Pinwheel, Pinwheel

I put this activity on the shelf for Mister and Ladybug last year and set it out for the Wee One this year.  She covered the cube and loved blowing on the pinwheels to make them spin.

July Sensory Bin - Our Nation

This sensory bin is a take on last year's sensory bin and is all about America.  This time I included a few surprises for the kiddos.  Can you figure out why I put them in?

• Blue and red dyed pasta (use vinegar and food color)
• Stars
• Red and blue bracelets
• Pom poms
• Flipper
• Keys
• Bus
• Horse
• Pineapple
• Ice cream
• Bucket
• Spoons

A Day with Frida

A country study of Mexico wouldn't be complete without the study of a few important Mexican artists.  We started our Mexican art study with Frida Kahlo and self-portraits.  I took a variety of lessons I found online and mixed them to make an easy and fun lesson.

Before we started Mister and Ladybug used Kool Aid to create a textured "canvas".  

While the Kool Aid was drying, we read Frida.  She story was simple for Mister and Ladybug to understand, without being scary, and the illustrations are beautiful.  

Then, we looked at six self portraits of Frida.  I didn't tell them who the woman was, but they saw connections between the illustrations in the book and the self-portraits.  Mister called out, "It's Frida!"  We studied the pictures and talked about the vibrant colors and a reason why there might be so many animals in her pictures.  I created my own self-portrait and I asked Mister and Ladybug to help me make a list of words to describe me.  

Our canvas was dry by now, so we made our own self-portraits.

I brought out the Learning Room mirror to help them with their portraits.

I used tape to make a border and some of her drawing was cut off by taking the tape off .  It's titled, "Halle and her dog Zoe."

Ladybug was so happy with her result that she asked me to put it on her door.

Preaparing the Molcajete

I have had my molcajete and tejolote sitting as a display piece for a really long time.  For some reason it intimidated me although I am a pretty good cook.  I made a resolve to use it, so I enlisted the kiddos to help me prepare and use the molcajete for the first time.

First, I set out the molcajete and we inspected it.  I had Mister and Ladybug guess what it was and from what material it was made.  Also, we watched how a molcajete was made.

Then it was time to prepare and make our guacamole.

Ladybug grinding up salt.

The Wee One seasoning the molcajete with garlic gloves and cumin.

Mister grinding up avocados for the guacamole.

Our finished guacamole.  I didn't get a single drop of the guacamole because they enjoyed it that much.    

My molcajete was relatively smooth and didn't need much work, so we sped up the preparing process.  We also made baked tortilla chips and had frijoles.

Our Easy and Kid Friendly Guacamole

2 avocados
1/2 Onion
Tomato
Cilantro
Lime

Holy Frijoles - Part 1

We have only done these activities a few times this month.  So far they have seemed to enjoy them.

Math

Mister and Ladybug put the correct number of links on the soccer ball and then add (join) two of them together.

Roll a graph - Mister and Ladybug rolled the die six times and added a sticker to the correct column.  

Literacy

The -et family

Ladybug is very excited to write and for a dollar I made her day.

Practical Life

We are still working on Mister's pencil grip, so I put out "Things from Mexico" pushpin.

Cultural/Geography

The Wee One

This work was first presented to Mister and Ladybug as an introductory lesson to colors in Spanish.  We did a group lesson on the rug and took turns matching and saying the colors.  Also, it's on the Wee One's shelf for color matching.  She finds is really easy and has attempted to say the Spanish words a few times.

There you have it.  Next month I really want to study Mexico and I have plans to include an artist study among other things.

Forget-Me-Not

Our classroom and this blog has been abandoned  this month for to do all the things you can't do for nine months out of the year.  Mister, Ladybug, and the Wee One have been geocaching, picnicking, hiking, going to the zoo, planting gardens, and making mud pies.

I still want them to learn about Mexico, so we will be extending our unit, or should I say starting our unit, in June.  Preschool has ended, so we have an extra two days added to our week.  For their last day I put forget-me-nots in a pot for their garden.  I am sure this isn't a new idea and it didn't turn out the way I wanted, but I have many years to perfect it.

Passport Please

Every traveller needs a passport and a suitcase and we are no exception.  Inside our suitcase are artifacts, a map, pictures, money, etc from Mexico.  All three kiddos have enjoyed sitting on their mats and going through suitcase and inspecting each item.