Oi/Oy Fun!!

 

I've been working on the oi/oy dipthong with Savanna and it has been so much fun! She has enjoyed learning this new sound and there are so many fun activities to use when teaching oi/oy! I've put together a list of things we've done and I hope you find them useful :)

oi/oy Word Sheet

This oi/oy Word Sheet is a cute way to help your child make a list of oi/oy words. You can either write the words yourself or sit with her and help her think of words. I chose to have Savanna write the words herself (I helped her come up with them) so she could work on figuring out the spelling. We used this list plus a few other words not listed for all our oi/oy activities.

 

Notice that we also have a "oi/oy Words of the Day" board. I used a manila folder to make a small envelope for our bulletin board and have printed several sheets with an oi word and an oy word on each strip. Each day we change out the words of the day and we go over the spelling and the definition of each word.

 

oi/oy Worksheets & Printables

oy Word Search

oi Word Search

The oi/oy Book phonics booklet for your child to illustrate.

oi/oy BINGO (Note: I left this in Word form so you can change the words around and play again and again. Page 3 has the words to cut and call.)

 

Oinky & the Apples

Savanna LOVED this! I took a plain white gift bag and glued a large picture of "Oinky the Pig" on the front (after Savanna colored it). Then I cut a large hole through the bag where the mouth of the pig is. I had to make the whole a little larger than the mouth to ensure that the Apples would fit through. Then we wrote an oi/oy word on each apple and colored them. We used the words from our oi/oy word list. Next, I used a manila folder to cut out a basket shape. We drew criss-cross lines with brown marker to make it look like a basket and stapled the sides to make a "basket" (envelope) for our apples. Savanna loved feeding Oinky the Pig with our oi/oy word apples!! And we take them out occasionally and feed her again because she does get hungry :) 

We feed Oinky the Pig with
oi/oy word apples!



We keep our oi/oy word apples
in our basket!

 

Soil & Foil Art

We had a blast with these creative activities!! They're super easy too! For these activities you will need:

• An aluminum or metal pan
• A couple scoops of soil (I just used some dirt from the backyard!)
• A chopstick or small stick
• Butcher paper or plastic table cover
• A roll of tin foil

SOIL ART: Place your butcher paper or plastic table cover on the table to help control debris (or you can do this activity outside for less mess). Place your scoops of soil in your pan and place it in front of your child. You will need one pan per child. I used a pie tin and it was a little small but still worked. A larger casserole pan would be a little more useful. Give your child the chopstick or small stick and have her write oi/oy words in the soil. They love to play in the soil and it gives them a good practice of sounding out oi/oy words.

 

NOTE: I let my 3yr old do this activity as well and instead of writing words I had him draw letters, shapes, and numbers in his soil.

Savanna writing oi/oy words in soil!

"oil"

"Soil"

Samuel drawing letters and
shapes in soil!

Samuel really enjoyed the soil art!

"A"

FOIL ART: Tear out several pieces of foil of different sizes. Then roll the sheets and squeeze them to make the foil tight and flexible (sort of like a pipe cleaner). Use the pieces of foil to create sculptures! We used ours to make foil men. Savanna also made a saddle and a rein for her foil man to ride a dinosaur. Samuel made foil wings for one of his Spiderman toys. This was probably THE MOST FUN activity we've done in our oi/oy study! Have fun with it! Be sure to discuss the different definitions of foil with your child. (Warning- Be sure to tear the foil for your child. The foil box is sharp and can be dangerous to small children.)

Asteroid Model

I have not tried this YET but I am planning to do so. This looks like a fun activity to make a Model of an Asteroid that can help your child not only practice the oi sound but also learn about asteroids in general!! If you've done this activity, let me know how it went :)

 

 

Please comment and let me know if you've done other activities with teaching the oi/oy dipthong that I can use! I'd love to hear from you!

 

Bye for now,

Kristina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Cannot Come Down

Ok I know I'm really pushing it with writing a third time today! But I have a terrible toothache and I need a good distraction. Besides I've been debating on writing this particular blog for a few days so you'll just have to give me some grace :)

$16,231.

That was our adjusted gross income for 2012.

$16,231.

For our family of six.

Now, I'm not telling you this information because I want to brag about how great of a saver I am; because honestly, I'm not. I'm telling you this information because I want to encourage you that it really is possible to be a stay-at-home momma who homeschools on a budget and still has a fantastic time doing so! My kids don't know that we were well below the poverty line last year. They think we're the richest family in America. And that's because MONEY doesn't define our family. Money doesn't give our family value, God does. And GOD provides. With such little income in today's world, you can easily see that God certainly provided for us in abundance last year (and every year!).

I just want to encourage all you momma's out there who are thinking, "How can we do this? How can we survive?" All you momma's who feel condemned and guilt-ridden because you don't have a so-called "real job" and you don't bring in much, if any income. All you momma's out there who are feeling like maybe you made a mistake by choosing to stay home and homeschool. I want to encourage you and say that YOU ARE DOING A GOOD WORK. No amount of money, or name-brand clothes, or the coolest new toys, or iPods and tablets will ever have more value in the life of your child than the character you're cultivating, the love you're nurturing, the wisdom you're instilling, and the relationship you're building with your children. I repeat, YOU ARE DOING A GOOD WORK.

Sometimes I get discouraged when I see the numbers... $16,321... and I think, "I need to go get a job!!" I try to take the financial burden of our family and place it over my head.  I let it weigh me down. I let the enemy whisper lies about my inadequacy as a wife. I let my thoughts run wild over my failures as a mother. I question my ability to teach and whether I'm letting my kids' education go to waste. I get so anxious about proving that I'm doing something notable with them that I forget to be in the moment with them. Sometimes I get so discouraged that I just want to cry and give up. And then my husband reminds me of this little truth...I am doing a good work. He reminds me of Nehemiah. Remember him? He took on this monumental task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Yeah. Heavy stuff. This was no easy job. Not to mention, he had enemies that didn't want him to succeed. And there is a specific story in chapter 6 where Nehemiah is up on the wall, hammerin' away, and a group of his enemies try to get him to come down. Nehemiah responds like this in vs. 3, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” Hmmm. I am doing a great work, I cannot come down. My husband often tells me that I am like Nehemiah. I am taking on this monumental task of educating our children. Yeah. Heavy stuff. It's no easy job. And the enemy does not want me to succeed. And sometimes when I'm teachin' away, the enemy tries to get me to come down from that homeschooling wall and tries to distract me from that good work; whether through our lack of finances, tension with my husband, children who won't stay focused or just-don't-get-it, unsupportive friends or family, or pure exhaustion. The enemy does not want me to succeed in this good work because he knows it will result in four brilliantly kind people who love the Lord and want to serve Him. 

So yeah, sometimes it feels impossible. I look at this thing called homeschooling and I see the walls of Jerusalem. How are we ever going to get this done!? And then I am reminded that through God ALL THINGS are possible. Jesus is the Sustainer and it is only by His grace that we make it from year to year. Financially, physically, spiritually, emotionally. It is only by His grace. Nehemiah finished the wall. In record breaking time I might add :) And through Christ, we can do this. So when you start to feel discouraged, remember that YOU ARE DOING A GOOD WORK.

Bye for Now,
Kristina

Peanut Butter Play Time

I know it's against the "rules" to blog twice in one day but I really wanted to share this...

On this rainy Valentine's Day we decided to make some peanut butter play dough. It turned out GREAT and the kids loved playing with (and eating) it! Even the babies were able to get it on the fun because it was totally OK for them to taste and play :)

To make PEANUT BUTTER Play dough:
Combine in a bowl 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup of peanut butter, and 1/2 cup of honey. That's it! Mix it all together until you get a nice dough. If you have a standing mixer that would work best. We don't have one so we just mixed it as best as we could with spoons and then dumped it on the table and kneaded it like dough with our hands.

It smells great and is not sticky at all! It's a little greasy from the peanut butter so be sure to wear play clothes or a smock. The babies really liked it because they love putting stuff in their mouths and for once momma wasn't yelling, "What's in your mouth?" :)
(Of course I would limit how much they eat because it is a lot of sugar and could end up making their tummies ache.) Definitely try this, it's a great rainy day project!

Bye for now,
Kristina

PS. I'm going to attempt to save the rest in a zip lock bag but I'm not sure how it will hold. Hopefully we can reuse it in a couple days!

(There are some allergy concerns with this project. Obviously don't use this if your child has nut allergies. I'm not sure how the recipe would work with a soy-based peanut butter substitute but it couldn't hurt to try it! Also don't use this recipe with children less than 12months of age because there are Clostridium botulinum spores in honey that a baby's immature digestive system may not be able to fight off. It's best to wait until they're a year old before letting them try out the peanut butter play dough.)

Fun & Easy Tie-Dye Project

Oh Tie-Dye, how I've missed you! I remember wearing Tie-Dye shirts as a kid and I'm so excited they are coming back in style! This is such a fun activity but can be pricey too! My kids are having a big 4-in-1 birthday bash in a few weeks and they wanted to have matching Tie-Dye shirts. After seeing the prices at the local craft store for kits, I decided to do some experimenting at home and found a less expensive way to make Tie-Dye apparel.

 

Materials needed:

• Plain t-shirt (white shows up best but my oldest insisted on colored shirts)
• Permanent markers (we had Sharpies but off-brands will do)
• Rubber bands
• Febreze

Step 1: Choose a point on the shirt where you'd like your "burst" to start. Pinch the shirt in that spot, twist, and band with a rubber band.

 

Step 2: Continue twisting the shirt and placing the rubber bands about 1" apart until the entire shirt is banded.

Step 3: Color the space between the bands, alternating colors. Be sure to color all the creases. The darker and more complete you color each section, the better it turns out. The kids didn't color quite as dark as mine but they still turned out cute! This is where your kids can get as creative as they'd like. My son did a lot of black (he really likes black lately) and my daughter added polka dots and rainbow colors.

 

Step 4: Use the febreze to soak the shirt (while still banded). Once you've soaked it, use your fingers to rub in the colors and you'll see them start to smear just a little. Tip: For inexpensive Febreze, you can pour a cap full of fabric softener into a spray bottle, fill with water, and go. Smells great too!

 

Step 5: Toss the shirts into the dryer (make sure there are NO OTHER CLOTHES first). Once the shirts are completely dry, remove the bands to reveal your new Tie-Dye creation! 

 





 

We put their ages on the back for the party.
Savanna will be turning 6, Samuel 4, and
Gideon & Gracie 1 :)

 

Go Tie-Dye!

 

Bye for now,

Kristina

 

 

 

 

 

 



Au Naturel

"Au naturel" is a phrase most commonly used to refer to nudity; but by definition it also refers to anything that is in a natural style or condition. For example, when a Momma leaves the house without make-up, she is "au naturel"... her face is in a natural style or condition.

And sometimes I think it's good to learn "au naturel." No, I don't mean to teach in the buff. I mean sometimes it's good to get out of the house and learn about things in nature; in their natural condition! No worksheets or computers or books (that comes later). But rather discover God's beautiful creation and learn about amazing creatures that glorify Him just by their very existence! It doesn't have to be expensive either...

Over the weekend we took a family trip to a nearby Manatee Park ($5 per car for the entire day). I gave Savanna a very simple assignment: learn 3 facts about manatees. Very simple. Other than that, she was to enjoy spending time with family and friends as we watched the manatees in their natural condition, poking their noses in and out of the water for air. Watching as the mommy manatees swam so closely to their little ones; it was truly an incredible sight to see! Not only did we see a lot of manatees, but we also saw plenty of plant life, fish, butterflies, and more. The next day, we used the 3 facts Savanna learned about Manatees to make an "All About Manatees" lapbook.

If I've said it once, I'll say it a hundred times... NEVER UNDERESTIMATE LAPBOOKS! Lapbooks are so much fun and they're jam-packed with information! They're great for kids from preschool to high school and every grade in between. You can make them as simple or as in-depth as you'd like and they're relatively cost-efficient. They can be used for any subject AND even the least crafty kids can complete them! For the manatee lapbook, I had Savanna write a mini-report. We're working on reading and writing, so incorporating that into every lesson is important for us. Her report said, "Manatees are mammals. They have live babies that drink milk, they breathe air, and they have warm blood. Manatees need warm water above 68*. Boats are a danger to manatees." See, simple. We attached her report to the lapbook, along with her Manatee Park bingo card and a picture she drew of a manatee that said, "Manatees began the legend of mermaids." On the back of the lapbook we printed a picture of her standing near the manatee skeleton. It was easy-peasy, fun, and she learned so much!

There are so many great places to visit, just like Manatee Park, where you can take your children to learn "au naturel." Most State Parks only charge for parking, and you can bring a picnic lunch. You can even check out what's going on in your own backyard. You can make lapbooks, go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt, play Nature BINGO, and more! Whatever you do, get out and learn "au naturel!" What a great way to spend the school day!

Bye for now,
Kristina