Kings Castles

I am very happy I decided to continue the letter K into this week.  We have had a great time keeping our focus on the letter K.

Bible
Our curriculum is based on bible stories but not every activity talks about the bible.  We study the alphabet, numbers, shapes, etc.
The past few weeks in addition to our daily bible story that I read to the kids we are spending quiet time with the bible.  The kids each have a bible and I have mine.  We sit together and read to ourselves, writing down things that stand out or interest us.  Since we have been spending more time getting to know God through the bible I have noticed he comes up during our other daily activities.

Last week we read about King David.
This week we read about King Solomon.  There is a list of wise sayings of King Solomon in our bible.  We read them together and talked about how we can use these sayings in our life.
We focused on a couple from Proverbs:

There is one who is free in giving, and yet he grows richer.  And there is one who keeps what he should give, but he ends up needing more. 

The man who gives much will have much, and he who helps others will be helped himself. 

He who hates his neighbor sins, but happy is he who shows loving-favor to the poor.

This week our church sent home a baby bottle to fill with loose change or whatever we could give to help Akron Children Services.  This was the perfect opportunity to empty out my change purse into the bottle.

We watched a video about King Solomon on YouTube.

Because we will be moving on to Daniel next week we also read about Elijah and the bad king.  Which still works for our King theme.

I planned on having the kids make pancakes and serve each other after reading about Elijah and the widow who provided for him. We could also discuss how God provides for us and we are called to serve others.
We were unable to do this today because Little Dragon didn't get here until after 2 pm.






Alphabet

Talking about royalty the last couple weeks we put a royal seal on the letter K.

I thought this was exciting.  I have always wanted to make a royal seal. :)

I have been looking for ways to use my old Scentsy Wax for preschool.  Using real wax was not in the original lesson plan but I thought it would be a fun new experience and add some sensory.

The dragons used puzzle pieces to make their k.  We tried using stamps but it didn't work very well.  The puzzle piece worked better.

Doll Dragon liked touching it with her fingertips, Little dragon liked moving it around with a pencil.

This was the first time we have used wax and I wasn't sure how it was going to work or the best way to use the was.  This was just as experimental with me.   Therefore, the seals didn't turn out the best but it was still great fun!

Doll Dragon drew a king for our explorers map.  

She is quiet the artist. 

Chalk ends with K and there was a worksheet about it in the alphabet folder this week.  The dragons each got a piece of black paper and wrote the letter k and pictures that started with the letter k on the paper.  They each filled up their whole paper and asked for another piece to keep drawing.

This could be done outside as well but it was too chilly for us. 

Math

I don't usually add a math section but I thought had enough for this category this week.

For our number this week the dragons glued popcorn kernels to a big number 5.  

They counted the kernels, held them in their hands, and giggled as they tried to pick them up.  I wanted to do more with the kernels but didn't have time to run to the store to buy  more.  I only had a handful of kernels,enough to glue onto the printout.  This activity could definitely be expanded. 

Patterns were practiced.....

To go along with our royalty theme we used gem plastic ice cubes.













The gems were enjoyed by both the kings and queens.












There were also knights and shields that worked with our theme too.

Little Dragon worked on number recognition in his math workbook. 

Crafts

Shape Castle

Materials: 

• construction paper cut into shapes
• large square
• two rectangles
• two large triangles
• two small triangles
• a circle
• a medium square
• 4 small rectangles

First thing we did with this craft was play a shape recognition game.  

Then I let the dragons play around with the shapes on their papers.  I didn't tell them what we were going to make so their imaginations could create with no limits. 

Doll Dragon  made a rocket.  

After discovering the shapes I showed the dragons a picture of a castle made from shapes and we worked together to make shape castles. 

Knights Game Board

Materials

• three pieces of construction paper
• crayons
• dice
• 2 pieces of white paper (optional)
• mini's (optional)

I found this game board online at home school creations.   I drew it on construction paper but you can print it out.  I didn't want to use the paper or ink when I could draw it. 

When I pulled out the board Jerry was struck with ideas.  He pulled out his minis and asked me to write up character cards for the us and the kids.   We each picked a name, Lady or Sir, for our characters.  Then picked if we wanted a bonus to speed or fight.  

As we trekked through the kingdom we fought monsters and saved some princesses.  It is a game we can keep for family game night even when we aren't learning about knights. 

My original plan for this blog was to express challenges of a blended family.  I have found that this is hard to accomplish.  There are things I am not able to express due to the other parents.  My life has been stressful and things are trying with two kids with two families.