Parker Prep: A is for Apple

And so we begin with letter A. We have a huge blackboard in our kitchen with our calendar, menu, to-do list, etc. I blocked out the bottom left corner for preschool activities. The night before we started, I put up the magnets, the A flashcard, the verse card, and set up our A activity.

I also went the library the day before and got all the books for letters A-D.

Day 1

After Adley went down for her morning nap, it was time to start Parker Prep! I had been telling Parker that we were going to be doing some school together, and he seemed pretty excited. I sat him down before we started, told him that I was going to be his teacher, and I would appreciate if he would try new things so we could learn and have fun together. He thought that sounded like a good idea.

We started with songs. "The Apple Tree Song," and "Walk, Walk," by Carol Peterson. At first Parker just stared at me. I think he learns through observation ;) After Ryan and I sang it through twice, Parker joined in the third time with all the words and motions! I was overjoyed. He did the same thing with the second song. Then we counted to 20 together.

Next, we sat down and I showed him the Letter A card, pointing out upper and lower case form.

We also brainstormed what words start with A. He said "Adley," and "Alaina."

Now it was time for him to practice some fine-motor skills and re-inforce his recognition of letter A. I showed him how to put a magnet on each dot. He started out a little hesitant, but after some encouragement he was able to do it all by himself. I think he even kind of liked it!

Next we learned our verse.
"All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.
I read it first, and then I broke it up into 3 sections and had him repeat it. We said it again together at lunch, and he had it memorized by supper. Memorization is one of those things that seems hard to adults, but it is SO easy for kids. I really want Parker to hide these scriptures in his heart so he can remember and apply them when he gets older.

Daddy took over from here and read,

. I highly recommend this book. We applied so much of it when we went to the apple orchard and picked us some apples! We mentioned things like the different varieties, how the trees grow, how many apples are on a tree, and why apples are good for you.

Parker particularly liked shining his apples,

and he really enjoyed tasting them, too.

The book didn't mention apple cider donuts, but we all know those are amazing. Day 1 was a success!

Day 2

The second morning, we started with the same songs and counting, reviewed the letter card and verse. Then I read a short snipit of the book My Apple. In that book, the girls see if an apple sinks or floats. It was time to see for ourselves. I filled a tupperware with water, and asked Parker to find a few things around the house that he would like to drop in the water. Before dropping each one, I had him guess whether it would sink or float. He did pretty good.

Then we read

and looked for letter A's throughout.

Day 3

On the third morning, we reviewed like we did the second morning while Ryan peeled and cored the apples. Today was apple crisp day! (The best of the apple desserts in my opinion).

We started by mixing up the topping.

I cut three apple cores in half so Parker could see the star inside. Then we counted up all the seeds.

Stamping time. While the apple crisp was baking, we dipped the cores in red, yellow, and/or green paint and printed them on the paper to see the star.