Homeschool Kindergarten Lesson Plans - Week 9 {and Halloween!}

 

This was a fun and laid back Homeschool Kindergarten / Pre-K week for us.  I tried to make most of our activities centered around the Halloween theme to give the girls something special to get excited about.  Here's what we did:

Fun with... Toilet Paper?

We once bought toilet paper in bulk, and I don't mean 12 rolls at a time, I'm talking a linen-closet's worth of toilet paper.  It was a great deal.  And guess what - it was about as soft as sandpaper!  Now, 2 years later as we're getting through the last of our great purchase, I have no qualms about 'wasting' a roll on the kids.  One of the days last week we spent an entire afternoon playing with toilet paper.  I had a couple learning games in mind, but my kids (who were quite enthusiastic about playing with toilet paper) had their own ideas.  I'll share both...

Pumpkin Delivery Math Game {Learning Place Value}

There is no game my girls (3 years old) like more than feeding their 'babies'.  Every math manipulative we've ever played with has become food for stuffed animals.  My kids were delighted when they woke up one morning last week and discovered that all their favorite stuffed animals (as well as Mom and Dad) had placed breakfast orders for miniature pumpkins.  This Pumpkin Delivery math game that I made up was such a big hit at our house at we ended up playing it every day for the entire week.  My kids had so much fun that they didn't realize they were practicing fine motor skills, counting, one-to-one correspondence, number recognition, reading, and even discovering the meaning of place value!  Here's how to play...

Halloween Sun-catchers Craft

Yesterday, the girls (3 years old) made some Halloween decorations for our window using contact paper and colored tissue paper.  We've been using this technique over the past year to make everything from fall leaves to spring flowers, but this time we gave it a Halloween twist.  These decorations look gorgeous in the sunlight and the girls were very proud of their work.  Here are the steps..

Pumpkin Faces with Playdough

A Halloween-themed activity we did last year, which the girls could do much better this year as 3-year-olds, was decorating craft pumpkins with playdough.  This year we used black playdough and accessories such as googly eyes, yarn, feathers, and hats, and they turned out great!