Mini Unit - Robots

Once our little baby girl arrives in August, and until we are able to find our new rhythm as a family of 4, I've decided I'll be taking a break not just from blogging, but also from our usual way of schooling. So, I'm planning ahead and putting together some mini-units that will allow us to keep educating James, but with a bit more of an "on the go" style. We won't need to be in the classroom to do these and they are very self-directed (meaning James won't need much guidance), but should he need help they are also very user-friendly (meaning daddy doesn't need special training in order to explain anything). :)

~an overview~

Yes, you do see some of paper here. :) I've mentioned before that I've never been one for worksheets mostly because James is a very tactile learner and thrives with a more hands on approach. But, since I won't be creating my usual plethora of trays each month, I'm giving in and hoping he'll find the worksheets entertaining. In addition to the worksheets, and because I just can't help but indulge my Montessori side, I created some "interactive" activities for each of the main subjects.

Here's a closer look at what's in this unit:

Worksheets (Languauge/Math/Art). Most of these came from Homeschool Creations' robot preschool pack. So cute and there's such a variety of sheets to choose from. I printed out only those that involved tracing (we're focusing on handwriting right now), and fractions. I also found some color pages and a connect-the-dots sheet online.

Robot Playdough & Sensory Tub (Sensorial/Practical Life/Math/Language). These are scaled down versions of both. I won't necessarily create a sensory tub and some playdough for each of our mini-units, but I already had these on hand from earlier this month.

Nuts & Bolts (Practical Life). Cheap and simple, these have long been a favorite in our classroom. Excellent fine motor activity.

Graphing (Math). Another printable from Homeschool Creation's robot pack.

Cards & Counters (Math). These cards (as well as the next three activities) are things I made myself using a clip art design pack from here. The counters are just translucent pony beads.

Skip Counting Cards (Math).

Memory Game (Language/Sensorial). You can find a link to download these here on my printables page.

Cutting Practice (Practical Life/Art). You can find a link to download these here on my printables page.

Books (Language/Science). Robot & The Bluebird by David Lucas, and Robot a DK Eyewitness Book (love DK books).

Squishy robots - just for fun! :)

Again, all of this is meant to replace our usual full-blown themes and 20+ trays each month. I suspect James will work with each unit for only a short time as he tends to move through things quickly. I'll be sharing other mini-units as I create them over the summer. I must add that this whole thing was incredibly easy to pull together and took very little time (in comparison to my usual monthly process, that is!).

~Click the button below to view more of our mini units.~

~Thank you for your comments!~

Robot Playdough

We have family visiting right now so I'm a bit late in sharing this with you, but better late than never, right? :)

James and I had a blast creating little robots with a variety of odds and ends like old Christmas tree bulbs, beads, pipe cleaners, and paperclips.

I really wanted the playdough to be silver, but I couldn't find that shade of food coloring, so instead I created this kind of steel blue color (by mixing black and navy together) and added some silver glitter to it.

Click here to see my playdough recipe and notes, as well as links to our other playdough themes.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Robot Sensory Tub

I am really excited about this tub because it's been in the back of my mind for many months and it has finally come to fruition. The putting together of this tub was a family affair - James, my husband, and my niece all gave their input and here's what we came up with...

It is, admittedly, very cluttered with junk (literally) which isn't my usual preference for sensory tubs, but my husband convinced me that that's what robots are made of - lots of junk. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Translucent blue beads
:: Letter beads
:: Silver pipe cleaners (great for lacing the beads)
:: An old remote control (with the batteries removed!!!)
:: Magnets
:: Bottle caps (from a scrapbooking store)
:: Sparkly poms
:: Sequins mix
:: Toy gears and wheels
:: Google eyes
:: Various bits of computer hardware (e.g. switches, dials, discs, fuses, etc. My husband is a computer geek so we actually had all of this on hand!)
:: Plastic tree lights (from Christmas, with the wires cut off)
:: Wing-nuts, screw plates, springs, and a mini screwdriver
:: Corrugated cardboard
:: Carabiner clip
:: Big flat marbles
:: Buttons (I chose ones that didn't have the usual holes in the front so they'd look like a button you'd push.)
:: A metal scoop

Phew! See - lots of junk. And actually, there's a lot that we thought of that didn't make it into this tub (tin foil, an aluminum pie tin, salt shaker, mini whisk, legos, etc.). Despite all the stuff inside of it, I'm happy to report this tub didn't cost a single dime to make! We had everything on hand, including the blue beads which we used in our Independence Day tub last July.

James couldn't wait to get his mitts on everything and even my husband gave it two thumbs up, saying: "Now this is a boy's tub!!". :)

Click here to see our robot playdough!

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~