Archive for August 2011
My husband and I traveled internationally a lot before kids and we want to share our love and curiosity for other countries with our kids. Like many with young kids we aren’t up to taking them to all these places just yet. Instead we read lots of books , look at lots of pictures ( our own and others) and play games like this one that GASP uses flash cards . These are in the dollar spot at Target right now, even I couldn’t pass them up for a buck.
- Gather your materials. You will need a globe or map, and some fun geography flash cards.
- Start by having your child pick a card.
Ask them by looking at the picture where they think it might be. Wild guesses or close calculations are wqually good, this is all about exploring from your own playroom, not getting facts “right”. - Flip it over and find out where it is.
- Next find it on the map.
- Keep going as long as it’s fun.
- Beware for wee sisters who swipe the landmarks.
A great way to get children interested in science is to go on field trips to learn first hand. I like to take my children somewhere exciting every Friday then use our trip as a launching pad for more learning with books and of course a creative craft. Last week we went to our local aquarium and checked out a new octopus, some jelly fish , crabs and of course starfish! For the craft when we came home we used both bubble wrap for my preschooler and a easier to manipulate tool for my toddler. I am always happy when we can find crafts that work with both kids at the same time.
- Take a trip to your local aquarium, beach or even a pet store and check out some sea life!
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper ( we love using grocery bags), self stick bubble wrap ( regular works too but man was the self stick awesome), paint, a plate for the paint, marker, toilet paper roll and scissors. If you are doing this with toddlers you may also want a dish scrubber with a handle.
- Start by drawing a starfish on your paper. I taped the paper bag right down to the table with painters tape to use it as a drop cloth and project all in one. I had one kid at each end of the table.
- Cut your bubble wrap so it wraps around your toilet paper roll. The self stick stayed on like magic , I am in love. I swear this post isn’t sponsored by the bubble wrap company .
- Choose your paint colors and pour into a plate. Not too much or the bubble wrap won’t show. Roll the bubble wrap in.
- Roll it on your starfish.
- We never get sick of how awesome bubble wrap prints are, and we’ve made a few over the years!
- Now for the wee ones. I gave her the same plate and let her smack her star with the scrubber. As you can see it did go to her lips but because it’s harder plastic all she could do was lick it. This is why I don’t sponge paint with her yet, she could bite off a piece and choke. Another tip for babies and toddlers, keep some stained clothes for art time, many will refuse a smock and it’s easier to get a good fit with clothes.
- Let dry and cut out.
Books About The Ocean
A House for Hermit Crab is a book I have owned for many years. It offers so many learning opportunities for young readers and doesn’t loose any of the entertainment in trying to hard to teach. The hermit crab feels drab and each month he asks different sea creatures to help decorate his shell . As the shell is getting more and more beautiful it’s also getting more and more snug and almost time for the hermit crab to leave it behind and find a bigger one. The book teaches about sea creatures, months of the year and moving. More than moving it teaches about change . Change is difficult for all of us but a little trickier for most preschoolers which makes this book so valuable
Hooray for Fish!: Candlewick Storybook Animations 
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea
This post is not intended as a way to try to get sneak math into snack time. If you would like to use it for that reason, by all means go ahead. It would be a fun learning game. I am writing this to try to help make trying new foods fun for you and your child. My biological children love eating healthy foods. They usually request a healthy snack, even when I am offering a convenient (for me) junk food alternative. But fostering children has exposed me to problems I had not experienced before. How to get a child to eat healthy foods? Heck, how to get a child to try anything new?! 
Here is a fun game we came up with. Grab something that is not transparent or translucent. I like to use clean emptied yogurt containers. 
Cut up pieces of familiar food and new food into sizes that will fit under the containers. In this instance I used one familiar food that he liked along with two foods he refused to try before. Be sure to place two of each kind on the tray or plate. 
Cover the food with the containers. 
Now play the good ‘ole match game. 
When your child gets a match they get to eat the reward! It really feels like a reward for your child. While this is not guaranteed to work for every food, it sure is fun. You can watch your child get excited about matching. It is fun to see them study the tray and try to match it up. Their minds are focused on the game and not on “having” to try new or healthy foods. Are your kids picky eaters? ___________________________________________________________________________________
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When children are learning to read playing games with their developing skills is a great way to practice while playing. This giant word search can be used so many ways. For my almost 5 year old I put in simple words he could recognize or easily sound out. I also helped him by making all the words a consistent color and horizontal only. With younger children it can still be a fun game simply looking for specific colors or letters. With older ones you can make words multi colored, going every which way. The learning isn’t just in the searching either, using the dry erase marker to carefully circle the letters or words is fantastic writing practice and the foam letters are a sensory experience too.
- Gather your materials. You will need a sturdy backing like a inexpensive canvas or even some cardboard, contact paper ( which will make it wipe off) foam letter stickers ( two packs) and scissors. Also a dry erase marker to play with.
- Start by covering your canvas or card board with clear contact paper. This makes the surface friendly for dry erase . I found that a baby wipe worded the best to get the marker off after we played.
- Start making a column of letters.
- Decide on some words to pop in. Like I said in the preamble you can customize this to your child’s specific stage of learning.
- Add the words mixed with some random letters.
- Invite your child to play. I meant to make a list of the words I included but forgot and it turned out we didn’t need them. You may want one though.
- Oops he circled the o but it was no biggie because it’s dry erase!
I was fascinated by which words he knew by sight and which he sounded out. He loved this and I can see myself making a few more over the next few months for sure.
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We don’t go back to school for a while yet but I know most of you are already getting used to your new schedules, teachers, and routines. I thought you might like to reminisce all the fun you’ve had learning over the summer. Although you are always free to share whatever you like, I invite you to link up your best of Summer 2011 this week. If you are new don’t be shy, add your best post of the week and check out the fantastic ideas shared by other participants.
Have a wonderful week!
