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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Recommended Books for Babies and Toddlers

Jim Trelease (the guru of reading aloud to your children) puts out a list of his most recommended books to read to each age group. Here it is for babies! (to see the brochure on Trelease's website--CLICK HERE) Happy Library-ing!

TIPS FOR READING ALOUD TO
THIS AGE GROUP
1. Your main objective is to teach your child to love the printed word;
2. Pretend you’re having a party to introduce the world to your child and books are the guests you’re introducing;
3. Attention spans are built over pages and pages, not overnight;
4. Caress the child while reading;
5. Point to objects on the page while reading;
6. The story becomes clearer with repeat readings;
7. Board books are meant to be handled and chewed on;
8. make certain times ritually story times —bed time, bath time, potty time, nap time, snack time....

READ-ALOUD
PICTURE BOOKS:
INFANTS TO
TODDLERS BY JIM TRELEASE

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO
YOU SEE ?
BY BILL MARTIN, JR.; ERIC CARLE, ILLUSTRATOR

CORDUROY BY DON FREEMAN

THE EVERYTHING BOOK BY DENISE FLEMING

THE FOOT BOOK BY DR. SEUSS

GOOD JOB, LITTLE BEAR (SERIES)
BY MARTIN WADDELL; BARBARA FRITH, ILLUS.

GOODNIGHT MOON BY MARGARET WISE
BROWN; CLEMENT HURD, ILLUSTRATOR

THE NAPPING HOUSE
BY AUDREY WOOD; DON WOOD, ILLU.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD MOTHER GOOSE
PHOTOGRAPHED BY NINA CREWS

PLEASE, BABY, PLEASE
BY SPIKE AND TONYA LEWIS LEE;
KADIR NELSON, ILLUSTRATOR

TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE
TOES BY MEM FOX; HELEN OXENBURY, ILLUS.

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
BY ERIC CARLE

THE SUPER HUNGRY DINOSAUR
BY MARTIN WADDELL; LEONIE LORD, ILLUSTRATOR

YOU CAN DO IT, SAM (SERIES) by Amy Hest



Recommended Books for Preschoolers

Jim Trelease (the guru of reading aloud to your children) puts out a list of his most recommended books to read to each age group. Here it is for preschool! (to see the brochure on Trelease's website--CLICK HERE) Happy Library-ing!

READ-ALOUD
PICTURE BOOKS:
FOR
PRESCHOOLERS

CHEWY LOUIE BY HOWIE SCHNEIDER

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
BY JUDI BARRETT; RON BARRETT, ILLUS.

THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF PETER
RABBIT BY BEATRIX POTTER

GRANDMA'S BEARS
BY GINA WILSON; PAUL HOWARD, ILLUS.

THE GREAT FUZZ FRENZY BY JANET
STEVENS AND SUSAN STEVENS CRUMMEL

THE GUNNIWOLF BY WILHELMINA
HARPER; BARBARA UPTON, ILLUSTRATOR

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE
BY LAURA NUMEROFF; FELICIA BOND, ILLUS.

LILLY’S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE (SERIES)
BY KEVIN HENKES

THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO WAS NOT
AFRAID OF ANYTHING
BY LINDA WILLIAMS

REGARDS TO THE MAN IN THE MOON
BY EZRA JACK KEATS

SNIP SNAP! WHAT’S THAT? BY MARA
BERGMAN; NICK MALAND, ILLUSTRATOR

THE STORY OF LITTLE BABAJI BY HELEN
BANNERMAN; FRED MARCELLINO, ILLUS.

THOMAS’ SNOWSUIT BY ROBERT MUNSCH;
MICHAEL MARTCHENKO, ILLUSTRATOR

WHERE’S MY TEDDY? (series)
BY JEZ ALBOROUGH


Balance Beam!

Today I made Q a balance beam. She has been very interested in walking on parking blocks and other raised surfaces, so I knew it was time to make her one at home! I found two logs about the same size and put an old fence pole across them (after we took the rusty nails out of it). First I walked across to show her how to do it. Then she walked across with my hand for support. The the cat and the dog wanted to check it out. Getting the dog to jump over again and again was a lot of fun, and the cat wanted to scratch on it. She also loved to jump off at the end when she finished!

Balance beams are great, of course, for teaching balance, body awareness and control, patience, and gross motor development. They also support positional words--over, above, under, etc.

The grass is a great place to do balance work--if she falls she has a nice cushy nature-made mat to land on!

Other extensions--use the balance beam as a road for matchbox cars. Line up little army men or other figures on it. Draw on it with chalk, paint it with paint or water. Put the sprinkler at one end and walk across into the sprinkler. Put a blanket or rug across it for a "saddle" to ride your horse.

There are also a lot of different gymnastic movements with your feet and hands that I am sure you could find online.

And of course I would totally raid a construction site if I hadn't already had these materials in the backyard! So this is a free project!
(phone books, bricks, cinderblocks, overturned trashcans, etc. would all work for holding the beam up!)

For older kids, let them build their own beams!
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Chalk textures


Today we got out our sidewalk chalk and explored writing on some different textures. A bumpy tree, the edge of the raised vegetable garden, and the fence! I talked about the different textures and how the chalk wrote on each as we worked. Q found out that if she dipped her chalk in the birdbath water it wrote much brighter! This activity only took about 10 minutes, but we had fun exploring some canvases other than the usual cement!
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Potty Training Book

I'm sorry, but there are a lot of hokey potty books out there for toddlers, in my opinion. Plus most of them have WAY too many words for most toddlers to listen to. I LOVE this book! It goes through a variety of animals that live at the zoo and how they poop (in a toddler-appropriate manner, of course!). My little one has recently gotten very interested in the dog poop in the yard and announces each instance of it, so this book was perfect for her! And...if you have taken your kids to the zoo, you know the poop is just about the most interesting item there! Forget the tigers and bears, check out that pile of dung! :)

At the end of the book it has a little boy sitting on the potty and talks about how people poop in the potty. Q loves saying "Poop in poppy" and pointing out the "flush," stool (as in step)," and toilet paper.

We got this at the library, of course!!
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I Can't Sing Book....


A couple weeks ago I had a great conversation with a early childhood music teacher. I was sharing with her my concerns about incorporating music into my daughter's life because I am not a very musical person...Sure, I enjoy listening to it, but that's about as far as it goes. Ask my mom about the 9 years of piano lessons that went absolutely NOWHERE!
Anyhow, she shared some research with me on the correlation between children's ability to keep a rhythm and academic success....along with many other benefits. I should have taken notes during our chat so I had all of these to share!
Anyhow, she definitely made me more mindful of including music awareness in Q's daily routine. And of course it is valuable for the academic reasons, but even more than that, it's a lot of fun! Q enjoys any activity that involves instruments or singing or dancing, so I wanted to be able to broaden these experiences for her!

I did a little research and found this book by Jackie Silberg. She has come to be a favorite author of mine in the realm of early childhood because she's so darn practical and down to earth in her activity suggestions! That's my kind of gal!

So I will be highlighting some of her recommended activities in the near future.....stay tuned!
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Cork Painting

Saw Cork Painting on the Frugal Family Fun website and wanted to give it a try! We always raid our paper/cardboard recycling bin when it's time to paint. For this project we opened up some granola bar boxes so they'd lay flat. First Q painted with purple and I just gave her the cork and let her explore. She used it like a paintbrush to drag all around her paper.

Then I did some stamping with my own cork and had her watch me. She was very interested and liked my flowers! So I used the hand-over-hand technique to show her how to do her own stamping. She tried it a few times (last picture) and then asked for a paintbrush, so I got her one!
I try to expose her to all different types of painting tools. She usually ends up asking for a paintbrush, which is okay, too!
On the website the suggested using this technique to make wrapping paper. I am going to cut my flowers out to make some cards. This is a very fun activity and I can see lots of neat projects that could come from this, using the circle shape of the cork to stamp....rainbows, fish. etc.....

On an educational note, it is great for children to use real objects for stamping because it teaches them the properties of geometric solids (cylinders, spheres, rectangular prisms, cubes, etc.) When stamping with a cork (cylinder), the child learns that the cork has two faces in the shape of circles. Next time I might add a small box or a some dice to the stamping activity so that Q can begin to learn that cubes are made up of faces in the shapes of squares! For older children, you might ask them to predict what shape the object will make when you stamp it before actually doing the stamping, and then try it to see if they are right!! Can they find any other objects in the house that will stamp circles???
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Saturday, May 15, 2010

Friend Photo Book



I have made Q a few of these at different times and she LOVES them! I just use the 4X6 lamination sheets in my little laminator.

First I cut scrapbook paper just a little smaller than 4X6. I print out photos of her little friends. I have used Word (on the computer) to type each friend's name on their picture, and I have also used letter stickers to put the name on the page. Then I laminate each page, punch a hole, and use a ring to bind it together. I have also used ribbon through the hole to tie the book together. It really works best to use two holes and two rings, as it makes the pages easier to turn. For this book I could only find 1 ring, so that's what I went with.

I blurred my nephew's name off his page, but you can see his for an example.

I have also made a similar book with family members. I will post pictures sometime soon!

If you didn't have a laminator you could use clear book tape, contact paper or go to a teacher supply store, where they will laminate for a very small fee.
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Sweet prayer

Got this one from a class at my church on bringing up babies and toddlers in the Lord.....

"Lord,
Be in my head,
Be in my eyes,
Be in my mouth,
and be in my heart."

Obviously after learning the words, you could explain what it would look like for God to be in each of these places.

On a humerous note....the speaker that was sharing this prayer that her grandchildren were taught to pray said that one of the little boys added his own line one evening.

"Lord, be in my weiner."

Of all the places little boys need the Lord to be, I would put that at the top of the list. :) He didn't know what truth he was asking when he voiced this line. :)

Fit the pieces

This activity is from a great book called GAMES TO PLAY WITH TODDLERS. I am currently borrowing it and will highlight some of our favorites! Here's one we tried today, and a few of my extensions.
We got an old cereal box out of the recycling bin and opened it up. I found 3 cookie cutters and I traced them on the cardboard. As we worked, Q and I talked about each shape, where she wanted me to trace it, what color she wanted me to use (I traced two of each shape and used the same color for both times), and I verbally described what I was doing as I traced the shape.
I went ahead and colored in the shapes, because she drew on the cardboard, too, and that made it hard to see the outlines of the shapes, so I colored them in to make them show up more.

Then we practiced matching the cookie cutters to the shapes. Q lost interest at this point, so we put the activity up to work on again another time. Next time we will just begin with the naming of the shapes and colors and the matching game.

Extensions--
-use other objects besides cookie cutters
-let older children do the tracing themselves or help younger children trace with hand-over-hand help
-add more shapes for older children
-let older children cut out the shapes after they have traced them
-after tracing the shapes, let the child paint them
-let the child glue small objects (sequins, beans, cheerios, buttons, confetti, etc.) around the border of each shape or even fill in each shape
-cut the shapes out of fabric or felt

This activity practices matching (visual discrimination necessary for reading and writing), shape awareness, fine motor skills (tracing is one of the best ways for preschoolers to practice the fine motor skills they will need to write and draw), color awareness, and just some good ole fun playing a game!

I have several full-time working moms that wonder how to fit teaching and funtime in with their children in the short time they have together. I am an on-again, off-again full-time working mommy. Right now I am back at work for a while. So one way I fit fun/teaching time in with my little one is on the go. While we are sitting waiting at restaurants or in line at the store, we take advantage of the time! Three cookie cutters, 3 markers and a piece of rolled-up paper fit in a purse or diaper bag so easily and this activity is perfect for on the go! Yesterday was a crazy day and we did a long bday lunch for a friend at Joe's Crab Shack and a special dinner with some family at a mexican restaurant, and this activity would have been perfect for those times.
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Beginning colors and drawing tips...

When teaching colors to a toddler, I use art time as one of the tools through which to do this. I would recommend only putting out 2-3 colors at a time until the child knows those colors, then changing out to a few more, always having between 2-4 colors out at a time. Our rule (with a toddler) is that only one marker comes out at a time (or pens or crayons or whatever is being used). This reduces overstimulation, messiness and also helps focus the child's attention on the color being used. Markers are GREAT for fine moter and also write easier than pencils and crayons for toddlers because they don't have to push as hard.

Matt made this little marker holder out of a piece of log we had outside and his drill. You can also just use a small cup. Some teachers like to glue the marker lids in the holes, but I like to leave mine loose because of the fine motor practice they provide as the child matches the marker into the hole of the lid.

I also teach my kiddos to listen for the "click" that means the lid is on tight. Same thing with glue sticks, FYI.
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Quick, easy hand activity....

Q has been very into tracing hands lately. She loves her hand to be traced and also tries to trace ours. So I came up with this quick but meaningful activity. We traced the cat's paw, the dog's paw, Q's hand, Mommy's hand, and Daddy's hand. Then we taped them up on the window in order of size. I wrote everyone's initial on their respective "hand." It's a fun game for Q to point out everyone's hand. I haven't yet talked with her about the size comparisons. For now just letting her soak in the visuals of the hands and also relate each initial to that person's hand. Later on we will talk about the different size comparisons. Mommy's hand is bigger than Quinn's. Daddy's hand is bigger than Alie's, etc.

We can:
-find similarities
-find differences
-put our actual hands up against each tracing to see the size difference
-talk about the initials
-practice matching the correct hand to the tracing (left or right)

Other extensions--try tracing and comparing feet!
Use ribbon or yarn to measure around each person's head. Tape resulting lengths up and label. Who has the biggest head?

How about arm span?

This is such a relevant activity to young children because it brings measurement to their level--measuring objects they know SOOO well because they are part of their own body. This is one of the first ways children begin to develop concepts about size, measurement and seriation (comparison of sizes).

It is also a great literacy activity--labeling the hands begins to teach that letters represent something real--in this case a person.

Older children could actually write some sentences about their observations.

"Daddy's hand is the biggest."
"Alie has no fingers."
etc..etc..etc.

And incorporating art--draw in the features on the hands. Mommy's wedding ring, decorate the fingernails. Draw the little creases on the knuckles and also the veins. Teach childre to study the actual object and then try to decpict what they see on their paper. This is initially very difficult, but the best way to teach this is through modeling it. Just look at your own hand, note aloud what you see and describe how you will draw it as you work.

"Ohhh, I see some blue veins on my hand. I will get a blue crayon and draw them from my knuckles down to my wrist. I think I'll push so lightly, though, so you can just barely see them, because they are under my skin. I also need to draw my wedding ring that reminds me I am married to Daddy forever. I need a silver crayon. Uhh-ohhh, we don't have a silver crayon. A pencil is kinda silvery, I will use that. I'll draw two bands and then I need to draw a white circle for the diamond, on top of the band. Let's see, which finger do I put it on. My ring finger, and it's on my left hand."

Children will learn to take ownership of this strategy the more they see you model it for them.

And if they are interested, you can always use the hand-over-hand technique where you help their hand draw what they are wanting (while you verbalize out loud while you work). The only caution is to be sure you are not taking over and reducing your child's independence. With Q, I use hand-over-hand to help get her started, and then I do my own version of the project and if she wants me to do hers some more I tell her "Mommy's working on her project-you try to do it!"
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Nursery Treasury--we're loving it!

Picked this up from one of the thrift stores recently when they were doing 1/2 off books. We are LOVING it! It has different sections--baby games, nursery songs, dancing and singing games, rhymes, and lullabies. I wish I would have had it when Q was younger because it has great baby games and fingerplays. I will be posting some of our favorites from this book, so stay tuned!

http://www.amazon.com/Nursery-Treasury-Sally-Emerson/dp/0385246501
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The perfect pet.....worms!

Here is another of the pets we keep around the house....Mimi gave Q a bowl full of nightcrawlers and they are the perfect pets! They are quiet, don't eat much, easy to maintain, can't run away when Quinn wants to hold them, and if she drops one too hard, they don't have any bones to break! Pretty much toddler-proof!
We keep them in a plastic dishpan but really any large container would work. You might want to poke drain holes in it in the bottom. We simply mist the dirt every day or so as it dries out. The worms get more active the moister they get, but too much water can drown them. You can add shredded newspaper if you want, and also a few vegetable peels as scraps for them to munch.
You can buy the nightcrawlers at Walmart, Academy, Sports Authority or any good sporting goods store in the fishing area, and I would imagine most gardening centers would have worms, too!
Older children might enjoy having a spray bottle of water to mist the worms daily.

I did a worm unit when I taught first grade and also in preschool, and there are TONS of great worm books out there. I got bunches from the public library. Help your child learn about worms through this great pet and incorporate literacy as you read and research together.

You could add writing by making signs with the worms' names, the "address" of their home....kids could build a cardboard or wood or paper "worm house"......

I see lots of room for creativity and fun with an activity that doesn't cost much at all!
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Dots and Squeezies

My mom sent a little handout she is using with her kindergarteners on some simple deep pressure massage techniques kids can use to calm themselves and parents can use on their kids...and if you are lucky, you might even be able to talk your kiddo into trying them on you!

Dots:
Gently but firmly press your thumb into the palm of the opposite hand--all around the palm. Dots can also be done on the feet. Avoid fingers and toes.

Squeezies:
Start at the wrist and move up to the shoulders--gently but firmly squeeze all around as you move up. can also be done on the legs.

Benefits:
-calming
-self-regulation
-focus control
-body awareness

*Dots and squeezies can be helpful in providing relief to screaming babies, as well!

I love this simple way to give our children (and ourselves...I will totally be using this on myself and my husband!!) a way to regain self-control. Right now we are in the throws of toddlerdom at our house, and I love tools I can use to redirect my daughter when she is in the middle of melting down. This strategy is simple, interesting because it's something new to toddlers, and puts the locus of control on the child (what they are probably melting down about) while still achieving the parents' desired results.

Add it to your repoitoire!!!
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Nature Fingerplays and Songs

Here are some of the songs and fingerplays and rhymes I am putting out for Q's nature unit. I will also find "Sing a Song of Sixpence," that I've used before and put that out on her rhyme board, as well. I just found pictures from the internet for the backs of all the rhyme/song cards.


YELLOW DAFFODIL

Yellow, yellow daffodil, dancing in the sun..
oh yellow, yellow daffodil, you tell me spring has come.
I can hear a blue bird sing, and hear a robin call.
but yellow, yellow daffodil I love you most of all!


Little Seed
I'm a little flower seed.
I'm planted in the earth.
I feel the sun come down on me to warm this big old earth. (sit and tuck in heads and knees to look like a ball)
The rain begins to come and gets rid of my big thirst. (wiggle fingers in the air in a downward motion)
I then became a big and pretty flower so you can pick me first. (stand up)


Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle-shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.


Five Little Peas Fingerplay

Five little peas in a peapod pressed

(make fist)

One grew (hold one finger up)

Two grew (hold two fingers up)

So did all the rest! (hold all 5 fingers up)

They grew and the grew and they did not stop!

(raise hand up and up and up)

Until that little peapod finally went POP!

(clap hands together)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

May work shelf

For the month of May we have chosen "Nature" as our theme....flowers, plants, birds....anything in nature!
Here is our work shelf this month. Read on to know more about each individual item.
(for some reason my photos were exhibiting anarchy and not posting the first time. I reposted, but can't get the little "missing photo" boxes to go away. Don't worry--they're all there.)



Mimi loaned us some little clear glass balls to hang from our tree to look like raindrops. We also added some birds and some blue and green "springy" beads this month!!

Nature dress up clothes


Rain boots, rain hat, umbrella, purses, and a water sprayer.

Q loves pretending to "water" things in the playroom--she even knows how to make noise that sounds like water flowing!

A new baby with a flower blanket


I put out a new baby this month. She's a fabric baby dressed in Mexican clothes. Of course she needs a flower handkerchief for a blanket since we are studying flowers this month!

"Dirt" digging


Daddy shredded some brown cardstock, brown lunch sack, and brown construction paper at work for us. I found the little shovel and rake in the $ section at Target last year and had been saving them. In this area Q can dig in the "dirt," shovel from one basket to the other (left to right--the way we read--of course!), or rake in the paper "dirt."

I love using shredded paper because when she undoubtidly dumps it out on the floor, it's easy to clean up. The vacuum will even suck it up.

Flowercart


I found a little metal bucket, filled it with 5 (a managable number for a toddler) fake carnations, and put it in her cart. She loves pushing them around the house!

We can practice counting, vocabulary (naming the plant parts--stem, leaves, flower), and dramatic play, as she pretends to give out the flowers.

Feltboard



The feltboard has some "springy" nature items.....we practice Q's vocabulary by talking about the items and where they might go on the feltboard.

Zaccheus





For the Bible Story this month, I chose Zaccheus. I figured the "tree" went along with our nature theme.
I keep a big stash of "usable trash" in my studio that I eventually turn into something useful. I raided my stash for this project.
I used a wrapping paper roll. I cut two slits in the top, strung some twine into the slits, tied a clothespin man (decorated to look like Zaccheus, of course!) (don't mind this one, it's been "loved" a lot...). I put a bead on one end so it wouldn't ever pull through.
I found the little Zaccheus book at the dollar store in a 2-pack with another book!
We like to read the book, sing the song about Zaccheus, and pull him up and down the tree at the correct times!