Counting lapbook!

Here is our second lapbook, with a focus on counting to five. For the record, I know a lot of people are against doing anything "school like" with toddlers, but I think as long as he's enjoying it, why not? I'm not forcing him to sit down and listen to a lesson, we're just having fun!

I designed this one myself, using templates from this website.

Here it is with the cover closed:

And here are all of the minibooks:

The petal book opens to show dice inspired dots, one through five. The pocket holds 4x6 cards with pictures of objects, again one through five:

The acordian book has hearts, one through five, plus the number written above. The matchbook cover holds a counting game, with pictures in random order to count:

There was an extra page in the matchbook, so I thought "Good Job" was a nice touch:

And here he is enjoying it! Every time he opened a new book, he said "Oooh, what's that?"

Connors first lap book!

I absolutely love the idea of lapbooks, especially to tie up a section in a homeschooling situation. In fact, my class at work is making a spider lapbook right now, and we're going to start bats for the second half of the month!

When I found this I was THRILLED! We used her Cars themed tot book, and Connor has been having a blast with it! We made a numbers one as well, but I'll cover that in a later post.

Here is the cover, which I designed using pictures I found through google.

This is the inside of the book, with everything closed.

Here are the color and shape books:

Here is the name book, and the counting cards:

And of course, here he is enjoying it!

Happy Birthday!

My baby boy turned two this week! We had a small party at the park, and he had a blast. He got three different tractors (well, two tractors and a dump truck), a couple of books, a Slinky Dog from Toy Story, a stuffed Buzz Lightyear, a My Pal Scout (stuffed dog that learns his name and favorite things), some cars, and a squirt gun. The dump truck was the clear favorite, but all of his presents have gotten tons of play time.

In other news, he is talking enough to drive the most patient person insane, but it's awesome. On the way to the store yesterday, he told me that he has shoes about 392 times. No sentences yet, but he's putting two words together on a regular basis. The potty thing is still slow, but we are determined not to stress out on it. He'll do it when he's ready, and in the meantime I'll just take him to the potty whenever he asks. He does ask from time to time, but it's not often enough to make me think that he's really ready. I'd rather have him in diapers until he's 4 than stress all of us out over accidents and crying. At this rate though, I think he's going to get it pretty soon.

Story time with Connor

We just finished our bedtime story. Here's a rundown.

I asked Connor if he was ready for bed. He screeched "NO!" and ran to Daddy. I asked him if he was ready for a book, and he just about tripped over himself to turn around and head for bed.

We grabbed his basket next to his bed and put all of them away, then we picked out new ones.

He got in bed, sitting down facing me while I was on a chair next to him, and picked a book for me to read. Tonight he didn't want his own, which is cool with me but it's a first. We had a lift-the-flap little people zoo book. He lifted all of the flaps on the first page about 5 times while I struggled to keep up and tell him what they animals were. We were halfway through the second page when he closed the book and put it away.

Then he grabbed a truck book. We got through about half of them, with me telling him the names of the different trucks (dump truck, fire truck, bulldozer, etc) and him trying to repeat them. Half way through, he closed it and put it away.

Then on to a dinosaur pop-up book. That was cool until we got to a stegosaurus eating some grass. It scared him and he wouldn't come out from behind his pillow until I put it away.

Then to a fairy tale book, until he realized that there were actual sentences in it. We didn't get through a paragraph.

We did the lift-the-flap zoo book again, then the truck book again, and he was ready to be done. I turned the lights off, we listened to his glow-worm a few times, and I kissed him goodnight.

It's not a very restful storytime, but it works! lol

This picture has nothing to do with storytime, but it's just too good not to share.

Thoughts on school

Chris and I have already been putting some thought into Connors education, and we're both really leaning toward homeschool. The public school in our area is very substandard. The entire district is stretched too thin, and even the best teachers are showing wear lately. It's true, of course, that we still have several years before Connor starts kindergarten in the 2013-2014 school year, but I have serious doubts that things will change drastically enough for me to be comfortable in 3 1/2 short years.

Besides that, the more I learn, the more I'm just not crazy about the institution as a whole. Of course public and private schools have kicked out millions of incredibly intelligent and well rounded adults, but I really question if it's the best way. Every child, every person, has their strengths and weaknesses, so is it really beneficial to make an entire class work at the same pace? It works, but is it best?

We're not decided yet, but I've been doing research anyway. Yes, I know that I think too much and plan too far into the future, but you should all know that about me by now. I have a need to feel prepared for whatever I can predict. It makes me feel sane to think ahead.

The idea of unschooling (not to be confused with the radical unschooling that has been in the media lately) is really catching my attention. I'm not convinced that it's a great idea for an entire schooling career, but for at least primary grades it really seems to make sense. If I had to make a decision right now, I think we would start with unschooling, and gradually work in a flexible curriculum.

And in case anyone is wondering, it is all very legal in California. Our laws are actually very easy going when it comes to homeschooling. I have to submit a letter of intent once a year, and keep attendance records. If investigated, I need to show that he is being taught in English, and that we are introducing all major subjects. All of this is to qualify our home as a private school, with Chris and I as teachers, administrators, and staff.

Anyway, it's all just thoughts right now, nothing solid. It's a very easy idea to get used to though. Plus with all of the extra curricular activities present in the area, he won't have any trouble at all finding friends and socializing with his peers.