course! :)

I usually use the chubby paint brushes to apply the fabric paint on the child's fingers. That is the easiest and fastest way to apply the paint, but my supplies are in storage. So we used what we had, cotton balls, and it worked out fine.

Bible:

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/mylittlesonbeam 

Follow on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

November Week 2

Alphabet: Ii

Math: 1-5 and shapes

Theme: food groups

Bible: seventh day of creation

Alphabet:

Letter Ii box: iron, ice cube tray, insects and flash card.

We didn't have many items around the house that start with Ii! This was all I could come up with. E had fun going through the box and playing with the insects!

Craft: insects on I

We traced The letter I with our finger a few times and then I added the dots of glue for him to glue the insects.

It took me a while to figure out what to do for letter Ii. I did not have a lot to work with and then I received a great idea from the Lord! I have been seeing post on Pinterest about ice melt activities and I couldn't wait to do one with E. 

What you need:

-Ice cube tray and/or plastic containers to use as molds

-Water

-Plastic insects

-salt

I simply placed insects in a plastic container and in an ice cube tray and filled them up with water. I then Placed them in the freezer. I didn't keep time, but it will take probably 4-5 hours for the plastic container to freeze all the way. We were inpatient and took it out early before the block was frozen all the way! ;)

I placed the ice in a baking dish, put salt in a recycled sprinkle container and in a small bowl. The salt helps the ice melt faster so he can get to the insects!

E had a blast and this kept his attention for quite some time. While he played we talked about all the Ii words: insects, in, ice, and ice cubes. 

Theme:

Using real food I made an assortment on a small tray. I placed one or two items from each food group: vegetable group (celery and carrot), fruit group (banana and orange), protein group (ham), diary group (string cheese) and grain group (a slice of bread).

I kept it simple! We first talked about what the names of each food item and then I shared with him which food group it belongs to. Ex: "celery and carrot are vegetables they are in the vegetable group."

And then of course E wanted to try some of the food! :) that's the advantage of using real food!

Shapes:

Craft: Shapely vegetables

After we discussed the food groups we made this Shapley craft. It's hard to tell in the picture above but I traced an outline of the oval, circle and triangle on the brown paper. Together we made this craft. He added glue to the shape (and then I added a bit more glue) and he placed the shape in the correct spot. I helped guide him when placing the diamonds, star and rectangles since I did not make an outline for those shapes.

As he glued each shape we talked about the name and the color of that shape.

When we were all done we reviewed the names of the vegetables we created with the shapes.

Numbers:

This activity is great for counting and for developing fine motor skills. We have done this activity a few times and E really enjoys it! We counted and identified numbers. E decided to match the beads to the color instead of adding the correct number of beads to the corresponding number. He decided this all on his! What a cutie! 

Bible:

We finished our study on the days of creation. We reviewed days 1-6 and talked about all that God made. I then shared him that God was pleased with all that he created and so he rested on the seventh day. As we chatted about this he helped me glue the bed, pillow, sun and z's on the paper.

.....

For the third week in November we will learn about nutrition and Thanksgiving.

Thanks for your support and stopping by! Hope these ideas inspire you!  

Blessings,

Erica

Love to hear from you!

Follow on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam

Follow on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam

November Week 1

Theme: community Helpers Transportation

This last week and a half we learned about community helpers and their transportation vehicle. 

I had four cute small wooden autos: a police car, ambulance, school bus and fire engine. Since we were talking about land, air and water transportation last month, in October, I thought how fun it would be to learn about the community helpers that are associated with these wooden automobiles.

Using card stock paper I assembled a police station, fire station, hospital and school house. Using double sided tape, I taped them on boxes I had around the house (one shoe box and two diaper boxes). I used an utility knife to cut an entrance into each building. I then made a little town road with masking tape. 

We talked about each car and where they belong. We also talked about who works at each station: police officers, firefighters, doctors and teachers. E had a blast driving the cars and driving them into the building.

Doctor:

E already owned a retro doctor's kit which I then added some colored band aides, gauze and a working thermometer. I took an old white t-shirt and cut it down the middle for him to use as a doctors coat. {He loved that thing! He wore it out to lunch! The Dr. was in the building! Haha}

 I googled images on the i pad of doctors and discussed them with E. other things we shared:

- an ambulance takes you to a hospital to see a doctor.

- Doctors help us when we are sick and use these tools to check our body.

-we discussed each item in his doctors kit and how to use them (some he already knew from his well-checkups).

We used one of his teddy bears as a patient and Dr. E got to work! It was really cute to see him role play. As he placed band aides on the bear we reviewed colors!

Firefighter:

I googled images of fighter fighters and we discussed what they do:

-when there is a fire, firefighters come to the rescue to put the fire out!

-they use big, strong and long fire hoses to put the fire out.

For the activity I made paper flames out of card stock paper. I filled plastic clear cups up to 1/3 of the way with baking soda and added vinegar to his play fire extinguisher. 

E got his firefighter gear on: hat, belt, badge, ax, and used the fire extinguisher to put the fires out! He had a blast! First he sprayed the flames with the extinguisher but then we got to business and filled a cup with vinegar and we really got to see some smoke! He loved pouring over and over vinegar in the cups to see an eruption of "smoke."

**don't have a play fire extinguisher? Use a spray bottle! :) Need some ideas for DIY firefighter gear? My Preschool Fall

activities Pinterest board has some great ideas. check this one out: http://pinterest.com/pin/147492956520015846/

Police Officer and Teacher:

I created activity trays for both Police officer and Teacher. 

For both community helpers I first started by going over images of them and discussing what they do.

-Police officers keep our city and streets safe. When there is an emergency and you need help dial 911. 

In the tray I places a NON-working phone for him to pretend to dial 911 and badges for him to role play. 

-Teachers teach us our letters and numbers. Teachers help us learn many things, like teaching us how to read.

In the teacher tray I placed a bowl with letters and numbers and a stack of flash cards. We matched the letters to the coresponding flash cards, made three letter words and E played with the magnetic letters on the fridge. 

These trays (and activities) are  an invitation to play to let the child lead the lesson with the parent guiding and supporting. A way to guide is by asking questions to create discussions which result in learning! :)

* * *

It was a blessed and busy week and a half of Harvest fun and learning! for the next couple if weeks, leading into Thanksgiving, we will learn about health and nutrition. 

Thank you for stopping by! Hope these activities inspire you!

Blessings,

Erica

Love to hear from you!

Follow on:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam

Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/

Follow on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam