Preschool with Bo Unit 4: Letter D, Isaac and His Sons


Welcome to Unit 4 of Little Hands to Heaven. This week overlaps last week in that we started this unit the day we finished Unit 3, which was sometime during Week 9 or 10. I'm getting behind on posting so I'm starting to forget. I'm hoping to post more often until I get caught up. This week, we did Letter D, and learned about Isaac and his sons, Jacob and Esau.  See our preschool curriculum and plans and a detailed Week 1 to see more details on what we are doing.


~Bo is 3 years, 2 months~

Day 1

Bible Activity

I cut 4 women out of my Mary Jane's Farm magazine for Bo to add to his 1-10 counting book. (The women symbolize Rebekah).

Bo can do cut/paste activities independently now for the most part.


Letter Activity

Instead of using cooking oil or liquid soap on a baking pan, I made the pan a salt tray.



Then Bo made camel tracks in the salt and I suddenly wished I had made a desert theme with sand instead of salt, since our fingerplay had a dusty desert camel theme:

One dusty camel

In the desert heat,

One dusty camel

Took Rebekah to meet,

Isaac near the field

In the desert heat.

D-D-D-D

So, I purposed to do one later in the week. :D

Our Active Exploration today had to do with Isaac and Rebekah meeting for the first time. I did the activity as if Bo and I were meeting, and didn't use stuffed animals. I shook hands with him and asked him the suggested questions.

Day 2

Art Activity 

Bo traced his name and did a camouflage activity because Jacob tried to hide who he was when he pretended to be Esau.

Letter Activity

Bo is tiptoeing on a masking tape letter D.


The goal in these activities is to reinforce the letter sound, so I say the letter sound while he tiptoes to get him to say it.

Today, we played the song from the Singing Bible*, "The Blessing That Will Be," and Bo Danced around the D. I'm really enjoying many of the songs on the CD! This one was especially one of my favorites.

We didn't do the Bible Activity (role playing), but we read the Bible stories for today.

Day 3

Letter Activity 

I remembered to do something fun with the Animal ABCs! I had Bo watercolor and color with markers this time.






Bo's Letter Activity today was the Hide and Seek 'D' page, but I must not have taken a picture. Looks like I swapped Day 4's Letter Activity with todays, too. We didn't do the Math Activity, and probably should mention that we are not doing the Count on Me Bible Activity.

Day 4

Edible Desert Themed Sensory Tray

Our Letter Activity today tied win with the fingerplay. I chanted the rhyme while Bo played in a baking tray filled with vanilla sandwich cookies that were crushed to look like sand. I added a Desert Toob* and we talked about all the desert animals.



Bo made a D with "Jacob," for a Letter Activity.



One dusty camel taking Isaac to meet Rachel near the well in the desert heat. D-D-D-D!

Malachi and Eliana were lining up to play, too, so I moved the tray to the dining room table so they could all play.

Day 5

Dramatic Play ~ Jacob Wrestled God

We did this on Day 5, but it is an activity from Day 4. Bo is wrestling the balloon like Jacob wrestled God because he wanted a blessing.


Devotional Activity

Big Thoughts for Little People - D is for Doing. We talked about how each of the children or animals are helping each other, and about doing what needs done cheerfully.



So, we've been reading all the Bible readings at the beginning of the week, and again each lesson focusing on the lesson of the day in the reading. It really only takes 30 minutes a day, and if I am falling behind, or don't feel well, I skip some of the activities.

13 comments

  1. Mmm what a delicious desert sensory tray!! I love this week -- you have me rethinking all my plans :)

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  2. I'm an HOD user. I didn't find it back when my kids were this small. I wish I had! We have only used Beyond and up. We have loved every guide so far. Your little guy so is adorable. I love his name :)

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  3. What a great idea for a sensory tray. I'm so glad you're both having so much fun and are enjoying your learning time.

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  4. I noticed this with "C" but didn't comment - what a brilliant idea to put the tape letters on a blanket! Then you can use it several times during the week without having to leave the letter out! So thankful to have you doing this before me, so I can learn all shorts of handy tricks! =) Hope you're feeling well.

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  5. Will you be sharing soon? I can't wait to see what you are planning. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be wonderful!

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  6. Hi Tara, thank you! I am really enjoying the LH guide. My heart strings were being pulled in the direction of HOD for other levels, and I tried for months to find a way to make the older levels work. In fact, I spent a good amount of time visiting your blog and reading your posts! You make it look so amazing! But, I can't make it work for my 7 and 9 year olds because I have taught them together from the beginning and with 6 children, but I need to combine as much as possible. Plus there are just some materials that I would miss too much - like Mystery of History, and from what I read on the message boards, I get the feeling that tweaking is looked down upon. I do really enjoy reading your posts - your boys' notebooking pages are always so well done. It is a drawing point for sure!

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  7. Thank you, Abby :) Been thinking about you!

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  8. Truth is, I didn't discover that benefit until after I used the blanket the first time - I originally threw it down because I hadn't vacuumed the floor yet, haha! :D Then I liked the idea of being able to move it and pull it out again. Bo often rips the tape off, though, before I get the chance.

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  9. That's the blessing and curse about HOD. It is skill based as you know, so it is much harder to combine wider age ranges. I found that after one year of combining my boys. Separating them has been much better. They still participate in each others' activities, so much shared learning has happened nevertheless. As much as I love it though, if I had a larger family I'm not sure I could manage it. MOH is used in RtR this year, so I'm looking forward to using that as a resource :) We have never used it before. I'm sure my oldest will enjoy it :) I do love the history notebooking pages. I really love that we will have those to look back on over the years. Right now I'm obsessing about Project Life though because (ahem, you!) :)

    For what it's worth, I tweak to my little heart's content. I know it's discouraged on the forums, but that has never stopped me ;) I mostly love HOD as is, but there are some things that simply just aren't a good fit for all families. I generally do most of my own choices for the 3 r's though I do use some of their suggestions there as well. Ultimately, you're the only one who truly knows what the best fit for your individual children is, and I plan accordingly. I know this is a sticking point for some (those forums!)

    I've been sharing your blog with all my friends with small children. You've inspired me to dig out my FIAR for a little rowing summer school while my little guy can still enjoy it :)

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  10. Looks like this is a wonderful fit for you and Bo! I also love the idea of the tape on the blanket. Oftentimes, I tried to leave the letters in place for the unit review, but struggled with keeping my floors clean without the tape pulling up. Love the edible sensory tray, too!

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  11. Yes, thanks Michelle! I still have to share X, Y, Z, so hopefully within the month -- I am almost done with my intro posts on it though hehe -- I may not share full posts on every alphabet letter this time, so I focus on the work with him rather than putting it on the blog :)

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  12. Thanks, Tara! It does make me feel better knowing that you tweak to your heart's content! My other hang up was teaching History chronologically and not being able to place my children in a level they "needed." I will probably revisit the idea of HOD in a few years, though! By then, I may be ready to separate them. My 9 year old is already doing History with his older brother (13yo), and I feel the gap widening between him and Eliana (my 7 yo). Thanks so much for your reply! I feel better about considering it knowing I will be in good company if I tweak. :D

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  13. Oh Amy, I have toiled over whether to share as much as I do or not. I really want to enjoy this time! I think life would be so much simpler if I didn't blog at all! I daydream about it, haha! But, then I would still take pictures to put in my Project Life album, and never regret having them to look back on. . . and then I consider that my posts help me do my albums, and you can see why I blog. But, I am planning to SLOW down so that I can add other things and enjoy the process more. :)

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