Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.  I hope see to you back next year!


Monday, December 12, 2011

Christmas Ideas and Crafts (Advent Calendar)

Thanks to Sara for putting together this great list of ideas for the holidays. I'm a little late on taking advantage of it in an advent calendar but I will definitely be doing most of these crafts and activities and posting them in the next couple of weeks.  


Guest post- From Sara....
When I grew up my family had an advent tree....ours was felt and had one pocket for each day of the month. I have one of those advent trees and I was trying to decide what to put in each pocket when I stumbled across a great idea on some websites. I will put an activity or craft in each pocket! I created a list of some activities I plan on using this Christmas and wanted to share. The attachment has the slips of paper I will be putting in the pockets and below are the worksheet and directions you will need for some of them. If you have any ideas or traditions that you do with your kids I would love to hear them!
  • 1. Have some popcorn and watch a Christmas movie
  • 2. Bake Christmas cookies
  • 3. Bake a cake and sing Happy birthday to Jesus.
  • 5. Make the Candy Cane book and make Candy Canes out of red and white pipe cleaners.
  • 6. Sing Rudolph song & make Reindeer craft with your hands and feet
  • 7. Make a Christmas tree ornament
  • 8.Read the story about the Angel Gabriel and make an Angel craft 
  • 9. Make Reindeer Food- Take Dry Oatmeal and Sugar and make a mixture, Sprinkle on the lawn 
  • 11. Decorate your bedroom door for Christmas
  • I will be doing the minivan express on the night we make our own pizza but that will be a secret until she finds the ticket in her bed.
  • 12. Read a Christmas Book
  • 13. Dance and sing to Christmas music
  • 17. Act out the birth of Jesus (either with people or by using a nativity scene) The day we role play the nativity story I will incorporate this: Bible Story: Luke 2:1-20 Bible Phrase: “God loved us and sent his Son” (1 John 4:10)
  • 19. As a family complete the What God Wants for Christmas Nativity scavenger hunt
  • 20. Unwrap a special present for you under the Christmas tree.The day we unwrap the special present I will incorporate this (source: ParentLife December 2007)...
Wise Men Worshiped Jesus (Bible Story: MAtthew 2:1-12) and (Bible Phrase: Thank you, God, for Jesus - Luke 2:38)

Instructions: Place a picture of baby Jesus in a wrapped gift box. Show the box to your child and tell him that the box represents a gift from God. When your child opens the box and sees the picture, remark: "God sent Jesus as the best Christmas present ever. The wise men worshiped Jesus by bringing him presents. We can worship Jesus too." Pray, thanking God for Jesus and that you can worship God, too.


Here are the websites where I got a lot of my ideas:



Thanks Sara for sharing all of your wonderful ideas!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Painting with Balls

Oh my kids had so much fun with this one!  

Materials: 
Tray (pan, or foil pan)
paint (we used finger paint)
Paper (I like finger paint paper because it doesn't rip)
balls or marbles

I taped the paper to the tray to ensure that it wouldn't move around when the kids were rolling around the balls.  


My son got the hang of the rolling but my daughter was more comfortable controlling all of her markings.  




Results- Beautiful!!  These totally showed their personalities too!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

More Thanksgiving printables!

Okay, so you know how I totally said I was going to get on the ball and do some Thanksgiving crafts this week... Yeah, pregnancy sickness has set in and it is confirmed that that will not be happening. (I am 8 weeks along with my third bambeeno)  No since is wasting your week away though eh??  

thankspromo

Confessions of a Homeschooler has some WONDERFUL printables that are free for you to download.  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!  (I will be playing catch up while my hubby is home at the end of the week so stay tuned for tons of preschool and toddler activities that I just haven't gotten around to blogging about!)

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving crafts

I have been so lazy lately and haven't done a single thanksgiving craft with my kiddos yet and here it is.... the week of Thanksgiving!  So here are the things I would LIKE to do with them this week.  




place setting

Apple Turkey  (this site has other holiday activities as well)




If you have other activities that you would like to share, leave a comment with your link :)!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Toddler Time- Color sorting

One of my goals this month was to introduce colors to my daughter (21 months).  I started pointing out colors to her in everyday activities... red elmo, elmo is red! ect.. I thought that she was starting to pick up on green so that was one of the colors I choose to work with first.  With toddlers, I would only use two colors when beginning a color sorting activity.  Once they have mastered those two colors, add another and so on. Here is my sweet pea sorting green and purple.  (Note- make sure you use colors that are opposite of each other, blue and green are too similar as well as yellow and orange.)

I started with colored cups and pompoms in the middle.  (If you don't have colored cups, use bowls or just cut a piece of construction paper to put on the front of a clear cup)


Let the sorting begin!


So proud of herself!  


I added a few more colors for the big man so he could join in on the fun as well!



Here is another activity that you can do for sorting categories  
(Sorting Cars and Trains) I'm working on getting the link to this printable back up.  



Tuesday, November 15, 2011

What does my preschooler need to know before kindergarten?

I get this question more than any other.  It really depends on the state, school, and let's get honest...the individual teacher as to what your child should know before entering kindergarten.  If you are homeschooling in kindergarten, you will have to go by the state standards for your child.  For example- In North Carolin follow this link (click the subject, then grade level).  Usually, public schools have quarterly goals that are from the standards list.  


Below is a wonderful blog entry from Child Up  that lists the very basics that would be helpful to do at home with your child.  Like I've said before, in my opinion, fine motor skills (cutting, tracing, lacing, coloring, ect) is the main thing that takes lots of practice that can't be mastered in one day of school.  Hope this helps!  My two cents is in green.  

We consulted educators and compiled a list of the top 10 things a child should know before she starts kindergarten.

If a child is behind, it can affect her attitude toward learning, said Melinda Wyssmann, kindergarten teacher at Mark Twain Elementary in Springfield.

"If they can't read or write or do the math like other boys and girls, they start feeling frustrated and not wanting to come to school," Wyssmann said. "It can set a pattern of how they feel towards academics."

The academic rigor in kindergarten has increased, and parents aren't always prepared for it, she said.

So here's what your little one needs to know and how you can help her learn:

1
Know the alphabet. Just because your preschooler knows the alphabet song doesn't mean he knows the alphabet, said Wendy Russell, a kindergarten teacher at Bingham Elementary who has been teaching for 26 years.

Children should know the alphabet without singing it, said Mea Childers, kindergarten teacher at Espy Elementary in Nixa who has been teaching for 15 years.

Children need to understand that the alphabet is made up of letters and that letters make up words. It's just as important that he can grasp that concept as recite the song, said Russell.

What you can do: Talk to them about this concept, and practice the alphabet without singing it.

Students should be able to look at a letter and tell you what letter it is and if it is capital or lower case.  If you have time, work on consonant sounds and short and long vowel sounds.  I wouldn't worry to much about blends (/sh/, /br/, ect) or other letter combinations yet (/ee/, /ai/, /tion/, ect).  

2
Know the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters. On the first day of school, most children write their name in all uppercase letters, said Debbie Hightower, a Wanda Gray teacher who taught kindergarten for four years.

It's important to teach both upper and lowercase, these teachers said.

What you can do: Buy or make your own flashcards with upper and lowercase letters, Wyssmann said. Leap Frog products are great for teaching letters, she said.

As you read to your child, point out the difference between lowercase and uppercase letters, Hightower said.

Magnet letters are GREAT for this early practice as well as any of my letter activities on this site.  

3
Counting and number recognition. Your child should be able to count to 10 at a minimum, although 20 is becoming more mainstream.

Thirty is ideal, Russell said.

It's also important that numbers are not an abstract concept. Children should understand the difference between one spoon and three spoons, Wyssmann said.

What you can do: Numbers can be a hard concept for kids, so take every opportunity to count with them, suggested Jennifer Newberry, former kindergarten teacher who now teaches preschool at the Nixa Early Learning Center.

A mother of three, she counts when she cooks, when she reads to the kids, when they look at the stars.

Use objects to demonstrate numbers: one cookie, three spoons, four plates etc., Wyssmann said.

I would take it a step further and say that they need to also write their numbers to 10 and recognize numbers up to 20.  

4
Random letter recognition. This means your child actually knows her letters, instead of just memorizing the order of the alphabet, said Karen Evans, Wanda Gray teacher who taught kindergarten for six years.

She may know ABC, but does she know FSQ?

What you can do: Buy alphabet magnets and work with your child to identify letters. This is also good for learning upper- and lowercase, Wyssmann said.

You can also give your child random letters to trace or shape out of modeling dough, Wyssmann said.

5
Pencil grip: If your child learns improper pencil grip, it's hard to unlearn it.

Improper grip affects the neatness of a child's handwriting, Hightower said.

What you can do: Practice and demonstrate it for your child. He should grip the pencil with the pointer finger and thumb, resting on the middle finger, Hightower said.

This one is sooo hard for me.  My little guy can't stand writing and he current is doing the fisted (if that is a word) pencil grip.  I really don't want him to get used to doing that but I also don't want to frustrate him correcting him over and over.  Choose your battles.  

6
Social skills: Social skills are almost more important than the academic, said Childers.

The reason: when school starts, the teacher knows she will have children on different academic levels.

"What makes it more difficult is if they are not mature enough, not ready to sit still, can't take care of personal needs. Probably a parent's most important job is to make sure their child is ready to come to school," Childers said.

Russell agrees.

"I always tell parents the academics are very important, but even more important is that they learn good social skills: how to get along, how to make decisions, how to cooperate, take turns. Those are life skills," Russell said.

What you can do: Make sure your child knows she will have to share toys, take turns, line up, take care of bathroom needs, zip her own pants, etc ...

If your son has never seen one, the urinal can be surprising for boys, so parents should talk to sons about this in advance, Newberry said.

Children also need to be able to express their views and listen to other people's views without arguing, Newberry said.

Talk to your child about each of these social skills and practice scenarios in advance.

Standing in line and raising their hand is huge!  If they are used to being able to talk and walk freely, this can be very challenging for them at first. 

7
Be able to focus: Listen and sit still for at least 15 minutes.

Children do this when they watch television, so it can be done, Hightower said.

What you can do: A good way to teach this is by reading to your child or telling your child stories, Hightower said.

"Reading to them helps them clam down and focus and pay attention," Russell echoed.

Also try making your child sit at the dinner table, Childers said.

8
Responsibility: Children need to be responsible for their belongings, Childers said.

If she has 18 students, she can't help all 18 put on their coats or track their jackets.

What you can do: Make them demonstrate responsibility at home by taking their plate from the dinner table to the sink, Childers said.

Have them do daily tasks, such as putting their toys back, and picking up after themselves, Evans said.

Give them different instructions and have them practice, Evans said.

9
How to use classroom tools. It's surprising how many children haven't used basic tools such as scissors, pencils and paper, said Russell.

Parents sometimes fear their child may cut themselves or color on the wall, but children need to know how to use those tools.

What you can do: "Let them cut things out of magazines and make collages. That develops their fine-motor skills, which in turn helps with handwriting," Russell said.

10
Confidence. Children are more confident when they are familiar with something, teachers echoed.

What you can do: If you haven't already, take your child to his school, let him play on the playground, meet the teacher, walk the halls, Childers said.

Talk to him openly about school and familiarize him with school as soon as possible, Newberry said.

When he has these skills, he will be more ready to learn as an individual and a class.

"Then they will absorb everything I throw at them," Childers said.

Hope this helps.  As always, please comment if you have anything to add.

Homeschool Material List

Preschool is all about fine motor skills.  Yes it is important for children to learn certain objects but they can't get enough practice strengthening those core hand muscles.  A good number of my activities are based on working those tinny hands.  If you are just getting started with homeschooling and are wondering what are some great materials to have on hand... here are a few of my staples that I try not to run out of.... please comment if you have other items that you always have on hand that I left off my list.


Yarn- I try and do at least one lacing activity a week.  You can also use yarn for art projects to make hair!
Beads- These are great for sorting colors as well as lacing
Pom Poms- Wonderful for color sorting and other arts and crafts (you can also attach magnet tape to them- see my "how to")
Clothes pins- Another great fine motor exercise that I use a lot with counting cards
Puzzles -  I try and stick with number, shape, alphabet, or other educational puzzles but any puzzle helps fine motor skills
Construction paper- We use this everyday!
Glue sticks I find that liquid glue is way to messy for this age group and takes forever to dry
Kids paint- I have a pack of 10 different colors.  These are great for color mixing and any other painting activity you may do
crayons/markers- I tend to lean with the least messy so I go with crayons.  If your kid will only color with markers, by all means, stock up on some.
dry erase markers- I have my kids use these on the easel or any of the laminated pages that I make.
Laminator or clear paper protectors- I purchased a small laminator that I use at home because I plan on using a lot of my printable with 3 kids at home and then bring them along to the classroom when I go back to teaching elementary school.  If you aren't going to get as much use out of your printable pages, it probably isn't worth the time and investment of a laminator and all the color ink that you will go through.  Another alternative to a laminator is clear paper protectors.
Hole punch - For lace up cards or any thing you might want to hang up.
Educational games/flash cards- I have a few rhyming, classifying, and blends games that I have my son do for center time. Carson Dellosa Publishing have some of my favorite games/puzzles here


Pattern Blocks- These are used quite a bit in elementary school so it is a wonderful idea to get your children used to them.  If you want to save $, you can make them yourself out of foam paper.
Googly eyes- I'm not sure why, but a tons of my activities use these!  You can ap to draw them yourself you if you want to save the expense.
Recyclables- Start saving toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, shoe boxes, ect.
Student tray- These are like $2.50 each at Micheal's and are wonderful at keeping your materials together, not to mention crayons from rolling all over the place.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Letter H

Man was our H week a busy one!  The entire fridge was full of crafts and activities by Friday!  Below are the links from our week.  Please take a minute to visit these other wonderful preschool sites!  

Click here for our H weekly schedule to get an idea of how we fit it all in!







Make a hippo. I cut this one our for my little guy but then showed him the finished hippo so he could figure out the steps to glue the hippo together himself.  (Like all things that will not be reused, I choose to print this in grayscale to save my colored ink)



Hand print horses.  (This activity did require craft sticks and yarn if you have that handy)





Flash cards 







We made hats out of sandwich bags and decorated them with stickers and markers.  


Building a house with nails!  I thought this activity would have a lot of prep work but it maybe took me 5 minutes to get everything cut out and together for my two.  You will need a hole punch for this activity.  They had so much fun with this it was great fine motor practice putting the nails into the hole and good shape review too!












(I had him place his "house" that he created beside him so he could remember the shapes he used to make a house)


We galloped like horses during our dance time







Worked with our helicopter beside us!


H is for hand print! 




We worked on H on Starfall 


Read a book about Horses


H with detergent in a bag.  


We worked on our hand puzzle 


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