My Children's Garden.....?

kin·der·gar·ten
German, from Kinder children + Garten garden

 noun \ˈkin-də(r)-ˌgär-t^ən, -d^ən\

In January Mom and I were discussing what my post-graduation school days would consist of, and she asked me if I'd consider doing some sort of class with the kids a couple times as week. Whether that would be "Science Experiments with Sarah", "Technology with the Sis", or "Unit Study ala Me", it would be good for me to participate in some sort of schooling for the younger ones. 

At the same time, Aunt Christy (Matthew's mom) was saying she thought it would be neat for Bekah and Grace to do some school together. So it worked out very nicely that I would be teaching a Kindergarten class for two! 

Our first class was last Tuesday and we started with the letter "G". 

(not really any system, but I started with the letters of their names.)

We made g's out of sculpy in this pic

my lesson planning. 

And this week we worked on R's. I always have a little treat for them (grapes for g, ringpops for r,etc)
after the class, and we made Rice Krispie Treats together! They both really enjoyed it. :)

Oh yes. I've got some special pupils...

And we finished with RAINBOW WRITING!!!!!!!!! 

Haha, the personalities really show up in this sort of thing. ;)

They're such a fun couple of 6 year olds, and they make me laugh a lot during our classes. 

Feeling Teacherly,

Sarahs 

Further Adventures in Teaching Abby

Yet another story about Abby's schooling, but this time it isn't so much our accent as her rather inventive little mind. :) Sarah had to go with Mama to the dentist the other day to watch the younger ones while Mama went back into the appointments with the child whose turn it was. Abby was getting bored and restless, so Sarah had her pick up a book and try to read words out of it.
We happen to own this particular book, so Abby knew the storyline. When she came to the word "sandwiches" she started to sound it out.

"Sa...and..sand...Sand?"

She appeared puzzled over the mention of sand, since this book has nothing to do with the beach. Sarah reached over and pointed at the word. Now, I must admit here that went we say the word "sandwich" quickly, you don't really hear the "nd" part...it comes out more like "samwich". :P
So Sarah set out to help Abby finish reading the word:

"See, sand....wiches....Sandwiches."

Abby gasped and looked frightened. Her eyes were very wide as she asked, "Sand-Witches? What are those?" :)

As you can see, she's just a teensy bit random at times, but SO adorable! :) It's great fun teaching her to read! ~Rachel

Teaching Abby to Read and Learning I Speak English Wrong

I never thought that I had much of an accent. But apparently I do. And apparently it's a stumbling block for my younger siblings. ;) I never thought that my pronunciation of the "wh" part of words like "where" and "while" and "whale" was abnormal. I never thought that saying "seer-up" instead of "sur-up" was a problem. And I certainly never even noticed I said "ayg" instead of "ehg" for the innocent little word "egg". But I'm telling you it's dangerous, and catching.
Here's a peep into what I mean...

Setting: Me helping to teach Abby with her reading.

Me: Okay, what does this part say? (pointing to "en")
Abby: "in"
Me: No, no read it, don't guess.
Abby: e..e..e...n...n...EN!
Me: Right. Okay now what does this part say? (pointing to "men")
Abby: M...en....MIN!
Me: No Abby, it says M-en. Not min.
Abby: What does men mean?
Me: It's the same word. We just say it funny. Okay, now this one: (pointing to "hen")
Abby: H...en....hin!
Me: No, H-en. Not hin.
Abby: *sigh*
Me: All right. How about this one: (pointing to "Egg")
Abby: e...e...p...p..
Me: Those aren't "p's" dear, those are "g's" they say "guh"
Abby: Oh. e...gg...Egg? What's an "ehg"?
Me: *sighing too* It's an "ayg", Abby. We just say that wrong too.

Haha! :) That made me laugh a lot. :) I guess I need an English tutor! :P ~Rachel