Archive for February 2009
Now that my son is older ( ripe old age of 2) I ask him what he wants to do for art. Consider this your warning for many dinosaurs, things with wheels, and other stereotypical little boy things. It doesn’t seem to matter how many flowers we point out on our walks he finds the diggers and motorcycles zooming past a thousand times more interesting. This craft was thought up spur of the moment but turned out wonderfully, the clothespins add a dynamic activity to the static paper dinosaur.
Start by drawing a simple dino shape on the cut open cereal box with your marker.
If you are sneaking in a color mixing lesson like I am put 2 colors of paint on a plate
and let your child discover the magic of blending the two colors.
Paint the dinosaur. We used a dish scrubber but any paint brush will do. Let dry.
Using the same dish you mixed the colors in roll your clothespins in the paint to color them. Try not to get too much on them , or they will be stuck together and won’t open.
Glue the eye on the dry dino.
Cut the dino out.
Add your clothes pins
Dinosaur Books
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs
Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! 
Good Night, Dinosaurs
by Judy Sierra is a tongue twister and I love it! I have a hard time pronouncing dinosaur names, but the cute little rhymes she writes to go with each really help. The book is simple, parent dinosaurs tucking in and getting their little dinosaurs ready to fall asleep. Your child will love the catchy “Good Night Dinosaurs, Sleep Tight Dinosaurs, Good Night Dinosaurs, Goodnight!” I know I did.
I love alphabet books, they are a good teaching tool and are really fun to read especially for children who are still in early stages of reading, they can recognize some letters and be an active participant in reading the book!
” The Racecar Alphabet” by Brian Floca did not live up to my expectations. My main complaint it that the letters aren’t showcased at all. Yes each page starts with the appropriate letter but I really feel like in an alphabet book the letter needs to be obvious , and easy for young children to pick out. The text was centered around each letter but there wasn’t very good flow from one page to the next. I was disappointed in this pick.
” The Ocean Alphabet” by Jerry Pallotta is a good book, not a page turner but it is filled with fun facts about sea creatures. The book is geared towards older children but because it has letters prominently displayed on each page, with great illustrations your toddler will enjoy it too. The text really is too long to read from A-Z for a circle time or a toddler but it was very easy for me to simply read each letter and label the ocean animal for my son who then sat through the whole alphabet. If your child is into all things that swim this is a good book to foster that love and learn a little about letters at the same time!
” Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs” by Byron Barton has always been a favorite of mine for introducing dinosaurs to young kids. It’s very basic, very bright and has the fundamental facts about dinosaurs without loading toddlers down with too many facts to sort through. The illustrations are bright, fun and descriptive on their own and will keep even the most fidgety 3 year old entertained.
“Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!” by Sandra Boynton is a cute little book about opposites with dinosaurs as it’s characters. This is a good book for little people who love dinosaurs but aren’t really ready to dive into facts about dinosaurs yet. The melodic rhyming text and adorable pictures appeals to younger toddlers, and on the page where the dinosaurs are called bad for painting on their friends made both me and my son laugh .
“Good Night Dinosaurs” by Judy Sierra is a tongue twister and I love it! I have a hard time pronouncing dinosaur names, but the cute little rhymes she writes to go with each really help. The book is simple, parent dinosaurs tucking in and getting their little dinosaurs ready to fall asleep. Your child will love the catchy “Good Night Dinosaurs, Sleep Tight Dinosaurs, Good Night Dinosaurs, Goodnight!” I know I did.
“Dinosaur Roar!” by Paul and Henrietta Stickland is a board book that I’ve read often enough , I don’t need to look at the book. The premise is simple, using 2 different dinosaurs every page illustrates a pair of opposites. Toddlers and young preschoolers adore this book and I can’t blame them, it’s adorable and a great tool for teaching !
“How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon” by Jane Yolen is another favorite. I like the whole series and think this book is a great one to read before doctor appointments especially if you have a child like mine who is never happy to go! I love the details in Mark Teague’s illustrations and never tire of reading this book, even when my son grabs it again and again.
I was going to do President P for President’s Day but my son associates Obama with O and when we started talking about President he kept saying O , Obama. So I switched gears saved the cut out pictures of President Obama for another day and grabbed some pennies.
- Gather your materials. You will need some cardboard, markers, glue, scissors and pennies!
- Start by drawing a P on your cardboard.
- Have your child decorate the P with markers or crayons, I would stay away from paint because you want the cardboard as dry as possible so it is strong for the pennies.
- Add the glue.
The more the better so this is a great time to let your child have free reign . I showed my son where to glue then counted to 5 while he squeezed to get big dollops. - Add your pennies.
We had a little chat about who that is on the penny, and counted them. Let dry.
- Cut out the P .
There are a lot of President’s Day books out there but most are boring and lifeless, which bothers the historian in me, there are so many exciting things to teach about history but luckily I found this one.
Don’t miss my weekly contribution to Blissful Kids! This week I put the glue away and scissors down to help parents find resources about how to raise readers right from the get go!
I am going to start breaking my blog roll up into categories , there are so many just outstanding blogs and I don’t want other moms and readers to miss out just because they are lost in the long list. Here are the categories:
Family Blogs
Adult Crafts
Kids Crafts and Learning
Product Review Blogs
Recipes and Cooking
Other
All you need to do to be included is email me a link to your blog, with the category of choice. Even if you have been included in previous blog rolls please send me an email with your category choice. Thanks! Our new blog roll will be up next weekend.
allie@notimeforflashcards.com
