sorting goals

My mom is in town to help with the kids and reguar chores so I should...

categorize toys make photos for boxes and baskets put some toys out of reach
purge toys
get paperwork off dining room table
mail sorting system
get unwanted items out of attic.
purge clothes
purge books
sign up to sell online
organize craft area
re-discover the top of the dryer
take a load to the thrift store

writing ideas

Begin writing activities--
have Claire dictate stories poems sentences to me and I write them verbatim then she can illustrate
practice letters on slate
fill in ideas for a poem
I hear, I see, I smell,
I taste
Claire dictates letter to family member
search for more ideas online.

So much for plans.
I've decided I need to post a list of activities to choose from in order to remind me to do stuff with the girls Here goes:
Blocks
puzzles
playdough
painting
counting
sorting
collage-use to develop math skills
"writing" letters
cooking
stringing beads
sewing cards
dancing to music/ using instruments

look at Busy Book/Baby Days or TeachingMontesorri in the Home

good food

Reminder to self:
foods the girls have enjoyed lately:
Shredded cabbage with dressing
Chick peas with dressing
fish sticks with sweet-sour sauce
zucchini muffins (usual oat muffin recipe substitute zucchini for applesauce
kidney beans
spinach surprise -ground beef cooked with chopped frozen spinach and other veggies, add basil and onion. serve over rice.
home made granola- 7 cups quick oats 1 cup whole oats 1/2 c soy grits 1 c wheat germ 3/4 cup honey 2/3 c oil (mix together over med heat) pour over grains bake at 250 stirring every 20 mins until toasted. (I add nuts to my own bowl.)

I printed out a Western rite Calendar of feast days yesterday and printed out some Bible verses to use with the girls. I also borrowed a set of laminated icons which will be useful for religious education at home. Up to this time we haven't done much in the way of celebrating the various seasons and events of the church calendar beyond Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. I am looking forward to incorporating more.

Some preschool activities we've done recently
learning the major bones of the human body
we talk and sing about bones as she jumps on the exercise ball, she has a digram by her pace at the table
counting by 1, 2, 5, 10 in English
counting by 1 in Spanish
Spanish songs and poems.
recognising more and less, longer/ shorter, heavier/ lighter, darker/ lighter, same different
attending kids concerts
building towers with a variety of blocks
sorting cards by type
sharing with sister
taking turns

preschool activities:
this is what we've done the past few days.
Stacking graduated blocks
nesting graduated blocks
shape puzzles
tracing shapes
decoding three letter words/ sight words
stamping with fruit using finger paint. (thicker paint would be better.)

Outings:
the Grove
Thursday concerts 11:00
Tues summer session 2:00

Library story time

California Science Center

walks to the park
Saturday Virginia park crafts ans farmer's market
My Gym




At home:
learn church music
learn bible verses

menus

well I'm trying to be more frugal with food these days
some things I've been cooking lately:
miso soup
salads with greens from the garden and nappa cabbage
fish chowder
noodle salad
mixing leftover rice, salad and miso soup for lunch the next day

I've been trying to purchase grocery items that cost less than a dollar per pound. apples, watermelon, potatoes, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, green onions, summer squash. I am trying to find meat/fish close to $2.00 per pound. I made an exception for the bacon because I wanted some without nitrates which they sell at TJ's.