In week 3, we learned about the fall of man – the story of Adam and Eve. This week is also the first week to introduce a letter of the week (in line with ABC Jesus Loves Me curriculum).
While sourcing for accompanying materials for the letter of the week, I’ve found three other sites that provide excellent learning materials, plus they are FREE!
(1) Hubbard’s Cupboard (I’ve been using their materials and ideas since the start of our homeschooling year)
(2) Confessions of a Homeschooler (This curriculum provides many fun activities and beautiful learning materials. You could also purchase their curriculum.)
(3) This Reading Mama (This reading curricula was recommended by a family friend.)
We don’t do all the activities listed in the websites. There are way too many, and Hannah hasn’t developed the ability to do some of the activities e.g. writing or forming sentences. I’d pick activities that she enjoys doing and a more challenging one for the week. This allows her to build her confidence as she tries something out of her comfort level.
Here are the activities we did for letter “A”:
(1) “A” is for Adam
“Hubbard’s Cupboard” ties in a letter of the week with a Bible story. We found this a useful way to remember both the story and the letter.
(2) Counting Apple Seeds
Hannah doesn’t like counting pictures or anything that’s 2D. She prefers counting things that she can hold. Normally, she would count one or two pictures and then says she doesn’t want to do it anymore. This time, I was glad she took the effort to count the apple seeds from 1-10. This set was taken from “Confessions of a Homeschooler”.
(3) Dot-a-dot “A”
Hannah loves dot-a-dot painting! She was excited to dot the letter “A”. This was printed from “Confessions of a Homeschooler”.
(4) Dot-a-dot “At”
In “This Reading Mama” curricula, you will find the introduction of sight words in every letter pack. In the “A” pack, it includes the sight word, “at”. The original activity calls for the child to poke along the word with a push-pin or toothpick. We tried and gave up after several attempts. Hannah seemed unsure where to poke, even after I showed her the first round. She was conscious as to how far each poke should be, and how deep the toothpick should go. Eventually, she became frustrated and didn’t want to do it. I then changed it to dot-a-dot and she complied to complete the activity. Then again, she was still rather hesitant as to how far apart the dots should be!
(5) Creating an “A” Book
This was also taken from “This Reading Mama”. The printable allows you to form a little book with things that start with “A”. Each sentence has the sight word, “at”. After reading to Hannah once, she said, “Hannah try. Hannah want to try.” She pointed to each word, and started reading them slowly. The sentence structure is repeated i.e. “Look at the…” so it allows her to learn each word, while building her confidence as a reader.
Our weekly reading basket was filled with books that discussed about rules. God gave a rule or instruction to Adam and Eve, for their good. Similarly, there are rules we should observe. E.g. traffic, library and safety rules. Rules or instructions are meant for our good. They keep us safe.
On a side note, I found a lovely book, “Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise” by Tomie De Paola in the library. It illustrates God’s wonderful creation and how everything was formed to praise God. It’s a great addition as we study the book of Genesis.
See if you can get hold of this book. I’m sure your little one and even, the not-so-little will enjoy it too!
HOMESCHOOL CRAFTS 