Preschoolin'

we're off to a great start on finn's kindergarten prep.
he'll be fine.
rowan and finn are much more interested in art and crafts and learning than jack was.
it's really fun.
if i can just have finn writing 26 letters by this time next year i think we'll be good...and i'll have saved 100's of dollars in preschool fees ;)







these are the two books we're meandering through right now. 
finn loves them both, and actually begs me to do school with him. right on.

V-Day Decor

i have traditionally not been on the ball with teaching the kids about holidays. christmas being the obvious exception.



in an effort to not have the only children in america who don't know about valentine's day, i coughed up 7 bucks and bought some cute little cups and plates.



i also went to all the trouble of buying a $3 yard of fabric and laying it on top of their table. no hem. no embellishment. maybe someday? still, it's kinda cute.



after lunch today, we did letter drills for candy. candy. always a good motivator.

the guys race to find a letter, color, or number to get a piece of candy. when the candies gone the game is over. so you better be on the ball to score some candy! now, which letter makes the "tuh" sound?

Phonics

another way we work on letters round these parts is tactile. i started picking up a wooden letter in the craft section at walmart one at a time a loooooong time ago. i just throw one in with the groceries. we're up to letter m ;-)



we play games with them like "which letter makes the mmmmm sound" and the boys scramble to find it.



we spell words with them like fimh.

getting a snack doesn't hurt either.

Practicing Letters

first, get you one of these. it's a whopping dollar at the dollar store.



next, tear out all of the pages and put them into clear page protectors.



then, make your kid put them in a binder.

finally, have cookie time! eat cookies and practice writing letters with a dry erase marker. the marker wipes right off, and you can try, try again!