L is for…Lily of the Valley fairy and St. Lucy.  After reading Serendipity’s Flower Fairy story, Joseph and William colored pictures of the fairy.  Joseph also did some copywork from the poem that is in the Flower Fairy book (which he did while listening to the Flower Fairy CD).  Then we looked up the actual wildflower in our field guide.  We read about Saint Ignatius in our Alphabet of Catholic Saints.  Joseph did some copywork.  We also used the picture from the book to practice the letter formation. 

L is for…the letter L.  We practiced letter formation using the Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book, Do A Dot, Gray Block paper, and Pin Punch letters.

 

L is for…St. Lucy and light, so we made lanterns!  We used clear glass jars, painted them with decoupage glue, and covered them with tissue paper squares.  Then we put a flameless, flickering light in each.  Now Joseph and William fall asleep to lantern light. 

   

L is for…letter writing.  We spent a good part of the week (and counted this as most of our copywork) writing thank you letters for all the Christmas gifts received.  Joseph wrote all of his by himself and drew an illustration for each.  William dictated and I wrote for him.  He also illustrated each letter.  I love that this is already ingrained into their heads…it’s not a dreaded task; it’s just what we do to show our thanks.   

L is for…laundry.  For practical life, Joseph and William helped sort and fold what laundry they could.  It’s nice to have helpers for the diapers and sock sorting.

L is for…leaves.  We read about leaves and then went leaf hunting.  I was impressed (and relieved to know that all that reading is paying off) when Joseph was able to identify both maple and oak leaves!  We brought our leaves home and did some leaf rubbings, tracings, and colorings. 

L is for…Listening.  We’re still using these great coloring pages and we’re including one each week along with a virtue story.  We’ve been doing quite a bit of reading from Little Stories for Little Folks, which both kids really enjoy.  Also, to practice the virtue of listening, we’ve been reading chapter books.  We just finished Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne and are now reading the 2nd book, The House at Pooh Corner.  There are a few illustrations to accompany the text, but not many.  I am amazed at Joseph and William’s listening abilities…they recall many, many details and their comprehension is impressive.  Who would’ve known that even a 2 1/2 year old could be so enthralled by a chapter book? 

L is for….listening walks.  L week would not have been complete without reading Paul Showers’ A Listening Walk.  After reading it, the kids were eager to just listen (ahh, silence was golden around here!)  We also took a listening walk and Joseph documented all the sounds we heard.

     

L is for…ladybugs.  After doing some ladybug reading, we made ladybugs from painted red lima beans and then did some ladybug math.  I would have loved to do a ladybug lapbook, but we ran out of time!

In our book baskets this week (I’m choosing one book from each basket to have Joseph do a narration and illustration of):

Science (ladybugs and leaves):  We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt;  Ladybug, Ladybug; The Grouchy Ladybug; Are You a Ladybug?; Ten Little Ladybugs; Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Favorite L Books:  The Little Engine that Could; Llama Llama Red Pajama books; The Listening Walk; Let’s Count it Out Jesse Bear; The Letters are Lost; Let Me Hold You a Little Longer; Little Critter Books; The Little Island; The Little Rabbit; The Little Duck; Lyle, Lyle Crocodile; A Letter for Amy; Little Bear books; Love Is…; The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear; Love From Woolly; The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge