Felt Fall Leaf and Pumpkin Garland

Fall Leaf and Pumpkin Garland

With the Fall Season here in South Texas you can't really get into the season very well without a little help from some fall decorations. We don't grow pumpkins, we don't have cool weather (it's like mild summer here in the 80's and 90's) and the sweaters and jackets are tucked safely away in the back of the closet for at least another month (or two)...so falling leaves and pretty orange pumpkins are a must to get you into the season.

So, DD and I decided to make the season come alive at home. 

I grabbed my Sizzix die cutter and my fall leaf die and cut out 42 different fall colored felt leaves and 10 yellow (didn't have any more orange felt) pumpkins and decided to teach my daughter how to hand sew!

We started with learning to thread the needle and then we discovered patterns and repetition. We (tried) to stick to the same pattern all the way through (then realized mommy didn't cut enough burgundy leaves).

DD learned to weave the needle in and out and to change the direction from the leaves facing UP, DOWN and SIDEWAYS! (Always a new lesson to learn)

OUR FINAL PRODUCT!!!!

a beautiful 6ft fall leaf and pumpkin garland to grace our dining room window. The great things is that this can be done with felt, paper, store bought leaves, or construction paper cut by hand by your own children. USE YOUR IMAGINATION AND LET IT RUN WILD!

I know this will grace our walls for years to come and every year my DD and I will be able to remember making such a great (easy) and fun craft for our home.

Enjoy Homeschooling!

Homeschooling for Pre-K

My Homeschool Closet

FALL 2013 Preschool (Homeschooling)

Ok, so Pre-K isn't so tough...it's all about learning the simple things in life, ABC and 123 and such...but their are so many more things in life to learn that I'm excited about. Things like, why the sky is blue, what are the seasons of the year and my personal favorite...in the words of my daughter, "when it rains are clouds peeing on us?" (PRICELESS!)

So, on September 16th we start the fall season of homeschooling for DD's Pre-K. We started with a lot of the basics...like ABC and 123. Most of which she already knew...

Fall Leaf Alphabet Matching Game

Her lesson plan for this semester was

• Memory Verses (1 per month)
• Bible Reading (the Eager Reader BIBLE)
• Math - Basics of 123 etc. with adding in telling time, reading the calendar etc.
• Alphabets-ABC...
• Sight Words - DOLCH sight words for Pre-K
• Unit Study- Changes monthly depending on the lesson plan
• and a weekly, daily or monthly CRAFT depending on my ability at the time.

So, far Memory Verses and Bible have been the most constant, because even on busy days, like shopping days and doctor's appointments with great-grandma, we are still able to wake up in the morning and go over our memory verse and read a few pages in her BIBLE.

Although going through the Sight Words, proved to be more difficult than I had imagined. I discovered that I could write the word "AND" in all capitals and she could read it...however, if I wrote the word "and" in lowercase, she was drawing a blank. So...sight words are put on hold for a little bit till we work on Capital and Lowercase letters for a bit.

I have to admit that is one of the things that I love about homeschooling...the curriculum can be customized to fit the individual child's needs and not what fits the state standards.

The Unit studies have been the most fun in my and DD's opinion. in September we studied the weather starting with Wind, Clouds, Rain and the Sun. We made Wind Socks, Cotton ball clouds and colored coloring pages. It was a blast...and I learned a lot as well. My daughter really grasped the concept of Evaporation and now when I'm cooking she knows that heating up the water makes steam which is evaporation. (Amazing for a 4 year old...IMHO!)

This month we are learning about the different Seasons and focusing on the season of Fall.

Fall Leaf Garland (Learning to Hand Sew)

Fall Leaf Garland (Learning to Hand Sew)

Candy Corn Popsicle Sticks

"My Fall Book" With Fall Leaves mailed
to us From Colorado.

November we will be learning all about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and Indians.

And then in December we will be learning about Christ's Birth.

As I'm sure you can tell I'm totally excited about school work and love being able to see my daughter light up as she learns something new every day.

 DON'T GET ME WRONG! Not every day is a barrel of sunshine! We have rough days...days she doesn't want to color, or write out her alphabet...but the good days outweigh the bad and we are getting their little by little. Check out my Instagram link on the side to see some of the pictures from the lessons and crafts that we have done as well as my Homeschool Pinterest board to see what has inspired me to do more with my little girl!

Have fun homeschooling!