My Chanukah Activity Pack

I know Chanukah is not for a few more weeks, but I made this little Activity pack for my munchkins now since as Chanukah approaches, it seems that between the party planning and the latke frying, there really isn't much time for too many other things!

So feel free to download it for your munchkins and enjoy. It is geared toward little ones, ages 2-5.

My Chanukah Activity Pack

And for those of you who make Lapbooks, I am sure you can use some of the pages for your "Chanukah Lapbook."

Have a great week,

Parshas VaYeitzei, Building words and Hebrew Reading

Today we did a really fun project, especially since I literally thought of it on the spot:) It incorporated the 3 things the little tykes love most when it comes to art projects: cutting, gluing and manipulating the picture. So this is what we did:

We made a picture of Yakov having his dream. For the ladder, they used Popsicle sticks and glued them down to create their own ladder. Then they cut out 12 stones and glued them down to make a "pillow" for Yakovs head. They then cut out a picture of Yakov sleeping (I drew it for each of them) and stuck him down with his head resting on the "pillow."

The coolest part came next:) We taped a thin piece of string to the top of the ladder and bottom. We made a little Malach (angel) and attached it to the string so he is able to go up and down.

And there you have Yakovs dream! They absolutely loved pushing the little Malach up and down, it was a real hit!

I then came up with this activity to help the little guy practice putting the Hebrew letters and vowels together to form words as well as work on Hebrew vocabulary.

We are starting with 2 letter words and the vowel "kamatz." I wrote the words on little index cards and wrote the letters with the vowel on pegs. The little guy then matches the letters together, forming a word. Once he sounds out the word, he picks the toy to which the word matches (translation). Its such a fabulous activity and so easy to make. As he gets more fluent with his reading, the words will get bigger with more vowels etc.

Here it is:

And here he is, practicing his English words using the classic Montessori style- also a big hit, he gets SO excited when he creates sentences, its adorable:)

And that was our day! Don't forget to stop by the Homeschool Blog Awards website if you haven't already and vote for my blog! Vote Here!

Thanks, and a great week to all~

Homeschool Blog Awards Nominee

Our Jewish Homeschool Blog has been up and running since July 2010- just 4 months old:) I love posting (when ever I get a chance!) and love checking out all the other amazing Homeschooling blogs out there. I get so inspired by so many incredible moms with their awesome ideas and I hope to inspire others through my blog too:)

Its always so exciting when I get comments and see who has visited my blog and from where. Homeschooling is such an adventure and having the ability to share this adventure is just fabulous!

So I discovered the Homeschool Blog Awards and see that I was nominated! There are some great prizes and this looks like its going to be a lot of fun- so take a minute, and vote for me!

You can vote now until November 18th. My blog is titled "A Jewish Homeschool Blog."

Thanks in advance!

VOTE HERE!

Nancy Larson Science 1 Homeschool Kit Review

I was given the privilege of reviewing the Nancy Larson Science 1 Homeschool Kit. We received the box in the mail and were so excited to open it up to see all the goodies inside!

This is what we found:
Pine cones, tree cookie, hand lens, x-ray set, Live Butterfly Garden with Butterfly Larvae Coupon, Ladybug Land with Ladybug Larvae Coupon, insect learning cards, plastic insects and spiders set, and the following books: What Do Scientists Do?, Peterson First Guide to Trees,Trees to Paper, Familiar Insects and Spiders, Your Insides, and The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree.

Included was an amazing teachers manual containing the lessons and answer keys. The lessons are presented in dialogue form which I really like, as it presents each lesson so clearly and simply for the little ones to truly grasp and understand it all.

It also has student booklets and assessment sheets, once again, very clear and very simple to use making the material very easy to understand for the kids.

And last but not least, a special CD loaded with photos, glossaries, word cards, science word labels, teacher's masters, and other materials to help you teach.

The curriculum covers the following:

• Developmental Biology—Describing the Life Stages of Human Beings
• Botany—Observing Trees
• Earth and Space—Exploring Sunlight, Water, and Soil
• Zoology—Investigating Animals and Their Habitats
• Anatomy—Discovering What Is Inside Our Bodies
• Entomology—Examining the Characteristics and Life Cycles of Insects

I liked that the subjects it covered are really the subjects that interest the kids. They can really relate to all of them and they are brought down to a level that the kids really get it.

We covered Developmental Biology, which the little ones really enjoyed and fully understood.

We then skipped on to Anatomy which just fascinated them. They loved the true to size X-ray cards which gave them a really clear picture of what their bones look like inside. And the lesson plans were so great and easy to teach. We have read the book "Your Insides" included in the kit, at least a dozen times. It is a fabulous book that gives great info on a very simple level. Ask my 5 year old what happens when you eat food and he will give you a full account. Its really sweet seeing the little guy using words like "esophagus" and "intestines":) And he gets it!

But I have to say, one of the highlights of the kit, of course, is the Butterfly Garden! Unfortunately, where we live, we couldn't get the butterfly Larvae shipped to us, so we opted for the next best thing... silkworms! And there is an entire section on the differences and similarities between butterflies and moths, check out the photo below of us discussing it:

Our silkworm garden:)

I just love the way the information in given over, I wish they had every subject layed out like this. Here is a link to an example of one of the lessons: http://nancylarson.com/sample_lessons/s1sample1.pdf

So all in all, I really like this Homeschool Kit. It is so user friendly, has lots of great information and hands on activities and is just easy and simple to use and understand.

Here is a direct link to their website:

http://www.nancylarson.com/science1.html

Go check it out!

*** GIVEAWAY WINNER ~ ShternieK!!! ***

Congrats to "ShternieK" on winning the Pick and Draw Giveaway!

Please post your e-mail address on my comments (I won't post it publicly) so I can get your info and mail you the cards!

Parshas Chayei Sara Arts'n Crafts

We woke up at 6am this morning (nothing new:) and the little guy decided that he wants to MAKE a well (the well that Eliezer met Rivkah at)... so this is what we came up with, including the camel:)

The camel is made out of an egg carton, clothes pegs and pipe-cleaners. The well is made with a Tupperware, Popsicle sticks and a pale that picks up water- he had so much fun with it!

We printed a bunch of projects out from www.chinuch.org and this is one of them: A picture of a well, a camel, the sun and a dish to drink out of for the camel. The little guy decided to glue Popsicle sticks to his well... i really recommend this website, it has so much to offer.

We are reading Kind Little Rivkah, a really sweet book about Rivkah at the well and her kindness to Eliezer. You can get it here:

While the little guy worked on his project, my munchkin painted in her Dora coloring book. Here she is:

This is our schedule board. We tried workboxes, but it didn't quite work for us. So instead, every morning we sit with our cards and decide what our schedule for the day will be. We have lots and lots of options so it really works well. The kids get really excited about picking what they want to do and then as they finish one task, move on to the next. Hey, it works for us!

We received this game as a gift and my little guy had such a ball playing it. It says it is for ages 3 and up, but my munchkin didn't quite have the patience for it (she just turned 3) but the little guy loved it. It really helps them practice their letter recognition, both upper and lower case. I think (if I have the time) I will make a Hebrew letter version with print and script.

And thats what we've been up to!

Have a great week!

Parshas VaYeira Shabbos Questions and Bereishis Curriculum Review

Here is a great packet I found on www.chinuch.org - It is a synopsis of the weekly Parshah with questions and answers... I found it to be perfect for asking questions on the Parshah at the Shabbos table-

You can download it here:

Sefer Bereishis Shabbos Packet

I was then given the wonderful opportunity to review A Creative Curriculum- Bereishis by Chani Marcus.

Their Bereishis curriculum provides you with 26 creative lessons covering the book of Bereishis. Each lesson contains a worksheet as well as numerous activities, discussions, projects and tools to engage the students, drive the lessons home and make the stories come to life.

It says it is appropriate for grades 3 – 6, but it can definitely be tweaked and simplified for younger kids.

It comes with a list of Projects for all year long as well as a complete lesson plan for each Parshah in Sefer Bereishis.

Each lesson plan comes with the following:

G-Goal

P-Project

D-Discussion

W-Worksheet

A-Activity

S-Story

An-Anticipatory Set

X-Extra-Curricular

V-Visual

It is jam packed with info and ideas, and I highly recommend it!

You can check out her website here: Aleph Champs

She also carries fabulous Hebrew reading books and workbooks and flashcards, all of which we have and love using-

So go check it out!

Wishing all a wonderful Shabbos,