Learning Fun

This week our focus was


White
Crescent
Kk
11

We used our chalkboard this week!  It's still a huge hit around here!  I printed letters snd numbers (shapes for the little boys) and they used paintbrushes dipped in water to paint over the chalk lines.  Great fine motor practice that's a LOT of fun!

A playlist if a couple videos we used for Spring!

Seasons Song and Five Little Ducks

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7Qj7NSGwqn68q105dfIKqK0-kr-oJm3I

Graphing with Shapes

This week our learning focus included


Circles
White
Jj
10

Math: We have been talking a lot about graphs lately - it all started a couple of weeks ago when we created our weather graph as a part of our Weather Week.  Check that out here!  Today we created a graph using shapes and then using colours.  Simple and fun and lots of learning involved.

Here are the books that we used this week!

Uniwai and Hunaahi a Story of the Hawaiian Rainbow by Aaron T. Watene

Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch

A Baby's First Word Book of Colours by Jo Joof

Let's Say Our Colors (Priddy Books)

The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow by Joanna Cole

Chameleon's Crazy Colors by Nicola Grant

Also this week I have been finding songs and little rhymes on YouTube and creating playlists according to our themes.  We started last week with St. Patricks Day and the kids loved the music SO much that I thought I would try and incorporate these little videos every week.  So here is a playlist with fun songs about Rainbows!

Enjoy!

sticker shapes and letter matching

This week our topics of learning included
Circles
Ii
9
Black

Small Motor: I drew shapes for my little guy (my daughter drew her own) and they used up some of the MANY stickers we have in the house to make "sticker shapes".  They really turned out pretty neat and it kept them busy for a bit while I made supper.

Gross Motor, Music: Listening to music and understanding tempo and volume were the goal of this game.  A few simple rounds of hot potato.  First we talked about 2D VS 3D shapes, then we talked about the speed of the music.  If the music was slow, they had to pass the ball slow.  Fast music meant the ball could be passed at "lightning speed". Simply game, lots of learning.

Literacy: Matching uppercase to lowercase letters.  I used index cards and printed two lower case letters on each one.  We then used a bucket of old letter magnets (that have lost their magnets, but still in great shape) to match lower and upper case.  Just some recycling and learning fun happening!

Circle Time Journal

This journal quickly became a part of our everyday Circle Time Routine at home.  It is very easy to make - using Open Office or Word - add some charts and you'll be ready to go.


It also has a lot of learning in one little page.


First, the child gets to practice printing their name EVERY DAY.  Please always remember to teacher you child to print their name properly.  It's Jim.  Not JIM.  I only say this because I made this mistake as a parent with my daughter and when she got to Kindergarten she had to relearn how to print her name.


The next learning comes with the days of the week.  You can teach this by repetition, doing it every.single.day., or you can turn it into a fun song. 


Now comes the small motor, math and literacy.  This is the beginner Circle Time Journal (as my son grows and gets used to this, I will make something a little bit harder) so there is practice with printing letters, numbers, colouring and drawing shapes.

And finally, the child learns a little bit about weather every day and colours in the picture that best suits what they see.  This part of the activity can quickly take your day in a whole new direction if they come up with questions in regards to the weather or see something that they like out the window.  You know, rain, snow, mud . . .







Circle Time Journal

Circle Time Area

This is a close up of our Circle Time Chart.  I combined a few ideas that I found on Pinterest and came up with something simple for mine.  One thing I did need however, was for the pocket chart to be shorter.  I wanted it to fit UNDER the light switch, but it would then drag on the floor.  I then though about just folding it and hammering it into the wall that way.  But two problems with that.  1.  I would put holes in my chart.  2. It wouldn't be as strong as I would want.  I needed the reinforced holes.

So I laid the chart on the ground and found 4 binder clips.  I then folded the chart to bring it up about two rows.  Next, I used two binder clips on each side to hold the chart in place.  After I hung the chart, I noticed that it sagged a little in the middle, so I grabbed a large paper clip (Ideal Clamp) and attached the middle of the chart to the black Velcro hanger.  DONE!

Which Way is Up?

Learning words to describe personal direction is a skill that we use on a daily basis.  I'll be honest, sometimes I even need help with it.  When my husband asks me where something is, my short answer is "Where it was yesterday."  But learning the words can be fun!  Learning through play?  That's what we do!  We started with my daughter standing in front of me.  I looked around the basement for a toy, then lead her to that toy only using direction words like left, right, front, up, down and back.  We also included counting by saying directions like "Four steps to the left."  Once we did it that one time, we traded spots and she lead me to a toy.  We laughed and then when I went upstairs to make lunch, she continued to TRY and play the game with her brother.

Teaching personal direction:

• Use the language every day.  Instead of pointing, use descriptive words so that your child can find what they are looking for on their own.
• Encourage your child to use the language every day by not accepting the words "over there" or "come here, I'll show you".

Big VS Little

Somewhere between the ages of 24-36 months, toddlers should understand the difference between big and small and be able to use those adjectives in sentences.

This activity had two different parts to it, mostly because my son didn't quite understand the first one.  Please learn from this.  Just because your child (OR STUDENTS) don't understand something the FIRST time, it may not be that they don't understand.  Maybe it's the way you are teaching them.  All children learn in different ways.  So try a different route for everything that you teach.

Step One: Big VS Little Shapes.  This was just a basic stretch one weekend morning when we were upstairs getting dressed.  My boy can be kinda wild in the morning (and in the afternoon, early morning, late afternoon, evening, before bed . . . you get the point) so I was trying to calm him down while waking up my 4 year old (teenage) daughter.  I said, "Stretch BIG" and "Stretch SMALL" and we went back and forth like that.  My son copied for a little while but had not interest at all to stretch his body.  Had we continued, I would have gone into big and small animal stretches as well, but we didn't make it that far.

Step Two: Big VS Little Toys.  This was way more up my sons alley.  I juts found some toys in the basement that had big and little versions (blocks, alligators, balls, trains) and put them in front of him, one pair at a time.  Where's the little train?  Where's the big block?  He had a hard time at first, but he soon caught on.  I knew he had mastered this activity when he said "Mommy, I potty.  Little potty."

Teaching Big and Little to your little ones:

• Use the language every day.  Do you see the small car?  Look at the big semi!
• Blow up a balloon and watch it go from little to big.
• Put items in order from littlest to biggest.  Stacking blocks are a great toy!
• Finally, here are some books that include little and big concepts:
• The Mitten by Jan Brett
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Three Billy Goats
• In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming

 



Travel BINGO

We took a vacation a couple of weeks ago and had to be in the car for 10 hours (5 each way) and that's a LONG time for a four year old.  However, now that she is a little bit older, she is understanding more how to play games like BINGO and I Spy, so I wanted to take advantage of that.  I found some great ideas on Pinterest (teaching with tlc, a pretty life in the suburbs, brandys crafts, lady bird ln, but I wanted to make some BINGO cards that would be my very own.  I used all of the ideas from these links and made some fun games that my girl LOVED!

The first thing that I did was head to the Dollar Store and I bought a cookie sheet and a couple packs of magnets for each of the kids.  I love the magnet idea because then pieces don't get lost.  Next, I created BINGO cards.  I made quite a few, and you can download and print them for your next trip as well!  If you want to make your own cards, just head to Google Images and type in "___ clipart".  You'll find lots of images to use.  I made . . .
Car Colour BINGO
1-10 I Spy
Number BINGO
Alphabet BINGO
Travel BINGO
Transportation BINGO
When she saw something or finished counting in the I Spy game, she used a magnet as the BINGO piece and when she finished the whole card we had a "mini party" in the car!  Sometimes we stopped and stretched our legs, if we were close to a gas station we got out and got some 5 cent candies or we just put on some awesome music and danced crazy!  She was always excited to see what kind of "prize" she would win!

Circle Jumping

When you look at any developmental checklist, "Able to follow __ step directions" is on every single one of them.  My daughter can do this (when she wants) and so can my son, but it's always fun to turn listening into a game.  First I moved all of the furniture off of the patio and I chose different coloured chalk to draw many different circles all over the cement.  We started out with just single instructions.  "Jump to a BLUE circle".  Even my son could do this, and he loved it.  Once we lost his attention, we moved on to harder instructions . . . a sequence of colours!  "Pink, Orange, Blue, Green"  At first, she had a hard time.  But reminding her that she needs to look at who is talking and repeat it in her head, she was able to follow the sequence no problem.  Here is the original link.

• By the age of two, children should be following two step diretions
• By the age of four, that should have moved up to three step directions
• If your child is learning their numbers or letters, you can add those to the circles as well
• Make sure you keep it fun! 

Puzzles

Puzzles are a great part of every day learning!  They are great for that cognitive development and they really help develop the muscles in the hands, making it easier for other activities (like printing, drawing and using scissors).

Sitting down with your child and listening to the learning that is happening while they put together the pieces is such a great treasure!

Here is a developmental checklist that will help you see if your child is on track when it comes to puzzle making!

• Age 2 - Putting together those single piece puzles is a huge challenge for the little guys.  Turning the pieces JUST right so that they fall into place.
• Age 3 - Putting together a 5-8 piece puzzle is more of a challenge for the young preschoolers.  I have found them at Walmart (cheap) and teacher stores (expensive) - but sometimes it works out better in the end if you pay more in the beginning
• Age 4 - The older preschoolers should now be able to handle 12-18 piece puzzles.  My favourite puzzles are not like the one pictured above, but the sturdy wooden puzzles that come with a frame (Melissa and Doug)
• Age 5 - In Kindergarten, the range is starting to get larger.  Between 18-35 pieces.  Some children like puzzles, others do not.
• Age 6 - By the time children are in the first grade, they should be able to accomlish a 50-100 piece puzzle.

That's Quite the Vocabulary!

By the age of three, children should have a vocabulary of 200-300 words.  Speech has always been a concern in our house with our little guy.  He didn't start talking until really late and even now that he does talk, he doesn't talk as well as other kids his age.  But it's a work in progress, and I know that he will grow out of it (either on his own or with help if needed) so for now, we just enjoy his little "sentences" and "funny words"! 

But 200-300 words seems like a lot of words!  We have a lot of books at our house, including lots of the "First 100 Word" books.  There are many in the series.  So I sat down and read some of those books with my son.  He was able to name (in his own language) more than 200 of the items and he could POINT to way more than that.  I think the most important thing that parents need to know is that under the age of three, it's not important HOW the children say their words, it's that they have their own words for 200-300 items.  Age three is when we would start to worry about HOW they are saying them.  So keep this in mind when you are reading with your children.  And if you don't have the "First 100 Words" books in your house - I recommend getting them, beacuse they are wonderful, but if you can't or don't want to, then choose any books and point to all the pictures.  Talk with your child while you read instead of just reading the words on the page.

How else can you increase your child's vocabulary?

•  Talk to your child.  In the car, at the store, on a walk, at supper time.  Don't let those special moments slip away from you.
• Read every day.  In the morning, afternoon or before bed - whatever works for you.  But read at least one book with your child EVERY DAY
• Avoid all baby talk.  When your child tells you he wants his "baba", you respond with the correct, "Oh, you want your BOTTLE?  Here you go."
• Teach your child Nursery Rhymes
   
 
• 

Repeat, Repeat

Being able to repeat 8-10 words by age five is actually a very difficult task.  My daughter loves to imitate (we really have to be careful - especially when we listen to music on the radio), but even this was hard for her.  Instead of just sitting there and asking her to repeat after me, I picked up the phone and we changed the message on our answering system.  And both the kids were involved.  My son's job was to say "Hello" and my daughter's job was to say, "It's the __ family.  Please leave a message after the beep."  It took us almost 8 minutes (gotta love the timer on those phones) and probably about 15 tries but after lots of laughs, we finally got it perfect.  OK, not PERFECT, but perfect in our eyes.

We all know children will repeat what we say, that's why we're careful when they are around.  How about singing a repeat after me song to help them learn how to repeat as well?  Here's a fun one I used to sing as a kid.

The Green Grass Grows All Around(A repeat-after-me song with an accumulating chorus)
There was a tree [repeat
All in the wood.[repeat]
The prettiest tree [repeat]
That you ever did see. [repeat]
Chorus: The tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around,
And the green grass grew all around.
And on that tree [repeat]
There was a limb. [repeat]
The prettiest limb [repeat]
That you ever did see [repeat]
Chorus:The limb on the tree
And the tree in the hole
And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grew all around, all around,
And the green grass grew all around.
And on that limb [repeat]
There was a branch [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:
And on that branch [repeat]
There was a nest [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:
And in that nest [repeat]
There was an egg [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:
And in that egg [repeat]
There was a bird [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:
And on that bird [repeat]
There was a wing [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:
And on that wing [repeat]
There was a feather [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:
And on that feather [repeat]
There was a bug [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus
And on that bug [repeat]
There was a germ [repeat]...(etc.)
Chorus:

Left or Right?

Teaching left from right is as easy as every day routines and adventures.  The other night we took the kids for a walk around the neighbourhood.  Usually, we pick where we go, choosing the same streets every time.  This time it was an adventure.  Our daughter is pretty confident in her left and right, so we wanted to see if she could do it in a real life situation.  So on our walk, she got to choose which way to turn.  If she was right, we went that way.  If she was wrong, mommy or daddy got to pick.  Needless to say, she was right 98% of the time and she led us all over bays, crescents, walking paths and we saw places we had never seen before!  And now she knows her left from her right.

Teaching left from right is something that we obviously take with us into adulthood.  And as I said earlier, teaching it is as easy as every day routine and adventures!  Here are some other quick ideas to teach left from right.

• Instead of a walk, go for a drive and let your child tell you which way to go.  Giving them that power makes them feel important.  Let them be in charge, even if it is just for a little while.
• Do the Hokey Pokey
• Here's a little chant you can sing with your child!

This is my left hand, I'll hold it up high,
(Raise left hand high.)
This is my right hand, I'll touch the sky.
(Raise right hand high.)
Left hand, right hand, roll them around.
(Roll fists over each other.)
Right hand, left hand, pound, pound, pound.
(Pound fists on each other.)


Three Weeks of Busy Bags Week Five

Original Posts: Teach Beside Me, My Delicious Ambiguity, Tot School Tumblr

Our Story:  I promise that this will be the LAST Busy Bag post (at least for a while).  They are just so much fun to make and then to watch the kids play with!

#13 - Colour Sorting

Simple and cheap.  The clothespins were from the Dollar Store and the pipe cleaners were from Walmart.  I used 4 of each colour and just twisted the ends together to make circles.  I then coloured on each side of the tip on the clothespins with a marker that matched the colour of the pipe cleaners.  For the white, I used whiteout.  This is my sons FAVOURITE game.  It's also the cats FAVOURITE game . . .

#14 - Paint Chips and Clothespins

Nearly free project.  I like those words!  I had the clothespins from the last game and the paint chips were obviously free (got mine at Walmart, but you can get them wherever paint is sold and they are always free).  I picked up two paint chips for each colour (make sure they are the same).  I cut out the majority from one of them, then cut a strip from the second to glue onto the clothespins.  I just used a glue stick and it worked great.  My son also loves this game - cat not so much.

#15 - Pom Pom Holes
This was made purely from things that we had in the house.  From the first post about Busy Bags, I made a Pom Pom Pattern game for my daughter.  There were so many Pom Poms that I knew we would never use all of them so I took a couple handfuls from that game and put them into this small 250ml container.  I then used a knife and scissors to cut three holes in the lid.  This is another game just for my son, however my daughter wanted to play with it too when he was finished.  He loved it and it kept him busy.  Oh, and watch for them putting the Pom Pom's in their mouths.  Yes, he did try - but my son eats everything, so it's no surprise!

Three Weeks of Busy Bags Week Three

Original Posts: Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Second Story Window, My Delicious Ambiguity, Home School Parent

Our Story:  Here is the third installment of the supper games!  I have some PDF's of the files that I made, so you can feel free to use them if you want.  They were really simple to make and I can't wait to show them to the kids!

#7 - Number Match
Just print out the heart PDF below and then cut out 10 (or 20 in my case) hearts from construction paper.  The reason I did 20 is because I made two different games, one for each kid.  For my son, I just put the numerals on the coloured hearts.  For my daughter, I put the WORDS.  I don't have any pictures of my daughter playing this game, just because it was a struggle to try and get her to understand that letters spell things (obviously not QUITE there) - but matching numeral to numeral would be too easy.

Number Hearts

#8 - Brown Bear Match
The last link above will take you to the site that I got the printables from.  There are some other ideas on her website, I encourage you to check them all out!  This is a game JUST for my son and he loves it!  He loves his animals and has great fun matching these ones.  My printer is on the outs, so the colour isn't great, but it works for what we need right now!  It was a little tough for him to put them right properly matching, but he got the idea and put the pieces beside each other for the most part.

#9 - Number Wheel
Again, just print out he PDF below and then find 8 clothespins and write on them.  I put numerals on one side and the written word on the other, just so that the game could work for both kids, but still only have 8 clothespins.

Number Wheel

Word Clips

Original Post: Creating and Teaching

Our Story:

My daughter is 4 and is just beginning to learn to print all her letters.  Up to this point, we have only really focused on capital letters.  I wanted something that would help her recognize both capitals AND lowercase letters.  Plus this activity would help her in the future with spelling.  So I printed off some clipart, one picture for each letter of the alphabet - just to be sure I included all 26 letters.  Then I opened my bag of clothespins and I wrote the lowercase letters that matched each letter on the cards.  I did NOT make a letter for every card - meaning she can't create all 26 cards without taking some apart, because there are only so many of each letter.  First, it would have taken WAY too many clothespins and second, that would have created a little more clutter than I had wanted. 

Verdict:

To make these last longer, you could laminate all the cards, but I'm not too worried about that.  She had a lot of fun matching the letters and I could tell it was a little bit of a challenge for her, which was great. I am storing the cards and clothespins in a large baggie and I have now placed some baskets on a low shelf in the kitchen which are called "Supper Games".  These are games that my daughter/son can play while I or my husband is making supper.  They are mostly independent games, but if she needs some help, I'm right there.  I created some other "Supper Games" that I will tell you about later.