Labels...Labels...Labels!

We just redid the floors of our house, FORCING me to clean out the ENTIRE playroom and bedrooms and go through all our toys, games, puzzles, books etc. which has been an amazing blessing in disguise.

I say disguise because our house has looked like a nuclear disaster for the past 2 weeks with everything from all the rooms all piled into the living room but slowly but surely we are getting everything in its rightful place:)

Having said that, I have really organized the kids class/playroom and have been greatly inspired by the blog www.homeschoolcreations.com in the process-

I actually printed out labels with the name and picture of almost every toy, game, puzzle and activity in the room and laminated it to stick on each container making it alot more pleasing and easier on the eye to find what you need and then put it back.

I finally found my camera amidst all the chaos and will post photos as soon as I have finished the job, but I am really feeling so good about it.

I even labeled the cubbies in the kids closets (shirts, shorts, PJs etc) with a picture and word so they are very capable of finding what they need as well as put it away in the right place.

I read the book by Julie Morgenstern about home organization and she says her favorite model of organization is a Kindergarten classroom. Why? Because everything has its place and is easily accessible. So slowly but surely I want my home to become like that:)

Homeschooling, means having the kids at home alot more then kids who are out 8 hours a day and so they need to feel that everything is in order, has its place, and it gives them a sense of calm.

I really realized this week, having the house in total chaos, how it affects the kids so much. They acted up a lot more then ever, and I was speaking to my hubby about it and we both really understood how when there is chaos around you, it affects you and the way you act. So too with organization.

So here's to organization, giving the munchkins a fabulous summer and getting the house ready for a fabulous school year!

Since I still can't find my camera:( we will just have to rely on good old amazon to show you the products we are using... (have in mind, there are lots of other places to buy these products for great prices - try TJ MAxx, Ross, Marshalls, Craigslist, ebay etc.)

My little Einstein (4.5) recieved a DVD from a friend of his call "Leap Frog Building Words" or something like that and it completely inspired him to start making words of his own. So we have about 3 sets of the Melissa and Doug Magnetic ABC's and put them all on the fridge where he can sit for quite a while making 3 and sometimes 4 letter words and loves loves loves it...

While he is busy with his words, Munchkin (2.5) will do a shapes puzzle which I have shown at the bottom of the page and Sumo (1.5) will do a stacking puzzle which he loves and can do over and over and over until he starts throwing the pieces around the room then mom puts it away and we move on to a new activity:)

So here are the products we use and I have also included an ABC book which the kids adore, we can read it over and over and over and it really gets them familiar with the letters, even my Munchkin now recognizes certain letters...

Here it is:

~Books we Love~

Here are some of our favorite books we are reading this summer (and all year round:)

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I also highly highly recommend these books in regard to learning about the weekly Parshah and Torah personalities... my kids love them!

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...and last but not least, (yes, we are a book reading family! Our home is covered with books from wall to wall in almost every room!) for the little toddlers in the house, my little one just can get enough of Rikki Benenfelds series- we read almost all of them every night before bedtime:

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Gimmel Tammuz- The Chabad Rebbe's 16th Yahrtzeit

In honor and memory of the Rebbe's 16th Yartzeit, we made our own picture frames for a picture of the Rebbe- I gave the munchkins glue, Popsicle sticks, markers, colored paper and foam Alef Bet letters and they each made their own creations... check them out:)

We got this magnet set as a gift from friends of ours- it is just fabulous- my Little Einstein made an airplane filled with passengers and he pretty much did most of it by himself- the only thing is that there are small pieces so make sure no little curious toddlers are around when playing!

Some Summer Jewish Activities

Since we concentrate on the Jewish Holidays and Parshah during the school year, we will be doing some fun activities, with a Jewish and meaningful twist~~~

We read about the Parshah every week, simply because Little Einstein loves loves loves it- and will throw in a Parshah project here and there, but here are some all round fun Jewish ideas:

My 5 Senses do Mitzvos!

• make a book of the 5 senses, one sense per page and make or find pictures of different mitzvos you do with each of the senses
• make a cutout person out of large construction paper and attach a mitzvah to each part of the body that that part performs
• using a mirror, help your cutie make a self portrait and discuss each part of the face and how each part does different mitzvos
• using glue and beans, have your cutie write their name on paper with the glue then glue the beans to make "braille" explaining what braille is and how it helps blind people see

Tzedakah!

• Using half water, half white vinegar, and YOUR supervision! clean pennies- your cutie will be amazed at how shiny and clean the copper gets
• Use an empty container (coffee, chocolate powder, matzah meal- any container with a lid) and decorate it with paint, tissue paper, markers etc. to make their own tzedakah box. Fill it through out the summer and at the end of the summer, go with your cutie to give the money to a place that needs it so they can see that all the money they collected is actually going to help someone

Mezuzah!

• show the cuties a real mezuzah and whats written on the parchment
• get feathers and paint and let cuties write with feathers on paper just like a sofer writes mezuzos
• out of clay, make a mezuzah case then paint it

Kosher!

• Collect old wrappers from kosher products and make a collage with all the different kosher signs
• cut out pictures of dairy and meat products from magazines and stick them in 2 different sections (one red, one blue)
• "Magnet Fishing" make fishing rods out of a stick, yarn and a magnet at the end. Make kosher fish with fins and scales and unkosher fish (octopus, eel, crab etc) and attach paper clips to them. Let the cuties go "fishing" and divide whatever they catch into kosher and unkosher piles

Brachot!

• Make copies from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle) of all the foods he ate. Then make a book or chart with the different brachot and cut and paste each food into the various columns or pages

I hope to post some photos as we do each project~ Happy summer to all!

Fabulous Parshah reader for Little Ones

My First Parshah Reader- check it out at http://www.judaism.com/display.asp?etn=BDECF
We read it everyday, my little Einstein loves it- it is simple, highlights the highlights on the Parshah and has pictures- I highly recommend it!

And then as they get older, The Little Midrash Says- alot of stories and really great! http://www.amazon.com/Little-Midrash-Says-Torah-portion-Midrashim/dp/B00071NC2K/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274945615&sr=1-6

Shavuot Arts 'n Crafts and Books to read

Some fabulous Jewish books to read with a connection to Shavuot:

A Dozen Daizies for Raizy- A Shavuos Story by Rebecca Kempner

When the World was Quiet by Phyllis Nutkis

The Dancing Shul by Chaim Folgelman

Five Alive by Dina Rosenveld

We also listened to Uncle Moishy - Around the Jewish Year while doing our arts 'n crafts

Our Own Torah's

We made our own Torahs, everyone put something from the Torah inside their scroll and then decorated a cover. We used foam Alef Bet letters and shapes and sequins

Our Own Har Sinai

We used a foam half circle as Har Sinai and used plastic flowers to push in all around it. We then made Luchos out of scrapbooking paper and stuck Alef Bet stickers on them