We're Going On A Bear Hunt

After months of talking about it, thinking about it, making lists about it, and organizing it, we have finally started our Before Five In A Row work!

Before I share our first week with you, let me be totally honest.  I am mad at myself for buying the manual.  It was only $35, so I'm not beating myself up too bad.  But in my eagerness of having a curriculum, I bought it expecting it to be just a wealth of ideas and knowledge. 

It isn't.

From what I've read around the Blogesphere, most new homeschooling moms go a little crazy the first couple times they choose a curriculum, so I'm not feeling like an insane woman.  However I will be thinking more before I buy our kindergarten materials.

I absolutely love the book list and I am totally sold on the method of this preschool program, but the manual is totally unnecessary.  With the book list (which you can get online) you can search online to get your own projects.  I have read through the manual real quick once, and I'm sure it will sit on a shelf from now on.  I will get our lessons from other blogs that have done the same program.

Anywho.  I choose, "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" as our first book since we were having our Big Family Camp Out last week and were doing Brown Bear for Little School.  It just fit perfect.

Again, a quick overview of B4FIAR: you read a classic book everyday for five days and do different learning activities that go with the book each day.

I loaded up on Bear Books at the library and set all our stuff out each night.

I desperately want shelves so I can do the tray system and get it all off the floor.

We started each morning by doing our Board Activities.  Basically, we read our verse, talked about the weather, and looked at the sight word for the week.

Then we read the book.  Josie loved the story and was saying the words with me by the second day.

Here are a few of the activities I did with her.

Her favorite by far: Action Cards! 

The story talks about all the different things the family couldn't go over or under and had to go through on their bear hunt so we did some of our own actions! 

My favorite of the week was our family tree.  She did great up until we were gluing the leaves on.  She lost interest after a few so I finished it up.

I asked her what she would hunt for and she said "FLOWERS!"  Then she drew a picture of her hunting flowers.  She is getting so much better at drawing people and animals!

I tied in a Bible lesson about Moses since he went on a journey of sorts too.  She was so excited when I told her about the Princess adopting him.  "JUST LIKE ME!" she shouted!  So cute!

We're also doing 1+1+1=1's Preschool Rockstars.  This week we did letter L.  She memorized the verse and we talked a lot about how to be a shining light for Jesus.  She did awesome writing her L's.  We did L in her Handwriting Without Tears book too.

I found these shape match up's at 1+1+1=1 too.  We tried to do a memory game with them but she doesn't quite get that yet and was getting upset that she wasn't getting matches so I just laid out the shapes and held the match up one and a time for her to find.

I love, love, loved getting to do school outside!  We only had a couple mornings that were cool enough, but I know the nice weather is coming soon.  We had a visitor one morning!

I had never seen a stick bug this big!  He just sat there for 2 whole days!  We spent a lot of time looking at him!

We did great staying on track Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday but we had our big camp out Friday and Saturday so that threw us off.  I had a few other bear things planned but I'm just holding off on them until we do our Jesse Bear book in a few weeks.