Letter of the Week Notebook: A

Letter of the Week Notebooks

Here are all my letter of the week notebooks that I use mostly for PreK, but I also keep some JK activities in them as well. It looks like a lot, but really they are just a great way to keep activities organized. Each binder is 1/2", and I got a pretty good deal on them at Costco. The letters identifying each notebook are just stickers. So far they are staying on fine. Investing in a good printer/copier and laminator to help you fill these notebooks, and for homeschool in general, is really helpful. We also have a pretty fast duplex laser printer that I use for all black and white printables. 

In the front of each notebook I've slipped a laminated play dough mat and in the back pocket is a laminated pattern block mat.

Inside I've placed all the "master" worksheets from which I can make copies each year.

The laminated activities are inside page protectors.

Filling the Notebooks

The bulk of our notebooks came from Confessions of a Homeschooler Letter of the Week Curriculum. I actually caught the entire curriculum package on sale and purchased the download version. I don't use everything in the bundle, but it is full of some great, professional looking resources for each letter of the alphabet while also incorporating other basic PreK skills such as color, cutting, graphing, sorting, shapes, etc. I only print in color what I'm going to laminate and be able to reuse.

A couple of great resources for finding free ways to fill your notebook are Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook. You can join for free and subscribe to their weekly emails that include downloadable freebies of the week for grades PreK - high school. I always skim over them to see if there is a lesson that fits what we currently are working on or will be in the future. I then download and save in my homeschool folder. Also the web is full of homeschool bloggers who offer free printables. A few of my favorites include: Confessions of a Homeschooler,  Mamas Learning Corner, Frugal Homeschool Family, 1+1+1=1, Bible Fun for Kids 

Letter of the Week: A

Here we go with our first letter of the week! I've included our A themed art project, snacks, and book list at the bottom of the post. Keep in mind these activities were spread out over five days. I also don't do everything in the each letter notebook each week, but I like having plenty of options readily available.  We usually spend 2-3 hours of "PreK" a day and a bit more for JK. But we've learned we can practice counting and recognizing colors, letters, shapes, etc anywhere we go! 

When your little, LEARNING is everywhere, and homeschooling has opened my eyes to see and intentionally capitalize on those opportunities.

We start the week putting our letters on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree.

Playdough mats with our letter of the week and shape of the week

Letter Song Search and Letter Find

ABC's Beginning Sounds and ABC Dot Paint 

I made this myself for a JK phonics activity to go along with the letter of the week. Draw a picture in each box that starts with the letter A a. My little guy decided what to draw first, and then I wrote the word.

Activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler LOW Curriculum

Download many of these activities for free: Letter A for Apple

I glued little magnets onto pom poms and placed the activity sheet onto a metal cookie pan.

Preschool Dot to Dot Worsksheets Free Printables

Letter A collages with apple jacks 

This coloring page came from 1+1+1=1 and is now part of an alphabet printable bundle.

Apples Cutting Practice - 10 page scissor skills packet

Handwriting Without Tears Wood Pieces

Starting their Letter of the Week Books

(PreK - glue cut outs traced from HWT wood pieces.)

Letter Box Scavenger Hunt

We looked around the house for all the things we could find that start with the letter "A" (I stick with things that make the long or short vowel sound). This is one of their favorite things to do! Here is an alphabet objects list that is a helpful resource for mom!

Apple Art Project

The boys used oil pastels and watercolors to create some beautiful apple artwork. I'm a bit artistically challenged, so this video tutorial was really helpful!

Teaching Children to Color With Oil Pastels

Snacks:

Ants on a log

Apricots and pretzels

Applesauce and graham crackers

Apple slices with peanut butter

Apple jacks

Books:

Angus Lost by Marjorie Flack

Angus and the Cat by Marjorie Flack

Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack

Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack

Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman

Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg

Animal Seasons by Brian Wildsmith

Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins

ABC Drive by Naomi Howland