Archive for February 2010
You!
Today’s Sunday Spotlight is on you, all of you! I am doing my very first Reader Survey and I need your help . It’s quick ( only 10 questions) and everyone who participates will be entered in a drawing for a $10 Starbucks Gift Card. All you need to do is answer the questions and when you are done come back and leave a comment that you filled it out. This will remain open for a week. I will draw a winner for the gift card Sunday February 21st.
Thank you so much!
by Stella Blackstone and Siobhan Bell is a bright, colorful and engaging book all about finding shapes. The text is simple and serves really only to support the reader’s efforts finding shapes throughout the book. What I like is that these illustrations are challenging, and not really illustrations at all. They are fabric collages that are so detailed and layered that some of the obvious shapes are easy to find but many are hidden. So if you are reading this with an older child there is still some challenge.
Clay Quest Minis: Search for Shapes!
Greedy Triangle 
So Many Circles, So Many Squares
by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a cute book that not only helps teach shapes it is also entertaining! The three crafty mice use the shapes to protect themselves from one hungry cat finally using them to make scary mice to frighten the cat away! Kids love to help find which shapes are used in the illustrations and older ones can even anticipate what the mice will make next!
Flip-a Shape: Go! bySami will keep busy toddlers interested in all the shapes that are made with a school bus , boat and more! The simplistic and bright illustrations coupled with the movements of the flip a shape, this book will be a hit with your toddler!
We aren’t stuck in a snowstorm but we are stuck waiting for our furnace to be fixed and moving keeps us warm and having fun. You can write anything on your hearts from numbers they need to identify, to physical tasks like we did to something trickier for older kids. Customize it to your child and have fun.
- Gather your materials. I am using foam hearts because they stand up well to being stepped and walked on, but paper would do in a pinch, just dont’ expect it to be used more than once. You will also need a marker and some music you can pause easily.
- Write out different tasks for your child to do when they come to this heart – mine were mostly physical things: Jump on one foot, crab walk, 5 push ups, break dance etc.. I also included sing the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
- Lay the hearts out face down in a circle.
- Start the music and play. It’s just like musical chairs only when the music stops you do the task on the heart that you were standing on when you stopped. We had a blast! He preferred Bon Jovi to kids music so we were rockin’ out!
I would let them walk ( to the music) longer than we did for the video, we were trying to get a good snapshot for the post. After I put the camera down we all played for another full round. Fun family time !
My son will do anything for marshmallows and he loves sorting. Since this craft itself is super simple I made things more challenging by creating a pre-activity of sorting the colors with bamboo tongs. Yes many were eaten, we did this on a no nap day and the sillies were at an all time high but we still had fun.
- Gather your materials. You will need a divided tray, mini marshmallows, some paper or foam , glue and tongs.
- Start by sorting a few of the marshmallows in a tray. I put a few in each section to provide a guide.
- Hand your child the tongs and let them sort.
- And eat.
- When they are all sorted ( and yes I asked if I could help and sorted a few as well) add glue to the foam/paper in a heart shape.
- Start adding the pink marshmallows.
- Count as you go! We did 13, 5 and 9 before gobbling up a few yellow and green ones.
- Let dry.
Magnetic Snowman
We have done a few of these projects before ( robot and haunted house) and they are always a huge hit with my son as well as readers. Although it hasn’t snowed here in ages, I know that many of you are snowed in and thought I’d do one more snow themed craft. Our guy has no arms because we forgot them and by the time I remembered my son just wanted to play with him so they were clearly superfluous.
- Gather your materials. I am using sticky back foam, it’s easy to use and mostly eliminates the need for glue. Also scissors, self adhesive magnets ( please be careful and supervise even older kids with magnets, any child that is still putting things in their mouth should not be using the button magnets. Instead use the magnetic strips that do not pose as great a swallowing risk. ), a marker and some glue if like me you are reusing magnets and their sticky back is gone! You will also need a cookie sheet or a magnetic surface to play.
- Start by tracing the snowman shapes. 3 circles from the white foam. Cut out.
- Trace and cut out a hat , coal pieces and boots from the black foam
- Cut out a nose and arms from the gold foam ( or any color really, we had gold on hand)
- Finally cut out buttons from the blue foam.
- Start by assembling the snowman’s face. Stick the nose on.
- Add the eyes and mouth from the coal pieces.
- Add the buttons on the other white circles – as you can see my son opted for all on one , which is perfectly awesome.
- While they are adding the features, glue or stick the magnets on. You will want one on the boots, hat, each section of the snowman and arms if you made them. If you can avoid it don’t glue it took hours for ours to dry. I ended up taking these final pics before it was dry and my son didn’t get to play with it until almost bedtime.
- Let dry and play!
Books
written by Shirley Neitzel, illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker
published by Greenwillow Books
rebus picture book (baby to preschool)
Similar to the story structure and rhyme of ‘The House that Jack Built’, this story builds with each layer of clothes. As a new article is added, it’s given extra emphasis on it’s own page, then beside it lists the other clothing elements already included. The repetitive text and the rebus images make for a consistent and predictable story, great for beginning readers. Children will be able to read parts of the story and enjoy predicting the clothing that comes on next. This is a great way to introduce winter clothing vocabulary too. Be warned, you kids may take to repeating all or parts of the rhyme when getting dressed to go out
( reviewed by Carrie Anne)
Snowman in Paradise
In May after splashing with buckets of paint, He threw down his brush, saying, “Gauguin I ain’t.”
Even if some references are more for the adults reading it than the children listening , both parties will close the book smiling and wanting to start all over again. Grab it and see why I love it so much!
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