s is for shark (year 3, week 21)


For the next several weeks, we'll be focusing on the ocean and the many type of animals that live there.  This week, we're learning about sharks!

Monday
Everybody had a reading lesson!  Then, we tested out a new phonics app called, "Phonics- Fun on the Farm."  Dragonfly enjoyed it a lot and was able to advance very quickly in her reading skills.  I think we'll be dropping the "100 lessons" book with her and just letting her learn at her own pace.  The game had her reading sight words, and she loved it.  The Kindle has a kid mode called Freetime, which allows me to set a timer for her.  She gets thirty minutes to play the phonics game a day.



Skimmer enjoyed the game, but he wasn't able to focus on the learning aspect of it.  Since all he wanted to use the game for was balloon popping, I got him a free popping game to use after he completes his reading lesson.  It might not be the absolute best, but it helps keep things fair.

Dragonfly didn't seem very tired today at nap time, so I let her stay up and play with a Moana sensory bin while listening to the Audiobook.  The bin had black (lava) sand, bits of flowers, seashells, and blue glass stones.  She took everything out so she could run her fingers through the sand and scoop it with the shells.  I need to get that girl to the beach!






Tuesday
We tried a new strategy today that I think could be perfected to be very helpful.  We had a rotation that included the Kindle.  I wish I had been more organized, so that each kid had something to do the whole time.  It's a good goal from next week.

I got two kids reading lessons done and some math, plus everyone got a turn on the Kindle.  My husband plays video games on his phone after dinner, so the kids were very excited to sit with him while they played their games.  It's probably not the best situation, but it's working for now.


Wednesday

We watched shark movies today and learned a lot of facts.  We learned that whale sharks are the biggest shark and that bull sharks harm more humans than great whites.  Sharks are fish, but don't have any bones.  The kids were fascinated to learn about cartilage and compared humans to sharks.

For our after dinner school rotation today, we had a shark sensory bin using Safari Ltd's shark toob, some water, and some blue stones.  All three of the kids took a turn with the sensory bin, a turn on the Kindle with Dad, and a turn during table work with Mom.  It worked very well, and each kid got to spend some time doing each activity.

The rotation:
Tadpole (3)- popping game, bin, cutting practice
Skimmer (4)- reading lesson, phonics sounds game, bin
Dragonfly (5)- bin, math workbook, phonics game

Thursday
We started reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a family.  The kids love the movie so we thought they'd be excited to hear the book.  So far, they're loving it.

Friday
Daddy's home- it's the weekend!

Blog Posts About Sharks
- 10-frames
- o is for ocean (year 2)

Printables
Finding Nemo Matching Real to Cartoon Animals
parts of a shark ($)
Don't Wake the Shark Matching Game
shark coloring page
shark toob matching cards
50 sharks cards


Ideas
- shark sight words
Baby Shark Song
ocean writing tray
shark unit
salt vs fresh water experiment
bubble counting
diver pretend play set
shark sensory bin
coral reef sensory bin
land forms
tide pool experiment


Videos
- sharks for children
- great white sharks for kids

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