We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury

This book is a favorite at our house and with good reason. With the rhythm, repetition, and adventure the descriptions and sound effects capture imagination and have a memorable text to act out again and again in outdoor play.
When we started up after a break I asked my son which book he wanted to do first and he came running in with this one saying "Lets get the bear!" and so our adventure began...

Materials you will need this week: 

Scissors, Glue, Pot, Spoon, 2 water bottles, pudding/jello/yogurt in a small container, broom, printables linked below, stuffed animal, chair, scarves or small blankets/dish clothes, basket or bowl, outdoor gear, and check out the link to the optional art project for supplies needed there.

Day 1: Sound Effects

Skills: Listening, Narrative, Audible perception

Read through the story once slowly enjoying the rhythm of the text. Ask your child if they would like to go on a bear hunt? How would they feel if they found one? What do you think the bear wanted when he followed them home? Do they like the feel of mud between their toes? Do they think it will snow soon? Or any other questions that come to mind to start a conversation about the book and get them practicing narration skills.

Read through it a 2nd time using the sound effects found at: Reading Confetti (We didn't have jello so we used yogurt instead, we also didn't have soda bottles and a cup worked okay too.)

Day 2: Sequencing

Skills: Sequencing, cutting, gluing (fine motor skills)

Read through the book again. Talk about how first they had to go through the grass then.... Once they found the bear they had to head back! Firs through the cave then.... have them name the steps the best they can then do one of the many great sequencing options found at teachers pay teachers when you look up "We're going on a bear hunt".
Since my older child is into maps lately and has been drawn into this book study with us we decided to go with a map of the bear hunt. To be honest it seemed like a little much for my 3 year old though so a few days later we tried basic sequencing cards with pictures from the book and had much more success.

Day 3: Prepositional Words

Skills: Prepositional words, following directions, imaginative play, narrative skills.

After reading through the story again we imagined that the bear just wanted to play then took a stuffed bear and pretended the step stool was his cave. (You can use any chair for this exercise) He hid inside it walked around it, looked behind it, climbed over it as we sang "The bear went over a mountain" Then we put him in a basket and pretended to float down the river. He walked through the "river" of scarves and was tucked into bed. As we played I tried to use as many of the prepositional words as I could think of or ask him "Where is the bear now?" or "Lets put the bear beside his boat?" Changing the preposition to see which ones he knows and which ones we can still work on. This lesson took the longest but was the most fun. He loved playing with me and I loved taking the time to play with him which I don't often get to do with my middle child!

Day 4: Hike

Skills: Gross motor skills, Sensory play, Exploration (confidence building), Memory, Rythmn

Go on a Hike! This is a fun one to invite friends along for too. Every time you reach something you come across in the story recite that part of the book with the kids. "...Oh no! A forest, a deep dark forest, we can't go over it, we can't go under it..." As them what could make them stumble and trip. When you come across mud feel it squish beneath your feet. When you come across a creek, listen to the sounds of splashing. Ask them what would they do if it snowed? See how fast they can swish the grass. Look into a knoll in a tree or under some rocks and imagine how dark a cave could be. How would they light the way? Just go at a pace slow enough to stop and smell the sage brush and explore with all your senses. When walking to another part of the trail saying part of the story can they march in rythm? Stop for snacks and read the story again.

Optional Day 5: Art

Skills: Fine motor skills, sensory play, expression

Seriously how cute is this craft? You can find instructions over at One mom and a Blog but what I like about it is that it really is sensorial and brings the story to life by continuing to explore textures. Be sure to enjoy the book one more time after you've made the craft and touch each texture as you reach that part of the story.

Let me know what else you've added to or changed with this book unit in the comments!

For more book units check out "Preschool" tab on my blog, search "Beautiful Books" or read This post explaining the series.

Bee Excited our next Nature Study Units are out of this World!

I am moving across the the country and had to put my nature study units on hold but I wanted to let y'all know I still have more in the works. So here are a sneak peak of my Bee Box and Observable Sky Units!

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street

This is the first in a series of "Beautiful Books Preschool" Lessons. We are starting with 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street book because it is my preschoolers absolute favorite. After checking it out from the library 4 times I finally gave in and bought it in a durable board book since he likes to take his favorite books with him everywhere until they fall apart.

What is great about this book is that it counts all the way up to 20 and there is actually a spread where you can, and we always do, count all 20 trucks without being just a "counting" book. There is actually a interesting and empowering story with LOTS OF TRUCKS, which if you have boys like mine is an important feature.

Materials you will need this week: 

Printables posted here, scissors, glue, markers, tape, and blocks.

Optional Materials: 

Laminator, toy trucks, ice cream, sprinkles.

Day 1: First reading and narration

Skills: Expressive language, attention to detail, connection 

We read through the book slowly, ideally in a cuddle spot if you can sneak away one on one, to set the tone of connection. Then talk about it. I ask him questions like "What kind of truck broke down?" (If they don't remember open the book and figure it out together) "Then which truck got stuck be hind it?" As we go through the pictures again together having him tell me all about the trucks and filling in vocabulary where I can (For example my little guy said "horse grass" instead of hay). Really look at the illustrations and ask questions about what you see to draw out more from your preschooler and give them ample opportunity to narrate the story back to you practicing expressive language and attention to detail. Some ideas for questions are: "How do you think this driver felt?" or "Have you ever felt little like no one was paying attention to your ideas?" or "What kind of truck would you like to drive? Where would you take your load?" After they go through the book with you, read it again and see what they point out or ask this time.

Day 2: Read, then draw what you see

Skills: Fine Motor Skills, attention to detail, memory, communication

Read through then have them help you remember the trucks in the books and draw them on the frames. Refer back to each page as you need to, get creative with how you interpret them, or try to remember details about each one. I have a copy of the frames below, if it helps you, or you can draw them yourself. If you use my frames you'll need one Page 1 and two Page 2 to get all the trucks in the book.
I drew in the details as he described them and colored as he directed but really tried to let this be his project. I know my drawings are not Caldecott worthy, and your's don't need to be either, the point is that you do it together. (I purposely leave the 3 year old's work in my pictures to show you what it looks like when they do it instead of what it looks like when we do it, because 1. Isn't that the point of all this? lol 2. I don't have the time to do it to pin worthy standards as well as do it with him at his level, and 3. It's important to me that my kids see me try, even when I can't do things perfectly, because that is exactly what I ask them to do every day.)
Once they are drawn and colored together, You cut them out and laminate them if you'd like for tomorrows activity.

Page 1

Page 2

Day 3: Read and Count

Skills: Counting and sequencing

Start to read the book, each time a truck is mentioned have them grab it and line it up on some blocks you laid out together for the street.

After all the trucks are lined up, instead of counting them in the book, count them on your blocks, go slow enough to allow them to count with you as high as they can. If they want to take over and mix up the order of the numbers this is great! It is their way of "play counting" which is an important step in numeral literacy. Rather than correcting each number, try letting them finish, then say something like "Thanks for counting the trucks, can mommy have a turn?" and model counting them correctly. My little one wanted to count them over and over again sometimes together and sometimes on his own but after we counted them 5 times he quit missing the number 6 and was able to count to 9, success! (Also if they are not pointing at a truck for each number that is totally normal too. Right now they are learning to recite the numbers and that numbers have meaning,one to one correspondence will come as you continue to work with manipulatives like this.)
Finish the book, and as you reach the part where the crane lifts the ice cream truck use sticky tack on laminated trucks or tape to "lift" the ice cream truck with the crane and move it out of the way then count the trucks again as you move them off the blocks. Let them have open play with the trucks but save them for tomorrow if you do not have toy cars and trucks you can use.


Day 4: Read and Eat!

Skills: Problem solving, Memory, Narration, Descriptive language, Sequence/order words, Colors

Set up a traffic jam between two blocks with several toy cars (or your printed cars) blocking the way through in all directions, then ask them what they would do to get traffic moving through the opening again and watch as they solve the problem their way.
Before you read the book again, have them tell you what they remember about the story.
After, ask them what kind of ice cream they would choose if they were offered a cone for helping like the boy was. What would it look like? How many scoops would it have? What would it taste like? Would it be cold and stiff or warming and melty? Offer a few vocabulary words or suggestions on one or two of the questions.
Once they describe their ice cream cone grab an ice cream printable (Print a couple of the first page and one of the 2nd page and cut out the cones/ scoops ahead of time) color the scoops different colors together and have them glue their ice cream cone together giving them directions or having them tell you which order they are doing it. Ex:) First glue the blue scoop, 2nd glue the red scoop or Put the blue scoop on the bottom, then the red scoop in the middle, and the white scoop on top. Whichever order words you would like to work on.

Some examples of sequencing or order words are:
First/ then/ next/ last
Before/after
Bottom/Middle/Top
Next to/ on top of/ beneath
Ordinal words (first, second, third)

After you make your paper cone scoop up a real one and enjoy it together!

Optional Day 5: Ice cream continued

Skills: Practicing their name, writing letters, sorting, etc.

Honestly there are so many great ice cream theme activities on Pinterest I'll post a few more of my favorites here if you want to carry ice cream into two days.

Try using the sprinkle tray and these cute printables from: Modern Preschool.com to practice letter forms. Or if they are not ready for letters you can still have them copy lines, circles, squiggles, you draw in the sprinkles to help them with their pre-writing motor skills.

Or work on their shape identification and matching skills with this adorable printable from Totschooling.net.

There is always this cute song to sing before scooping up an ice cream treat that I found via Pinterest (without a source link other than yahoo images.)














Finally there are just tons of adorable printables and ideas for pretend play ice cream shop with cotton balls or play dough. So I'd totally check those out if you want to do something more involved or if your little one takes off on the ice cream theme.

Let me know what else you've added to or changed with this book unit in the comments!
For more book units check out "Preschool" tab on my blog, search "Beautiful Books" or read This post explaining the series.

Beautiful Books Preschool

Beautiful Books Preschool is a series of lesson plans that I have designed for my 3 year old son using classic children's books, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and family favorites from modern children's literature.

I am patterning Beautiful Books Preschool after the Five in a Row concept where you read the same book over and over in a week pulling out different concepts and activities from it. I loved the concept because of how important repetition is to this age, the fact that we can let classics sink in deep, and that I don't have to run around every day trying to come up with a novel themes and materials. (It's also a bonus that I can utilize my overabundant personal library!) The reason I am creating my own lesson plans is because I want to customize the skills practiced and books chosen with what works for our family and keep it low key as an intro to "Lessons" (that he is eager to have after watching his big brother do kindergarten.)

This level of preschool is designed for my 3 year old. When he reaches age 4  we will start with Logic of English level A if he is ready. If not, we will continue on in pre-reading concepts that do not include learning phonograms or writing letters. The lessons are a gentle introduction to learning and are not heavy on Pre-K Skills but lay the foundation for reading and math in playful and comforting ways.

In each of my lessons below you will see a link to purchase the book on Amazon, a copy of materials I used (or a link to the blog post I got them from), and what skills or character traits we took from each reading. As I make new posts I will add them to this directory and if you have any questions or suggestions feel free to add a comment to the post.

Enjoy!

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of Our Street    

 We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Painting Chickadee Eggs

Dodge and I had a great time painting chickadee eggs together the other night. He was endlessly fascinated by flicking the paint on the eggs with a tooth brush. Being a perfectionist it drove him a little crazy not having control but it was fun one on one time after the littles went to bed. We used the materials and activity card 1 from our Nature Study Cards Bird Set #1, cream paint, brown paint, a tooth brush, and small brushes.

He really liked taking video of me flicking the paint and you if you could hear his expressions "uh huh, ooo, yeah..." you'd see he was really focused on learning to do it himself.

That seemed to be the theme of the night actually:

I just love seeing him learn new skills. It's amazing what you learn about somebody just by being with them and I love getting to see my boys shine the way they do only when we are one on one.

I bet James would have loved this one too though so I'll have to have him join in on more of our activities. He sure got a kick out of measuring wingspans (activity from bird set #2) when he heard that he had the same "wingspan" as a duck he started quacking and giggling.
Man I love these boys!

Owl Pellet Activity

Owl Pellets for kindergartners? I don't know how this will go but I'm excited. My son is insatiable with his questions and I may just be opening a can of worms for my self but it's worth ago since curiosity is kind of our thing.

I'll start our study with our owl fact card from my nature study card kit. (Available for purchase on my Nature Study Card Purchase Page to at the top of the column to the right) After we look at that we will go on a hike looking for owl homes and signs. There is one tree on Centennial Loop towards the sports center side in Soldotna, AK that I swear I saw an owl in last time we were there so I'm excited to go back with a pair of binoculars.

We have an Usborne beginners book about owls (my boys are obsessed with the beginners series) for the rest of the introduction  before we dive right in to learning about what they eat by dissecting an owl pellet! Using these directions (Also found on the nature study activity card 6 for birds)

1. First there is this really cool video on youtube that explains what an owl pellet is: 

2. Gather your materials: Gloves, Owl pellet (ordered off amazon of all places!), tweezers, magnifying glass, small paint brush, and this free bone identification chart from Carolina Biological Supply Company.

3. Carefully pull apart pellet, being aware of any skulls you may find. Once it is broken up into smaller pieces you can start to exhume the bones with the tweezers. As you find them clear them of fur and debri with your fingers/small paint brush before setting them aside.

4. Once you get the bones separated and cleaned match them to your bone identification chart to discover what type of animal your owl ate.

This is also a great way to to lead into food chains, predator/prey relationships, how different adaptations of the owl help them hunt, or what their prey's defenses are against being caught.

Alaska Nature Study- Venture Outside

I created this nature study for my boys, who love the outdoors. As I was looking for simple kid friendly field guides I noticed that many of them focused on animals from the east coast that we just don't have in Alaska. I wanted to highlight what is is unique and beautiful about living in the Pacific Northwest in a fun, approachable, and engaging way. It was about this time that I started to get the real value in Nature Journaling thanks to my Charlotte Mason and Jon Muir Laws obsessed friends.

First came the fact cards. I created these, so that you could grab a few to bring with you on nature walks, or have one out at a time for a closer look, without being overwhelmed by the amazing quantity of information found in traditional field guides. The space on the cards also limits it to just a few interesting facts to spark further inquiry if something catches their imagination but once again keep the animals and plants approachable with lots of visual presentation.

The activity cards came as I started looking into studying birds and remembered all the fun pins and activities I've tried, or want to try, but never quite get around too. I thought by gathering them up (with the materials I'd normally have to go to the store for) and presenting them in a grab and go way we could make the nature study a little more hands on and creative.




The science cards came as a natural extension of explaining the animals behavior on the fact cards or as a way to bridge into other concepts and take it further than crafting and nature walks. It took great restraint not to full plunge down this rabbit hole of activities and information but they, once again, are perfectly suited to spark curiosity as a jumping point for further learning.



The game cards came from the beautiful 3 part cards I kept seeing advertised on Montessori sites and the fun games that helped phonics click for my sun. Memorization is a whole lot easier when it is a game and you'd be surprised at how fast even your toddler is identifying "Black Capped Chickadee" at the sight of the cards. They also make for a fun camping version of traditional kids card games.


The last thing I added was the poetry, song, or art element since there is so much beauty found in and inspired by nature, I intend sharing them with my kids while eating trail mix and watching them sketch on our hike, memorizing them during our morning reading time or using them for handwriting copy work later this year.

The heart of this study though is the nature journal. You really can use any journal for this but I made one that was easy to fit in a child size backpack and had handwriting lines to make it a little more approachable for those easing into handwriting. This is where their discoveries happen and they take ownership of their new found knowledge by recording it. Paying attention to detail and learning to be still to observe will serve them in all subjects of learning and help cultivate a peaceful heart.

If you'd like to purchase this nature study by subject or monthly subscription you can do so here: Nature Study Cards Purchase Page

How to teach the Logic of English to all learners

Spelling w/ movable alpha.

As a mom of three active boys I wanted to find a reading curriculum where they could use their bodies as they trained their minds. As a beginning homeschooler I wanted to find one that was comprehensive (taught reading, writing, spelling, and grammar together and completely), had laid out lesson plans for me to follow, was phonics intensive, and would allow me to see my preschooler try out different learning styles so I could see what types of curriculum would fit him best for other subjects going forward. I like to keep things simple, teaching only English and math through first grade, so it had to be pretty meaty in content but fun in application. If that isn't a tall order I don't know what is!

Logic of English Curriculum

At a home school chat night with my local home school mom group (Which you NEED to find one if you don't have a support group like this already!) The Logic of English swept in and took over all discussion for weeks! We were just thrilled to find such a professional, thoughtful, beautifully designed curriculum that not only taught the "what's" of our complicated language but the "why's" as well. There was just so much I learned from our discussion and introductory videos like this one (which is a little long but even just watching the first 10 minutes will blow you away) that my curiosity was peaked from the start!



One thing I love about this company is how there is a reason behind everything they do. Form teaching the kids how to make the letter sounds by watching your mouth form them to why they recommend cursive first (but have manuscript available too); they are happy to explain it to you through teacher training videos, the teachers manual, their website and they'll even respond to your questions directly on Facebook!

Our Experience

Last year I started Foundations A with my 3.5 year old because he was interested in "Learning his letters" and it starts as a first introduction to the alphabet about 5 lessons in. The first five lessons are teaching them how to make voiced and unvoiced sounds, what a baseline is for writing their letters, basic strokes they'll use and other concepts that will help them when they start to recognize that letters represent a sound. The concepts are so simple that my 3.5 year old felt success right out the gate and liked the games that each lesson suggested.

As we moved into the letters, they were presented in such a memorable way that he still sometimes will march around the house making all of the letter "I" sounds. At this age kids love repetition and reading the Doodling Dragons book has been wonderful for reinforcing the lessons, it's fun too when they want to read the sounds they've learned already to you! He struggled with the handwriting portion so we are going to review Foundations A before moving forward this year but they had adaptations for that too and I saw that when he could write them with chalk on the side walk or with his arm in the air he knew the letter shapes and it was just a matter of motor development before he could write them on paper. We also added Montessori movable alphabets (pictured at the beginning of the article) and tracing boards for spelling/ writing practice as he developed his motor skills for writing.

Long before we started reading small words we worked on blending and constructing/ deconstructing words so when we go to do it with the phonetic symbols (letters) they already understand the objective and have had practice doing it. When we reached lessons that he was getting stuck on (which wasn't until we were close to the end of the book) it was just a matter of slowing down and doing some more of the practice activities and games to reinforce the concept since each lesson is broken into parts we could easily separate them out based on attention span, time constraints, or comprehension.

Learning Styles

The best part of this curriculum though is the way it addresses different needs/ styles of learners. This is great if you know your child's learning style or as a way to see how they react to different types of learning activities and give you a better idea of what types of curriculum will work best in the future.

• You have a portion of the lesson that is taught by you directly for the auditory learners that need to be lectured/ have back and forth discussion. 
• There is always a through explanation of what you are doing next and why for those information hungry students who ask lots of questions, then once it's explained as you repeat different parts of the lesson in ongoing review, the introduction is skipped for the kids who like to get right to work. 
• You have them learn to write the letters as they learn the sounds for the visual/kinesthetic learners. What I love about this portion is how they get to pick the size of writing that is most comfortable to them because contrary to popular belief bigger isn't always better for students learning to write, some are simply more comfortable writing regular sized letters from the start. The lesson is also broken up into segments which allows the independent learner to have more choices in what you do first or how you practice different concepts.
• I thought it was cool that they had them look in a mirror or watch your mouth form the sounds for the visual learners and have them touch their throat or feel their breath as they learn to make the sounds correctly for the kinesthetic learners.
• Kinesthetic learners love that they use a lot of movement activities like bean bag toss games, having them make different movements as they audibly blend words like "spin" or "fall", marching to memorize the many sounds for the letter "I" or practice jumping from one letter to the next as they learn the sounds.
• Visual learners love that the writing portion is broken down by different strokes and that each phonogram is introduced with a tactile card, book, or flash card.
• Every kid LOVES learning through PLAY so each lesson has fun book suggestions, games, or extension activities with legos, chalk, Dr. Suess books, bingo boards, their card games, etc.

I could go on and on but I won't. This seriously is an amazing program that took into consideration: how the English language actually works, what is developmentally appropriate for the age of students it is designed for, how children learn, and that parents need to be able to understand it to teach it (they have the lessons laid out so you can do this quickly and with confidence, and resources to help you if you get stuck) and best of all it's fun! My preschooler looks forward to his lesson everyday.

Simple Co-op Circle Time

I recently posted about how I set up and found members for our STEAM Play Preschool Co-op. Today I'm going to talk about our typical class schedule.


We meet Fridays at 10:00 am (since we are pretty casual it's usually more like 10:15 by the time most of the class shows up)

We always start class or any field trip we go on with the super cute attention getting rhyme "I like learning" pictured to the left. (Along with the hand motions implied) I first heard it at the public library story time in Bountiful,Utah where they said "I like reading" instead of "I like learning" and it was so stinking cute it just stuck with me. The kids learn it quickly and get excited about the "Lets go!" part at the end.

After our welcome rhyme we sing Happy Birthday to anyone who had their birthday that week.

Then we talk about the weather. I made this cute weather chart found over at First Grade FUNdamentals. It didn't take more than some thick poster board, a laminator, scissors and a hot glue gun. (The arrows didn't survive the school year getting transported in the back of my SUV every week so we just ended up pointing to the chart at the end.) Also instead of making it hang from a wall I put a kick stand on it so it could sit on a desk.

Every week we first ask them what season it is, which is fun when the seasons change, but also really brings to mind how LONG Alaskan winters are! For awhile we had a cute "Season Tree" (but it kicked the bucket in the harsh conditions of the back of my car as well.) I'm going to try to build something sturdier for the spring transition but if yours isn't being transported you can get the pattern here and either color it or print it on brown paper and laminate it. After that I just used velcroe to attach color leaves for fall (made with a punch), flowers for spring (from a template at the bottom of that same page) and green leaves for summer (also made with a punch). The kids loved putting the leaves on/taking them off and it adds to a fun atmosphere in the classroom.

Once we review the season I have them look out the window an tell me what the sky looks like and then ask them how cold they think it is.

After this we will usually do another song or two or maybe a rhyme that has to do with the theme of the day. I got most of my songs from The Children's Song Book from my church or from a song and finger play book like this one the kids this age LOVE singing so when I need to buy some time, this is my go to activity. They really like the color song,  "Rain is Falling" and lately "The Bear Went Over the Mountain". Now that we've started Right Start Math, "Yellow is the Sun" is the new song we are obsessed with at my house and I'll definitely be adding it to the mix for early number concepts (be forewarned: It will get stuck in your head.)

That about sums up circle time. I read that concepts of time are a little early for the 3-5 year old range and meeting only once a week wouldn't really give them a good over view of the days of the week anyway. We just wanted to have something to draw them in and give them a sense of routine since the topics/ teachers change weekly and this little schedule (after a few weeks of finding what fit and what didn't)  fit the bill perfectly.

After circle time we turn it over to whomever is teaching for the day to read one or two books and have a demonstration or hands on lesson.

Lessons are about a 20-40 minutes then we let the kids play in the gym. Sometimes directed with a ball, obstacle course, or parachute and sometimes we just let them run while we visit. When the weather is good we take them over to the park instead.

Exceptions are when we have a holiday party and I'll share some examples of classes, parties, and field trips in the next few post in this series.

How I started a Preschool Co-op in 2 weeks

STEAM Play Preschool Co-op was thought up as fall was coming and I knew I wanted a fun engaging activity for my my 4 year old to do each week that would expand his horizons, let him meet new friends, get out us of the house during the long Alaskan winters, and force me to do the cute lessons you can find all over Pinterest. Obviously if you know you want to start a Co-op, it's better to give your self more than the last two weeks of the August so you are not spending 12 hours a week while nursing a newborn pulling it together, but it can be done! And so far has been a fun success. There are several benefits to being part of a preschool co-op and several styles too. If you can't find one that fits your family or schedule and are considering starting your own, here is what I did broken down into steps:

1. Decide what style of co-op you'd like to have. Do you want it to be comprehensive, covering all subjects and meeting several times a week? Would once a week or just for field trips suit your schedule better? Maybe just a social group with play activities? I decided I wanted to meet about once a week focusing on Science experiments, Tactile experiences, Engineering challenges, Art and craft projects, and Movement activities so I hijacked the popular acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math and used it as our Play based preschool name. I also liked the connection to the curiosity, critical thinking, and problem solving the acronym had. 
2. Find a low to no cost location. Knowing that we wanted to do table projects and also have room to move and get messy I looked for a space that would accommodate both. Finding one in the free or low cost arena proved challenging so we settled on the local library for table projects and quieter classes and the local recreation center for the louder gym type activities luckily both were free in my area but a few other low cost options were to meet at a restaurant, bookstore, other area's rec centers, local churches, or private schools if your class meets in the evening. Ultimately one of our co-op members had connections with a local church that had a meeting room, kitchen, and gym so we met there instead for free. If the co-op meeting place is not free just divide the cost into the member dues.
3. Advertise. Start with your circle of friends/neighbors, then go to your church group, and any other social groups you are a part of. Encourage members to invite their network as well. I actually only posted it on Facebook but I posted it on my personal page, my church page, a local mommy play group page, a MOPS page, a book club, and an area homeschooling page. Most of the Facebook groups don't mind advertising of this type if it fits in to their target audience and isn't for profit. If there are dues or you are doing it for profit just look into their rules before posting. I find digital flyers with pictures get more attention than just text and giving as many details as you can helps too. I first asked "Is anyone interested in doing a preschool Co-op one day a week focusing on gym and art activities? If so comment below and I'll add you to the group for more details" then created a Facebook group with the about me section describing what the goal of the co-op was and added each new member to the planning meeting event. If you are not huge on Facebook you can also look into calling/texting, announcing it at events like your libraries story time activity, or church. You can also post flyers at your grocery stores, post office, libraries.
4. Set up a planning meeting to work out details. Once I had 8-10 members of the group I asked them to introduce themselves to see who would be actively participating and who was just expressing interest in the group without intent. I got about 5 introductions on that post so I decided it was worth my time to proceed and held a planning meeting one night at the local McDonalds to get feedback on things like: day/time, duration. daily schedule, academic goals, how much participation they were willing to put in, and if they wanted to do dues or donate/ BYO supplies to each class. I had several people RSVP but only one show up. In the future I'll just decide these things on my own and include it in the invitation to the first class when I am initially advertising, as people who are still shy or looking into it are hesitant to speak up about something they are not yet committed to.
5. Get your paperwork ready.
   
   After the details of the co-op were worked out I made an "STEAM Play Preschool Co-op Introduction" page to print off for members at the first meeting, I also made a "About me" page for them to fill out info on themselves and their children and a waiver for them to sign to help discourage pettiness. I don't know how well the waiver would hold up in court but at least I attempted to cover my butt and let them know I'm not interested in drama. Finally I created a sign up sheet for classes, field trips, and parties for the year. If  you'd like to see samples of the set up forms they are here. At this point I also created an outline of our daily schedule that included announcements, circle time, story time, class time and free play.Your flow may look different than that but having a plan about the structure (or lack of) is a great idea before you open the doors for your first class. 
6. Have your first class and make changes.
   
   With my plan in place I created a cute flyer and advertised our first class to the public to pick up any other members before starting the year off. I had another 5 or 6 people join our group from this add and it had a lot more inquiries and attention (which is how I learned about the power of an image with your message on social media.) We planned to meet from 10 am until Noon and so I did a 40 minute lesson on the 5 Senses that was very interactive and illustrative but simply too long for a 3-5 year old attention span. I also learned that it isn't quite developmentally appropriate to be doing days and months at circle time for 3-5 year olds (and not very purposeful if we meet only once a week anyway). After getting feed back from the group we changed our time to end at 11:30 and to only have a 20 minute lesson. After we met the 2nd time we decided to have a little more structured gym time instead of free play at the end of each lesson as well. That's the beauty of a co-op though, you bring in different ideas and can adapt it to your needs as you go. 
7. Get everyone on track. Once everyone was signed up and had their paperwork turned in I created a contact sheet and birthday list. I used their kids interests as I created theme ideas, class types, and goals that they could use when brainstorming their classes (since we left it wide open beyond our STEAM premise). I supplied all of this along with our daily/ yearly schedule, songs for circle time, and planning pages in a spiral bound book for each member. (If you'd like a copy of this book emailed to you send me a message)

After this we were off and running.

Well almost. At our first class half of us got infected with hand, foot and mouth including me and the person set to teach the 2nd week. So we cancelled our 2nd class!... C'este la vie. Since we got going after that though things have gone smooth. It's still a work in progress and I'm still learning as we go but it has definitely been worth the few hours of phone calls, brainstorming and computer work to put it together. Even just for the field trips alone! Almost everywhere I've looked into wants a group of 10 or more to do a field trip, having a co-op opens doors to all kinds of learning opportunities. Also I'm seeing my son make new friends and new connections as he is introduced to different topics each week. AND I'm making new friends which has been a delightful bonus. It is truly fun watching Pinterest preschool come to life!

Next year (or semester) I think I'll also come up with a syllabus of classes or at least a sequence of themes to make it easier on the members planning the classes they are going to teach. Otherwise it is great to see so many moms just pull together and make it work! I'd recommend taking the plunge and putting a group together if there isn't one in your area as a great alternative to traditional preschool. 

***End of the year update***

What worked: 
Taking turns teaching the classes, planning free time to run and play at the end of class so the kids could develop friendships, holiday parties and field trips were a hit, having the moms just cover the cost of their classes or asking us to bring needed materials as it came up. Everything HANDS ON!

What didn't work: 
Having the location dependent on one person's set of keys, leaving classes too open with no sequence of learning/ not having learning goals at the outset, having too many songs/activities to choose from, dividing the class into stations (their little attention spans did much better when they could be taught as a group and stay on one task).

Would I do it again?
Yes. This was a great experience where both my boys and I made friends, they got to try new things, get reinforcement on what we were learning at home, and have a free outing once a week (that I didn't have to plan every time!) It may have just been because we were lucky enough to have moms that jump in and do the work and keep things simple but it is definitely worth another try.

Our World -Kindergarten Geography

      I come from the view point that kindergarten is a year to get them ready to love the work of learning by laying foundations in fun and engaging ways. It is a great year to take your time exploring interests, diving into arts and crafts for the love of it, and getting a good solid start on reading and math. Kindergarten social studies and science should be simple and fun. We are sparking a love of learning while introducing them to concepts of our environment, change, time and geography that will lay the foundation for history and science as they head into the meat of their schooling next year. With this in mind I've come up with a 32 week plan of once a week social studies/ science primer lessons that will give them the holistic view of their place in the world and give a great jumping point to any history/ science curriculum you go into in first grade. Each lesson is listed with general objectives and links to projects on Pinterest or websites that the learning materials come from.

     Our Place in the Solar System

Where I live Stackers

1. Our place in the solar system Perhaps with nesting Russian dolls  (Phone number with Song/ Address with Song and other fun ideas) 
2.  How to read a map (Books like these,  Using a map with key,  Following a map visually,  cardinal directions, More map practice, Map mini unit, Draw a map of their room)
3.  Map of my community (Print and play with local maps, How to use a compass, Follow a map of a local park to get to a surprise, draw a map of our town, draw a route from our house to grandma's, map practice continued from week 2)
4.  I can be a good neighbor (Basic good citizenship, how people work together in a community, local service project)

How the world turns and what it is made of

1.   The earth is a sphere that circles the sun (Day/Night)
2.   The Earth is made of Air, land, and water ( We need air and water to live/ land to live on and grow, Sort things found in all 3, describe attributes of all 3, identify land and water on a map)
3.  Air, Land and Water week 2 (Water cycle, types of clouds, Oceans/Rivers/Lakes, Fresh water vs Salt water)
4.  Air Land and Water week 3 (How land changes, Erosion, Basic Land forms with salt dough land forms) 
5.  Weather (Weather types, Scientists can predict weather, Tools to measure weather, Start weather graph)
6.  Seasons (Order of seasons, what they look like, why they happen, Seasons video and this craft)

Cultural Differences

1. We are alike/ we are different (Skin/eye color, gender, height, language, likes/ dislikes Etc)
2.  What is culture? (Food, music, history, art, religion, celebrations. stories)
3.  What is habitat? 
5. (Define Habitat and talk about how similar habitats can be found in different places/ overview of types of habitats, and prep our dioramas for finish work) Perhaps this game  or This poem.

Continents/ Habitats

Waseca Elementary Continent Map

Each continent we will do a map activity in addition to using the continent mat to place animals and people where they go and talk about culture of a local people.

For every habitat week we will talk about: where the habitats are found, 5-10 animals found there, 5 or so plants found there, and typical climates. There will also be a diorama type art project (Like these habitat bottles, Or these sensory bins) and fictional story for each place. Once we cover a habitat they will choose an animal to learn more about and add them to their "animal book" with a drawing, narration, map, and basic facts.

1. Continents/Oceans Geography Overview
2. Oceans 
3. (Layers of the ocean, whale migrations, coral reefs, kelp forests)
4. North America
5. North American Woodlands 
6. (Types of forests, food chain)
7. South America
8. South American Rain Forests 
9. (Layers of the rain forest, food chain)
10. Europe 
11. Europe Woodlands and Rivers/ponds 
12. (Beaver dams, Fish migrations)
13.  Asia
14. Asian Rain Forests/ Tundra 
15. (Animal adaptations, permafrost)
16. Africa
17. African Savannah 
18. (Types of grasslands, food chain)
19. Australia
20. Australian Desserts 
21. (Where is water found, adaptations)
22.  Antarctica
23. Arctic 
24. (How animals stay warm, food chains)
27. Alaskan Habitats
30. Alaskan Nature Study 

Why every mom needs a sister

I walk in to dinner with my sister and start with out skipping a beat:

 "The other day I had a funny thought that I got up to run to the store and leave you with the kids and you were like "Where do you think your going?" 

So I said "To buy toilet paper and Pepsi" 

"You can't leave me with all the kids" 

"Watch me" 

"You do and I'll give them all juice and let them watch paw patrol the whole time" 

"You wouldn't" 

"I would"

 "Then I'll tell them about the leftover cake in the fridge and that you will share with whomever can cut this price of paper into the smallest pieces" 

"I'll let them craft with glitter on your carpet" 

"I introduce your 6 year old to beat boxing" 

"I'll buy all of your kids recorders for Christmas" .... 

At this point she is just smiling and nodding barely able to control her laughter, only it's not because she thinks I'm funny.  It's because a Goodrich can't help but laugh at her own joke (It's science). Even if she just has the one joke because it always works.

  "...Leggings are not pants" 

"Mom bun is not a hair style" 

"Diet Pepsi is not breakfast" 

Then she cracks.

"And then what happened Christina?" 

and we are rolling. 

Because only a sister can crack you up with the same question every time you take off on a long winded imaginative tangent and drag them along for the ride. (Which is way more often than I care to admit) Only a sister will listen to said tangent then spend the next twenty minutes making up good mom insults with you and try to record a video of said disses to save for posterity or a really humiliating family reunion. Only a sister will talk about the same struggles over and over with newfound encouragement and wisdom very time you mom fail and have genuine excitement when your 2 year old poops in the potty without an incentive. 

Then there is my other sister. The one who asks for advice she never takes and tells me my political ideas are stupid to my face (while everyone else is making the crazy sign when they think I'm not looking) she is so blunt it drives me crazy. The only other person I know who even comes close to telling it like it is the way she does is... me. (It's funny how what draws you to others is what you see in your self too) We don't always get along but we always have each others back and there is something to be said for fierce loyalty in a PC world. The funny thing is though, the more different we become the more I love her, because when you love someone different than you, you love their soul and can see the best in them even when they can't. If you're good to each other you point it out. Having a bond like sisterhood too means that you forgive faster, love deeper, and can be more honest sooner than you can in other friendships. Which gives you the grace to be your real, genuine, unfiltered self knowing that even if they think you're nuts they are not going anywhere and love you anyway.

As much as I love my sisters the fact is I have many more sisters. Sister in laws that are every much family in my heart as if they had always been there. Friends who showed up (when I was laid out on the floor and couldn't move and did my laundry) or weren't afraid to get very real and very personal when I just needed to be seen as an interesting individual instead of just my favorite title "mom". 

Motherhood has its own challenges and sweet rewards and women need sister's to share it (and sometimes bare it) with. Women who know them as a sister, a friend, a woman, AND a mom. All the little prices that make up who we are and when to call out and strengthen each piece. Women are social creatures and sometimes men, God bless them, don't get it. Not in a way a sister in the trenches does. Not in the way someone who has the perspective of knowing us as an awkward teen, ambitious graduate, fawning newlywed, or nervous new mom (or whatever stage they came into our life) to remind us how far we have come or the spark that is still in us. Sometimes we just need added feminine intuition or encouragement to trust our own. Sometimes we just need a reminder of who we are beyond our titles and duties. Having sisters helps us keep our sense of self alive in the most joyful way.

If you don't have a sister, reach out to another mom. She gets it and if she gets you, then you've found an invaluable treasure that will see YOU through everything life throws your way. Someone who will call you out on your crazy, laugh with you, cry with you, or just bring you chocolate and sit with you quietly on the days that are just too much. Because what is a sister but another woman who knows you best and sticks with you through it all.