P for Push and Pull

See what we did for other letters in the Alphabet in Simple Science.

P for Push and Pull

Science Notebook Page (Click the picture to print).

 

    Background

First we did his science notebook page and talked about pushes and pulls.  We read a few books about pushes and pull, and Xander particularly liked Pushes and Pulls: Why it Works.  After talking about them and some examples, I had him demonstrate using play dough.

A Squeeze is a Push

Pulling the Play Dough

Push or Pull?

Materials:

Push and Pull Sorting Sheet (Print here)
Two bins or containers

Procedure:

Since pushing and pulling were hard to design experiments with, I made up some cards with different types of pushes and pulls (you can print it above).  Then Xander sorted each card into a basket for push and pull.  He did a great job with it and thought it was a lot of fun.

Check out my Alphabet in Simple Science Pinterest Board for more ideas!

 

12 for 2014 - Confession

In January I started my personal 12 Books for 2014 challenge in order to get myself to read more of the nonfiction I always plan to read but never quite get to.  Well, it is only April and I have to confess, I plan on deviating from my plan.  I had originally planned to read Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by William Pollack.  I had had to read a chapter from it for a class and really loved it, which is why it made the list.  However, after sitting down to read the actual book, I feel like it is way too long and repetitive.  I haven't really learned much beyond the initial chapters and am having a lot of trouble getting through it.  Therefore, I have decided I am not going to make myself finish when there are so many fantastic books out there waiting to be read.  Instead, I am going to replace it with Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.

My Twelve Books for 2014
In no particular order:
1.  The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
2.  Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky
3.  Design Make Play by Margaret Honey 
4.  Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
5.  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Champan
6.  Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by William Pollack   (Stopped Reading)
6.  Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
7.  Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People by Robert S. Root-Bernstein
8.  Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
9.  Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley
10.  A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
11.  Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
12.  Beyond Snapshots: How to Take That Fancy DSLR Camera Off "Auto" and Photograph Your Life Like a Pro by Rachel Devine

Letter P Week

Letter Formation/Pre-Writing

Tracing the letters with his write and wipe cards and Letter Tracing Pages from 1+1+1=1

Practicing writing in his sand box.

Making P's out of foam crafting blocks.  You can download the templates here.

Do a Dot Markers on the Dot Letters from Confessions of a Homeschooler

 Using his Build a Letter Templates and HWWT pieces. First he built the letters on the templates, then he built them by themselves.

Letter Maze

(Printable here)

Play Dough Letters

Using the letter P alphabet stamping play dough mat.

Building Ps with pattern blocks.  Templates from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Thinking Skills

Working on some puzzles

Doing a sticker seek and find we received in the mail.

Math

Doing a Right Start Math lesson putting quantities in order 1-10.

Practicing parallel and perpendicular lines.

Playing with his sorting pie.

Science

We're doing our Alphabet in Simple Science, and this week was P for Push and Pull.

Art

Using his funky paintbrush to paint some P's.

Spanish

We've been reading some spanish mini-books I got from Scholastic.  He loves them!  This week we did "No let tengo miedo a nada"

Literacy

Just doing a little light reading.

This Week's Work