Hemlock Hill Homeschool - Week 1 - Little Red Hen

We started our first "official" year of playschool on September 1st, with "The Little Red Hen" as our theme.  I had been struggling with creating a rhythm that worked for both the littles (2 yo and 7 mo), and both bigs (15 yo and 11 1/2 yo), but once we got going, everything fell nicely into place. 

We have a daily rhythm:  Wake up, nurse, get dressed
                                          Drive K to high school, grab the stroller and mei tai and walk H to the
                                             intermediate school across the street 
                                          Come home and have breakfast
                                          Nap for Meems, circle time & activity for Ana
                                          When nap is over, outside time, feeding the chickens
                                          Snack
                                          Nap for both Meems and Ana, mama's time to work
                                          Lunch with more outside time (lunch is usually a picnic on the deck)
                                          Pick up Holden and Kenna from school
                                          Errands and/or playtime
                                          5:30 - 6:30 is time for the big kids to play with the little kids; I cook dinner
                                               and clean the house
                                          Dinner
                                          Play time/lots of reading time
                                          Bed

and a weekly rhythm:       Monday = playgroup
                                         Tuesday = cooking/baking
                                         Wednesday = painting
                                         Thursday = sensory play/doughs
                                         Friday = craft

 Our circle time wall, right next to a window to check the weather

Circle time  - We have some verses and songs that we will sing throughout the month of September.  We do a quick calendar and weather chart.  Then some songs and verses related to the Little Red Hen and grains, a little red hen matching game, and a telling of the little red hen with finger puppets. 

 

 Little Red Hen matching/memory

  

I also found this big book leftover from my teaching days.  Ana is loving matching the story telling pieces to the pictures in the book 

 

 

Ana's set up of the Little Red Hen story.  After I told the story the first 2 days, she wanted to tell it herself

 

 Tuesday's baking - corn bread

 

Wednesday's painting - red 

 

 

Thursday's sensory - making grain playdough 

 Have to have lots of music and dancing.  This week's favorite CD - Music Together, Flutes collection

 

I couldn't find a good finger puppet for the little red hen, so I improvised - I colored a little yellow chick finger puppet red with beeswax crayons.  Ana was smitten.  

And outside, we have our own little red hens to play with! 

 

Next week's theme - The Bun/Gingerbread Man