Xapa to the World

Tag: preschool

  • FIAR Vol. 1 – A Pair of Red Clogs

    FIAR Vol. 1 – A Pair of Red Clogs

    Our library didn’t have this book in their registry, but they ordered it for me to have on hand. What a place! I thought the text might be a little long and involved for my littles, but they have been very interested in the story. It doesn’t hurt that I have a strong connection to Japan, having lived there for a year back in 2008 to teach English with a church. I have also made it a point to take the kids to the only true Japanese restaurant that is local and familiarize them with the food, culture, and language.

    Can I share something funny? You get spam calls a lot, right? I get them all the time and I got tired of answering them just to have them start rattling them off whatever pitch they have. So, about a year ago, I started answering my phone in Japanese if I didn’t recognize the number. It’s been a very fun and beautiful thing. They have no idea what to make of it. And, bonus, my kiddos often holler out, “konnichiwa!” whenever my phone rings. It has only backfired a couple times when it’s a doctor’s office or some other official call. Usually they laugh with me when I explain what is going on.

    Social Studies

    I love seeing pictures of Japan in these books and reading familiar words – testing out my katakana (one of the syllabaries) again. [My 5 yr old pointed to a “conbini” (convenient store) sign and asked what it said. I sounded out the katakana and realized it was “ta-ba-ko” (cigarettes).] I remember very little wildlife when I was living there beyond birds and insects, except when I was out in the country or visiting Hiroshima. But the kids were delighted with the pictures of snow monkeys in the hot springs.

    Art

    The crafts in this book are so fun and neat! We are looking forward to trying some others throughout, but I think we will do the Japanese-style tie-dye this time around. Simple supply lists and cultural tie-ins without appropriation for the win!

    Math

    This book was a little over our level as we have barely handled our numbers and counting and small grouping problems. This book asked us to practice subtracting and adding double-digit numbers. I would have done it a little differently, had I taken the time to read the book ahead (mom win!).

    Science

    We have read “Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather!” once before, but it’s always a good time to revisit a book. For better or for worse, the 3 year old’s takeaway was to go through the house saying, “Boy, were we wrong!” to just about everything happening. I loved learning about meteorology when I was younger and I’m still fascinated with weather. I met a local weather man celebrity when I was a kid through Girl Scouts and it made a big impression on me.

    Additional Books:

    “Red Sky at Night” was a very easy read, but the illustrations are beautiful and picking through the sayings made us have to take our time. This book is filled with phrases used to “predict” the weather. At the back of the book, the author lists all the phrases and shares a brief explanation and whether it’s accurate or not. I read a few phrases I had forgotten hearing from my grandparents!

    These books were super sweet stories, and all over the interests. Niki Nakayama is a biography of a professional Japanese-American chef. Natsumi’s Song of Summer is about cousins sharing a love of insects. And Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin is about a little girl wanting to carry the legacy of her ojichan (grandpa), a concert violinist. Another favorite book centering Japanese culture was “Ojichan’s Gift” also by Chieri Uegaki but we didn’t reread it this time around.

    Here is a fun poem I found for this week. Even more special, my mom shared that she had memorized this poem when she was in 1st grade:

    Who has seen the wind?
    Neither I nor you:
    But when the leaves hang trembling,
    The wind is passing through.

    Who has seen the wind?
    Neither you nor I:
    But when the trees bow down their heads,
    The wind is passing by.

    “Who Has Seen the Wind?” Christina Rossetti

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

    Complete Book List:

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  • FIAR Vol. 1 – How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

    FIAR Vol. 1 – How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

    This book is all sorts of silly. We decided to do this one a little out of order from the curriculum so that it would time nicely with local apple harvest. We have a local orchard that, while we can’t pick them from the trees, we can peruse several varieties and pick up honey and other yummy treats. They make a mean cider too! I am excited to try making an apple pie with the kiddos – we will be having a family reunion this weekend and it will be fun to make something to share with everyone. I also took the many travels of the girl as an opportunity to learn the names of the continents.

    Social Studies

    These books provide just enough information to be interesting for my 5 yr old without overwhelming him. We also enjoyed making the flags for Italy and France and marveled at how similar they were to each other! The library didn’t have the book on Sri Lanka in, so I found this book about cinnamon.

    I think the kids were “geography”d out, so I stretched out this part over the whole week. We picked a new destination book for each day and that was still a little too much for the kids, but they are pretty little. I’m just real glad that I got the names of the continents in their vocabulary and hope to cement those in their minds.

    Math

    These books actually tied in real well with math this week. Who Knew? introduced sequencing as each wild animal group learns that Fall has come now. Bob and Pup-Pup are a good tie-in for baking practices and learning about measurements – however, there are no measurements mentioned in the book. We also found a video on YouTube of a guy showing how to bake an apple pie. My 5 year old has recently discovered baking videos, including the mini-chef videos, and was captivated.

    Science

    We were all set to make some apple pies today as our science lesson, but I have a sinus infection and just was not up for it. But we reviewed what foods are fruits and what are vegetables and where do they grow (under the ground, above the ground, on trees or bushes, etc). There was a fun experiment in the STEM book about growing broccoli flowers, so I think we’ll try that next week.

    The Fresh Produce Guide book was a gift from my mom from a nearby international market called Jungle Jims. It’s quite the store and I highly recommend the Fairfield one if you’re ever in the Cincinnati area. This guide lists which produce is grown/available in which seasons, how to store it, prepare it, what it pairs well with, what spices to use with it, and the general nutrition facts. I use this book more than I ever thought I would.

    I would also recommend this video on YouTube by SciShow – it’s the grown-up version, which is kid safe, but might be a little technical and go over little guys’ heads. Just FYI, but the title is, “What Happens When Food Goes Bad.”

    Additional Books

    These books were very helpful in establishing map intelligence and the life cycle of an apple. We did an apple study last year through Treehouse Schoolhouse but it’s always helpful to repeat lessons, especially with my little little ones. Me on the Map was fun and helped us imagine ourselves on the map. When I was in 7th grade, I told my social studies teacher that I wanted to be a cartographer when I grew up. She disdainfully told me that everything had been discovered and we wouldn’t need mapmakers anymore. I believed her. But now, I know that map skills are still immensely valuable. It means a lot to me to be able to hear the name of a place and be able to find it on a map because I have cultivated that skill. I hope my kiddos have the same knowledge as they get older.

    Here is a fun poem I found for memory work this week, “If I Were an Apple”:

    If I were an apple
    And grew upon a tree,
    I think I’d fall down
    On a good boy like me.
    I wouldn’t stay there
    Giving nobody joy;
    I’d fall down at once
    And say, “Eat me, my boy.”

    Anonymous

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

    Complete Book List:

    Find this list on or .

  • Five In A Row Vol 1

    Five In A Row Vol 1

    Hey everyone! I thought I’d try to show what we’re using for our homeschool and supplemental books and strategies for each week. This is our first year doing a “true” homeschool curriculum, but we went through the Treehouse Schoolhouse year-long Nature Studies last year while the kiddos were 2 and 4. That was so much fun and we learned so much (yes, me too!) and I decided that, especially at this age, a picture book-based curriculum would be the best set up for our home. By the way, I’m planning to pull out the Nature Studies in another few years for a repeat use, with the writing practices this time – my kiddos are still learning their letters. 🙂

    Our local library system isn’t quite as extensive as some (only two branches) but we are relying heavily on their resources. I’m also depending on a massive spreadsheet (I’m such a nerd) listing a plethora of picture books and their topics so that I can easily search for applicable picture books which I have sourced from a wide range of online lists as well as the weekly notices of new additions at our local library. It’s an illness…but I need all the lists! Here are some of the online booklists I’ve used:

    For our 2023-2024 school year, we are using Five in a Row Vol. 1 for both my 5 yr old (primary learner) and my 3 year old (I’m calling her the Tag-along).

    I have rearranged the order of the weeks to fit with certain seasons/holidays. I’ve also given us some gap weeks not just for our own seasonal breaks, but to fit in a Christmas and an Easter Study (through Treehouse Schoolhouse). We did the Christmas one last year, gently, but this will be our first time going through the Easter one.

    I’m also planning to do an American civics study in May and enroll the kiddos in a local intro to music class. Above all, I LOVE reading aloud to my kids. We have so much fun and I learn so much with them. Picture books are poignant, silly, creative, emotional, and beautifully illustrated. Here’s to a great school year with you!