Archive for September 2009
Foyer Airplane
We love to travel, we don’t get to do it as much as we like or get to go as far as we once did but we still want to instill a love of travel, of exploration and geography in our son and between the trips we do make, playing with maps and activities like this I think we are getting to our goal. I like making props because I find they support more complex pretend play, and keep the activity going as well as the questions and learning going as well! It’s easy to sneak in letter and number learning to see how we did :
- Gather your materials. You will need some chairs and your child. Really that’s all you need, but we also used some paper,crayons, a marker, painters tape ( protect your chair finishes) our passports , an atlas and a backpack.
- Start by making your boarding passes. We chatted about what to add, I asked him where we should be going and we grabbed the atlas and found our destination and decided on our seats ( letter and number recognition! ).
- He decorated the boarding passes while I made
- The seat numbers and pilot sign.
- And a ticket counter sign.
- Next we arranged the chairs
- Added the seat numbers ( in order so it took some talking and figuring out)
- Played- we acted out getting our tickets at the counter, showing them our passports, saying out name etc..
- Find your seat
- Fill the rest with friends
- Next I pretended to be a flight attendant and passed out snacks- he’s sharing with Brother Bear.
- Have fun by no means should you follow all our steps, make your own but don’t be afraid to use props. After we played like this my son played independently with his stuffed animals many many times, acting out things we did as well as many new scenarios.
Books!
” Planes” by Byron Barton is a basic little board book that kept my son’s attention as a 14 month old long enough to read it. It’s bold colors and basic text are perfect for introducing planes to babies and young toddlers. We used to read this before going on trips with our son when he was tiny and always took it with us as well.
“The Little Airplane by Lois Lenski is the exact opposite to the previous book. I have been around airplanes all my life and I learned more about them from this picture book than I have from anywhere else before. To say this book is detailed is an understatement , it goes step by step how a prop plane works, and what a pilot does during the flight. The retro pictures are both a favorite of mine and my son’s, they take you back and make you feel like you are in another place and time. This book will be too long for young toddlers, there is a lot of text.
“Angela’s Airplane” by Robert Munsch captures children’s fantasies about flying planes and adds in a cautionary tale about what could happen if the fantasy became reality. Angela finds her way onto a plane and starts pushing buttons, before she knows it she is in the air alone. The plane crashes but she is ok, and promises to never fly another plane. Do you think she keeps that promise? My son adores this book and while you may think that the crash would be scary for kids it’s not , the ridiculousness of a 5 year old flying a plane makes the crash equally as fictional though effective in opening a dialogue about touching buttons you shouldn’t!
Treasure T !
Pirates are big around here right now and if my son’s friends are any indication they might just be a big deal at your house too! I think when you use projects that really interest your child the learning will happen naturally, making something fun is much more memorable then sitting down and doing worksheets ! If this theme doesn’t strike your fancy here are our other T projects, you can make them as upper or lowercase.
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some plastic gold and/or silver coins, plastic jewels, markers, scissors and glitter.
- Start by drawing a lowercase t , I was using up scrap paper today.
- Hand it to your child, have them decorate it however they want. I offered up markers and glitter. It was up to him what colors he wanted to use and if he wanted to use both or just one. My son is almost 3 now so even with more structured crafts I am starting to give him more choices. Of course the bulk of what we do day to day is open ended and there is no mom instruction at all, just creation.
- He chose glitter
- And a red marker.
- Add the glue. Try to add less than my son did, it’s midnight and still not dry!
- Add your coins and jewels.
- Let dry… it may take a while !
Books !
“Class Three at Sea” by Julia Jarman is a great book . A class field trip is almost ruined when the boat is taken over by pirates! Luckily some quick thinking and a repaid favor is enough to save the class. The plot is simple but the way that story is told is fun. The rhymes are hilarious, the pirates names are perfectly gross and your kids will love that it’s not a parent or even a superhero that saves the day, it’s just a kid! I like that there is a message of helping others, among the pirate shenanigans too! I read this to my son while he was eating and we had to stop because he was giggling so much I was afraid he’d choke!
“Pirate Pete’s :Talk Like A Pirate” by Kim Kennedy is a fantastic vocabulary lesson hidden in a fun book that will make you laugh. See Pirate Pete is looking for a crew but just anyone won’t do. Readers follow along as he interviews potential crew members and rejects each one. The problem is that they don’t speak “Pirate” instead they use funny big words which are awesome and wonderful to share with your children , words like misappropriated. How awesome is it to read a children’s book with a word like that in it? This book offers so many possibilities for learning and teaching about new words.
“Pirates Son’t Change Diapers” By Melinda Long is a sweet tale about taking care of a baby sister, while dealing with rowdy friends , who happen to be pirates. Luckily the pirates help out and in the end things are even better than you’d imagined. Maybe I am just looking at this book through mom glasses but the pirates put off finding their treasure because they have to take care of the baby, they delay their own gratification because someone needs them. It’s a nice lesson about responsibility, and caring for those who can’t care for themselves. Of course there are diapers on cats, dogs and head enough to make it funny to your little one too. My son is just now getting into this book, at almost 3. It’s a bit long for toddlers but preschoolers will love it.
Just for Fun is a blast! This blog is packed with fun activities for your little ones, there are things really just for fun, but there is a lot of learning going on when you sit down and get messy with your child doing Sandy’s crafts. If you haven’t visited before pop over and checked it out you’ll find yourself scrolling through pages and pages !
Book Reviews by Carrie Ann
Carrie Anne is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards , mom extraordinaire to 3 and blogs at Another Day , Another Thought….Or Two.
Princesses and the color pink are both welcome and well loved in our house. My son’s favorite sippy cup right now is one with Cinderella so we decided to make a princess wand . Using sticky back foam is crucial for keeping this craft in the realm of super easy! I couldn’t beleive how well it held up to my son’s abuse this morning, the jewels stayed on, although please only do this craft with kids that will not place the jewels in their mouths, they are a choking hazard. You could use markers and simply skip the jewels and glue.
- Gather your materials. You will need a sheet of sticky back foam ( sparkly if you can), a dowel, glue, plastic gems or sequins, scissors , ribbon and a marker.
- Start by drawing 2 identical stars on the back of the same sheet of foam. I used a star cookie cutter as a stencil.
- Cut out. Do not take the back off yet.
- Invite your child to come and glue the gems on. We played with them for a while, pointing out shapes, and colors.
- Let dry. This took a long time. I pressed all the gems down a few hours after to make sure that the sparkly surface was stuck to the gem.
- When dry peel back the paper on the underside of the star to reveal the stickiness press the dowel into it.
- Peal back the paper on the 2nd and sandwich the dowel, press down carefully but with some force.
- Add a ribbon and you are ready to rule the kingdom!
Books
“Princess Smartypants” by Brenda Cole is the antithesis of the classic beautiful frail princess stories, but it still ends with happily ever after. Princess Smartypants does her own thing and doesn’t understand why her family is so obsessed with finding her a husband. She bends to their wishes but still does things her way. I think this is a great message about happiness and confidence for girls and balances out some of the other princess stories. She was happy just the way she is and didn’t need a spouse to feel complete.
“Good Night Princess Pruney Toes” by Lisa McCourt is a fun carefree book about a happy loving father and daughter. Princess Pruney Toes emerges from her bath to rule over her kingdom before bed. I love that the dad in this story follows along with his daughter’s imagination. I think it’s so important for parents to play with their kids and what’s better than pretend play? This lovely book is another fresh look at what makes a princess and that even princesses wishes can be easy to grant.
“The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch is one of my very favorite books. Some parents have shared their dislike of Elizabeth’s outburst at the end calling Ronald a bum but I think not only is it justified, he treated her horribly, but people say things when they are angry and you can easily use it to teach your child about anger. I think it’s a wonderful story about a princess taking things into her own hands and saving herself and the prince! My kind of fairytale.
