Happy Mother's Day

May 10, 2012

     Happy Mother's Day, Blogging Moms!  This week, we would like to dedicate our blog to our own wonderful Mothers and fabulous children.

     As time passes, we come to realize how precious life's moments are and how quickly today's hectic schedule suddenly becomes tomorrow's memory. When we were growing up, our Moms were the heart of our homes, always tending to the needs of the family. After we became mothers, it was apparent how diligently they worked to maintain a balance in the home. It is this devotion and example they provided  that helped to develop our own mothering philosophy.

    With out warning, we find ourselves on the outskirts of the empty nest stage of life and are faced with the stark reality that our own children are ready to take on this world by themselves.  One day, you are a young, nervous parent bringing a small bundle wrapped in a blanket home from the hospital. Before you know it,  the SUV is loaded down with all their belongings, the bedroom is empty, and you are dropping them off at their college dorm room . The years in between are just a blur!
   Dr. Dobson describes a perfect analogy in his book, Life On the Edge (Word Publishing 1995). He describes the launching of a young adult as follows:

   The task of raising kids is rather like trying to fly a kite on a day when the wind doesn't blow. Mom and Dad run down the road pulling the cute little device at the end of a string. It bounces along the ground and shows no inclination of flying.

   Eventually and with much effort, they manage to get it fifteen feet in the air, but great danger suddenly looms. The kite dives toward electrical lines and twirls near trees. It is a scary moment. Will they ever get it safely on it's way? Then, unexpectedly, a gust of wind catches the kite, and it sails upward while Mom and Dad feed out line as rapidly as they can.

    The kite begins pulling the string, making difficult to hold on. Inevitably, they reach the end of their line. What should they do now? The kite is demanding more freedom. It wants to go higher. Dad stands on his tiptoes and raises his hand to accommodate the tug. It is now grasped tenuously between his index finger and thumb, held upward toward the sky. Then the moment of release comes. The string slips through his finger, and kite soars majestically into God's beautiful sky.

   Mom and Dad stand gazing at their precious "baby" who is now gleaming in the sun, a mere pinpoint of color on the horizon. They are proud of what they've done-but sad to realize that their job is finished. It was a labor of love. But where did the years go?

On this Mother's Day, we want to encourage you to just sit back, relax and take some time to "just be" with your kids. Get out the crayons and color, take a nature walk, play a board game, bake cookies together...Most importantly turn off the t.v, cell phone, computer, etc. and engage your children in conversation! It will be the best Mother's Day gift you will receive!
Happy Mother's Day!!!! It's the best job in the world!

The Three Little Pigs

May 1, 2012

Happy May 1st, blogging Moms!  Today, we are reading "The Three Little Pigs" and focusing on the letter P, the color pink, sequencing and rhyming words.

Theme:  The Three Little Pigs

Materials Needed:  pink construction paper, scissors, google eyes, glue, crayons or markers and pink pipe cleaners.

Developmental Skills:  Letter sound and recognition, beginning word sounds, color identification, short vowel "i" words, sequencing, fine motor skills

Activity:
Read the story of The Three Little Pigs to your child.  Use different voices for the different characters and read with a lot of expression.  By modeling voice and expression, it will help your child to develop their own oral reading fluency as they get older.  Oral reading fluency is necessary for reading comprehension.
On pink paper, trace a large letter P and outline it in black marker, an oval for the body, 2 ears and 3 legs.  Let your child cut these out with scissors.  Assemble the shapes into a pig, as you see in the picture.  Add google eyes and details.  Glue on the tail using a pink pipe cleaner, or ribbon.  Glue the pig on to a blue background paper.
The Three Little Pigs is a perfect story to teach simple rhyming words.  Using index cards, write the letters "ig" on one card in black.  Write the letters p, b, w and d on separate cards in red.  Help your child to build words using the cards, i.e. pig, big, wig and dig and read them out loud.  If you would like to extend this activity, draw a picture of a big pig with a wig digging in the mud. 

Extension Activities:
Discuss sequencing with your child.  Which house does the wolf go to first, next and last?  What would happen if the house made out of bricks was the second house?  How would that change the story? 
Mix red paint and white paint to make pink.  Your child can finger paint or make thumbprint pigs by dipping his/her thumb in the paint and adding piggy details.
There are many cute craft ideas on the internet including paper bag puppets and paper plate masks.  You can download free coloring pages to accompany the story. 

Teacher's Tip:

Echo reading encourages your child to begin the first steps of the reading process.  Echo reading is when you read a sentence and your child repeats it.  The story of The Three Little Pigs is a wonderful tool for echo reading  For instance, the repetitive phrase "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in" can be anticipated throughout the story.  Again, this is why it is important for you to model expression and tone while reading aloud to your child.  It is essential for young children to be read to out loud every day.  This is a great way to settle down together and end a hectic day in a quiet manner.  These are the moments you will look back on and cherish with your little ones.

     

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

April 12, 2012

Good morning, blogging moms! Today, we are reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. This story is great to use this time of year to introduce Spring, counting, sequencing, days of the week, the life cycle of the butterfly and healthy foods.

Theme: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Materials Needed: construction paper, tempera or finger paint, coffee filter, food coloring, pipe cleaners, markers

Developmental Skills: counting, science, healthy foods, sequencing, shapes, colors, days of the week

Activities:

Fingerprint Painting:

Have your child carefully dip their thumb into finger paint and gently make thumbprints to form a caterpillar, flowers, butterflies, grass, a sun, etc. Before your child starts painting, demonstrate how to press down to make a thumbprint. This activity is more structured than free flowing finger painting.

Tie Dye Butterfly:

Place a couple of drops of liquid food coloring in shallow cups. Fold a coffee filter 3 or 4 times to make it smaller and thicker. Carefully, dip a corner of the filter into the food coloring. In order to get as many colors as possible, place the filter in the food coloring only for a second and alternate the sides. After the filter has turned colors, unfold it and allow it to dry. Then, use a pipe cleaner and/or twisty tie to form a butterfly. You may add google eyes, button eyes, glitter, etc to decorate your butterfly. Glue your butterfly to a popsicle stick to make a puppet.

Extension Activities:

Cut out pictures in magazines of the foods the caterpillar ate. Glue healthy foods on one side of a piece of construction paper and unhealthy foods on the other side. Talk about healthy food choices.

Make the Hungry Caterpillar snack. Slice bananas and form them into a caterpillar. Sprinkle with red and green sprinkles. Add pretzels for antennae and raisins or chocolate chips for eyes.

Using apples sliced in half, make fruit prints by dipping them in paint and pressing them on paper.

Download pictures displaying the life cycle of the butterfly and let your child color them and place them in order.

Teacher's Tip: As teachers, it was always challenging to do painting activities with our first graders because they sometimes had problems using too much paint. They would become easily frustrated or upset if their picture didn't turn out the way they anticipated due to the amount of paint they used. By helping your child at an early age to find the appropriate amount of paint, glue, etc. you will be helping them succeed later in the classroom.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

March 29th, 2012

Good morning Blogging Moms! With Easter right around the corner, we wanted to share with you one of our favorite children's stories. When we were teaching first grade, we were always shocked when we discovered how many of our students had NEVER heard the tale of Peter Rabbit. It is such a sweet story and gives children so many life lessons about listening, following directions, and being obedient. There are many resources on the internet to accompany the story such as puzzles, games, coloring sheets, etc. We read this to our own children when they were young, and now that they are grown, we treasure the memories this endearing story has given us.

Theme: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Materials Needed: The Tale of Peter Rabbit book by Beatrix Potter, paper plate, google eyes, pipe cleaners, crayons, scissors, glue, construction paper or felt, cotton balls (optional)

Developmental Skills: fine motor, listening and following directions, vocabulary, sequencing, cause and effect

Activity: Read the Tale of Peter Rabbit to your child(ren). During the story, stop and discuss different vocabulary words such as sieve, mischief, thief, etc. Also, you can talk about the order in which Peter runs through Mr. McGregor's garden, who he sees and how he escapes through out the story.

After the story, your child can make the Peter Rabbit mask/character and act out the story. Discuss the importance of following directions and the consequences that happened to Peter when he did not obey his mother.

Extension Activities: Discuss with your child alternate endings to the story. How would the story be different if Peter had listened to his mother? What would have happened if he was caught by Mr. McGregor?

*Create vocabulary flash cards using 4x6 index cards. Print or cut out pictures from the computer, magazine, etc. and glue them onto the cards. Print the word on the other side. Your child can practice reading the words. If you make two sets of each card, they can play Concentration with the word cards.

*For a healthy snack, serve warm bread and blackberry jam.

*There are many fun games to help children learn to listen and follow directions. For example, Simon Says, Red Light-Green Light, etc.

Teacher's Tip: We really encourage you to work with your child on listening and following directions. As teachers, we found this to be one of the most important classroom skills a child needed to succeed in school.

M & M Math

March 20th

Good morning, blogging Moms! Today we are focusing on counting, sorting and color recognition.

Theme: M & M Math

Materials Needed: M & M Counting Book by Barbara Barbieri McGrath, Small Package of M&M's, Color Sorting Sheet, Graphing Sheet, Crayons

Developmental Skills: Counting, Color Recognition, Sorting, Graphing, Fine Motor Skills, Comparing and Contrasting, Predicting

Activity:

Give your children a handful of M & M's. Have them predict how many M & M's they have (depending on your child's level, have them count how many they have and compare it to their prediction). Have them put the colored M & M's on the colored sorting sheet. We made ours by drawing circles and coloring them in with crayons. After sorting the M & M's, have them count how many they have of each color. Discuss with your child which color has the most, the least, the same, etc. Next, help your child fill in the graphing sheet. Depending upon your child's level, it might be easier for your child to lay the M & M's on the paper, or if they are more advanced have them color in the squares.

Extension Activities:

If your child is ready to explore addition and subtraction, help them create math problems by adding two different colors. They can subtract by eating some of the M & M's.

Teacher's Tip:

This is a great activity to help your child learn how to listen and follow directions. In doing this activity with your child, give specific and simple directions for them to follow. For example, you might say, "Count only the red M & M's." Gradually increase to a variety of two-step and three-step directions. This is an essential skill students need to be successful in the classroom.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

March 8th

Happy Blogging Day, Moms! March has come in like a lion and hopefully will leave like a lamb! Since the weather has been crazy all over the country recently, we decided to make this week's blog a celebration of weather. So grab a copy of one of our very favorite children's books, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and get ready for some fun adventures in the town of Chewandswallow!

Theme: Weather

Developmental Skills: Science (weather), cause and effect, vocabulary, creativity (i.e. coloring, cutting, gluing, painting)

Materials Needed: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Activity 1:Windy Painting~ crayons, construction paper, paint, straws, plastic cups and spoons

Have your child draw a picture of an outside scene (their house, park, etc.). Add water to the paint to make it a thinner substance. Drop a couple of drops of paint onto the paper and using a straw, have your child blow the paint across the picture. They will enjoy watching the paint move in different directions. You can add more paint if needed. ( Please watch your child carefully, as they can become lightheaded from blowing through the straw. We experienced this ourselves!) Talk about wind and how it feels, the direction it blows, and how it moves the leaves, trees, etc.

Extension Activity: We had so much fun blowing the paint across the paper that we decided to see what would happen when we mixed different colors of paint. We used only primary colors and when the colors ran together, we observed the secondary colors being made. It was very easy and very fun! These abstract paintings would be cute framed.

Activity 2: Paper Bag Windsock~ small lunch bag, crayons, yarn, streamers or tissue paper

Have your child decorate the outside of a lunch bag with crayons. Cut out the bottom of the lunch bag and tie a piece of yarn through each side. Glue the streamers to the bottom of the bag. We used colorful tissue paper and cut it into thin strips. We liked being able to alternate the patterns. Hang up the windsock outside and discuss which direction the wind is blowing.

Teacher's Tip: It is essential to a child's development of reading skills to focus on vocabulary, prior knowledge and experiences. This will help develop comprehension skills while reading and listening to stories. Talk to your child through out the story and see if they can predict what will happen next before you turn the page.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

March 1st, 2012

Happy Thursday, Blogging Moms! Today, we are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday! He was born on March 2, 1904. He is the author of many beloved children's books that have kept children entertained, while instilling the love of reading. Through rhyming, patterning and creative characters he is one of America's most treasured authors.

Theme: Dr. Seuss

Materials Needed: Dr. Seuss Books (Bartholomew and the Oobleck, The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, etc.)

Oobleck Recipe: 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cornstarch

1 cup of water

green food coloring

Mix all the ingredients together until you have a gooey substance. It should feel stiff when you stir it, but also have a liquid consistency.

Developmental Skills: Reading, rhyming, patterning, vocabulary, Science (liquids and solids)

Activity: Read Dr. Seuss books to your children. Discuss the rhyming words and patterning that Dr. Seuss uses in his books. See if your child can predict the words that will come next in the story. Mix the Oobleck to the right consistency and allow your child to play with it on wax paper, or other protective surface.

Extension Activities: There are many websites with different Dr. Seuss activities listed. For example, you and your child can make red and white stripe hats out of construction paper, coloring pages, games, etc. Also, check your local video store or library for Dr. Seuss movies.

To extend the Science concept of liquids and solids, place an ice cube or other frozen item in a cup and watch it melt.

Teacher's Tip: Allowing your child to explore with Oobleck or other tactile substances helps them to gain an understanding of the world around them.

Finger Painting with Chocolate Pudding

Hillary when she was three years old!

February 23rd

Happy Thursday! Today is a day to embrace your child's messy side! So pull out the old clothes or smocks, lay down some newspapers, and have fun with your little ones!

Theme: Finger paint

Materials Needed: chocolate pudding, wax paper or cookie sheet

Developmental Skills: fine motor skills, creativity, language, senses (taste, smell, tactile)

Activity: Painting with Pudding

Make a box of instant chocolate pudding according to the directions. If your children are of the age where they can help you in the kitchen, have them assist you with making the pudding. Lay down newspaper or other materials to protect your work space. (This is a fun outside activity on a beautiful, sunny day or a great inside activity on a rainy day.) Allow your children the freedom to just play with the pudding! They will love squishing it between their fingers, making funny pictures, practicing writing their numbers, letters and name in the pudding. We have used wax paper or just a simple cookie sheet with sides on it for them to play with the pudding.

Extension Activities: If your child doesn't like chocolate, you can try other flavors of pudding.

- Have your child describe the taste, feel and smell of the pudding.

- Discuss different pictures your child can make with the pudding.

- Use cookie cutters, q-tips, and other objects to make pictures in the pudding.

- If your child is old enough to use regular finger paint let them paint a picture using different colors. Framing your child's artwork is a great way to celebrate their creativity!

Teacher's Tip: Allowing children to be creative and messy helps them develop the ability to think outside the box and not be focused on making mistakes.

Let's Make Homemade Play Dough!

February 16th

Happy Thursday, Blogging Moms! Today, we want to encourage you to just have fun with your children. Making homemade play dough is easy, creative and helps to develop fine motor skills. There are many different recipes on the internet, but this is the one we used in our first grade classroom and found it to be the best.

Theme: Play Dough

Materials Needed:

recipe for homemade play dough (see below)

clean table or work space

cookie cutters, rolling pins, etc.

ziploc bags

Developmental Skills: fine motor skills

Fine motor skills involve the small muscles of the body that enable such functions as writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing. They involve strength, fine motor control and dexterity.

Activity:

Play Dough

2 cups of flour

1 cup of salt

4 tsp. of cream of tartar

2 Tbsp. of cooking oil

2 cups of water

food coloring (dark colors work the best)

Mix all the ingredients over medium heat, stir until the play dough pulls away from the pan and forms a dough ball. Remove it from the heat and knead it for a few minutes. Store in a plastic bag or container in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Extension Activities:

To make "magic" play dough insert drops of food coloring into the center of a ball of white play dough with out your children knowing. As they begin to knead the play dough, the color will magically begin to show through. We used to do this on the first day of school and always told our students that if the play dough began to change color, that meant they were going to have a great year in First Grade. They were so excited when it started to change. As parents, you could use this idea to encourage your child that they were going to have a good day, a good trip to the dentist/doctor, etc. It is a good idea to put a small amount of play dough into a ziploc bag to knead it at first. In the beginning, the color will stain small hands.

Add unsweetened Kool-Aid for color and scent.

Add glitter for sparkly play dough.

Teacher's Tip:

It is essential for children to work on their fine motor skills. This will help them hold a pencil, handle scissors, and tie their shoes.

Valentine's Day Mice

February 9th

Happy Thursday, Blogging Moms!

Today we want to extend our Valentine activities. This art project is cute to accompany some of our favorite Valentine/mice books.

Theme: Valentine's Day and Mice

Materials Needed:

Construction paper (white or grey)

Scissors

Glue

Yarn

Crayons

**If you saved the hearts from the marble painting activity, you could use those. If not, cut out some other pink or red hearts.

Developmental Skills: cutting, gluing, listening and following directions

Activity: Heart Mouse

Read books about Valentine's Day mice to your child.

Cut out a large heart out of white or grey construction paper.

Fold it in half for the body and glue it closed (leave a small opening for yarn tail).

Take a medium sized heart and fold it over to make his ears.

Add details of eyes, nose and whiskers.

Attach yarn for the tail to the inside of the body.

Glue two small hearts together at the end of the tail.

Extension Activities:

Make different sized mice--large, medium, small.

Act out the stories you read using the mice you make.

Teacher's Tip:

As teachers, one of the areas we found many children struggled with was keeping their desk and area clean. Have your child help you clean up the scraps and put away materials right after the project. At this age, they love to help you clean and it helps them to develop responisiblity for their personal belongings in the classroom.

Happy Valentine's Day!

February 7th

Hello Blogging Moms~

This week we are focusing on friendship and Valentine's Day. We are introducing one of our favorite art projects that is fun to do with all ages. Marble painting is easy and requires very little preparation. Get out your tempera paints and let your little ones be creative!

Theme: Valentine's Day

Materials Needed:

Construction paper

Tempera paint (pink, red, and white)

Two or three marbles per color

Shallow box or box lid

Scissors

Glue

Markers/Crayons

Plastic cups for the paint

Developmental Skills: creative thinking, cutting, gluing, folding paper, listening and following directions

Activity: Marble Painting Hearts

Place the different colored paints in plastic cups and a piece of construction paper in the shallow box or box lid. Depending on the age of your child, you can let them place several marbles in each cup of paint. With a plastic spoon, place the marbles on the paper and allow your child to gently tilt the box to roll the marbles on the paper. Depending on the amount of paint desired, you can repeat this process until the paint has covered the construction paper. Allow paint to dry.

After the paint has dried, help your child cut out different size hearts. Demonstrate how to fold the paper in half and cut the hearts on the fold. You may need to trace the hearts for your child to practice cutting them out. Remember not to make them too small, as it is difficult for young children to handle scissors and you do not want them to become frustrated.

Next, you can arrange the hearts on a large piece of construction paper for a Valentine's Day placemat or picture. Your child can make a Valentine's Day card for a loved one or attach them to a plate of heart shaped cookies and deliver them to a neighbor or friend. The possibilities are endless!

The most important part of this activity is to have fun and allow your child the freedom to be creative.

** We will be doing another activity on Thursday using hearts so you may want to save a few you made today.

Extension Activities:

Feel free to use other materials such as glitter, stickers, etc.

Play Hide-n-Seek with the hearts.

Attach them to green pipe cleaners and place them in a small flower pot for a centerpiece.

Make a Valentine hat.

Decorate a shoebox with the hearts and have family members exchange Valentines.

Thursday's Thought

"The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother's side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent."
~ Erich Fromm


"Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder."
~E.B. White

"We have eyes, and we're looking at stuff all the time, all day long. And I just think that whatever our eyes touch should be beautiful, tasteful, appealing, and important."
Eric Carle

“I remember I used to half believe and wholly play with fairies when I was a child. What heaven can be more real than to retain the spirit-world of childhood, tempered and balanced by knowledge and common-sense.”
― Beatrix Potter, The Complete Tales

"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."
~Kay Redfield Jamison

"If you haven't time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded."
~ Robert Brault


"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you will go."
~Dr. Seuss


"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again."
~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

"We simply have to show our kids what true greatness looks like with our lives."
 ~Dr. Tim Kimmel


"The best gift and investment you can give your child is your time."
 ~Kevin Heath

"Kids spell love T-I-M-E."
 ~John Crudele

Ground Hog Day!

February 2

Good morning, blogging moms! We are excited to launch our first blog for you and your child. We look forward to giving you fun activities that will not only help your child develop the necessary skills needed for school, but will also foster mommy and me time.

Theme: Groundhog Day

Developmental Skills: cutting, coloring, gluing, listening and following directions

Groundhog day is celebrated on February 2^nd. Phil the groundhog lives in Punxsutawney, PA. On this day each year, he comes out of his burrow after a long winter’s hibernation. If he sees his shadow, he goes back into his warm burrow and there will be 6 more weeks of cold winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow (i.e. it is a cloudy day), then Spring will come early this year.

Activity: Groundhog Puppet

Materials Needed:

Download a groundhog picture to color

Crayons

Safety Scissors

Glue/Glue stick

Styrofoam Cup

Popsicle Stick

Have your child color the groundhog and the cup.

Cut out the groundhog and glue it to the popsicle stick.

Poke the stick through the bottom of the cup so the groundhog can pop out.

Extension Activities:

Go outside and see if you can find your own shadows. Measure your shadows and talk about are they bigger or smaller than yourself.

Play shadow tag.

See our recommended books on Groundhog day. Another great book is the story of Peter Pan.

Groundhog Day! by Gail Gibbons (2007)

Ten Grouchy Groundhogs by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook (2009)

Go to Sleep, Groundhog! (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by Michelle Aki Becker (2003)

coming soon!