G week

Getting back on track we started off G week today. We began the day by writing a capital and lowercase G on our chalk wall. Then I had the kids brainstorm G words while I wrote them all down. When they would get stuck I would give a clue and we would be off and running again. After the wall was full I used a pointer and read a word and then said the sound as I pointed to the word and then the letter alternating between upper and lower case. I also alternated between the sound and the letter name for Ciaran and would have Rhia try to read them or spell them or find the word herself on the wall.

When we were done with that Rhia sat down for copywork and she had to choose 8 words on the wall to write. While she worked on that Ciaran and I played a game (one of our G themes is games) I took out our magnetic board and our alphabet I put three letters on including a G (either upper or lowercase) and had him point to the G. Each time he got an answer right he got to choose an animal magnet if he got it wrong I could take a magnet back. Once he received 5 magnets the game would be over and he would win a sticker. He did pretty well and surprised me.

Next I set up a hopscotch course in the room and played another number game with him. He had to jump onto a number and say the number to practice counting to 10. He had to say the number and jump on the correct number. If he got it right without any mistakes he got a magnet and if he made mistakes he had to start again, two mistakes in a row and he lost a magnet. At 5 he won another sticker.

While he was working on that Rhiannon was sitting next to me playing her letter game. She had to spell G words that I gave her with the same 5 magnets for a sticker rules. She did well and seemed to enjoy it. When they were both done Ciaran got some free playtime while Rhiannon played her math game. I would give her a math problem alternating between addition and subtraction and she had to jump to the answer. Same rules for a sticker. She did very well and that game was over quickly.

We all sat down to play another game together, we played go fish. We had to play with the cards all face up for Ciaran so the game moved pretty quickly as everyone could see what everyone else had which takes much of the strategy and suspense out of the game but they still had fun. We ended our morning with flash cards of the presidents of the United States whose first or last name start with G. I would hold up the picture side to them and read the name and work through them several times and then have Rhiannon say them. We ended when she could get through all of them herself without any mistakes and then when she could pick them each out when I said their name.

While I made lunch Rhiannon did her read aloud time. We had lunch, a logn storytime of about an hour or more and then a group nap (YAY!). Rhiannon woke up early and made a book about her grandmother staying with the G theme and then did some more reading.

Sirah was just precious throughout the day. She really is a lot of fun to have around and is very independent yet wants to be involved in what we are doing. She was walking on the hopscotch course yammering away trying to imitate Ciaran's counting. She would sing like Rhia and bring books over and sit down on my lap. She jumps on the trampoline and plays with her music blocks. She is getting interested in writing with pencils and crayons and brings me her creations. She does not want to be left out of anything and really makes it enjoyable and the kids are learning how to work with her around and deal with frustration when she sometimes gets right in the middle of things.

Her language is improving and she started saying "Here you go" quite clearly and in context. She will hand you something and say "here you go" at first I was surprised but it is consistent. She is a bright and very happy child. She really brings joy to our family and makes me understand why parents need safety latches and locks. She climbs on everything and can get into things in a flash. She is into the take all my clothes off stage and climbing on the table. She is really into our puppy lately who thankfully is patient with her and I believe her favorite word is dog.

Peace,
Tenn