Archive for January 2010
This week I asked my facebook fans to feel free to link their blog urls so we could go on a blog tour! It’s been wonderful, I have found some awesome fresh new blogs and this one I knew I had to share. Now this is a NEW blog, but we have to keep it going. Adventures in Dinner 365 is a gem in the making! I plan on checking in regularly because I snorted 5 times reading it I was laughing so hard. Most cooking blogs out there are awe inspiring, shows off the bloggers true talent for food , not this one. This is about her attempts to cook, and is hilarious. Instead of just wanting to eat her food, I want to hang out in her kitchen, cause I knowit would be fun! You can’t miss it!
How Big Is A Pig? by Claire Beaton has fast become a favorite in our house around bedtime. I love the felt illustrations, the detail amazes me and helps distract me from noticing that I have read it 20 times in as many minutes. The story itself is great too, it focuses on opposites in the farm yard with a zippy rhyming text.
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown is the inspiration for this craft, and an increasingly one of my very favorite books. The story is simple readers see a day in the life of a big red barn and all the animals inside. Each animal is introduced in the seamless text that reads like a melodic poem. It’s calm , soothing and Felicia Bond’s illustrations are perfect, I love how the sky subtly changes as the night beckons. A wonderful book for anytime, but especially poignant before bed.
Peek-A-Moo by Maria Torres Cimarusti is a great and simple book about farm animal sounds with flaps to lift for toddlers who need a little extra action to keep them interested. The book is a quick read which is perfect for those eager to move, not so eager to stay still toddlers. Great bold illustrations as well.
Click, Clack , Moo, Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin is a hilarious look at working conditions on a farm and cows going on strike. I have yet to read this book without giggling and in the 2003-2004 school year I think I read it 500 times! The story has a wonderful message of fairness and negotiation . During a transit strike we read this to a Kindergarten class to help explain after we were asked why the bus drivers didn’t want to work- it was a great tool!
The Grumpy Morning by Pamela Duncan Edwards is a great book. I think I got it as a freebie with a scholastic order years ago, either way I am so glad I have it. The book follows all the animals on a farm as they wake up grumpy and hungry and needing attention from the farmer. As a teacher I love this book because I could talk about whining, and demanding and ask my students if there are better ways to get what you want. As a parent I love it because the text is musical and my son loves seeing all the animals and what sounds they make since he is still a little young to appreciate the lesson about feelings at 16 months. * Edited for 2010 my son now 3 still loves this book, he talks about how he is grumpy and hungry in the morning too and how he doesn’t like it when I don’t get out of bed fast enough.
We love cupcakes, but who wants 24 cupcakes when only 2 people in your house will be eating them( which means 22 for me and 2 for my son … not good). So instead of baking them we decided to play with them. This pretend play incorporates sensory, learning shapes, and color mixing too! Not to mention it was really fun!
- Gather your materials. You will need some red and white playdough, some fun cupcake liners, cake picks ( is that what they are called?), a cutting board and heart cookie cutters. You can also add sprinkles, fancy plates and muffin tins!
- Start by mixing some of the red and while to make pink playdough. Normally I make my own playdough but I wanted this color mixing lesson as part of the play, so I bought white and red dough, it’s hard to make true white playdough at home. If you want to make your own here are my favorite recipes.
- Let em at it! My son kneaded the dough ” I squish it until it’s yummy!”
- We rolled it into balls and popped it in a liner.
- Made hearts for the top – I did one to show him all the options while and he ran with it.
- Don’t forget a pick!
- Keep playing- this cupcake cost me $38 dollars! Good thing the playdough , liners and pics together only cost $3.99!
- There is no right or wrong way to play – just explore, have fun and remember to keep playdough far away from carpet, it’s such a pain to get out.
Book
Mr. Cookie Baker
We are talking a lot about touch right now. My son is a big snuggler and as my belly grows he has had to adjuct to what he can thump on and what he can’t. We have also been talking about gentle touches for friends and babies. I know that many families go through that often with toddlers and preschoolers. This activity contrasts and sorts soft and hard things, and identifies them through touch.
- Gather your materials. You will need a wipes container that has a rubbery opening ( a kleenex box works well too) , soft items like cotton balls, feathers, small pieces of fleece, and harder objects like blocks, keys and toy cars.
- Pop the outer lid off the box so it doesn’t scratch your little ones arm when they are reaching in.
- Add the items to the container and close the lid.
- Invite your child to reach in and find something hard . Start a pile for the hard things.
- Reach in a find something soft .
- Continue sorting until all the objects are out of the box. My son exclaimed when he was done ” I win! I win!”
More lessons about the 5 senses
Table Top Recycling Center
Garbage and recycling and their respective trucks are big hits at our house, as is Duplo. So I mixed the two together for a fun color sorting activity that went on and on ! The simplest things are usually the best. Activities like this mix imaginative play, color recognition, and counting and will appeal to a wide range of ages. You can change up the theme to fit your child’s particular interests too!
- Gather your materials. You will need some craft paper ( or use the underside of wrapping paper) , markers, painters tape , and some multi colored blocks or toys to sort.
- Tape your paper to a table, add a title! As kids get interested in spelling make sure you spell out loud when adding things like titles to crafts and activities.
- Draw a conveyor belt – every sorting center needs one!
- Draw bins for the recyclables ( each color). I asked my son what colors we needed, he looked in the bin of Duplo and as he called them out I drew the bins.
- Start sorting!
- Play, we grabbed a recycling truck for added oomph! Count how many blocks are in each bin , find out which bin has the most, which has the least … there is a lot of learning hidden in this game.
- We even came back after lunch for some more fun!
Books
I Am A Garbage Truck
A Day in the Life of a Garbage Collector 
Trash And Recycling 
