Mommy School week 1: Biology and Geometry

I've decided to do mommy preschool with my kids this summer.  So far we have had three classes. I'm holding the classes in my basement which is unfinished so the space is a bit bare.  I hope by the end of summer we change that with lots of fun things on the wall.  Here is what I did for the first two classes.

Biology or...

Gardens and growing plants.

1. Craft.  3yr old-glue pieces of a flower (stem, leaves, petals, etc) on a paper.  1 yr old-stick stickers on a paper.  Or just scream.  Honestly my daughter was a pill throughout the whole class. 

2. Quick lesson on what seeds need to grow.  Use magnets as visual.

3. Story.  Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed.

4. Plant "magic seeds" (Skittles).  If they are good they will grow at the end of class.

5. Gardening scavenger hunt. I gave my son my phone to take pictures of the things he found.

6. Plant seeds.  We planted mini sunflowers. 

7. Go back to see if our magic seeds sprouted.  They grew into lollipops!

8.  Enjoy lollipops in peace and read Mrs Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou three times because sister is sleeping.

I got the magnetic board at Walmart for $11 or $12.  It's a dripping plate you would use under a car so go to the automotive section.  I picked up some foam and a roll of magnets and I should be set for summer school.  Matt's preschool teacher had one of these and I loved it.

Geometry or...

Shapes

1.  Made shape mobile with three year old.  Laid out shape toys for my one year old. 

2. Talk about different shapes and stick them on the magnet board.

3. Shape Bingo.  This was a big hit.  Used candy as the bingo chips.

4.  Shape matching worksheet.  Match shape to common objects we see. 

5. Sponge shape painting.  He was excited to do this but this ended up not being an activity he enjoyed.  He got to frustrated so it ended up being me doing the art and him dictating to me what he wanted.

 
6. Shape snacks.