Russell Ramblings: Water & a New Phonics Idea

​“And what is our Bible verse for our ‘water’ unit?” I asked my boys.  They quickly spouted off, “Rain is falling all around, it falls on field and tree, it rains on the umbrellas here, and on the ships at sea.”  (This is a poem called “Rain” by Robert Louis Stevenson.)
 
“Hmmm.  Not quite, “I replied.  “But I’m glad you remember the poem we’ve been reciting each day!” 
 
Yet another feature I appreciate from our My Father’s World kindergarten curriculum is that there is usually a poem or song to recite/sing each day of the unit.  This is a fun part of our morning routine when we begin school each day.  This unit, without even intending it, my boys memorized the “Rain” poem we recited every day.
 
We continued our water unit from last week with an activity to demonstrate the word “dissolve.”  We added sugar to a quart jar of water and canola oil to another quart jar of water.  After much shaking, we observed how the sugar dissolved and the oil did not.

​The last day of the unit for our nature study time, I had the boys observe some creek water in a glass jar.  The only problem was – it appeared perfectly clear just like the tap water I had put in another jar for comparison.  So, we switched it to a discussion on what might be dissolved in the creek water and why we shouldn’t drink it.  (Just another example of why teachers should always try out their activities first!)  I just assumed our creek water would have some dirt or floaties in it, but it was perfectly clear. 
 
AJ continues to read through the Bob Books series and progress through his My Father’s World first grade reading and math.  I had an inspiration today to help spice up his phonics lesson.  Phonics is not his favorite part of the day.  MFW gives a page of about 20-30 words to read for one phonics lesson.  Since AJ isn’t at a point where this is manageable without frustration, we do 10-15 words a day.  Here a snapshot of his reading workbook to help you understand what we are doing.

The words are laid out in rows and columns, and it quickly becomes boring for AJ.  Today, we were finishing up a page, and I wanted him to review the words.  Rather than asking him to read them all again, I drew a compass rose in the bottom corner of the page.  Next, I had him find a certain word, such as hole.  Then I said, “Travel south to find went.”  Once he found went, I said something like, “Travel west to find ​sale.”  And on and on.  AJ found this a fun way to review words.  This is a simple activity you could do with any child simply by writing words they need to review in rows and columns.  As a benefit, it reinforces directions.  As AJ gets better at this activity, I will add in more difficult directions like southwest and northeast, etc.
 
Well, we are finished with our “water” unit and ready to fly into our “insect” unit.  The only problem is that our ants haven’t arrived in the mail yet.  Yes (shiver), I ordered ants as our curriculum suggested to put into our ant farm.  I’m hoping they don’t get out of the ant farm, and I’m hoping they arrive before we’re off to the hospital for Baby day (which is coming up in October!!).
 
How was your week?

This post is linked to the weekly wrap-up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.