Archive for September 2011
Fall is here! There are pumpkins on my hearth and acorns in my foyer and I am ready for sweater weather (aka hide my muffin top weather)! So run down to the coffee shop grab a pumpkin spice latte and check out these brilliant Link & Learn submissions. Getting inspired by all the creative learning out there is a great way to start your week , but so is inspiring others, so leave a link to your best post from last week too!
Have a fantastic week . Happy Fall!
I love picture books and I am asked all the time what 5 books I’d take with me to a deserted island. I usually try to choose a balance of books that could be used to teach letters, numbers and more. A more sentimental question I think would be to ask someone what books they’d save in a fire. I know that in a fire you don’t save books, you save your life and get your kids and yourself out , but this is hypothetical and these are my 5 books.
Goodnight Moon
Babar and Father Christmas 
Joe Kaufman’s Book About Busy People and How They Do Their Work
The Seasons in Fern Hollow
Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever (Golden Bestsellers Series)
What are your 5 books?
This isn’t the first time we have made a grocery store for pretend play , but it was the first time with both kids and because it was such a hit the 2nd time around I thought I may as well post about what made it so much fun.
I started by clearing out some of our toys from the playroom. In the past I have done this in a bedroom andkitchen. In a bedroom I used the low bed for main aisles/ produce section. In the kitchen I used a shelf on an island. It doesn’t matter what you use it matters if it’s in their line of sight. My son reached for the grocery items on the windowsill and my daughter went straight for the ones on the shelf ( well after the baby in the cart ). If you don’t have a shopping cart grab a basket or small bag for your shoppers to put their purchases in.
For food and grocery items just raid your pantry. Last time I used real produce but my son was old enough to tell him not to eat it while playing ( which you could encourage also depending on if you need the fruit or vegetable later for a meal), my daughter is a muncher and I knew if I put any real produce out each and every piece would have little baby girl bites out of them, so I opted for our play food.
For an added layer of learning I placed the produce/ fresh food in food groups. My son has been interested in this lately and immediately when my daughter would place an egg into the vegetable basket he’d correct her. Play like this is a natural opportunity to talk about nutrition too.
We added an old lap top and a desk for the checkout, one of our own cloth grocery bags and a simple sign on the door – then the kids!
They had a blast! Especially my daughter who went shopping multiple times yesterday.
This time I added some labels and other print like this weekly specials board for my son to read, but both children benefit from a print rich environment so even if your child is not starting to read don’t skip them.
Labels are a great way to boost print awareness and help show children how people use reading skills in everything we do not just reading stories. We were crunched for time so I threw it all together but guess what things don’t need to be perfect for the play to be fantastic! Please remember that, so often I see wonderful beautiful things on pinterest and think that as pretty as those things are for the average parent trying to manage a family and throw together some fun things for their kids those perfect pretty things might not be attainable. Perfect isn’t the goal , play is.
Now play!
The temperatures are tapering off. Summer has gone and Autumn is making its appearance. Whether you live where the lives change or not, this craft is the perfect way to prepare for fall and all of its splendor.
You will need construction paper, glue, sandwich/snack bag, brown marker, cotton swabs, and three colored pasta (uncooked).
You or your child can draw a rectangle on the paper for the tree trunk. Have them color it in. My 5 year old drew his own, my 3 year old just colored.
Put some dry pasta in a plastic sealed bag. I used a snack size bag, but it really doesn’t matter. You want to make sure all of the excess air is out, though.
Have your child crush the noodles. Depending on the brand, they can be difficult to crush. Having the excess air out enables you to have the option of putting the bag on the floor and stomping it, or using a plastic hammer and whacking the bag. Trust me, we have done it all. Obviously the more intense crushing you do the more likely the bag is to rip and make a mess. So just be prepared. Regular crushing (and even stomping) hasn’t ripped our bags yet.
Squeeze some glue onto the piece of paper in the general shape of a tree top. Have your child spread around the glue with the cotton swab. I squeezed glue out for my daughter, but my son did his own glue.
Now sprinkle the noodle pieces onto the glue. This is exactly like giant noodle glitter. You will need to put on a lot, let it dry, and shake off the excess.
The final product looks just like a fall tree. It will have a wide array of colors, too. This craft is great fro talking about Fall, the changing seasons, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and colors. It also is a great sensory craft.
Look at that texture! It is so much fun to run your fingers across.
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Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It
We love frogs and since finding many in our back yard we have been reading all about them, and the other day we made a fun and easy for all ages craft. My daughter loved using the Do-A-Dot paint markers for the first time and my son have fun working on fine motor skills rolling up the frogs sticky tongue. After we snuggled in our book nook and read some favorite frog books .
- Gather your materials. You will need a paper plate , some green paint, red and black paper, scissors and glue.
- Start by cutting your paper plate in half and painting it green. My daughter loved this step and would have happily done it all day. Becareful if you choose to use these with younger children , the suggested age is 3+ because the top can come off ( check out our original review) watch constantly ! Also they aren’t as washable as some paints so you might want to grab a smock.
- While the paint dries, cut out some red eyes.
- Black pupils
- Red tongue.
- Have your child roll the tongue up tightly.
- Add glue to the back side of the plate.
- Add the eyes.. and if you are a toddler take them off again…and add them…
- Add the pupils.
- Add glue to the front and add the tongue.
- Let dry.
Books About Frogs
Too Many Frogs
Once Upon a Lily Pad
Leap Back Home to Me
