Saturday, October 24, 2009

Tot School - Color matching and sorting

Tot School Bubby is 35 months old.

Sorry I am behind on Tot School. These pics are from a few weeks ago, but representative of what we have been doing this past week.







I made Bubby some color matching cards. I got them from the ChildCareLand website. This was originally meant to be an emergent reader book, but I made the pages into cards to better suit this activity. Each card has a different colored car, and I painted a clothespin to match the color of the car. He clips each clothespin to it's matching card.
This is an activity in which I get him started, and then he can work on it while I'm helping the older kids with their schoolwork. Tot School works better if I will sit with him, and let the big kids come to me for help. The way he sees it, Mom's presence is the same as Mom's attention.

Bubby has also been helping me with laundry chores. I've found that for sorting, it is better to give him one color and have him pull everything that is that color to put in a pile. His favorite is to sort out all the jeans. It is challenging for him to lift some of that stuff out of the deep hamper, but he likes to show off his strength.

He also loads the washer and pours the detergent in after I have measured it out for him. He loves helping with this chore, and I'm not allowed to load the washer without him.

One funny thing: On the inside rim of the washer, there is a little sign with a picture showing that you should make sure all the items are all the way in the washer before closing the door. He has taken this to heart, and very meticulously will arrange each item until it is completely inside to his satisfaction. Great attention to detail!

Check 1+1+1=1 blog for more Tot School posts!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Burgess Books Online

Here is a list I have compiled of all the Thornton Burgess books I could find that are available for free online.


If you have read any of the Burgess stories, I know you have fallen in love with the little characters. We always look forward to hearing about nosy Peter Cottontail, mischievous Sammy Jay, and wise Grandfather Frog. For me, the best thing about them is reading them aloud. The dialog is charming, and I love doing the different voices.


I know that Ambleside Online curriculum recommends some of them, as do other homeschool curricula. They are wonderful stories which teach morals and values while exploring the world of wildlife.


The majority of the Burgess books that you can find online are at Gutenberg.org. There are a few more out there, however, that are not included on Gutenberg. Most of these are not available in text format, because they are scanned images. They do include the color illustrations by Harrison Cady.


Burgess books on Gutenberg.org
Burgess Bedtime Stories from an old calendar.
The Adventures of Peter Rabbit
Bobby Coon’s Mistake
A Great Joke on Jimmy Skunk
The Neatness of Bobby Coon
A Merry Coasting Pary
Paddy’s Surprise Visitor
The Three Bears
Reddy Fox’s Sudden Engagement
Grandfather Frog Stays in the Smiling Pool
A Robber Meets His Match
Peter Rabbit Proves a Friend
Young Flash the Deer


Additional Link: Podcast of Old Mother West Wind by Lori K. Brooke. There are audio versions of some of the Burgess books available at Gutenberg.org and Librivox.org, but I wanted to share these because they are different, and not as easy to find. The woman reading them has a grandmotherly, sweet voice, and there is background music added which gaves them a relaxing, bedtime feel.


Please comment if you know of any other Burgess stories available online, and I will add them.