I am starting Before Five in a Row with Vito. I am a fan of FIAR and I’ve been doing it with Mavi for years.
Last week, we did Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Vito loved it instantly! He can relate to the daily activities of Jesse Bear and how amazing he recognizes most of it as part of his routines. Like changing his shirt, high chair and mealtime, bath time and when running towards Daddy when my husband arrives from work.
Now here are the activities we did to go along with Jesse Bear:
Morning
We played in the yard, put on his jacket and red pants 
Then try to play sand just like Jesse Bear. That is Kinetic Sand and we are loving it!
Noon Time
Lunch time, he ate some steamed veggies, then apple and drank milk. He insisted that we place the book in his table to make sure he’s doing what Jesse Bear is doing.
Afternoon Time
To kill time we played with colored rice and scooping because Jesse Bear was playing with his rice!
We also played matching shoes game! When your child is about 1.5yrs old, they’re able to discriminate objects. Try matching games as simple as matching their shoes! Vito is such an expert!
Bedtime
Vito’s bedtime routine includes brushing his teeth (like Jesse Bear), washing his face and putting on his PJs. I say this out loud as I do it so he’ll understand what we are doing. And just like what I did with Mavi, I would read him books while I put him to bed. This actually calms him down…. and make us both sleepy LOL.
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And here’s the instruction sheets. Again, so easy to follow.
Based on my experience and how Mavi dealt with it, I realized that this kit is appropriate for kids around 8years+. For a 6years old, the materials can be too tedious to assemble. The bolts and nuts are quite a challenge for Mavi and I, unless you are skilled in using these materials. The cardboard stand is quite annoying, always detached from the board because it doesn’t fit perfectly. They could have created a more sturdy material that fits on the board. Other than that, I like the book and the kit that comes with it. This book teaches the basic with hands-on materials that are handy and doesn’t take up space (like those educational toys that are made up of gazillion pieces). And much more, affordable! You can get it from Amazon and Book Depository. 
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I asked Mavi for his top 5 favourite books for this month (he keeps on brining these books in school for show and tell) and tell me why.
"Winter's story begins with a peg-leg sailor who aids slaves on their escape on the Underground Railroad. While working for plantation owners, Peg Leg Joe teaches the slaves a song about the drinking gourd (the Big Dipper). A couple, their son, and two others make their escape by following the song's directions. Rich paintings interpret the strong story in a clean, primitive style enhanced by bold colours. The rhythmic compositions have an energetic presence that's compelling. A fine rendering of history in picture book format."--(starred) Booklist.
"I like it because Peg Leg Joe became a hero by saving the slaves and bringing them to Canada for freedom". - Mavi
Lyrical, breathtaking, splendid—words used to describe Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey when it was first published. At once deeply personal yet expressing universally held emotions, this tale of one man’s love for two countries and his constant desire to be in both places captured readers’ attention and hearts. Winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal, it remains as historically relevant and emotionally engaging as ever. - Goodreads
"I love it because the he and his grandfather loves to travel, just like me." - Mavi
A true classic with a timeless message, The Story of Ferdinand has enchanted readers since it was first published in 1936. All the other bulls would run and jump and butt their heads together. But Ferdinand would rather sit and smell the flowers. And he does just that, until the day a bumblebee and some men from the Madrid bullfights give gentle Ferdinand a chance to be the most ferocious star of the corrida—and the most unexpected comic hero. This cherished hardcover is perfect for those who love Ferdinand, and those who have yet to meet him. - Goodreads
"The part where he sat on a bee makes me laugh, and because everyone thinks he's super strong but actually not. All he ever do is smell the flower and he's really funny." - Mavi
Life stories of Spiderman, Thor and Ironman.
"Spiderman is in it and he is my favourite superhero." - Mavi
"This book...recounts the persistence of a Frenchman, Louis Bleriot, to build a flying machine to cross the English Channel.... The text is succinct, caption-like in its directness and brevity....The paintings...add the necessary testure and tone to this marriage. This is vintage Provensen" – School Library Journal
"Because it is the story of the first airplane to fly in France and England. The pictures are so funny too" - Mavi
You can also get these books from Book Depository. They ship anywhere for free!
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I can barely take photos of Vito doing activities these days as my hands are also too busy being involved with it. So one technique that most blogger Moms do is to take photos ahead of their materials for presentation. I’d like to borrow this technique, but I will try to do my best to take snap shots of Vito doing these activities in action since I still find it cute to post some photos of him LOL.
UPPER PHOTOS
MIDDLE PHOTOS
BOTTOM PHOTOS
We’ve been using the Montessori Letter work for weeks now and Vito loves tracing the letters. We’re also reading the Bible Stories (this was Mavi’s) for Lent. The rest of our reading/language materials can be found here.
Because Easter is just around the corner, we’re doing a few Easter themed activities. This one is a colour matching activity. I got the pail from a local book store and the yellow mini baskets from Dunnes. I am sure that there’s plenty of these at Amazon.
Another activity is the 1:1 correspondence. Vito loves transferring objects and I am sure he’s going to enjoy this one!
New activity this week is the building of blocks! This is an old toy and I got it out for Vito to use. Vito is starting to enjoy stacking the blocks. I torn between getting the pink tower and brown stairs or Melissa and Doug Unit Blocks.
We love our Giotto Bebe finger paints! It has NO SMELL AT ALL and SO EASY TO WASH! I came across this brand when we were staying in Belgrade and I fell in love with it instantly. Their finger paints are so creamy and Vito loves its vivid colours! And it is sooo easy to remove (and non toxic too!).
And I let him use our Do-a-Dot markers! This is colouring a cross for Lent. We’re taking a break from crayons and pens so I’m letting him use this stamp markers for variation. This he has to practice stamping, not writing as he used to. I have to demonstrate first what to do with it. We’ll be using this a little bit more for practice.
It has been sunny for the past weeks and we’re always outdoors!
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From Amazon: “Lyrical, breathtaking, splendid—words used to describe Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey when it was first published. At once deeply personal yet expressing universally held emotions, this tale of one man’s love for two countries and his constant desire to be in both places captured readers’ attention and hearts. Winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal, it remains as historically relevant and emotionally engaging as ever.”
I was forced to read this book because this is the first book in the FIAR list that’s in our possession. Forced in a sense that, it doesn’t look interesting at all. The cover is lousy, with dull colours and doesn’t look like a children’s book at all.
But oh boy, I was wrong. It is true indeed that you should not judge the book by its cover. Once Mavi opened the book and started reading, we were glued! The story is so simple, yet it touched our hearts. Mavi and I immediately fell in love with story as we see ourselves in the character. We are expats, and we both love two countries. There’s depth and emotions in the story. After reading this book, we were so overwhelmed with emotions that we began missing the Philippines.
A very good book for kids. The book has large pictures with easy to read texts. I love the simplicity of it and how easily a child can read this. Now I understand why it received a Caldecott Medal :)
This book can also be purchased at Book Depository (free shipping!). Seen in the picture: Japan flag using LEGO, transport counters from Learning Resources and a bird origami.
Now listen to my 6 years old son, narrating the story:
And once reading becomes a habit in your home, try reading books that tell beautiful stories (short stories) and with less text per page, with bright colourful images. Point to the text as you read and point to pictures, so they’ll associate it with one another. These are Vito’s favourites so far.
